Priesthood Power Over Evil
By what authority do the servants of God command unclean spirits—and why must that authority be delegated from heaven?
From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus Christ confronted the powers of darkness not as a distant theologian but as a conquering King. He cast out devils with a word, and the unclean spirits obeyed Him because He spoke with the authority of heaven. Yet the Savior did not keep this power to Himself. The astonishing truth of the gospel is that He delegated authority over evil to mortal men, ordaining them and sending them forth to do in His name what He had done in His own. This is the doctrine of priesthood power over evil: that real, conferred, authorized power to command devils flows from God through His Son to His ordained servants, and that against this power, exercised in righteousness, the forces of hell cannot prevail.
Christ Delegated Authority Over Unclean Spirits
When the Lord called the Twelve, His very first act of empowering them was to arm them against the adversary. He did not merely teach them about evil; He gave them power over it.
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”
Luke records the same commission of the Twelve in even stronger language, declaring that the Lord conferred upon them dominion over the entire realm of darkness:
“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.”
Notice the two words Luke pairs together: power and authority. Power is the capacity to act; authority is the right to act. The Lord granted both. This was not the disciples discovering a latent ability within themselves—it was a King investing His ambassadors with a commission that was theirs only because He gave it. What He held by nature, they would now exercise by delegation.
The Promised Sign of the Believers
This authority was not meant to die with the original Twelve. In His parting commission, the resurrected Lord named the casting out of devils as the very first sign that would follow His true disciples in every age.
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.”
When the gospel was restored in the latter days, the Lord renewed this very promise in His own voice, confirming that the authorized servants of the Restoration would wield the same power as the ancient Saints:
“And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk.”
The phrase “in my name” is the key that unlocks the entire doctrine. To act in the name of Christ is to act as His authorized representative, by His permission and His power—not by the magic of a syllable, but by a genuine commission from the One who owns the name.
The Seventy’s Joy and the Lord’s Correction
When the Lord sent out the Seventy, they returned amazed that the powers of darkness had bowed before them. But the Savior gently redirected their joy, teaching that the conquest of evil—real and glorious as it is—is not the highest reason to rejoice.
“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
Observe again the source of their victory: the devils were subject to them through thy name—through Christ, not through themselves. The Lord affirmed the reality of the power He had given (“nothing shall by any means hurt you”), yet He fixed their hearts on a deeper joy: covenant standing with God. The power to defeat evil is borrowed; the relationship that places one’s name in heaven is eternal. A disciple who exercises priesthood must never make the gift an idol or a source of pride, for the moment authority becomes self-glory, it ceases to be the Lord’s power at all.
Authority, Not the Words: The Sons of Sceva
If the power to cast out devils lay merely in the pronunciation of a holy name, then anyone who spoke that name could command the unclean spirits. Scripture decisively refutes this notion. In Ephesus, certain men attempted to invoke the name of Jesus over evil spirits without any authority to do so—and the result was disaster.
“And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
The seven sons of Sceva spoke the very name of Jesus and named Paul as well—and yet the evil spirit not only ignored their command but turned and physically overpowered them. The contrast could not be sharper. Paul commanded devils and they fled; these men commanded in identical words and were beaten and humiliated. Why? The evil spirit named the difference exactly: it knew Jesus, and it knew Paul, but it asked of the sons of Sceva, “but who are ye?”
Here is the whole doctrine in a single scene. The power over evil is not in the words—it is in the authority of the one who speaks them. Hell recognizes and submits to genuine, delegated priesthood; it sees through and contemptuously resists the counterfeit. A man cannot bluff the devils. They know precisely who holds a real commission from heaven and who is merely borrowing holy syllables they have no right to use.
The Disciple’s Part: Faith, Worthiness, and Resistance
Although the authority is delegated from above, it does not operate independently of the disciple’s own righteousness. The servant of God must bring faith, purity, and active resistance to the contest. James lays out the principle with bracing simplicity: the adversary has no claim upon those who submit to God.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
The order is exact: first submit to God, then resist the devil. The power to make Satan flee comes from being aligned with heaven. And when the disciples once failed to cast out a particularly stubborn spirit, the Lord taught that some adversaries yield only to heightened spiritual preparation.
“And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
Thus the authority of the priesthood is fully effective only as it is joined to faith, fasting, prayer, and personal worthiness. The commission is conferred by ordination, but its exercise draws upon the spiritual strength the servant has cultivated through obedience and communion with God.
Discerning Light From Deception
Because the adversary is a master of disguise, the servant of God must also be able to discern between true ministering spirits and counterfeit manifestations. In a revelation given to correct false and deceptive influences among the early Saints, the Lord laid out His pattern for detecting deception.
“Behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many spirits which are false spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the world. And also Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow you.”
The Lord then gave the test by which His servants may judge any spirit or influence and command the powers of darkness to be exposed and dismissed:
“Wherefore, it shall come to pass, that if you behold a spirit manifested that you cannot understand, and you receive not that spirit, ye shall ask of the Father in the name of Jesus; and if he give not unto you that spirit, then you may know that it is not of God. And it shall be given unto you, power over that spirit; and you shall proclaim against that spirit with a loud voice that it is not of God—not with railing accusation, that ye be not overcome, neither with boasting nor rejoicing, lest you be seized therewith.”
Once more the pattern holds: the servant asks in the name of Jesus, receives power over that spirit from the Father, and exercises that power without pride or boasting. The authority is delegated, the discernment is given, and the victory is the Lord’s.
Delegated Power, Not Common Endowment
It is essential to distinguish the priesthood from the spiritual gifts and the Light of Christ that are given broadly to mankind. The Light of Christ enlightens every person who comes into the world, and the gift of faith may be exercised by any believer. These are diffused blessings, available widely. The priesthood is different in kind. It is not a general endowment of the human spirit; it is delegated, authorized power—the right to act in the name of God, conferred by ordination through the laying on of hands by those who hold authority.
This is precisely why the sons of Sceva failed. They may even have possessed some measure of faith, and they certainly possessed the Light of Christ as all men do. But they lacked the one thing necessary to command evil spirits: a genuine, delegated commission to act in the name of Jesus Christ. Faith and the Light of Christ are given; the priesthood is conferred. One may believe sincerely and still have no authority to command devils—just as a sincere citizen has no power to enforce the law without a lawful commission. The power over evil belongs to those whom the Lord has authorized and sent.
The Powers of Darkness Cannot Stand
Gather the witnesses together and the conclusion is overwhelming. Christ gave His servants power and authority over all devils. He promised that casting out devils would be a sign of His true disciples in every dispensation, ancient and modern. The Seventy found the spirits subject to them through His name, and the Lord confirmed that nothing of the enemy could harm them. The sons of Sceva proved, by their humiliating defeat, that the power lies not in the words but in the authority. And the Lord revealed the pattern by which His servants may discern, resist, and command the powers of darkness in His name.
When a worthy man, ordained to the priesthood of God, acts in righteousness and faith, commands an unclean spirit in the name of Jesus Christ, the contest is already decided. He does not face the adversary in his own strength; he stands clothed in the authority of heaven and backed by the power of the Almighty. The evil spirit may know that man by name, as it knew Paul—and it must obey, because the One whose name is invoked truly stands behind the command.
This is the unshakable promise of the gospel. Satan fell as lightning from heaven, and he has been falling ever since before the advance of the kingdom of God. Against the authorized priesthood, exercised in righteousness and in the name of Jesus Christ, the powers of darkness cannot stand. They never could, and they never shall. The servant of God who holds that authority and lives worthy of it carries within his commission the certainty of victory—for the power he wields is not his own, but the power of Him who has already overcome the world.