Living with Authority and Power
Terry J. Hallock
Luke 4:31-37
August 19, 2001
If there is one truth the story of Luke 4:31-37 teaches it is that Jesus has authority and power. The Greek word for "authority" can also be translated as "privilege". Jesus has a "privilege" not accorded others and it is the privilege of having access to the complete truth of God. Indeed Jesus has the privilege of being the very Son of God and the Son has access to whatever is the Father's. As He is ascending into Heaven following His resurrection, Jesus proclaims, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Mt. 28:18).
This same scene is also recorded in Mark 1:21-28 and there it says "The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law." The teachers of the law could only teach what they had read. Jesus taught what He had authored. The Letter to the Colossians puts Jesus authority in its proper perspective when it says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17).
Jesus has authority in teaching God's truth because He was God's truth. And He also has authority over powers and principalities because He holds all power. Luke tells us that when Jesus entered the synagogue at Capernaum He found a man "possessed by a demon, an evil spirit." There is no question in Scripture about the reality of demons and evil spirits. They are the fallen angels Lucifer took with him when he fell from heaven after challenging the authority of God and it is their purpose to cause mental disorder, violent action, bodily disease and rebellion against God. They either roam in the "heavenlies" or in the bowls of hell and they ...
Terry J. Hallock
Luke 4:31-37
August 19, 2001
If there is one truth the story of Luke 4:31-37 teaches it is that Jesus has authority and power. The Greek word for "authority" can also be translated as "privilege". Jesus has a "privilege" not accorded others and it is the privilege of having access to the complete truth of God. Indeed Jesus has the privilege of being the very Son of God and the Son has access to whatever is the Father's. As He is ascending into Heaven following His resurrection, Jesus proclaims, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Mt. 28:18).
This same scene is also recorded in Mark 1:21-28 and there it says "The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law." The teachers of the law could only teach what they had read. Jesus taught what He had authored. The Letter to the Colossians puts Jesus authority in its proper perspective when it says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17).
Jesus has authority in teaching God's truth because He was God's truth. And He also has authority over powers and principalities because He holds all power. Luke tells us that when Jesus entered the synagogue at Capernaum He found a man "possessed by a demon, an evil spirit." There is no question in Scripture about the reality of demons and evil spirits. They are the fallen angels Lucifer took with him when he fell from heaven after challenging the authority of God and it is their purpose to cause mental disorder, violent action, bodily disease and rebellion against God. They either roam in the "heavenlies" or in the bowls of hell and they ...
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