“The Authority to Delegate Authority”
Luke 8:40-9:6
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. – Luke 9:1-2
The authority to delegate authority spiritually and physically is a unique one, and our Lord does it through the work of His Spirit. It is the “not by might nor by power but by my Spirit” principle referred to in Zech 4:6.
Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder of our Calvary Chapel movement, used to say, “The best that man can do is ratify that which God has already done.” The principle is that a man is ordained when God brings people to him for ministry.
However, the flip side is that a man can have a certificate of ordination, but no one comes to him. Therefore, God has not ordained him, and his certificate of ordination is only a degree.
It is God’s Spirit Who delegates authority for ministry, not a Bible School or Seminary degree. And while these institutions do not negate God’s authority, they certainly are not the source of it.
And we see this in our passage this morning. “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
These were common fishermen and tax collectors, not the elite rabbinical school rabbis. Their ordination was from God, not from a theology school. And because of that their delegation led to multiplication, which we will see in our study next week toward the middle of Chapter 9.
But the key principle highlighted is that delegation equates to quality growth when the delegation is Spirit-filled from God. Something to ponder in our world of paper degrees and certificates of ordination.
It is “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”
