Untitled Sermon (2)

Wuest's Word Studies

() He ordained. The verb is the simple word poieō (ποιεω) “to make.” That is, He made twelve, constituted them as a compact body.

That they should be with Him. The verb is present subjunctive, thus durative in action. One purpose of our Lord in forming the Twelve was that they might constantly be with Him. This would be their preliminary training.

That He might send them forth. The verb is apostellō (ἀποστελλω), “to send off from one’s self, furnished with credentials, with a commission to act as one’s representative and accomplish a certain mission.” The noun apostolos (ἀποστολος) which comes from the verb, and from which we derive our word “apostle,” was used for an envoy, an ambassador. Thus, the Twelve were to be His ambassadors.

To preach. The verb is kērussō (κηρυσσω). The word means “to make a public proclamation with such gravity, formality, and authority as must be heeded.” That was to be the manner of their delivery as they gave out the proclamation of the gospel.

To have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out devils. “Power” is not the translation of dunamis (δυναμις), used in of the supernatural power of God, but of exousia (ἐξουσια) which means here, “delegated authority.” God did not put His supernatural power into the hands of the Twelve to be exercised by them. He delegated to them the authority to cast out demons in the sense that they would speak the word declaring the casting out, and God’s power (dunamis (δυναμις)) would cast out the demon. The words “to heal sicknesses” are not in the Nestle text. It is most unfortunate that the a.v., translates diabolos (διαβολος) which means “devil,” and daimonion (δαιμονιον) which means “demon,” by the one word “devil.” There is one Devil, and many demons. Furthermore, the Devil is a fallen angel, whereas demons belong to a different category of beings.

Translation. And He constituted twelve in order that they might constantly be with Him, and in order that He might send them forth as ambassadors with credentials, representing Him, to accomplish a certain task, that of making a proclamation, and, being equipped with delegated authority, that of casting out the demons.

Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (Mk 3:13–14). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Mark 3:15 KJV 1900

And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

To have power (ἔχειν ἐξουσίαν). Note that he does not say to preach and to cast out, but to preach and to have authority to cast out. The power of preaching and the power of exorcising were so different that special mention is made of the divine authority with which they would need to be clothed. The power of driving out demons was given that they might apply it in confirmation of their teaching. Compare . Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word studies in the New Testament (Mk 3:15). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

God doesn’t need the strong; he can take the mediocre and give them the power of the Holy Spirit to raise the dead to life. In fact, both biblical history and church history teach that God actually prefers the weak to the strong, so that his grace may be made perfect in weakness. https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/author-index/silverio-gonzalez

According to the article, here's a rough breakdown of how Lakewood Church uses that 90 million dollar budget:

Weekly services and programs: $31.7 million

Night of Hope events: $6.7 million

TV ministry: $25.1 million

General and administrative: $11.5 million

Fundraising: $11.9 million

Mission and outreach: $1.2 million