YOUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST
Dearest saints,
Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. NKJV
We’re continuing to immerse ourselves with the truths of who we are and what we have in Christ. In the above opening Scripture, it is revealed that Jesus Christ is head over ALL things. However, the most exciting news is that that headship was given to Him for the church. After His resurrection, Jesus had said:
“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” Matt 28:18-19 KJV
The word power in this portion of Scripture is the Greek word “exousia” which means authority. “All power,” not “some power” has been given to Jesus in both heaven and earth. But the interesting thing is that He turned around and said: “Go ye therefore..”. Brethren, that is a statement of delegation. He delegated all power in heaven and earth to you and me to exercise it in the preaching of the gospel and in the making of disciples. Delegated power is authority. Power without authority is useless. But you have both.
Brethren, the devil is the one in trouble…not you. The Bible says in
Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. KJV
When Jesus died, He didn’t ascend to heaven immediately. You recall He had been made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and had to go to hell on behalf of all men to pay our penalty. When He got to hell, there was an actual combat between Jesus and the forces of darkness. The Bible says in
the WNT translation of Col. 2:15: “…the hostile princes and rulers He shook off from Himself and boldly displayed them as His conquests…” The NKJV says He made a public spectacle of them.
Brethren, this is one of the devil’s least favorite Scripture. Jesus invaded Satan’s domain, whipped him and all his demons and came out triumphantly from the grave. When He came out, He had conquered Satan for us and given us dominion of the powers of darkness. Now it doesn’t matter whatever hierarchy of demons exist, we’re superior to them; they’re under our feet.
No wonder Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. (Matt. 16:18) Gates symbolically refer to authorities and powers. Jesus was saying “I will build my church and all the authorities and powers of hell (satan and all his cohorts) will not prevail against her.” As a believer, you are…not going to… have authority but you right now have authority. You are the body of Christ now individually and corporately. You now have power and authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy…and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19.)
As we spread the message of Christ, taking the gospel everywhere we go, we ought to be conscious of our authority and dominion in Christ Jesus. We are His ambassadors; we’re to keep ruling and reigning in His name making many disciples through our cell groups and beyond. Brethren, exercise your authority and keep filling the earth with God’s glory!
