Righteousness
In the beginning, before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve were in right standing with God; the Lord walked with them and talked with them; they were in a relationship. Their relationship could exist because they were innocent, and as a result, they were holy and righteous in the eyes of the Lord. However, when Adam and Eve sinned, that relationship was broken, and there came a separation between God and humanity. Because the Lord is Holy and Righteous, He cannot be in contact or relationship with anything unholy or unrighteous.
God’s purpose in providing the Law through Moses for the Jewish people was to produce righteousness in the individual. The first five books of the Old Testament, the Torah (Hebrew) or the Pentateuch (English), contained 113 rules and regulations, including the Ten Commandments.
For a Jew obeying, from the heart, the rules and regulations of the Law was the path to being in a right relationship with God or put another way to be found righteous in the Lord. Unfortunately, the only thing the Law proved was that it was impossible to keep all the Law all the time. The only thing the Law showed was the need for a Savior; in Hebrew, the savior is called Messiah, and in Greek, the savior is called Christ.
Through Jesus Christ, the Lord provided a “better Covenant based upon better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). Now, as New Covenant Believers, our righteousness does not come from what we do as the Law required, but our righteousness is because of what Jesus did for us, (Romans 4:22-24).
Jesus came to fulfill the Law in that His righteousness was now imputed or credited to the individual who would put their faith in Him. No longer did a person have to work at being righteous as in the Old Testament; now, a Christian’s righteousness is a gift of Grace wrapped up in faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Believer’s Authority in the Old Testament
In my last post, Believer’s Authority in the Old Testament, I tried to make several points. The first point was that God doesn’t change; Hebrews 13:8 states that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Clearly, the miracles and wonders of the Old Testament or Covenant are still available today.
The second point was that in the Old Testament, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, would only fall upon Prophets, Priests, and Kings. The Holy Spirit in those days would come upon a person and sometimes be removed from a person. In a sense, it was temporary, available until the purposes of God were completed.
The third point was to distinguish the difference between Authority and Power. In the natural, if a person has authority, it means that they have a legal right to do something, but it may not mean that they have the power or ability to do it. So, having authority alone is not enough to accomplish what you want; you also need the power to go with the authority.
The Believer’s Authority and Power in the early Church.
Christians do not live under the Covenant of the Law found in the Old Testament Bible; Jesus fulfilled the Law and therefore made the Law of Moses obsolete.
In Jeremiah 31:31–34, a New Covenant is prophesized, and then Hebrews 8:7 & 13 state the following.
- “7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.” In other words, the Old Covenant was not enough to produce righteousness.
- “13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” The New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant.
I have met people trying to keep the Old and New Covenants. Here is what Jesus said in Matthew 9:16, “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Jesus said it is impossible to maintain the works of the Law and the gift of Grace at the same time. Every person who comes to Jesus must choose to follow Him and not the Law of Moses.
The Book of Acts, the New Covenant Church
The Book of Acts in the Bible gives a very clear account of the beginning of the Church, and it is clear the early church was filled with the authority and power of the Holy Spirit. We know that miracles, signs, and wonders were common in the early church. So, why was the early church so different from the Jewish temple and synagogues? The difference was that the Holy Spirit lived in the Believer and not just on the Believer. The coming of the Holy Spirit to live in the Believer was not a temporary event, and it wasn’t just something needed at the beginning of the church. The Holy Spirit is the One who enables us to live the Christian life, and it still comes with authority and power. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and distinguishes Christianity from all other religions then and now!
Our Authority.
The word authority in the New Testament is defined as follows; Exousia, Gk.; delegated influence or authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength. (Used 72 times in the New Testament)
Simply put, authority means that we have the right and privilege to do something. The source of our Authority is in the fact that our citizenship is heaven, and we are ambassadors for Christ on earth.
- Philippians 3:20, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”
- 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God?”
Can you see that our authority comes from the Lord as ambassadors and citizens of heaven? In the natural, when a head of state sends an ambassador to another country, that ambassador represents the one who sent him; that is authority. In essence, the ambassador speaks and acts for the one who sent him. We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ and represent Him on earth with authority.
Recall in Matthew 16 when Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say I am?” And Peter responded by saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Listen to what Jesus said to Peter and all who were listening in Matthew 16:17, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
This statement shows that Peter had a personal revelation of who Jesus was. The Lord spoke to Peter in his heart and showed him the truth of Jesus; He was the Savior, God in the flesh! However, Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 16:18, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Some like to think that Jesus was building the church upon Peter, but if that were the case, then Jesus would have said, “you are Peter and on you I will build my church.” Instead, Jesus says, “on this rock”; the rock Jesus was speaking of was the Rock of personal revelation and faith in Jesus. It’s interesting to note that the name Peter (Petros Gk.) means “little rock,” and rock (Petra Gk.) means massive rock. Again, confirming that Peter is not the rock of the church, but Jesus is the rock! 1 Corinthians 10:4, “and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”
Keys of the Kingdom
Matthew 16:19, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Jesus is saying as my representative I give you authority (keys) to ask for anything that is allowed (loosed) in Heaven and to resist or defeat (bind) anything not permitted in Heaven.
Binding and loosing is not permission to do whatever you think or want but is permission to follow the pattern of the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember, Jesus came preaching the “good news of the kingdom.” Part of the good news is that we have the authority and power to resist and bind all the works of the enemy, the devil. We also have the authority and power in the Holy Spirit to loose the power found in the Gospel of salvation.
Our Promised Power.
The word power is defined as dynamis, Gk.; force; miraculous power, ability, abundance, strength, (wonderful) work. (Used 119 times). Dynamis is the root of the word dynamite.
The source of our power as Christians is in the Holy Spirit, the Person of God living in the Believer. Jesus Himself promised the Holy Spirit in Luke 24:49, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. That word “endued” literally means to be “clothed” in the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we use terms like being filled or led, or guided by the Holy Spirit to describe one who is moving in the Spirit of God.
We see the fulfillment of the promise in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”The word “power” in this verse is the word dynamis, which is explosive or miracle-working power!
Jesus said He has all authority in heaven and on earth; He has imparted that authority through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have spiritual authority.
Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came 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 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
That is the Great Commission, and as ambassadors of Christ, this is our responsibility. The great news is that Jesus didn’t expect us to do it all in our own strength; He gave us the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to accomplish what He called us to do.
A final thought – You have not because you ask not.
James 4:1-3 teaches us a principle: “you have not because you ask not.” As Believers, we often turn to our own strength and abilities or look to other people instead of asking the Lord to empower us with His Holy Spirit.
Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
John 16:24, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
When we ask the Lord with the right motives, then the Lord will move on our behalf. The key is to ask for Him instead of things. Luke 11:13, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Remember, when you came to Jesus, you surrendered your life to Him, believing that He could do a better job with your life. Moving in the authority and power of the Holy Spirit also requires surrendering. More about that in the next episode.