All Authority in Heaven and on Earth

Authority to Give Life

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All authority. The risen Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). What does Jesus do with all that authority?

The night before. On the night before the cross, Jesus “lifted up His eyes to heaven” and prayed, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You” (John 17:1).

The hour. The hour was the time of the cross. Jesus knew He was about to die for the sins of the world. Even then, He spoke to His Father about the authority He had been given.

Authority over all flesh. Jesus prayed, “as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him” (17:2). All flesh means every person.

Power used to give. Jesus uses His authority to give eternal life. The most powerful One in all creation is also the most generous.

Given, given, given. In one verse the Father gives the Son authority, the Son gives eternal life, and the Father gives people to the Son. Salvation is a gift from start to finish.

What eternal life is. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (17:3). Eternal life is more than living forever. It is knowing God.

Why we need it. Sin separates us from God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Paid for at the cross. Jesus prayed these words on His way to the cross. He would die for our sins and rise again, so that He could give eternal life to everyone who trusts Him.

A good King. Some rulers use their power to take from people. He uses His power to give. He gave His own life on the cross so that He could give eternal life to us.

Sent to give life. When Jesus sends His disciples to all nations, He sends them with the offer of life. Jesus said, “the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).

What this means for you. Jesus has the right to rule you, and He uses that right to give you life. Come to Him and trust Him. Then you will know God, now and forever.

Claim and prayer. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). On the night before the cross, Jesus had spoken of the same authority in prayer.

The hour has come. “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You” (John 17:1). The hour is the hour of the cross. The Son would be glorified by dying and being raised again.

Didomi. “As You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him” (17:2). Give is didomi (say: DEE-doh-mee), to give or grant. The Father gives the Son authority, the Son gives eternal life, and the Father gives a people to the Son.

All flesh. All flesh means all of humanity, weak and mortal. No person is outside the Son's authority.

Authority with a purpose. Jesus holds all authority for a reason: to give eternal life. His rule is the rule of a Savior.

Knowing God. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (17:3). Eternal life is a relationship with God that begins now and never ends.

The need. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Eternal life cannot be earned. It can only be given.

As many as the Father gives. Jesus said the same thing another way: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).

Glorified through the cross. The Son prayed for glory on His way to the cross. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Then the Father raised Him, and the risen Son claimed all authority on the mountain.

Go and give. The Great Commission is how eternal life reaches “as many as You have given Him.” The Son gives life, and His disciples carry the message to every nation.

For you. The One with authority over all flesh has authority over your life. Do not fear that authority. He uses it to give life. Come to Him, and He will not cast you out.

Head over All Things

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How great is His power? Paul prayed that believers would know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19). Exceeding means more than anything else.

Resurrection power. It is the same power “which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (1:20). No ruler, no angel and no enemy is above Him. The same mighty power is at work for everyone who trusts Him.

Under His feet. “And He put all things under His feet” (1:22). Paul also wrote, “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).

Head over all things. God “gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body” (1:22-23). The church is not a building. It is all the people who belong to Jesus.

Head and body. A body follows its head. Jesus leads His people, cares for them and gives them what they need. When the Head says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19), His body goes.

First from the dead. In Colossians Paul wrote, “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). Preeminence means first place, ahead of everyone and everything else.

Why first place? Jesus was the first to rise from the dead, never to die again. His resurrection shows that He has beaten sin and death. Everyone who trusts Him will rise to new life too.

Ruler of kings. John called Jesus “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5).

He loved us. The very next words are about love: “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (1:5). The Ruler over kings died on the cross for our sins and rose again.

King of kings. When Jesus comes again, this name will be written on Him: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

What this means for you. The Head of the church is the Ruler over every king. If you trust Him, you belong to His body. Give Him first place in your life, and go wherever He sends you.

Megethos. Paul prayed that believers would know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19). Greatness is megethos (say: MEG-eh-thos), size or vastness. The power at work for believers is beyond measuring.

The measure. It is the power “which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (1:20). The resurrection shows how great God's power is, and it set Christ above every ruler, seen and unseen (1:21).

Under His feet. “And He put all things under His feet” (1:22). Nothing in creation stands outside His rule, not even death.

Head for the church. God “gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (1:22-23). The One who is head over all things uses that authority for the good of His church.

Firstborn from the dead. “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). Firstborn here means first in rank, the first to rise to a life that never ends.

Preeminence. Preeminence is first place. Because He rose first, He holds first place in everything.

Ruler over the kings. He is “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5).

Love and blood. “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (1:5-6). The Ruler over kings rules by love, and He makes the people He washes into a kingdom of priests. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again.

King of kings. At His return His name is written, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

The body on mission. When the Head says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19), His body moves. Obeying the Great Commission is the body following its Head.

For you. If you trust Christ, you are part of His body, washed by His blood. Give Him first place in everything, and let the Head direct where you go and what you say.

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