All Power

The other day a verse of scripture came to me that I couldn't get out of my mind, so as I usually do at such times I started looking up the original meaning to what I consider to be the most important words in it. This particular verse has three words in it that I have high lighted below.

Matthew 28:18 … "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." K.J.V.

The reason I looked up the original meaning was because of the following thought that came to me while I was pondering on, reflecting deeply, (well at least thinking about) this verse … "If Jesus has been given all power, doesn't that mean that Satan does not have any power at all. If Jesus has it all, how can Satan have any?" Thinking about this question for a while, I thought … "Wow, could this really be true?"

So that brought a whole different set of thoughts, like … "Is this verse saying what the Book of Job alludes to; that when evil comes knocking on your door, it is only because a powerless devil has been given the approval and the power to do so by God Himself?"

Job sees his trials as commissioned from God. Remember what Job told his wife when she told him to curse God and die? Jobs reply was … "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"

This same thought was also affirmed by Amos in the form of a question … "Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?"

So, after some reflection on these thoughts, I looked up this same verse in my Amplified Bible and found it used a different word in place of power. It read … "Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me."

Okay, now I'm confused; so I went straight to the Greek to get the meanings of the three words in question.

The word all means … (Greek is Pas) … "all, any, every, the whole … as all of it."

The word power means … (Greek is Exousia) … "Power in the sense of ability: that is by force, capacity, competency, freedom, mastery; Power as a magistrate: potentate, control, delegated influence, authority, jurisdiction, power, right, strength."

The word given means … (Greek is Didomi) … "by implication to give: bestow, commit, bring forth and grant."

The conclusion I arrived at is … all (pās) authority to use that power (exousia) has been bestowed, committed (didomi) or given unto Jesus.

Jesus made this astounding claim in this verse, speaking as one already in heaven with the resources of heaven at His command. His authority and power in His earthly life had been great … but now it is boundless … and includes both heaven and earth.

I found the following statement about this verse from … Albert Barnes.

"The Son of God as the Word and Creator of the universe had an original right to all things and to control them and even dispose of them. But as the resurrected Christ, who redeemed His people, the universe is now put under Him that He might defend His Church; that He might subdue all their enemies.

It is in reference to this, that Jesus speaks here of the power and authority committed to Him over all things, that He might redeem, defend, and save the church purchased with His own blood.

His power and authority extends, therefore, over the material world, over angels, over devils, over wicked men, and over His own people."

So … if I understand this discourse by Albert Barnes, he also is saying "all, meaning all of it, the whole sum total" of all power and the authority to use and control that power has been given to Jesus; therefore I may conclude that any power and authority Satan had, has been taken away from him and given back to Jesus.

John Gill speaking to the same thing says …

"When Jesus says 'all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth' it must be understood of Him governing … with all power and authority … over the affairs of the world.

This power of His reached to things in heaven, having the angels subject to Him as ministering spirits sent forth by Him; and to things on earth, not only to the saints, but to all flesh, to kings who rule and reign; even to all the wicked of the world, who in some shape or form are made to be subservient to His plans and purpose.

This power is not usurped power, but what is given Him, and what He has a right to exercise; having finished sin, abolished death, overcome the world, and destroyed the devil."

What John Gill has stated is confirmed in scripture …

Hebrews 2: 14-15 … "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

Even though Gill and the writer of Hebrews states that the devil has been destroyed, we know he is still around. He is a spirit being and cannot die. So what does it mean?

1st John 3:8 … "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

The Amplified Bible reads this way … "The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil has done."

What are the works of the devil? Would I be wrong to say that both sickness and disease are works of the devil? What about hate and murder or crimes of physical lust committed against women and children that are too vile and morally reprehensible to list here? Would works of the devil also include his plans of spiritual evil to take control over the hearts and minds of government leaders around the world?

What about things in the church like fear, worry, pride, greed or malicious gossip we sometimes call … "sharing?" And then there is the greatest of Satan's works, the only thing that prevents us from receiving from God … doubt and unbelief.

Do we have the right to question the thought that "all power" that is or ever was is now contained in Jesus? I ask because most of us still have some power within our own bodies. We can pick up a hammer and use our physical power to drive a nail.

That's not the power Jesus was talking about. I don't want to confuse the power of physical strength or the force applied to an object with the power of authority. There is a difference. But then again … even our physical power has been given to us by God.

The only power and authority we have in and of ourselves is called choice, our free will, and even that has been given to man by God's decree, to use as we see fit. And as I have found out thru experience, it is easy to even mess that up.

The Apostle Peter said that Satan parades around the world as a roaring lion … which he is not. Jesus is the Lion. Even if the devil appears to be, Jesus pulled Satan's teeth when He defeated and destroyed the power of this evil being. Don't listen to the lies of a powerless, toothless, defeated devil.

And isn't that just like Satan … trying to imitate Jesus?

Ignore him and he will go away.


Comments welcome.