Know Who You are in Christ-You have Authority

July 6, 2024

Know Who You are in Christ-You have Authority

One of the amazing benefits that every believer of Jesus Christ is afforded is authority over Satan and his entire demonic kingdom. Prior to Jesus Christ dying for us on the cross, Satan was able to use sin as a device to keep every believer and nonbeliever bound and chained by the effects of their sin. Our biological sinful nature along with the enemy’s minions using sin as their weaponry against us made it impossible to overcome the strongholds that sin created.

The Lord weakened the enemy’s most useful scheme against us which was keeping every Christian chained, shackled, and bound by their iniquity. Satan wants nothing more than to prevent us from walking in the Purpose that the Lord has for our lives. His hope was and still is to take as many of us with him to the pit of hell as he possibly can.

Before the Lord triumphed over the enemy openly he was able to accuse us day and night before the Father with no push back, Revelation 12:10. Now the devil can accuse us but now we have advocate in Jesus (1 John 2:1) and as long as we are living right before the Lord those allegations hold no weight.

The Word of God tells us not to be oblivious as to how the devil likes to sneak his way into our lives, 2 Corinthians 2:11. We are to remain vigilant (1 Peter 5:8), meaning that we want to make sure that we are watchful of the traps that the devil secretly places in attempts to distract you or stop you from walking in your Purpose.

That is why it is so important that we don’t permit any open doors that will allow Satan to wreak havoc in our lives. We no longer have to live in bondage to sin but have the power through Christ to be set free. Romans 6:6 is very clear when Paul states, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

No longer do you have to tolerate the enemy paralyzing you mentally, spiritually, emotionally, or physically because you have the ability to conquer Satan and his kingdom. Don’t ever underestimate the fact that the shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has set us free from sin having the ability to rule and control the life of the believer, Romans 8:1-2.

Jesus died as the perfect Sacrifice for all of humanity so that we could live our lives in complete freedom. What the devil will make you think is that you’ve done too much to be set free or that you’re too far gone to every become a Christian. Those are lies from the pit of hell. God wants us to have every bit of what His Son’s death paid for us to have: great health, healing, deliverance, protection, and provision just to name a few benefits that we are entitled to.

The problem is that a lot of Christians do not take the time out to truly study the Word of God to gain understanding. They end up remaining captive to the devil’s devices because they are violating the Lord’s Biblical law found in His Word. If you don’t know what those rules and guidelines are how are you going to make sure that you don’t break them?

I made that mistake and paid a huge price for it. I had no idea that there was a real spiritual realm that housed a real devil and his very real kingdom. I had heard of Satan but never really believed that he actually existed. Boy did I learn the hard way that he is very real, very powerful, and wants to completely annihilate every single one of us!

Jesus Christ has given us complete authority over everything that the enemy and his minions would attempt to do to us but it is up to you and I to understand what that means. The Lord is sitting on the right hand of the Father and already finished what He was set out to finish when He died on the cross.

Now every believer is responsible to learn how to use all of the devices that the Lord has provided us with to defeat an already defeated foe. One of the most powerful weapons that we have on our side is the Holy Spirit. He is the One that will lead, guide, and empower us to do what we need to do as Christians in the army of Christ.

God has given us Authority

The best passage of Scripture that breaks down exactly what it means for Jesus to give us authority is found in Luke 10:19. It states, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

This verse is extremely significant when it comes to spiritual warfare. The Holy Spirit through Luke is giving us the knowledge that as believers of Jesus Christ, we have the authority over the devil and his demonic kingdom! That is relieving and comforting. The thing that we want to make sure to put into perspective is what the word authority means.

The Lord is letting us know through this verse of Scripture that He has given us the power over anything that the devil will ever try to do in our lives. Within our own strength this would not be possible but through the authority and power of the Name of Jesus we are granted that privilege. He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world (devil), 1 John 4:4.

However, when we take a closer look at what the Greek word for authority or power is its “Exousia” which means ability or privilege. Breaking this down just a little further we can conclude that our level of authority or privilege that we obtain is directly correlated with: our relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, as well as our knowledge of the Lord’s Word.

Let’s look at some Scripture to give us more of an understanding; in Acts 19:11-13 we can see the illustration played out perfectly, it states “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

The Apostle Paul through the power of the Name of Jesus Christ was casting out demons, healing the sick, performing miracles left and right. I mean, he was really hands on helping God’s people get set free as the Lord had called Him to do. Some of the Jewish onlookers that called themselves exorcists “thought” that they could just obtain the privilege or authority that Paul had simply by just saying the Name of Jesus. Let’s look at what happens.

Acts 19:15-16 gives us the aftermath, “And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Basically what these verses are showing us is that you can’t just say the Name of Jesus and feel like you have the authority or privilege against the devil and his demons.

You have to actually know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which means spending intimate time with Him when nobody is around, spending time in His Word, spending time with the Holy Spirit, fasting, and praying. There has to be no doubt in your mind that He would ever tell you, “depart from me, I never knew you,” Matthew 7:23. This is the kind of relationship that the Lord wants with you and you should want that same relationship with Him.

The deeper you go with Christ and truly repent, the easier your deliverance will be. I had to learn this lesson the hard way! You can’t come against the demons that are tormenting you in your life but still want to be sinning at the same time and expect to get rid of them. It will not work that way. The devil will not take you seriously. As long as you have those open doors, the enemy has the legal right to invade your space and create chaos!

That is why John the Baptist’s first message was for everyone to repent and we can see that in Matthew 3:1-2 and it states, “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”. Likewise the first message that Jesus Christ delivered was also to repent as mentioned in Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

There is a reason why repentance was the first message that both John the Baptist and Jesus preached and that is because of how significant it is. Repentance means: to change one’s mind for better and to be disgusted by your past sins. It requires you to absolutely loathe the iniquity that you used to be in.

When you no longer have those open doors to the enemy because of your previous sin, you prevent him from having legal access to your life. The more pure and holy that you live, the easier it is to live a life of freedom no longer a slave to your transgression.

Spiritual Warfare is an everyday reality whether you are a believer or non-believer. You are fighting in this battle as a participant of the kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of light, there is no in between. The Lord is clear in Matthew 12:30 when Jesus states, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

One of the main things that you want to keep in mind is in order to get rid of those strongholds in your life and exercise your full authority over the devil and his demonic kingdom is you have to repent! Turn away from anything that even remotely resembles the characteristics of the enemy, and take your walk with Christ seriously!

Conclusion

The atoning work of Jesus Christ dying on the cross at Calvary paying our entire sin debt afforded us so many benefits. One of those amazing benefits is the authority over the enemy and his entire kingdom. Unfortunately a lot of Christians are not walking in the power of their authority because of open doors in their lives.

Jesus was very clear in the first sermon that He preached when He stated that we are to repent. He knew that our repentance and obedience to God’s Word is what was going to allow us to move in power against the devil and every one of his tactics against us!

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Know Who You are in Christ-You are a New Creation

Who is Jesus’ brother James?

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration