Faith and Authority

I believe one of the greatest examples of faith, authority, the power of words, but, moreover the immense power of God's Word by an individual, in the New Testament, are seen in this passage of scripture. "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" (Matthew 8:5-10)

Notice, the centurion says to Jesus, only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. Although not the main point, the centurion recognizes the power of words. He also recognizes that like himself, Jesus is also a man under authority but with authority. It’s clear the centurion was not struggling with his identity or his position as a Roman centurion, therefore he knew his authority. Listen to his understanding of authority, “I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.” As far as we know, these words were coming from the mouth of a pagan. It goes on and says, that Jesus marveled, He was amazed at the centurions comprehension and understanding of authority and He equated his understanding and use of authority with having great faith. So in a sense, we can say of this centurion, he knew who he was to the Roman empire; he knew what the Roman empire was to him; and how his superiors truly saw him.

So, by releasing our faith by acting on God’s Word believers can stand with confidence in their authority through Christ. Smith Wigglesworth said, "I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe.” The Apostle Paul tells us, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:10-11) First, believers must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, not their own might. Second, believers must continually be arrayed with the spiritual armor of God as we stand against the wiles of the devil in our daily lives. We must understand that the devil will do everything in his power to keep believers from coming into the knowledge of their authority over him. I believe that the devil expends more effort working against believers trying to keep them from the revelation of their true and legal identification, position and authority in and through Christ than anything else.

Another important point is that believers need to understand that there are limits concerning their authority. For example, believers do have authority over Satan and his forces if these forces try to come against them in their own life or the lives of their immediate family, loved ones and where others have given them authority. They will be free from the enemy because they have the right to exercise their authority over him in these areas. However, that does not mean that they can go around casting devils out of everyone they meet. Look at what Jesus says to the 70 disciples, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) and what the Apostle James tells us, "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) Notice, these scriptures do not say that the devil will flee from everyone you come in contact with, it says he will flee from you or where you have authority.

When I am in public I know that I have authority. When I ask someone if I can pray for them and they give me their permission, then they have given me the authority, but if they do not give me permission, I can certainly pray for them, but I cannot exercise the authority against their will. The only exception to this is if a demonized person tries to come aggressively against me or those whom have given me authority, then I can use my God given authority to stop the aggression. We will look at this as revealed in the scriptures through the ministries of Jesus and the Apostle Paul another time. So, until then, let us stand in faith and the authority that we have been given over darkness, in Jesus Name.