AUTHORITY OF THE WORD

Matt 8:8-10

“The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

We are still examining what the centurion understood about authority that made him to be commended by the Lord as having great faith.

The second thing he understood was the authority of the word. He recognized that the word of someone who has authority is as effective as the person himself. He recognized what the Scripture said in the book of proverbs that where the word of a king is there is power. 

That Jesus’ word is as if Jesus was there physically. You cannot walk in great faith if you do not esteem God’s word as would God Himself. The man said to Jesus, “speak the word only and my servant shall be made whole”. He recognized that power was in the word of Him that had authority.

The third thing that he understood was that it takes someone who is under authority himself to appreciate the workings of authority. You have to be under authority to use authority.