“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:19
The word authority comes from the Greek word “exousia”, which means “having the right to do or to manage something” and the word “power” is translated from the Greek word “dunamis”, which means power or an ability to do something that is desired.
Authority is given by someone of a higher position and from a specific relationship. It is positional and relational in nature. We cannot obtain authority by ourselves, but power can be obtained by doing particular exercises. A person can have power without having authority. But a person will surely have power if he has authority.
The Bible says that Jesus has received all authority (exousia) in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18. Those who believe in Him and accept Jesus as their Savior have been moved from the sin zone to the blessing zone. Here, our status has changed into born-again believers. We have become children of God, and we receive the authority to use the name of Jesus. After that, we must be baptized and be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to have the power to do the will of God and lead a victorious and peaceful life, Acts 1:8.
As long as you live in an intimate relationship with Jesus and are willing to do His commandments with obedience and sincere heart, the authority and power will always follow us. Authority will be ineffective without obedience. Jesus can do anything with the authority from the Father because His obedience is so great towards the Father.
On the contrary, if our lives did not align with the Word of God, we would be spiritually dry and we would become Christians who are easily defeated by our circumstances. We would be easily weakened by sickness and disease, financial problems, family problems, and so on. In order for us to walk from one victory upon another, we must know what kind of authority Jesus has given to those who have been born again and become the children of God.
The first one is the authority to win souls. Children of God have the power to set people free from the bondage of sin because of the divine authority. Prayers over these people will move the Holy Spirit to work and convict them of their sins. Our lives’ testimonies will cause them to understand that it is not enough just to be a good person, but we need the gift of salvation from God through Jesus Christ.
The second one is an authority to cast out demons. The power of darkness that results in fears, worries, disputes, and condemnation will flee at our command. The spirit that is in us, i.e. the Holy Spirit, is greater than the evil spirits.
The third one is the authority to heal sickness. We will even have the power of healing miracle, both physical healing, and spiritual healing. The Holy Spirit will work as we exercise our authority, so that the Word of God we proclaim will not be in vain, but instead brings a confirmation and has power.
Source: GBI Gatot Subroto Article