Teaching Out of Authority

Matthew 7:29 - "because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."

Jesus taught as one who had authority. Where did Jesus get this authority? How can we teach out of authority.

Jesus got his authority from the Father and the Holy Spirit. Our teaching has authority when we have a strong relationship with Christ. Our authority comes out of spending quality time with the Lord. Our authority comes as we allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us. 

Jesus got His authority from a life of obedience and righteousness. In the same way, we will teach with authority out of a godly life. The reason being is that we will be in favor with the Lord. The reason being is that we will have already taken the speck out of our own eye before removing what is another persons eye. Our authority will come from our credibility and life experience.  People will accept our teaching more readily when they see that we live what we teach. We are able to teach with greater authority when we can speak out of life experiences. 

The teachers of the law did not teach with authority because they did not have a true relationship with the Father. They did not teach under the power of the Holy Spirit. People heeded John the Baptist's preaching because he spoke under the power of God's Spirit. The teachers of the could not teach with authority because the were hypocrites. They could not teach from life experience. Although they were well versed in the law, they focused on the letter of the law instead of the Spirit of the law. They taught as philosophers, and focused on man made laws.

Finally you can only teach with authority when you are under Christ's authority and the authority has been given to you from God.

Satan's Attack On Sonship

Galatians 4:4-7 - "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Because of what Christ did on the cross for us, we who believe in Him are now His sons. As sons, we have received the Spirit of God. It is this very Spirit that identifies us as God's sons and allows us to have the fulness of God in us. We have His character (DNA), authority, and are heirs with Christ. It is the very elevated position of honor and authority that Satan will attack.

In Matthew 4:1-11 where Jesus was tested by the devil, it is this very thing that Satan attacked and tried to discredit. Two times Satan tested Jesus by saying, "if you are the Son of God". The third time Satan came to Him. He tried to make Him give up or away His authority. If Jesus had fallen prey to one of these temptations, Satan would have the victory over him and render Him powerless to accomplish the mission His Father had sent Him on.

In this same way, Satan will attack our on sonship. If he can make us doubt our sonship, and the lofty positon we have in Christ, we have given him authority in our lives. If Satan can make us give up or give away our authority, he has won the battle. If we continue to yield our position, he will have the victory. If he can make us doubt our position in Christ or cause us to yield out position of authority, he rends us powerless to accomplish His mission through us. 

Remember Jesus said that God had given Him all authority, and in the same way he has given us all authority over sin and every work of the devil. (Matthew 28:16-20) The Bible says, that we are more than conquerors through Him. (Romans 8:37) The Bible says, we need to stand our ground and position that Christ has given us. (Ephesians 6:13) The word "stand" is commanded over 7 times in the epistles. Also, in over 8 other places, it tells us to "stand firm". Therefore, let us stand in what Christ has given us.