New Covenant: Authority

Disciples Today

"And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction" (Matthew 10:1).

These words apply to you and me, today. The Bible is the Living Word of God. What Matthew is reporting here was for Jesus' disciples 2000 years ago. I am a disciple now .. Aren't you also? Every Christian is called to be a disciple of Jesus and to follow Him. This is how Christianity is a living faith, rather than a religion.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Jesus Equips Us

It's a quality of the New Covenant and of being Christian that Jesus has given each one of us authority and power in the spiritual realms.

The Creation concluded with Elohim, (the Hebrew name for God which is a plural word and helps us understand that God is three persons yet one God (Matthew 28:19), "making" humankind in their own "image and likeness" (Genesis 1:26-27). 

These first two people are called Adam (the Hebrew word for "man"), and Eve ("because she would become the mother of all the living" (Genesis 3:20)); God gave them rule and dominion over the whole Creation so that they would have authority to steward it "using all its vast resources in the service of God and man" (Genesis 1:28 Amplified). God crowned humanity with "glory and honour" (Psalm 8:5), Adam and Eve together, equally.

Today, with all the trouble (John 16:33) in the world, we may find it hard to imagine their great life: they were the "apple of God's eye" (Zechariah 2:8), in intimate relationship with Him; they would walk and talk with God in the beautiful garden He had given them. They were fully trusted to manage the entire Creation, and to "fill the earth" (Genesis 1:28). Fabulous. We know that as Christians we have "rivers of living water flowing from our hearts" (John 7:38) and that "Christ in us" can be seen by others, "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Adam and Eve had the glory and the honour!

Then they fell; Satan promised them that they could know good from evil and "be like God" if they ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:5), (they were already in the "image and likeness" of God, Satan was offering them what they already had)! 

They did eat of the fruit and lost their glory, their position, their authority, and they became subject to death (Genesis 2:17). All their descendants were now confined to the same status, born into a life of sin (Romans 3:23). Satan became the ruler of this world, the "prince of this world" and "ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient" (John 12:31; Mark 4:15, 8:33; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 2:2).

The only remedy for this calamity would be for a person without sin to pay for all the sin, and pay with blood (Exodus 30:10). There has only ever been one person with no sin, Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Praise His name, Jesus came and defeated Satan by humbling Himself, even to dying on the Cross for us and all of our sin. His death and resurrection defeated both Satan and death. Jesus was given all authority (Matthew 28:18) and is now seated on the throne with Father God in Heaven (Hebrews 2:12, Revelation 4:3).

Jesus, the last Adam, is now "King of kings, and Lord of lords"  (1 Timothy 6:14-15) "it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life]." (1 Corinthians 15:45 Amplified). 

This is being worked out in our present age, and because it has not yet reached its fullness, we see evil in the world.

Under the New Covenant our spiritual authority has been restored (Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:19-20, Colossians 2:9-10) and is now greater than that of Satan and his demons. We can see that the Bible is true; my experiences and the testimonies of many brothers and sisters have shown this truth.

It is Jesus' intercession (Romans 8:34) for us which makes the difference; when we are weak, Jesus is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

New Covenant In Christ Jesus

The New Covenant made all things new (2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:5) for it changed the way of knowing God from following laws and rules to becoming a child of Father God (John 1:12, Romans 8:1), and being in a deep relationship with Him, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

Don Miller says that to be Christian is to "embrace Christian spirituality, a non-political mysterious system that can be experienced but not explained .. Christianity is a relationship with a living God who, as a man as well as God, can be experienced .. It is not an intellectual assent to a set of ideas; it is not propositional". Don is a young American who has a wonderful gift of speaking in clear uncomplicated language; his approach has brought Jesus to countless people of his generation. His first book was "Blue Like Jazz" (2003) and showed me a great deal about how young people think in our post-postmodern times; a really great read!

Just like Don and me, everyone is changed radically when they encounter, and are eternally saved by, Jesus.

We Are Given A New Heart:

"And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 11:19).

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Hebrews 8:10 from Jeremiah 31:31-34).

We Are Given A New Mind:

"'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16).

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

We Are Given A New Spirit:

"I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you" (Ezekiel 36:26).

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).

We Are Given A New Identity In Jesus:

"For in Him we live and move and have our being .." (Acts 17:28).

"But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).

"The Holy Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).

"Behold, what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of God .. " (1 John 3:1), and therefore brothers and sisters of Jesus!

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).

We Are Given A New Name:

"The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give" (Isaiah 62:2).

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it"  (Revelation 2:17).

We Are Given A New Hope:

"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).

".. but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope" (Romans 5:3-4).

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer" (Romans 12:12).

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13).

" .. I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

"And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment'" (Revelation 21:6).

We Are Given Power In The New Covenant:

"John answered them all, saying, 'I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire'" (Luke 3:16).

"And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth"  (Acts 1:8).

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Adventures

Many years ago, when I read the book of Acts for the first time, I saw it as the most wonderful collection of adventures by hitherto quite ordinary people. As a boy, and in the many years since then, I've always loved adventure stories and even seeking my own exploits and challenges. So Acts really caught my attention; if this is the kind of stuff Jesus does, then count me in!

Now that I'm becoming  a mature Christian, I've known the power of God countless times. Jesus is the most faithful friend (John 15:15) a person could ever have. Not only is He busy keeping the world running but He truly wants us to share in His life and work here on the earth. For me, this is very satisfying.

Firstly it is wonderful, even at my age, to be valuable to people in truly important things like their physical, social and spiritual wellbeing, to help them know that they are loved and valued, and can be forgiven for all the rotten things they have done and all the good things they have left undone.

Secondly, it is so good to know that in my very small way I'm fighting back against all the declines in our culture, security and national prosperity.

And thirdly, it is great to know that I'm working with, and being obedient to, our lovely Jesus, who has been so gracious and kind to me all these years.

"For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" (John 1:16).

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8).

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).  

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).

Great Majority

The great majority of all the people in the world believe that the spiritual realm is real; the largest and the most evenly spread subset of all the believers are the Christians. There are also hundreds of millions who believe in the spiritual but are Hindu, or Tao, or Muslim, or Sheikh, or Buddhist or any of a great number of faiths, some undefined or without names. Most also believe that there is a god or gods who rule/s the world and the universe. Less than one-fifth of all people do not recognise spiritual realities and these include the noisy voices opposed to the ideas of faith, who, sadly, have access to much media as their platform. (Please see Note 1).

The Blessing of Testimony

So by telling someone about your experiences of Jesus, and showing them His power in action in their own life, you are often simply clarifying thoughts that they have never been able to articulate. This is really profound, both for the giver and the person receiving.

I've found that people really love it when the many thoughts they have had about life and love and meaning suddenly make real sense when put into the context of Jesus and Father God and their gospel of repentance, forgiveness, salvation, healing, love, freedom and hope. It is very liberating to know that every one of us was hand-made by God for a purpose, and that He will work all our life to help bring us to our destiny.

"Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).

"And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.  For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.  Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.  'Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom'" (Luke 12:29-32).

Praise Jesus. Amen.

Note 1

'Overall, 84 percent of the world’s inhabitants, which it estimated at 6.9 billion, identify with a religion, according to the study entitled “The Global Religious Landscape” issued by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/unaffiliated-third-largest-religious-group-after-christians-muslims_n_2323664.html. Accessed 14/04/2017

84% is approximately 5 out of every 6 people!

'The Huffington Post is a politically liberal American online news aggregator and blog ..' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Huffington_Post. Accessed 14/04/2017.

Surprising but true. Hallelujah! 

Amen.

Permalink

https://www.psalmsofjohn.com/2017/04/new-covenant-authority.html

Amen.