In part 7 of this Bible study, we continue our journey through the Bible on what it means to be entrusted by God in this life. We’ve already seen that we’re entrusted with the gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:4), with a stewardship (1 Corinthians 9:17), and with God’s people (1 Peter 5:3). 

In addition, we’ve seen that we’re entrusted with free will (Deuteronomy 30:19), and with Verbal Power (Proverbs 18:21). Now we’re going to see what it means to be entrusted with Divine authority. 

It’s amazing to think that when Jesus left earth and sat back down at God’s right hand, all the authority He had as our Savior was delegated to His church – the body of Christ.

These two commands were given to the church just before Jesus returned to heaven after His death, burial and resurrection. They represent two of the three pillars of purpose for the New Testament church. 

In Mark’s gospel, the Lord emphasizes the importance of preaching.  In Matthew’s gospel, the Lord emphasizes the importance of teaching.  Preaching deals with evangelism to the lost.  Teaching deals with teaching and discipling believers. 

In both cases, the third pillar of purpose must be included, which is warning people of what awaits those who do not receive Jesus as Lord and Savior in this life (Colossians 1:28-29).

Everything that needed to be done to secure our redemption has been done. God has left no stone unturned, as we say. In the Bible, keys represent spiritual authority. 

From Adam’s fall to our Lord’s resurrection, Satan had those keys and used them to cover the earth with pain, suffering and spiritual hopelessness (Genesis 3:17/Luke 4:5-6).  But praise God, Jesus took those keys away when He rose from the dead.  

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.  Revelation 1:18

When Jesus rose from the dead, He disarmed the devil and all of his demons. That means the authority that was originally given to Adam – the authority he gave to the devil – was forcibly taken back by Jesus!  That’s why the Lord is referred to as last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45). 

Jesus isn’t the second Adam.  He’s the last Adam.  There will never be another need to redeem us from the terrible mistakes made by the first Adam in the Garden (Genesis 1-3). The work of Christ on the cross - and in Hades for those 3 days and nights - did all that needed to be done. 

So then, what did Jesus do with all of that God-given authority He took back from Satan?  He gave it to the church – to each and every believer!

What are the first few words in our Lord’s command to preach the gospel worldwide?  They are the words “Go into all the world”.  What are the words of Jesus that command us to teach and disciple all nations? They are the words “Go therefore”. This means we’re authorized to live, speak and act as official ambassadors of Christ while on this earth (2 Corinthians 5:20). 

Think about it. Jesus is in heaven now, seated at God’s right hand.  Yes, He’s coming back, and I believe it will be very, very soon. But in the meantime, the Holy Spirit has been sent, and operates on earth through us (John 14:12-18). 

That means the third person of the Trinity is here, living and working in us, enforcing the work we do and the words we say when we do and say things in the name of Jesus. 

The early church found this out, and when they did, great things began to happen amongst the people. Our Lord’s disciples back then weren’t polished, educated ministers. They didn’t have “ordination papers” with some group or denomination. They didn’t have lots of initials after their names, indicating some high level of mental, secular accomplishment. 

All they had was love for God and faith in the name of Jesus to do whatever needed to be done in ministry. Peter is a classic example of this. He wasn’t an educated man, and he made plenty of mistakes along the way, but in the end, he got his “act together” and became one of the main pillars that launched the worldwide body of Christ.   

Wow! Just like that, a man who had been crippled from birth was miraculously healed. He went into the temple with Peter and John, leaping, shouting and praising God. All the people gathered around to see what the commotion was all about. 

Peter used the opportunity to preach one of the first evangelistic sermons of the New Testament. He made sure everyone knew how this miracle had taken place, and who was responsible for making it happen. Here’s how he put it:  

And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all

(Acts 3:16).

It’s no secret the devil works through people to do his dirty work on earth.  He did it against the early church, and he’ll use the same tactics today because they’ve been proven effective in stealing, killing and destroying (John 10:10). 

To that end, he uses religion and religious people as much as anyone else on earth. You can plainly see this with how the religious leaders arrested and threatened Peter and John after this crippled man was healed (Acts 3 & 4). 

Paul himself, who used to be called Saul, understood how deceived he was before He met Jesus on the road to Damascus.  This is how he described it to King Agrippa:

“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” Acts 26:9

Like Saul of Tarsus, multitudes of people are deceived and on their way to hell via the deception of false religion, false teaching and false teachers. Jesus specifically warned us that in the last days, this would be one of Satan’s prime methods of deception (Matthew 24:4-5). 

Paul warned us about this in his farewell message to the Ephesian church leadership (Acts 20:28-31).  Peter did the same (2 Peter 1:16).  John did the same (2 John 1:3-11). James did the same (James 5:19-20), and Jude did the same (Jude 1:3-19).   

Every New Testament writer spoke about the dangers of demonic, religious deception. But here’s the truth about our war with the enemy you must never forget: the devil is afraid of anyone who knows the power in the name of Jesus, and uses that name consistently in spiritual combat. 

That’s why the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jerusalem plotted and tried to do whatever was necessary to stop the disciples from using the name of Jesus in ministry outreach – and why he does the same against us today. 

These miracles recorded in the New Testament didn’t pass away with the early church leadership, as some denominations erroneously teach. All over the world today, believers are using the name of Jesus to tear down the kingdom of darkness and set the captives free. 

How about you?  Are you actively using the name of Jesus to fight the good fight of faith against the devil and his demons? If not, why not?  The name above every name is above every disease, sickness or situation that has a name – and you have the authority to wield that name in spiritual warfare - anytime, anywhere. 

Apply that name in faith, like Peter did, and to the glory of God, destroy whatever plan the devil is attempting to bring to bear against you, your family or your ministry (1 John 3:8). 

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