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Chapter 16: Authority Over Demons and Disease
In Luke 9:1-2, it says, “Then he [Jesus] called his twelve disciples together, and gave them
power and authority over all devils,” or demons, “and to cure diseases. And he sent them to
preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.” In Luke 10, it records He did the same thing
with the seventy.
Reason number 16 we are sure it is God’s will for all to be healed today is because we’ve
been given authority over demons and over disease.
Jesus gave them power and authority, and we’re going to look at the authority side of it. He gave
them authority over demons, and authority to cure diseases. He sent them and told them, “You
go preach the kingdom of God, and you go heal the sick.”
This sounds strange to us. “You go heal the sick.” Who did He send to heal the sick? He sent
them. How are they going to do that? They’re just human beings like you and me. They’re going
to do it the same way Jesus did it, because He was operating as a human being. He was not
operating as God, although He is. The Bible tells us He emptied Himself. (Philippians 2:6-8) He
laid aside His mighty weight, glory, and power, and He performed no miracles until He was
baptized in the river and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily shape and form as a Dove.
(John 1:32; 2:11) Then after the temptation, He came out in the power of the Spirit, and you
began to see miracles. If He was just doing these as God, He could have done them when He was
five years old, or ten, or twelve, but He didn’t.
Some say, “Well, there are apocryphal writings that say He did.” I know it. Some of them have
Him healing His little friends while they played and raising a little bird from the dead. Don’t you
believe it. I said, “Don’t you believe it.”
Some say, “Well, He’s God. He could.” He is God, but no, He couldn’t do them operating as a
man. He emptied Himself, and the Bible tells us the first miracle was the turning of water into
wine at the wedding of Canaan. (John 2:7-11) So we have to believe that. And that didn’t happen
until after the Holy Spirit came on Him and anointed Him. Why? Because He wasn’t doing it as
God. He was doing it as a man.
Now we know that has to be true because of what He told us in John 14:12. He said, “He that
believeth on me,” in My name,” “the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do.” How in the world could we do it if He did it as God and we’re not God? It
would be impossible. But, if He did it as a man, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and if He
authorized us with the same authority and anointed us with the same Spirit, then we could see the
glorious possibility of us doing the very same type of things that He did. That’s why He came
and demonstrated it, to show us how to do it.
For centuries the church has sat back and put Jesus’ ministry on a pedestal that cannot be
attained by any mortal human on the planet. They just “ooh” and “ahhh,” and then say, “He