Part 2 (1/2)

35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the c.o.c.k-crowing, or in the morning.

This scripture says, ”... the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey....” Here Jesus is talking about Himself when He uses the expression ”the Son of man.” In the New Testament, Jesus is called both the Son of G.o.d and the Son of man. From the divine standpoint He is the Son of G.o.d. From the human standpoint He is the Son of man.

There is something in this verse for the believer too. Verse 34 says that Jesus gave to every man his ”work,” and that He commanded the porter to watch. It may be your work just to watch and pray. If it is, be faithful in it and G.o.d will reward you.

Notice that the Bible says the Son of man gave ”authority to His servants.” That means as born-again sons of G.o.d, we have the authority on the earth to carry out the Great Commission. Jesus said, ”... the Son of man... left his house, and GAVE AUTHORITY TO HIS SERVANTS....” That's referring to us and to the authority G.o.d has given us.

There is another verse which relates to the authority or anointing upon believers to carry out the Great Commission. Remember in Matthew chapter 28, after Jesus rose from the dead, He said that all power or authority was given unto Him. The Greek word translated ”power” here also means authority. Then in the next verse He immediately authorized the Church to go tell the good news to every nation.

MATTHEW 28:18-20.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME in heaven and in earth.

19 GO YE THEREFORE, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

When Jesus said, ”Go ye, ” He was authorizing or commissioning the Church, the Body of Christ, to go tell others about Him. As we've said, Jesus not only said, ”Go” to the disciples, He's saying it to all His disciples everywhere - He's saying it to the whole Church - the entire Body of Christ. In other words, everywhere we go, we are to tell the story of Jesus and His redeeming power.

G.o.d not only wants us to go tell the good news, but He wants us to be witnesses endued with power from on High before we go.

LUKE 24:49.

49 ... behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with POWER from on high.

ACTS 1:8.

8 But ye shall receive POWER, after that the HOLY GHOST is come upon you: and ye shall be WITNESSES unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Believers are to be endued with power from on High, just as Jesus was endued with power from on High. However, as we saw, Jesus had the Spirit without measure, and believers receive the Holy Spirit in a measure.

JOHN 3:34.

34 For he whom G.o.d hath sent speaketh the words of G.o.d: for G.o.d giveth NOT THE SPIRIT BY MEASURE unto him.

ROMANS 12:3.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as G.o.d hath dealt to every man THE MEASURE of faith.

So we understand that Jesus told believers to be endued with power from on High so they could be witnesses unto Him, and believers were also authorized or anointed to fulfill the ”Go ye” of the Great Commission. Every one of us in the Body of Christ is to be a witness!

We know this isn't just referring to the disciples because it wasn't just the 12 disciples who were in the upper room when the anointing came and the Holy Spirit was poured out. The Bible says 120 believers were gathered together in that upper room.

ACTS 1:13-15.

13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about AN HUNDRED AND TWENTY.)

Therefore, all believers are supposed to tell others about Jesus. Does that mean everyone in the Body of Christ is supposed to be a preacher? Emphatically, yes! I didn't say everyone is called to one of the fivefold ministry gifts in the Church (Eph. 4:11). But every Christian is supposed to be a preacher in one sense, because ”to preach” means to proclaim or to tell the good news of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. So in that sense, yes, everyone in the Body of Christ is to be a preacher!

As we've seen, Jesus is also anointing people in the Body of Christ today to stand in the fivefold ministry offices of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher. However, not everyone in the Body of Christ is called and anointed to stand in one of these offices. But no matter what G.o.d calls you to do in life, He will equip you and anoint you to do it.

<btt:accented>Chapter 3 New Testament Kings and Priests

G.o.d is still anointing prophets and preachers, and He's also still anointing all His people to witness about Him. And G.o.d is still anointing kings and priests - New Testament kings and priests.

When the word ”priests” is mentioned, most people think about the ministry of intercession, because a priest intercedes to G.o.d on the behalf of the people.

Under the Old Covenant, the people did not go directly to G.o.d for themselves. Every male thirty years of age and older had to present himself in Jerusalem every year. G.o.d's Presence was kept shut up in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Everyone could not go into the Presence of G.o.d; only the priests could, and the priests went only with great precaution.

The priest made sacrifice for his sins and for the sins of the people. The blood of innocent animals was shed which was a type of the blood of the sinless, spotless Lamb of G.o.d who would one day come and shed His blood for the sins of all people.

The priest entered into that earthly Holy of Holies with the blood of a sacrificial animal, and his sins and the sins of the people were atoned for or ”covered” for another year. However, the shedding of the blood of that sacrificial animal did not cleanse the sins of the people; it could only cover their sins. Then the people could breathe a sigh of relief and go away with their sins atoned for or covered for another year until the next year when again the priest had to present himself in the Holy of Holies for his sins and the sins of the people.

But blessed be G.o.d, Jesus our High Priest came and after He died on Calvary and shed His own blood and was raised from the dead, He ascended on High. The Book of Hebrews tells us that He entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies with His own blood to obtain an eternal redemption for us! Now every born-again believer can go into the heavenly Holy of Holies and present himself before G.o.d anytime he wants to!

A Better Covenant

We can see what a better Covenant we have under the New Testament.

REVELATION 1:1-5.