These two words are often used interchangeably in most contexts, especially in everyday situations. However, the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, present the two words in different lights. The word “authority”, translated from ἐξουσίᾳ (exousia), entails a right to exercise a given mission, to make a decision, or to exercise control over a jurisdiction. The right of a leader or person to perform certain actions under specific laws is authority. Power from δύναμις (dunamis), on the other hand, as presented by the Scriptures, entails the ability to do something.
Power
From a scriptural perspective, dunamis is the supernatural force that brings into reality what God intends. Dunamis brings about the making of the impossible possible. Thus, we see Jesus with the power to heal, deliver, perform miracles, and perform several signs and wonders. If we are to do the very works that Jesus did and even greater works (John 14:12), we must be given the same power that He worked with. Hence, the Lord declares: “You shall receive power (dunamis) when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Judea, Jerusalem, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). So dunamis is ontologically tied to the person of the Holy Spirit. In fact, dunamis is a spiritual character of the Holy Spirit.
Authority
Exousia (Authority) on the other hand was given to Peter and the apostles when the Lord declared that He will give Peter the “keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:19); make them “fishers of men” (Matt 4:19); sent to “go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news” (Mark 16:15); commanded to “make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded” (Matt 28:19).
When the Lord invites people into His circle to experience the new life He gives, He grants them the authority, the right to a new way of living and to witness to this new way of life. John’s Gospel expresses this reality when it declares that, “To all who receive Him, He gives power (authority) to become the children of God (John 1:12). To live out this new way of living, an enablement (empowerment) is required. The enabling ability comes from a Christ-centered life.
Both
Both authority and power make the Church outstandingly influential. Dunamis (Power) sets the Church apart because it reveals the supernatural reality present in the Church as a means through which God saves His people. Dunamis makes the Church’s authority powerful. Jesus was constantly questioned about His authority. “By what authority are you exercising these powers?” In the Gospel today, Jesus demonstrated that He possesses both authority and power—the right to teach and enlighten His audience about the love of God—and the power to reveal and cast out demons that lurk in the lives of God’s children.
