All Authority in Heaven and on Earth has been Given to Jesus Christ in Resurrection

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ, the Son of Man who died and resurrected, and now He is the Head of the Body, transmitting this authority to the Body of Christ so that we may go and disciple all the nations and baptize them into the Triune God! Hallelujah!

This week we come to the last nugget in the Gospel of Matthew concerning Christ, found in Matt. 28:16-20, and the title for this week’s morning revival is, Discipling All the Nations by Baptizing Them into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

In this portion two of the verses are very well known and beloved to most believers in Christ, who call them “the great commission” as they go to preach the gospel, evangelize the nations, and bring the word of God to all the people.

But actually this group of verses from Matt. 28:19-20 involve not just some activities, some going out to preach the gospel, and some charge to do this and that to bring the gospel to the whole inhabited earth.

What is involved here is much experience, enjoyment, and expression of Christ.

We Christians are not just commissioned to go and preach the gospel; we have to first experience and enjoy Christ, and then we can express Him.

Many Christians, however, respond to this greatest commission by going here and there and speaking the gospel, and it is not wrong to do this.

However, we need to go deeper and higher than this.

We need to respond to the Lord’s speaking and take His charge to first experience Christ, enjoy Christ, and then we can express Christ.

We need to realize who the Lord is, be infused with Him, be immersed in Him, and be filled with Him.

Furthermore, we need to realize that He as the Head of the Body and the Sender is the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth, and He has given us this greatest authority to go in His name and baptize people into the Triune God!

Jesus Christ is the King. He is the King of the heavenly kingdom, and He is establishing His kingdom on the earth.

His kingdom, however, is not outward; it is in the hearts of man, and it is a spiritual kingdom.

The gospel of Matthew as the first book in the New Testament tells us of the heavenly King, Jesus Christ, coming to set up His kingdom on the earth.

He wants to have a realm and a sphere where He can exercise His dominion and authority.

He wants to gain a realm in which He can freely work out what He desires, which is mainly to work Himself into His chosen people.

May we today in the church life offer Him and be such a realm, the kingdom of God in reality, for Him to do what He wants to do and to express Himself to this whole universe.

All Authority in Heaven and on Earth has been Given to Jesus Christ, the Resurrected Son of Man

In Matt. 28:18 the Lord Jesus said, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. The One who has the supreme authority in this universe is God. God is the supreme authority, and He has all authority (Rom. 9:20-21).

Jesus Christ is God, and in His divinity, He has all the authority in heaven and on earth.

No man has authority except God.

He is the supreme authority and He has the supreme authority. Authority issues from God’s own being (Rev. 22:1).

Authority in society today is spoiled and spoiling, for unless God has the supreme authority and He is taken as the Lord and King, there’s no way for proper authority to be exercised.

Authority is something that issues from God’s own being.

From the throne of God and of the Lamb flows a river of water of life, flowing out God’s authority and supplying everyone with God’s life.

All authority today – whether governmental, positional, or spiritual, derives from God (Gen. 9:6; Rom. 13:1-7; John 19:10-11; 2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10).

This is why we need to obey the authorities God set over us, for all authority derives from God and is from God.

As we walk on our Christian journey today we must realize this and come to this conviction that in this universe God is the absolute supreme authority, and we all are under His authority.

In our Christian life and church life, God is the supreme authority.

If we submit to God’s authority, we will go on with Him and grow in life in a normal way.

Under God, there are many deputy authorities in our human society, in the government, in our family, at our workplace, and in the church life.

The world today is full of rebellion, and many say that there’s no such thing as authority today, especially since there’s no God who has all authority.

But today in the church we must realize that God is the supreme authority, and we need to submit ourselves to His authority.

And it is not just God who has authority: as Matt. 28:18 shows us, God gave Christ all authority in heaven and on earth.

On one hand, Christ as the Son of God has full authority over all things.

But this One became a man, and in His humanity as a man, He was given all authority after His resurrection.

When Christ was on the earth, He did not yet full authority over everything in heaven and on earth, but after His death and resurrection, God gave Him all authority.

Now it is not just God as the almighty Creator who has all authority but a man, Jesus Christ, also has all authority in heaven and on earth. Hallelujah!

Jesus Christ as the King of the heavenly kingdom came, sowed the seed of the kingdom, spoke the decrees of the kingdom, healed people for God’s kingdom, and was given all authority in heaven and on earth to bring many into God’s kingdom after His resurrection! Praise the Lord!

In His divinity, as the only begotten Son of God, the Lord had authority over all. However, in His humanity, as the Son of Man and the King of the heavenly kingdom, authority in heaven and on earth was given to Christ after His resurrection.

Never before had a man been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

But here is Jesus Christ, a man who submitted Himself to be under God’s authority, living a human life in which he learned obedience through the things which He suffered, who was given all authority! Amen!

He submitted to the Father’s will and under His authority, and after He was crucified and resurrected, this resurrected God-man was given all authority in heaven and on earth! Praise the Lord! This is a great matter.

Today on the throne in the heavens sits not just God but also a man, Jesus Christ.

The resurrected Son of Man, Jesus Christ, was given all authority in heaven and on earth.

A man is now in glory, and His life is for us! He fully submitted Himself to God’s will, He died on the cross, and He was resurrected and ascended by God, and now He is on the throne!

Jesus Christ is Lord of all! He is the King of kings, and He is the One with all authority in heaven and on earth as the Son of Man!

In the Gospel of John, a gospel of life, we see that Jesus Christ came after His resurrection in a room where His disciples were gathered and breathed into them the Holy Spirit for their life (John 20:22).

But in the Gospel of Matthew, a gospel on the kingdom, we see that the Lord asked His disciples to meet Him at a particular mountain, and He was ascended before them, saying that He was given all authority in heaven and on earth.

On the side of life, the Lord became a life-giving Spirit to breathe Himself into us and be our life for us to be the citizens of His heavenly kingdom, the kingdom of God.

On the side of the kingdom of God, God’s authority, Christ as the resurrected Son of Man was given all authority in heaven and on earth, and we share in His authority to bring others into God’s kingdom. Praise the Lord!

On the side of life, we enjoy Christ as our life and shepherd the lambs in God’s flock with His life.

On the side of the kingdom, we share in Christ’s authority to bring in God’s kingdom, live in God’s kingdom, and become the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today so that we may enter into its manifestation in the coming age.

Lord Jesus, we praise You as the resurrected Son of Man who was given all authority in heaven and on earth! Hallelujah, Jesus Christ as the Son of Man went through death and in His resurrection He was made Lord of all! Wow, there is a Man in glory, and He has all authority in heaven and on earth! Praise the Lord! What a wonderful and glorious One! Thank You, Lord, for not only coming to us in Your resurrection to impart Your life into us for us to be living believers as members of Your Body but also having all authority! Hallelujah, Christ as the Son of Man was raised and was given all authority in heaven and on earth! Praise the Lord, Christ as the Head of the Body has all authority, and we are joined to Him! Amen, Lord, we go out in Your name and with Your authority to preach the gospel and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Triune God! Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, the One to whom we’re joined organically in spirit to share in His authority!

Spiritual Authority is to Shepherd others and Build them up, and also to Deal with God’s Enemy

Because the matter of authority has been spoiled by the enemy today, nobody wants to talk about it nor do they want to admit that there is authority.

The matter of authority has been misunderstood and misapplied both in society and in the church.

What we see in the Bible is that, according to God’s view, there are two main aspects of spiritual authority: the positive aspect to serve the saints, shepherd them, and build them up, and the negative aspect to deal with God’s enemy.

In the church life today spiritual authority is not something official but something in life.

The positive aspect of spiritual authority is to serve the saints, to shepherd them, to supply them, and to build them up (see Matt. 20:25-28; 2:6; 24:45; 2 Cor. 10:8).

Paul said that he was given authority not to tear others down but to build them up and shepherd them.

Authority is something of life and in life, and spiritual authority is never meant for controlling people, or suppressing or damaging them.

Spiritual authority is with those who have a certain measure of growth in life so that they build up others, shepherd them, and supply them with God as life.

Such ones live under the throne of God, drinking the river of water of life flowing from God’s throne, and they supply others with God’s life.

In Heb. 13:17 we are told to obey the ones leading us and submit to them, for they watch over our souls as those who will render an account.

Here we see that we need to obey the leading ones but not in a blind way or because “they have authority from God” but because they watch over our souls, caring for us and shepherding us in love, for they will render an account to God for us.

We obey not the office of authority or the position of authority but we obey the leading of the saints who lead us and care for us.

This is the positive side of spiritual authority.

Spiritual authority is not for destroying the saints or controlling them; spiritual authority is not for directing the saints what to do or asking them to change this or that in their life or living.

Spiritual authority is mainly for shepherding the saints, nourishing the saints, supplying the saints, and building up the saints.

We can have spiritual authority by growing in life and by gaining more Christ.

Even though we may have good things, gain others’ praises, be gentle and mild, and be zealous in our work, we may still have no authority.

Spiritual authority is in the church, and the church is upheld by Christ.

The church is built upon Christ, and Christ Himself is the building material of the church; the amount of Christ in us determines the amount of authority we have.

May we grow in life and allow Christ to be wrought into us so that we may share in His authority and shepherd others according to God.

The negative aspect of spiritual authority is to deal with the enemy and the things related to him.

God’s authority was given to man to deal with the enemy and subdue him (Gen. 1:26), and the church shares in God’s authority to bind the enemy and lose those who are under his usurpation.

As the church, we stand one with Christ on earth today to exercise His authority to bind the enemy, and deal with him and all the things related to him.

Again, spiritual authority is not to control, direct, or damage others; it is to build the saints up by shepherding them, and it is to cause the enemy to suffer loss so that God’s kingdom would advance in man.

May the Lord recover proper spiritual authority among us today in the church life.

Lord Jesus, we want to know You, enjoy You, and be filled with You. Work Yourself into us. Grow in us. Make Your home in our heart. We want to gain more of Christ today. May the element of Christ in us increase day by day. Amen, Lord, grow in all the saints. May the element of Christ increase in all the saints. We pray for the proper exercise of spiritual authority in the church life today. May spiritual authority be exercised so that the saints may be shepherded, supplied, and built up. May there be no controlling or directing the saints; may there be much enjoyment of Christ and feeding on Christ so that we may grow in life. Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to enjoy You and shepherd the saints, exercising Your authority to feed others. Thank You for making us one with You and for giving us Your authority. We stand one with You as the church and we exercise Your authority to deal with the enemy and all the things related to him. Amen, may Your kingdom come in the church life and on the earth today!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother James Lee in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Matthew, msg. 72, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2024 July Semiannual Training), week 3, Discipling All the Nations by Baptizing Them into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Authority and Fellowship, via, Shepherding Words.
  – Honor and authority, a portion from, Conclusion of the New Testament, The (Msgs. 050-062), Chapter 12, by Witness Lee.
  – What is the kingdom of God? More via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Allowing the Lord to take over our mind, emotion, and will, a portion from, The Experience of Christ as Life for the Building Up of the Church, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
  – How Should Christians Respond to the World Situation? More via, Bibles for America blog.
  – A man on the throne, a portion from, Christ as the Reality, Chapter 17, by Witness Lee.
  – Resurrection and Authority, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Shepherding and ministering life, a portion from, All Ages for the Lord’s Testimony, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – Concerning Spiritual Authority, via, A Faithful Witness.
  – Properly Discerning Spiritual Authority to Rightly Follow the Lord, via, A Faithful Word.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Praise Him! Christ hath now ascended! / God hath raised Him to the throne! / Far above all rule and power, / He the highest Name doth own! / All authority receiving / Till His foe is overthrown! (Hymns #124 stanza 3)
  – Today we must learn to submit to His throne, / How to have a strict life and His government own; / His authority then we’ll be able to share, / O’er the nations to rule with God’s Son as the heir. / With a life strict to self we must righteousness hold, / Kind to others in peace, and with God joyful, bold; / In the Kingdom’s reality e’er to remain, / For its manifestation prepared thus to reign. (Hymns #947 stanzas 3-4)
  – By the blood of Christ the Victor / Claim His full authority; / Just apply the blood of Jesus / And defeat the enemy. / By the blood of Christ the Victor / Standing in the heavenlies; / In the pow’r of Christ ascended, / Tread the principalities. (Hymns #889 stanzas 5-6)