Released with Authority

Our theme for 2024 is “Possessing the Land”

Last year I preached a series on 1 Corinthians entitled “The Spirit-filled church.

It was about this church in the Gentile world living at the intersection of spiritual reality and one of the darkest places on earth.

A year later, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church again.

Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthian church is to not just be filled with the Spirit, but to release the Spirit.

In this series we learn that we carry the Presence of God with us to change the atmosphere wherever we go.

Released to Comfort - 2 Corinthians 1-2.

Released to Shine - 2 Corinthians 3-4.

Released as Ambassadors - 2 Corinthians 5-6:11

Released as Sons and Daughters -2 Cor 6:12-7.

Released to be Generous - 2 Cor 8-9.

Released to Engage the Darkness - 2 Cor 10-11

Released to Follow Christ - 2 Cor 11:16-12:11

Being released to bring the Presence of God to the world through the Spirit is a sacred trust.

We are entrusted with the authority of Christ to bring about His purpose in the earth.

That is not something we should take lightly.

Firs,t it is important to recognize what authority in Christ is not, or what it does not make me.

Then it is important to recognize what my authority in Christ really is and what it means.

As Paul closes his second letter to Corinth, he releases his authority in Christ in a way that authorized them and us to do the same.

What authority does not make me.

When I say, “Our authority in Christ,” what does that make you think of?

Power over evil spirits?

Power to heal the sick or raise the dead?

The ability to storm the gates of hell?

The commission to spread the gospel?

Authority is often misunderstood.

First, it is not authority to do whatever you want.

Authority is given for a purpose and it serves the purpose for which it is given.

Second, authority is not the same as power, but they do go hand-in-hand.

A police officer has a gun and a badge. The gun is power and the badge is authority. The gun gives him the power to enforce the law, the badge gives him the authority to use it, if necessary. However, the badge only authorizes him to use his power or authority for the purpose of enforcing the law to which he is also subject.

Spiritual authority is like that too.

Our authority in Christ is only useful if we are aligned with and submitted to Christ.

Yes, It is great to be authorized as a servant of Christ - but it doesn’t make me anything special apart from Him.

I’m not superman.

2 Corinthians 12:11–13 ESV

11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

Have you ever put a person on a pedestal, only to find out that they are human like you?

Have you ever thought that some evangelist or TV preacher walks on a cloud of spiritual superiority.

Maybe you think that your favorite Bible teacher prays and studies the Bible all day long - like they have no need for food, rest or going to the bathroom.

Maybe you think that your pastor is just the most wonderful person who never gets offended or annoyed at people - just kidding - nobody thinks that!

The point is that we construct a fantasy image of people that we consider to be spiritual.

Paul says that signs and wonders were part of his ministry in Corinth, but that’s not enough.

They don’t like it that he is admitting to his weakness.

They want him to preserve the illusion of his celebrity status.

Paul doesn’t want that - because it is not true.

But it also means that they are focusing too much on him and too little on Christ.

Paul isn’t going to play the celebrity game.

He doesn’ want honor for Himself - he wants them to honor his calling and purpose with the appropriate response to Christ.

Paul says-

I am not going to impose on you.

2 Corinthians 12:14–18 ESV

14 Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

Celebrity culture honors the celebrity and everyone else gets their honor by being associated with the celebrity.

We worship the celebrity like a god.

We then drop their name in conversations, take selfies with them, and quote or share their social media posts.

Until they disappoint us - then we drop them like a hot potato.

“I never was really a fan, I just wanted to see what all the hype was about.”

Paul doesn’t want the celebrity role - he describes himself more like a parent.

“I’m not in it for what you can do for me, I’m in it for you.”

Do you want proof? Not only have I not asked for anything, everything I have done was without strings attached.

I supported myself and my coworkers.

I didn’t get anything from anyone that I sent to you.

I keep coming back, even though I am not profiting from the arrangement.

The world doesn’t understand how the kingdom works.

Nobody, humanly speaking, does anything unless there is something in it for them.

John 4:34 MSG

34 Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started.

What we do for Christ also has a benefit, but not directly.

The benefit comes in terms of seeing God’s will accomplished.

The reward is literally “out of this world!”

Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that while he is a spiritual person, he is also human with his own weakness and insecurity.

But what keeps him going is not focusing on his own needs or desires but on that of Christ.

The Corinthian are so used to being used by people, especially by their leaders that they don’t know how to receive genuine care.

Paul assures them that he is not using them, but -

I’m not wasting my time either.

2 Corinthians 12:19–21 ESV

19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

Do you want to know what Paul fears the most? - wasting his time.

The greatest fear of Paul and many leaders is that even though they pour themselves and their lives into ministry, there are no guarantees.

I can give my time, my energy, even sacrifice and suffer for the sake of the gospel, but I can’t make anybody a better person.

I can’t change people, only God can do that.

And God will only do that as people respond willingly to God.

And the scary thing about all of that is that nothing I can do assures me that people will respond of their own free will.

In fact, I have poured my heart and soul into people only to have them walk away from God, and sometimes they have turned on me as well.

Paul and I have that experience in common.

So why do I still do what I do? - God question - sometimes I wish I had a good answer.

Oh, that’s right, I do it because I love God and I owe Him my life.

Sometimes when I am hurting over people who have made wrong choices, it actually draws me closer to God.

God reminds me that it’s not me they are rejecting, it’s Him.

And that even I have turned away from Him at times, but He was always there for me anyway.

And I want to be there too, even for those whose behavior frustrates me.

Having Christ’s authority means getting His heart for the world.

You are going to be misunderstood - do not use your authority to retaliate - that’s not what Jesus did.

You are going to be rejected - do not use your authority to curse people - that’s not what Jesus did.

Sometimes it is going to feel like you are not getting anywhere - do not use your authority to coerce, manipulate or otherwise override a person’s will - Jesus wouldn’t do that, you shouldn’t either.

It not about me or you, it is about Him!

Being Christ’s representative in the world is only going to work to the degree that I am in Christ and He is working through me.

So if authority isn’t being able to do what I want, then what is it?

What my authority in Christ really is.

Some of these answers may not be so different from what you first though.

But it was necessary to talk about what they are not before we talk about what they are.

Perhaps after identifying our own insecurity and selfish desires and taking that out of the picture, we can better see the difference that Christ makes.

Remember, this is not about me and what I can do, this is about Christ in me.

Christ in me is power.

2 Corinthians 13:1–4 ESV

1 This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 2 I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them— 3 since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

Do not interpret honesty and transparency as weakness.

Paul’s confession of his own struggles does not disqualify him from bringing the correction that is needed.

Some leaders thing that in order to have the authority to bring correction, they have to have this air of mystery - like they are above everyone else.

Paul turns that idea on its head. It is the fact that he is honest before God and others that gives him the moral authority to bring correction.

He is not doing anything that he would not do himself.

Matthew 7:1 ESV

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.

That line is followed by a parable.

Matthew 7:5 ESV

5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

The implication is not that we should never judge, but that we can only judge when we allow ourselves to be judged.

Paul has just spent his entire letter baring his soul to the church.

He has a right to ask them to do the same.

He is not placing himself above them, he is meeting them on equal terms.

In the beginning we talked about the difference between power and authority.

Power accompanies our authority when our words are backed up with action.

That means we actually do what we preach.

It means we don’t expect other people to live to a standard that we have not practiced ourselves.

It also means that when we bring correction, we do not come down on people because we are right there with them.

We know what it feels like to be corrected.

We have wrestled through the agony of our own repentance.

And we are in awe of the grace of God in our own lives.

And that is what gives us the power to have extraordinary grace and patience with others.

That is power!

Not the power to dominate, but the power to be under control.

Does that change the way you see power and authority?

Christ in me is truth.

2 Corinthians 13:5–8 ESV

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

Paul is calling for radical honesty!

Do you want to walk in spiritual authority? - you need radical honesty.

Why? Because the enemy will accuse you - that’s what he does!

He will try to find your weakness.

He will constantly remind you of your weakness.

He will try to define you as your weakness.

The only way to overcome that is with truth.

Yes, I did that - God and everyone else knows about it - I’m not hiding anything.

No, that is not who I am - I have turned from that - I have repented and I’m forgiven.

NO, that does not disqualify me, if anything it qualifies me because I can help someone overcome in the same way I have overcome.

Devil, if you have anything else to say, you can take it up with Jesus!

John 8:32 ESV

32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Do you see how walking in the truth helps you to have authority in Christ?

Authority comes from facing the truth about yourself honestly.

But along with it, you need to internalize the truth of who Christ says that you are.

We are not pretending to be someone that we are not - that’s what celebrities do.

We are honest and transparent about our weakness, but also appropriately confident about who we are in Christ.

And wherever we may still fall short, we are confident that Jesus is taking care of that too.

Christ in me is restoration.

2 Corinthians 13:9–10 ESV

9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Sometimes we admire people in ministry, but we have no idea what they are actually going through.

We may be jealous of someone, but we don’t know what it is like to be in their shoes.

Most of the people that I know who have great ministries have also overcome insurmountable odds to become the person they are today.

Paul is making light of the fact that the Corinthian church is treating ministry like it is this prestigious position, but they don’t seem to account for the way he and others are suffering to make that possible.

We tend to celebrate people’s successes, but forget what it took to get there.

And in some ways that may be appropriate, because it is the product of the transformation that we are celebrating, not the means.

What is important to remember is that God is all about transformation and restoration.

Suffering is not the goal, it is sometimes the means to get there.

We don’t glorify suffering, we glorify God.

This is important to the discussion of authority, because authority serves a purpose.

It is the will of God to transform and to restore.

We don’t use our authority to tear people down, because that is not what God is doing.

Authority is not “because we can” but “because He wills.”

That is what authority is - and it is what it is because of what it does.

So lets also look at the goal of authority to make sure that we are in alignment with God’s purpose.

What that authority means.

So in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, these verses are some final greetings,

but we can also see them as summary statements or conclusions.

Paul’s letter has been an attempt to win them over by asserting authority and not in the way they might expect.

Let’s see what Paul’s goal really is.

It means my aim is always positive.

2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Sometimes we have to have difficult conversations, but the goal is always peace.

Paul had to stir things up a bit, but the goal was ultimately comfort and restoration.

Honesty sometimes gets messy, but the goal is always positive.

Only an evil person actually tries to create chaos and we are not evil.

God is good and he cannot be otherwise.

God will always turn bad things into good things.

We have to know that that is always His goal.

And that is the goal of the authority that he gives us.

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

God’s purpose is good.

His authority is good.

And those who are aligned with his purpose and authority are always working toward what is good.

It means my attitude is loving.

2 Corinthians 13:12–13 ESV

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you.

Here’s a command in the Bible that we don’t usually preach on or follow.

I used to know a guy in the old order Mennonite church where they did practice this literally - He said it was the most awkward command in scripture.

But whether you practice it or not, here is the application of it.

You have to be constantly checking your attitude to see if it is loving.

Whether you kiss or not, we are still commanded to love.

1 John 3:11 ESV

11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

When it comes to authority and working toward God’s goodness another way to say it is to keep our attitudes loving.

If we allow resentment to turn to bitterness then our hearts are no longer loving.

Bitterness does not want what is best or even what is good for the other.

That is where our desires become tainted.

Our authority is then corrupted - we are on the wrong side.

Love is an indicator of our alignment with God and his purpose.

Romans 13:10 CSB

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

So instead of going around kissing everyone, maybe just consider just how awkward that might be, and why.

It means my identity is in Him.

2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

This is the bottom line - you are who you are because of:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came died and rose again for you.

That is grace - not that we did anything to deserve it - but that He willingly gave Himself for us.

Because of the love of God, who is Himself defined by love.

1 John 4:10 NLT

10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

That love now defines us as belonging to Him.

1 John 4:17 NLT

17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit means that we are united with Christ and with one another by His Spirit who lives in us and works through us.

His Spirit in us is the source of His power and the proof of His authority.

It is the Spirit who enables us to live both as spiritual beings and as a new humanity.

It is the Spirit who facilitates what is means to be in Christ.

Questions for reflection:

What do you think of when I talk about your authority in Christ? Do you think I must be talking about someone else? Does it seem like I’m describing some elite Christians? Or do you see yourself as in Christ with the authority that goes with it?

Does the subject of spiritual authority humble you? Does it make you examine yourself? Does it make you aspire to be who God say you are? Good! Then you are beginning to grasp what spiritual authority really means!

Why does God give you authority? What does He want you to do with it? How do you represent Him to the world around you? Do you see His assignment as part of who you are? Ask God to give you both grace and boldness to let Him work in you and through you.