Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Christ has authority (Mark 3:15), and Christ gave this authority to his disciples (Luke 9:1), even before, they received the power of the Spirit at Pentecost. This has some significance in showing us that casting out Satan and healing sickness is not really about raw, supernatural power that we have or get from God, but about Kingdom authority, and the Kingdom power which comes from and with that authority. An example is a Police Chief. As the Police Chief, he can (theoretically) command anyone and they will obey him (again, theoretically, ignoring freedom of speech and other such rights, for the sake of this example). Not because he is a very large or strong man himself, but because of his authority as the Chief of Police, and with his legal authority, comes great power. With authority, comes the ability to exercise the rule of law. In God's kingdom, Christ's authority gives Him the ability to exercise the rule of God's law. Defeating Satan and sickness, is not so much about impartation of supernatural power, but about the rule of law, and the coming of God's Kingdom. Demons are contrary to the rule of spiritual law, that our spirits and minds should be healthy, and physical sickness is contrary to the rule of natural or physical law, that our bodies should be healthy. Demonic possession and sickness are "law-breakers" and because of this, the solution to these problems is the rule of law which comes with authority.
Christ cast out devils because of the authority that He had, not because of the power He had. It is not by the "power of the blood", or "power of the Spirit", or "power of the cross", that devils and sickness is healed, although many Christians continue to use these terms, without knowing what they really mean. It is the authority of Christ, by which we can do these things. Authority is the legal right to do something, and power is possession of authority, control or influence. Because of who Christians are in Christ, they are identified with Christ ( 1 Cor 6:17) and are able to use His authority, even if they do not have the power of the Spirit poured out at Pentecost with signs such as tongues and prophesy. It is not even necessary or important to say "in the name of Jesus", as the sons of Sceva found out (Acts 19:17), it is only necessary to be identified with Christ, and then we have his authority. Authority is based upon who we are in Christ, not how much power or Holy Spirit we have ourselves. How much power and how much Spirit we have from day to day may vary, one day we are filled in Spirit, the next we are living for ourselves or in the flesh, but our position and status as sons of God in Christ, never changes, and so we can always rely upon Christ's authority. We may be weak and have little power, but we can use His authority and it will work every time because it is not about power, but about authority.
Some TV preachers, especially those in the miracle, deliverance and healing ministries, encourage Christians to spend some effort and time to obtain God's power, so that they too can heal the sick and cast out devils. The thinking is that if we don't spent enough time with God, in His presence, we won't have much power. This is somewhat true, however there is no record of the disciples every doing this in the Gospels, because it is not about how much power we have. Christ simply gave them His authority, and in His name they were able to do great things, even without the baptism of the Spirit, which was yet to come at Pentecost. For what purpose then do we need the Spirit of Pentecost? The Spirit of Pentecost is mainly the supernatural power or ability for spiritual gifts, preaching, evangelism, spreading the gospel (Acts 1:8, Joel 2:28). The miracles that the disciples performed, was mainly due to the authority of Christ, being the ruler of a great Kingdom (the kingdom of God). It is because it is about Christ's authority as the ruler of His Kingdom, that Jesus said, "the Kingdom of God (the rule and reign of God and His law) has come upon you".. not "the power of God has come upon you" (Luke 11:20). Hopefully, we can now understand that casting out devils and healing sickness is about the coming of the Kingdom of God (the rule of God's law), not so much the coming of power, and as disciples of Christ it is our job to bring God's rule, God's Kingdom to others, as we exercise Christ's authority. At this point, we could go further to consider how God, in His wisdom chose to use human beings as his representatives with His authority to drive our Satan, rather than the great and mighty angels, or even His own power as the Creator.
Christ has authority (Mark 3:15), and Christ gave this authority to his disciples (Luke 9:1), even before, they received the power of the Spirit at Pentecost. This has some significance in showing us that casting out Satan and healing sickness is not really about raw, supernatural power that we have or get from God, but about Kingdom authority, and the Kingdom power which comes from and with that authority. An example is a Police Chief. As the Police Chief, he can (theoretically) command anyone and they will obey him (again, theoretically, ignoring freedom of speech and other such rights, for the sake of this example). Not because he is a very large or strong man himself, but because of his authority as the Chief of Police, and with his legal authority, comes great power. With authority, comes the ability to exercise the rule of law. In God's kingdom, Christ's authority gives Him the ability to exercise the rule of God's law. Defeating Satan and sickness, is not so much about impartation of supernatural power, but about the rule of law, and the coming of God's Kingdom. Demons are contrary to the rule of spiritual law, that our spirits and minds should be healthy, and physical sickness is contrary to the rule of natural or physical law, that our bodies should be healthy. Demonic possession and sickness are "law-breakers" and because of this, the solution to these problems is the rule of law which comes with authority.
Christ cast out devils because of the authority that He had, not because of the power He had. It is not by the "power of the blood", or "power of the Spirit", or "power of the cross", that devils and sickness is healed, although many Christians continue to use these terms, without knowing what they really mean. It is the authority of Christ, by which we can do these things. Authority is the legal right to do something, and power is possession of authority, control or influence. Because of who Christians are in Christ, they are identified with Christ ( 1 Cor 6:17) and are able to use His authority, even if they do not have the power of the Spirit poured out at Pentecost with signs such as tongues and prophesy. It is not even necessary or important to say "in the name of Jesus", as the sons of Sceva found out (Acts 19:17), it is only necessary to be identified with Christ, and then we have his authority. Authority is based upon who we are in Christ, not how much power or Holy Spirit we have ourselves. How much power and how much Spirit we have from day to day may vary, one day we are filled in Spirit, the next we are living for ourselves or in the flesh, but our position and status as sons of God in Christ, never changes, and so we can always rely upon Christ's authority. We may be weak and have little power, but we can use His authority and it will work every time because it is not about power, but about authority.
Some TV preachers, especially those in the miracle, deliverance and healing ministries, encourage Christians to spend some effort and time to obtain God's power, so that they too can heal the sick and cast out devils. The thinking is that if we don't spent enough time with God, in His presence, we won't have much power. This is somewhat true, however there is no record of the disciples every doing this in the Gospels, because it is not about how much power we have. Christ simply gave them His authority, and in His name they were able to do great things, even without the baptism of the Spirit, which was yet to come at Pentecost. For what purpose then do we need the Spirit of Pentecost? The Spirit of Pentecost is mainly the supernatural power or ability for spiritual gifts, preaching, evangelism, spreading the gospel (Acts 1:8, Joel 2:28). The miracles that the disciples performed, was mainly due to the authority of Christ, being the ruler of a great Kingdom (the kingdom of God). It is because it is about Christ's authority as the ruler of His Kingdom, that Jesus said, "the Kingdom of God (the rule and reign of God and His law) has come upon you".. not "the power of God has come upon you" (Luke 11:20). Hopefully, we can now understand that casting out devils and healing sickness is about the coming of the Kingdom of God (the rule of God's law), not so much the coming of power, and as disciples of Christ it is our job to bring God's rule, God's Kingdom to others, as we exercise Christ's authority. At this point, we could go further to consider how God, in His wisdom chose to use human beings as his representatives with His authority to drive our Satan, rather than the great and mighty angels, or even His own power as the Creator.
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