Accessing Jesus’s Authority

David W Palmer

(Matthew 7:28–29 DKJV) And it came to be, that when Jesus had finished these words, the people were astonished at his instruction, {29} for he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

When Jesus concluded his “Sermon on the Mount” (as it has come to be known), his audience was impacted by the “authority” of his teaching. This is because he was speaking prophetically, by revelation directly from his Father. It was the living Word—the word received by revelation from heaven, believed, spoken, and acted on—that carried the authority—not title, position, pomp, professionalism, or prowess.

Jesus is God’s living word in action. When he rose from the dead he said, “All authority is given to me.” That is, the living Word of God has all authority; his name is above every name; at his name, every knee shall bow:

(Matthew 28:18–20 KJV2000} And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, “All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. {19} Go you therefore, and teach all 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 whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

We note that immediately after Jesus—the living Word—declared that he now has all authority, he said, “Go you therefore and teach …” He said this because the authority resides in the word. As we teach the word, we release the person with the power. This is where the authority is; it’s in his word when it comes to us by revelation. Included in that revelation is: “All things whatsoever I have commanded you.” When we speak the living Word, act on it, believe it, and confess it, then we have with us the one with all power; “I am with you always.” He is with us as the living, anointed Word of God. (Note: by saying, “anointed,” we are saying that the Holy Spirit is with us, and that he works in conjunction with God’s word.)

We see this confirmed in Mark’s account:

(Mark 16:20 NLT) And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

Again, we see that the authority is in the spoken word. In Matthew, Jesus said to “teach” it; in Mark, he told them to “preach” it. But we see clearly that the Lord confirmed the word that was preached—not the preachers. There is revelation in this for us today if we will receive it:

{1} Signs and Wonders always and only ever confirm the living Word, Jesus—not any other person, preacher, teacher, or prophet. Note how Peter in the following passage states definitively that signs and wonders confirm Jesus and no one else:

(Acts 2:22 NLT) “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.”

Any signs, wonders, miracles, healings, exorcisms, or mighty works ever done in Jesus’s name, always and only “endorse Jesus”; they confirm that he is God’s son, that he is resurrected, and that he is all-powerful:

(Romans 1:4 NKJV) Declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

So when we, or anyone else, are used by God to work these signs through the authority of God’s word, in Jesus’s name, and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, it is actually Jesus—the living anointed word of God—who is doing them. They confirm him.

{2} If we receive revelation from our Father in heaven; and if, like Jesus and the apostles, we declare it and act on it where and when he directs; all authority in heaven and on earth backs that word. God watches over his word to perform it (Jer. 1:12).

Today, Jesus wants to encourage you:

(Matthew 10:27 NLT) “What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!”

All the authority bestowed on Jesus is available to help you. Take Jesus’s advice; sit at his feet, listen to his word, and meditate on scripture—pray over it and chew it over until light dawns and revelation comes. Then as that living word takes root in your heart, and you believe it, begin to speak it. You can confess God’s living Word as your faith confession, renew your mind with it, pray it at the throne of grace, sing it in praise, shout it in warfare, and speak it in teaching, preaching, and prophecy. He will prevail against all circumstances, enemies, and blockages.

The living word of God is God (John 1:1–3, 14). He has all—every bit of—authority in heaven and on earth. Nothing is higher, greater, nor can prevail against him. Nevertheless, he is your friend; he loves you, and he is on your side. The living Word of God is available to help you today.