Text: Mark 1:21-27: And they went into Capernaum and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority (exousi’a) and not as the scribes: And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit and he cried out, saying, “Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth”? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Hold thy peace and come out of him”! And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying “What thing is this”? “What new doctrine is this”? “For with authority (exousi’a) commands he, even the unclean spirits and they do obey him”.
MARK shows [Jesus Christ is God’s Servant]. It’s a gospel of deeds and works. “For even the Son of man, came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (diakone’o) [to be an attendant; wait upon; teacher; serve], and to give his life (soul) a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
[Vs 1-20] you
see the ministry of John the Baptist in Judea preaching repentance and he
baptizes Jesus, which was a part of His preparation for His ministry. But then John is imprisoned and Jesus goes
into Galilee preaching the kingdom
(basilei’a) [rule; reign; power] of God
is at hand (near; nigh; present).
Jesus in actuality
was preaching (kerus’so) [to herald (as a public crier), especially
divine truth (the gospel); proclaiming] that the kingdom,
which is power, dominion, and the
authority , that the first Adam had and lost, is now restored and is
present again and the presence of this power was within Him (Jesus Christ), who was the Kingdom of
God walking on two feet, and that same kingdom power would also be within the
born again believers.
·
1st
Corinthians 15:45: The first (pro’tos) [foremost (in time, place, order, or importance);
before; beginning; chief (est); former] man Adam, was made a living
(za’o) [to live; life; (a) live (ly); quick]: soul: the last (es’chatos)
(in the sense of contiguous), [farthest; final (of
place or time); latter end; uttermost]; Adam was made a quickening (make alive) spirit.
Contiguous means to touch, meet, or join, close together, or to connect, as a whole. What Jesus did on that cross and His resurrection was not temporal by any means, but eternal (everlasting; never ending)!!
- Hebrews 9:11-12: But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained (acquired; secured) eternal redemption for us.
· Was made a quickening (poopoie’o) [to (re) vitalize; make alive; life
giving]/(poie’o) [abiding; continuing; fulfilling] spirit!
This “quickening spirit” expresses action as
completed and continued!! What did Jesus say?
·
John
10:10: The thief comes not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am
come that they might have life and that they might have it more
abundantly.
This is not just za’o life, as plant and
animals have. Plants have life, but not
conscious life! Animals have life and conscious life, but not spiritual
life! Man has life, conscious life, and he has spiritual (eternal; everlasting) life.
This is life as God Himself has, which is eternal and everlasting life. This is the
life man was alienated (estranged),
not annihilated (obliterated) from
but has now been restored back too!!
·
John
5:26: For as the Father has life (zo’e)
in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life (zo’e) in himself.
This is the “life” (Zo’e) that Jesus has restored back to mankind, life that is
“eternal” and “everlasting”!
·
John
3:15: Whosoever believes in him
should not perish, but have eternal (quality) life (zo’e). Vs 16: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting
(unending) life (zo’e).
·
John
17:2: As thou hast given him power
(exousi’a) [ability; liberty; mastery] over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life (zo’e)
to as many as thou hast given him. Vs 3: This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
This is the work of
the “last Adam”!! Jesus said:
·
Revelation
1:8: I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the ending (completion of all
things), saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come,
the Almighty: vs 17: “Fear not, I am the first and the last” (es’chatos).
Do you believe
it? The first part of “authority” is “author”! Hebrews 12:2: Looking unto Jesus the author (archegos’) [chief leader; prince; captain] and finisher (teleiotes’) [completer; consummater] of
our faith.
Remember in 1st
Corinthians 15:45, it states that “the
last Adam was a quickening spirit”, and part of the definition of “quickening” is to “revitalize”!
Anytime you see the
prefix “re”, it means “to do again”!! Revitalize
means to make alive again continuously!! The word “vitality” as a noun is the
state of being strong and active; energy. It's the power giving continuance of
life!!! This is the importance of us
fulfilling 1st Corinthians 15:53-54:
·
For this corruptible (phthartos’) [decayed; perishable] must (necessary; essential; not optional) put on
incorruption, and this mortal (thnetos’)
[liable to die (but doesn’t have to)] must put on
immortality. So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption (aphtharsi’a)
[unending existence; genuineness; sincerity], and this mortal shall
have put on immortality (athanasi’a)
[deathlessness], then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written, death is swallowed up in victory (triumph;
success).
2nd Corinthians
4:11: For we which live are always
delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life (zo’e)
also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal (that which is liable to die, but doesn’t have to) flesh.
Still talking about the “authority of the believer": Mark 1:21-28:
Jesus makes Capernaum
His headquarters which was a city on the North end of Galilee. Capernaum
is of Hebrew (kaphar’) [a village
(as protected by walls)]; to cover
(spec. with bitumen); to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel; atonement;
purge; reconciliation; forgive; pacify; merciful; cleansed; disannulled; put
off; pardon; pitch] / (nachuwm’)
[comfortable / (nacham’) to sigh ie breathe strongly; to be sorry, ie
(in a favorable sense) to pity, console or rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge
(oneself): comfort; repent; ease.
Capernaum’ here in Mark has the same definition as the word pitch in Genesis 6:1, when
God told Noah: “Make thee an Ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and
shalt pitch it within and without with pitch”.
Pitch is the root
word kopher’, meaning, a cover, ie a village (as covered in);
(spec) bitumen (as used for coating), (fig) a redemption-price: ransom;
satisfaction; sum of money. Then it
goes to kaphar’ (above).
Noah “pitching” the Ark within and without typified “the atonement” that Jesus would make for us as our Ark of safety, dying on the Cross, but He
didn’t just make atonement (cover our sins and deliver us from sin), but
He also reconciled (brought us back; restored) us back
to the Father!!
Jesus starting His
ministry in Capernaum was showing how
He was now ready to save God's people, expiate, cancel, and purge us of our sins, but also forgive us and be merciful toward
God’s people, and cleanse our sins by
disannulling and cancelling our debt by dying on the cross and not only make atonement for us but also to reconcile (bring back) us and restore the creation back to God the Father!!
·
2nd
Corinthians 5:19: To wit (know) that
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing, their
trespasses unto them.
·
Hebrews
9:11-12: But Christ being come an
high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood
of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
·
Hebrews
10:4: For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Vs 12: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down on the right hand of God (a place of power).
So Capernaum connotes that Jesus disannulled, cancelled and deprived the
devil of his power against those that were ready to receive Him! Remember what Jesus said in Luke 4:18:
·
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Isn’t it the “anointing” that destroys yokes? Isaiah 10:27: And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken
away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall
be destroyed because of the anointing.
This is the kind of “authority” Jesus had, and has given
that same “authority” to us that believe!
·
John
10:19: Behold, I give unto you power (exousi’a) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy: and
nothing shall by any means hurt you.
·
John
14:12: Verily, verily, I say unto
you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do.
WHAT IS AUTHORITY?
Authority defined by
Webster is a group or person with power;
lawful power or the right to enforce obedience.
OF is a preposition placed in front of a noun
or pronoun to show a connection with or to something or someone; to proceed from; composed of; related
to.
Let’s first deal with “proceeding from”: We proceeded (began) and came out from this Authority (The Father):
·
St.
John 1:1: In the beginning was the
Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God: vs 2: And the same (us) was in the beginning with God: vs 14: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Yes that was Jesus, but we were there
also and is made flesh!
Secondly, composed of: We are also composed (created; made
up; framed; originated; designed; put together), not just by this Authority, but also of this Authority:
·
Ephesian
5:30: We are members (limbs; parts)
of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Thirdly, related to the Authority: (When Jesus was teaching the disciples to
pray):
·
Matthew
6:9: Therefore pray you: “Our Father”.
He didn’t say “My Father”, but “Our Father”!! Just saying “My Father” would have sounded a little
selfish, and we know that there was not a selfish bone in Jesus’ body, but He
said “Our Father”, denoting “oneness” (union)!! So that makes us “sons” (male/female) of the Father also.
·
Galatians
4:6: And because you are sons,
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts (will; mind; middle of you; thoughts; understanding), crying,
Abba Father!
Our connection is
made with the Father, through Jesus the Christ the Son, by the power of the
Holy Ghost! This power (authority) is now proceeding out of a
body composed of believers called Christ
(the anointed ones with God’s
anointing)!! We (the believers) are the ones to
carry on or continue this authoritative (attested; certified) action or process as Jesus Himself did!
·
Luke
10:19: I give unto you power
(exousi’a)
[ability] (privilege; strength; force; capability; capacity; right; liberty;
freedom; superhuman; potentate; mastery; jurisdiction) to tread
on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
This tells us that we
as “believers” proceeded from “authority”, we are composed of “authority”, and we are related to “The Authority”,
who is God Himself!
Here in this Gospel
of Mark Jesus comes preaching that the
Kingdom of God is at hand (present), and many are healed by Him. He was able to do these things because He
knew who and whose He was, and walked in His dominion (treading down all that was not like God), authority (ability to use the power) and power (the
spiritual dynamite to destroy the works of the devil)!
In this passage of
scripture, Mark 1:22, authority
in the Greek is defined as exousi’a, in
the sense of ability (possessing the qualities necessary). The synonyms for authority are power; privilege;
skill; competency; capacity; capability; aptitude; liberty; force; strength;
mastery; freedom; superhuman; know how; having what it takes.
Those who have the
Holy Ghost have these “abilities”
or necessary qualities:
·
Mark
16:17-18: These signs shall follow
them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall
speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands
on the sick, and they shall recover.
Those definitions of “authority” in Greek are:
Privilege
(we have a special advantage):
·
St. John
1:12: To as many as received him, to them gave he power (exousi’a) (ability; privilege) to become
the sons of God.
·
1st
John 3:2: Beloved, now are we
the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we
shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
He has already
appeared (become visible; manifested) and is appearing (evident; obvious; come into view) in His people, now! Because the only appearing He will make is
“in His people”!! So we are now “seeing Him as He is” in one another!!
·
2nd
Corinthians 5:16: Wherefore henceforth
know we no man after the flesh: yea,
though we have known (past tense) Christ after the flesh, yet now
henceforth (from here on) know we him no more!
·
1st
John 4:17: As he is, so are we in
this world!
Not up beyond the
blue, but right here and right now!!
We see Him as He is, because when we see one another we’re seeing Him, we are looking at him!
·
Ephesians
5:30: We are members (limbs; parts) of his body, of
his flesh and of his bones!
FORCE AND STRENGTH: (the capability
to exert strength to produce an intended effect):
· John 14:12: He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.
- Mark 16:17: And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues: vs 18: They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
- James 5:14: Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: vs 15: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
·
Philippians
4:13: I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me.
CAPACITY: (power
to act):
- Isaiah 58:1: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
·
Matthew
28:19: Go ye therefore and teach
(matheteu’o) [to become a pupil; instruct (direct;
tell; call on; charge)] all nations, baptizing them (baptizing in water is fine but He said) in the
name (on’oma) [authority; character]/(ginos’ko)
[knowledge; complete understanding; awareness] of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Vs
20: Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you.
· Mark 16:15: Go ye into all the world and preach (kerus’so) [to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth; proclaim] the gospel to every creature.
·
Acts
1:8: You shall receive power (dunamis) [miracle
working] after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth.
COMPETENCY: (adequately fit with the “whole armor” of
God):
·
Ephesian
6:10-18: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power
(krat’os)[vigor; might; energy; efficacy; activity;
vitality; health; stamina; spirit; fire; enthusiasm; dominion] of
his might. Put on the “whole armor”
of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil: loins gird about with truth: the
breast plate of righteousness: feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace: the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked: the helmet of salvation: the sword
of the Spirit, which is the Word of God:
praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance
and supplication for all saints.
But now, with these six
pieces of armor (panopli’a)
[full armor; all] on, that’s
listed in Ephesians 6, they will not work properly without the other two
pieces of armor (hop’lon) [an implement; utensil or tool; offensive for
war; weapon], which are, the armor
of light and the armor of righteousness.
The first piece of armor (hop’lon) is the “armor of
light”:
·
Romans
13:12: The night is far spent, the
day is at hand: let us therefore cast
off the works of darkness (skot'os) [shadiness; obscurity; error], and let us put on the armor of light (God's mind).
The armor of light is us having (the knowledge of God or having His mind). This word “light” is the Greek word phos,
meaning to shine or make manifest by
rays; fire; light; illumination.
Illuminate is to light up; help to clarify (make clear; make plain) or explain;
to make known one’s thoughts; it’s light as reaching the mind. We must (not optional) have the mind of Christ:
·
1st
Corinthians 2:16: For who hath known
the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind (nous) [will; feeling;
thought; understanding] of Christ.
·
Philippians
2:5: Let (allow) this mind (phrone’o) [exercise so as to set a partition, to silence
or shut out the enemy’s torments], be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus.
Can I take it a
little farther? We are the same light that
God Himself is.
·
1st
John 1:5: This then is the message
which we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God is light (phos) and in him is no darkness (sko'tia) [dimness; obscurity] at all.
· 1st Thessalonians 5:5: You are all children (sons) of light (phos) and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
The night is the covering, the gloom of the darkness (absence of light; misery; ignorance; obscurity; error), that Paul speaks of in Colossians 2:8: Beware (cautious), lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Both words “light” in both scriptures, 1st Thessalonians 5:5, and 1st John 1:5, come from the
same Greek root word, “phos”.
The other piece of armor we need is the “armor of righteousness”:
·
2nd
Corinthians 6:1-18 (speaking of the
apostle’s fidelity and love): vs 7:
By the word of truth, by the power of
God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.
The armor of
righteousness is the manifestation of
the very nature and character of God in us His people! It is out of the “righteousness” of God that these other characteristics proceed
from. These characteristics are mentioned in Isaiah 11:2 (the same Spirit that rested upon Jesus
Christ):
·
The spirit of wisdom, understanding,
counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear (reverence) of the LORD. Vs 4: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity
for the meek of the earth.
Jesus was and is
the Righteousness of God:
·
Jeremiah
23:6: In his days Judah shall be
saved, and Israel shall dwell safely:
and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
·
33:15: In those days and at that time, will I
cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and
righteousness in the land.
And so are we
God’s righteousness in Him:
·
Isaiah
61:1-3: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is
upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
·
2nd
Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him.
·
Revelation
19:7-8 (speaking of the Lamb’s
wife): vs 7: Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor
to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is
come (present tense) and his wife [we the church] hath (present tense) made
herself ready. Vs 8: And to her was granted that she should be
arrayed (dressed) in fine linen, clean and white (light): for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints.
These two pieces of
“armor”, “light and righteousness”
will cause the other pieces of armor to fit and operate properly against
the devil!!
All the parts of the “armor” mentioned in Ephesians 6
are “defensive” [protect; guard;
ward off; shield; preserve; resist; fortify]. The “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”, is the only piece
of the armor that is both “defensive” [protects;
guards; wards off; shields; preserves; resists; fortifies] and “offensive” [assaults; affronts; is aggressive; attacks].
·
Hebrews
4:12: For the Word of God is quick
(alive), and
powerful (energes’)
[active; operative; effectual], and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Word in this verse is the word “rhema” which means “utterance”.
It will arise (emerge; stand up) to whatever the
occasion calls for and put the enemy in his place and even destroy if and when necessary!!
·
Exodus
14:13-14: And Moses said unto the
people, “Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, which he
will show to you today: for the Egyptians
whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. The LORD
shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.
·
2nd
Chronicles 20:17: [Moab and Ammon are defeated] [God said to
Jehoshaphat/Judah/Jerusalem]: You shall not need to fight in this
battle: set yourselves, stand ye still,
and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
·
Matthew
10:19-20: When they deliver you up,
take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what
you shall speak. For it is not
you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.
·
2nd
Corinthians 10:4-6: For the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all
disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
When we believe and stand on the Word of God and not take things into
our own hands, trying to fight the battles ourselves, when the dust settles,
we’re still standing with the victory!!
Our authority is “working the Word, so that we can work the
works”!!
People of God, as a believer, “take
your authority” today!!
Pastor Gracie Perry