As One Having Authority

One of the most revealing stories in the Bible in regards to how faith works, is the one about the Centurion coming to Jesus with a plea to heal his servant who was sick with palsy. (Mt 8:5). Remember how Jesus marveled at what he said. The centurion told Jesus that He did not need to come into his house because he was not worthy, he was a gentile. But he said, “Speak the word only.”  He told Jesus that he himself was a man under authority, meaning, “People listen to me, not because of me, but because of what I represent. What I say, goes. When I give an order, people move.” Then Jesus marveled at his faith. Actually, Jesus marveled at the fact that he understood how faith works–with authority.

It says of Jesus that, “He spoke as one having authority, and not as the Scribes and the Pharisees.” (Mat 7:9). People who have authority have a different demeanor about them, they speak differently, they act differently, even when off duty. It is as though they never let go of the uniform. And that’s really how Christians should live out their faith. We should walk in authority, because we are created to have dominion. When they said of Jesus that He had authority in the way He spoke, they were really acknowledging that He walked in dominion power.

Faith should not be separate from authority, boldness and power. All those should operate seamlessly. Because faith sees the outcome from the beginning; it commands it against the circumstances with dominion authority. Faith is not just hope. It is seeing the impossible and commanding that it manifests itself into the possible.

When you know the truth of God’s Word, you rely on its power. Truth does not need to be propped up. It stands on its own. And that’s the power that the Word of God has. It is solid and dependable. God cannot lie and that’s how we can solidly depend on His promises. That’s the kind of trust that allows us to walk where others fear to tread.

Knowing the Word is what gives us boldness. Truth alone is so powerful that it commands respect, honor, authority, integrity and righteousness. We speak the truth, and it is up to people to receive it and obey it or not. Look at the rich young ruler. He was not willing to go on walking on the solid ground of truth. And he went his way sorrowfully. He knew a lot, and in fact was quite righteous, but would not go any further. (Mt 19:16-30).

There’s a lot of people who know a lot of Word, they can quote chapter and verse, they know every reference, but if they do not do it, it remains knowledge only. David said, “With all thy getting, get understanding.” (Pr 4:7).  Understanding is different from knowledge because it is experimental knowledge. It’s the “doing” of the knowledge that gives you understanding.

Jesus explained that clearly when He was talking about obeying His Word. He said, “If you OBEY My Words, you’re like one who builds his house upon a rock, but if you don’t obey My Words, you’re as a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and when the storm comes, it falls apart.” (Mt 7:24-27). People who know a lot of Word but don’t do it become doctrinal, theological, defensive and argumentative because they’re proud of their knowledge. But knowledge only puffs up, but it is love that edifies. Love is a verb. It has compassion baked into it which compels us to care and to get involved.

You will often find Christians growing apart in their knowledge of the truth because one is learning for the purpose of ‘doing’, and the other one is into it just for the ‘knowing’. You can’t learn to ride a bicycle from a book. Eventually, you have to get on it.  The one who does the ‘doing’ always goes further than the one who is into it for head stuffing. Christianity is not about knowledge, but it is about walking out your knowledge. James said it won’t work unless you work it. (Ja 1:22-25). You will never experience the three-dimensional, abundant and energetic truth that Jesus talks about unless you live it out.

It says that “Jesus was the Word made flesh” (Jn 1:14), and the Bible talks about His incarnation. In other words, He was the Word of God in human flesh, walking in a body. And in reality, that is what a Christian is supposed to be like. We are supposed to, “Abide in the Word and let the Word abide in us, and then we will ask what we want, and it will be done unto us.” (Jn 15:4-7).  To abide in the Word means to imbibe the Word; we live in the Word, we know the Word, we do the Word, we become the Word; and we are a living example of the Word of God before man. That’s what brings glory to God. The Word has to be part of us; spirit, mind and body. So much so, that it affects our every thought which dictates our every action.

Mark 1:22 says, “They were astonished at His doctrine because He taught as one having authority.”  He was the Word of God commanding things to change according to God’s will. The will of God is the Word of God. And the more we know His Word, the more we know His will. All through the Gospels, Jesus said, “You have heard it said by Moses and the prophets, but I say unto you…” How could He talk like that? Didn’t that sound arrogant? Didn’t that appear prideful? He was the Word of God, and what He said had to be obeyed. That’s why His Word is not referred to as suggestions, but rather as commands.

He talked authoritatively, because His Words are commands. He did not give people much choice. Why?  Because He was the walking incarnate Word of God. It must have been hard for people in that day who didn’t know as much as we know now.–That He is the Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God, and the final authority.

And even today, when you speak with the authority of God’s Word and tell people that Jesus is the final authority, and that you must do what He says or else your life will fall apart… It sort of shocks people because there are so many other voices out there and people don’t like authority and absolute truth.

Even demons knew who He was. They’d say, “What are we to do with you, Son of God?”  But notice what it says: “He rebuked them ‘saying’… He didn’t say, “I rebuke you!” It was His words that rebuked those demons. “Shut up, come out of him. And the spirit tore him and left him as though he was dead.” (Mk 9:26). But nonetheless, the demon had to obey.

His Words were commands. So much so that people marveled. “And they were all amazed and said to one another, ‘What is this Word? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!'” (Lk 4:36). 

Great men of faith walk in authority. They speak, and they expect change. It is as though they walk in the spirit of a general. It’s not about knowing the whole Bible, it’s knowing whatever few verses that give you the authority of the Word, such as, “He that believes in Me, the works that I do, shall he do also, and even greater works than these for I go unto My Father.”  (Jn 14:12). It’s putting our full trust and faith in the Word that gives us the authority to live a dominion life. It’s understanding authority that brings boldness to faith.

When Jesus said that we can speak to the mountain and it shall be removed, He was saying that all obstacles in the way of God’s will can be removed with the authority of God’s Word. (Mk 11:23). The secret in being able to move mountains is standing firm on God’s Word. We must see the result of God’s will coming to pass from the beginning, and we can’t move regardless of the circumstances.

You can expect the devil to put up a fight every time. Expect that phone call saying that it didn’t work. He’ll always try and make you think it’s not working, or make you fear in some way. But don’t go back on your word. STAND. Out wait the devil’s lies by sticking to the truth. Stand and don’t back out. Expect that what you say will come to pass.

Decide the outcome from the beginning. Whenever you start shifting your faith according to the circumstances, you move out of faith. Keep your eyes on the end result. If you don’t, whatever you were believing before stops, because you’re believing the devil’s lies. Faith is a law and it’s the language of the Kingdom of God. It’s the only approach that pleases God.

If you begin by thinking it won’t work, then don’t bother trying. You don’t try faith. You command it. The kingdom dominion is based on faith. And faith that doesn’t persevere is no faith at all. Faith has to be tested. Faith without works is dead.

Once you get a hold of this formula for dominion, it’ll change your life: God’s Word + faith + authority + perseverance = results. Faith that is not tested is not faith, it’s just hope.

Let’s take the stand of the three Hebrew children who went through the fiery furnace: “If you don’t bow, you will burn!” And they came out without the smell of smoke. The enemy can’t touch you if you don’t fear. It’s when he can get you to react in fear that he’s got you. That’s how Jesus could say, “The wicked one cometh, but he has nothing in Me.” (Jn 14:30). 

To finish with the story of the centurion, Jesus said, “As you have believed, so be it.”  In other words, because you settled it in your mind, it’ll come to pass. Jesus didn’t even pray or command for his servant to be healed! He said, “Go thy way, your servant is healed.”  We must stand on what we expect. What we see in faith, we command it upon the circumstances with authority.

We act in the stead of Jesus. That’s what ‘in Jesus name’ really means. We have the power of attorney to act in the name and authority of Jesus.

We are made for dominion.