When Jesus walked the earth He gave His disciples authority to do certain things. After his resurrection from the dead He said that all authority in heaven and earth was His and He gave them authority to do more things. The question is, “What authority does each individual believer have in the Lord?

Before I answer that question, it is important to recognize that there are a lot of levels of authority talked about in the Scriptures. God gives authority to governments, authority within families, authority within the church to be exercised by those called to offices and the elders of the congregation.

My goal is to focus on the authority every believer has in his or her daily walk with the Lord. This authority has nothing to do with your position in the church but flows out of your relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord of your life.

I also want to say that I am not trying to write a comprehensive coverage of every aspect of authority we have in the Lord (that would take a book). I will cover the main areas where Jesus actually uses the word authority and tells his disciples what they have authority to do.

Here is a long list of Scriptures that speak of this authority. As we read through them look for the following six areas in which Jesus gives us authority:

1. To Become Children of God

2. To Preach the Gospel

3. To Make Disciples

4. To Heal the Sick

5. To Cast Out Demons

6. To Raise the Dead

Let’s read through all of them and then point out the various areas of authority you can exercise as a believer in Christ.

Scriptural Foundation

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (John 1:12)

1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness . . . 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. (Matthew 10:1, 7-8)

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. (Mark 3:14-15)

7 And He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits . . . 12 They went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. (Mark 6:7, 12-13)

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)

1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing . . . 6 Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. (Luke 9:1-2, 6)

Areas of Authority

We’re going to look at six specific areas of authority that Jesus gives to believers in the above passages. I’m sure there are more, but for our purposes today we’ll focus on six.

Children of God

The first area of authority comes from John 1:12. Jesus gives us authority or power to become children of God. The Bible tells us that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. That means that everything that God has made available through the life and death of Jesus Christ is available to us as heirs.

There are too many believers who fail to see that there are incredible blessings available to sons and daughters here on the earth. They put most of the blessings at a future date when the Lord returns or we go to heaven, but God has many riches that are available to you right now.

Here are a couple of verses that talk about the wonderful things we have in Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3)

2 To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:2-8)

We have authority from Jesus Christ to receive every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and everything we need for life and godliness through His precious promises. Right now, here on earth, we can partake in the incredible divine nature of God. We have available to us the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, the Fruit of the Spirit, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual armor of God. and every other promise that He has given that relates to life living on this earth.

We are part of the kingdom of God and His rule is for here on the earth, not just heaven. That is why Jesus teaches us to pray Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is for heaven. God desires for His rule and reign to be experienced in your life right now.

Next week we’ll look at how the Lord has given us authority to preach the Gospel and to make disciples.