Know Who You are in Christ-You have dominion

July 3, 2024

Know Who You are in Christ-You have dominion

One of the benefits that every human being has on the Earth is dominion over every living thing. This was something that was established even before the foundation of the World. Genesis 1:26 gives the account and it states, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The purpose for us having dominion over the Earth is made clear in the following verses of Scripture. Genesis 1:27-28 discloses “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…”

The words “and subdue it” being used in these passages is the Hebrew word “kāḇaš” which means: dominate the Earth. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit came to the decision that we would be created in the image of God with the purpose to be fruitful and multiply. We were to be representatives for God used as His vessels here on Earth.

God created the first man Adam and the first woman named Eve who were supposed to multiply and fill the Earth. They had a perfect relationship with God including having everything that they needed to live on Earth. The one thing that the Lord commanded them not to do was to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and stated that if they did they would surely die, Genesis 2:17.

Unfortunately they were tempted by the serpent to disobey the Lord and ate from the tree they were forbidden to eat from, Genesis 3:1-6. What this did was allowed sin to enter into the World ensuring that every single person that was born from that moment on was born with the sin nature with the proclivity to sin. Adam and Eve did not die physically but they died spiritually disconnected from God.

Due to the fall of man we were now subjected to the power of the devil to tempt every single one of us to sin and go against the stipulations of God found in His Word. The Lord in His Omniscience knew what Adam and Eve were going to do and had a plan already put into place; He was going to sacrifice His One and only Son to die on the cross at Calvary and wipe away the sin debt completely, Galatians 1:4.

What that did for us was gave us the power to overcome the temptations, schemes, and the wiles of the devil. Colossians 2:15 reveals, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” The atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross disarmed Satan’s entire demonic kingdom.

Dominion through the Name of Jesus

After Jesus Christ died and rose again He ascended to Heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father, Ephesians 1:20. He defeated the devil affording us the authority over all the power of the enemy in His Name. Mark 16:17 states, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues,”

Another example of the authority that we have over Satan and his kingdom in the name of Jesus is found in Luke 10:19. It details, “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.”

As believers of Jesus Christ we have the dominion and authority over every demonic attack that the devil would try to throw our way. The thing is in order for you to have the power to overcome the schemes of the devil you have to be willing to live a life of repentance and holiness. God is very clear when He tells us to be holy and He is holy, 1 Peter 1:16.

The reason why this is so significant is because of the fact that there are stipulations and guidelines found in the Word of God that every believer is commanded to follow. If you blatantly disobey the Lord’s requirements on how to live your life as a believer of Jesus Christ it will open the door to the enemy allowing him to legally create chaos around you.

God does not lie (Numbers 23:19) and He does not go against His Word and in fact places it above even His own Name, Psalm 138:2. What that means is if He said it in His Word He is going to follow through on what He said whether it is good or bad. That is why it is imperative to get into God’s Word, study it, digest it, and apply it to your daily life.

Satan is wreaking havoc in the lives of so many Christians simply because they do not know the Word of God. Hosea 4:6 reveals to us, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” The Bible also details in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” God is plain and clear that we are not supposed to be unaware of the enemy’s tactics against us.

I learned this lesson a very hard way because I opened so many doors to the enemy because of the things that I was involving myself in not understanding that life is very spiritual. Just because you are not knowledgeable of the devil’s strategies against you does not make you exempt from them. If you give him legal access to destroy your life, he will not hesitate.

Jesus Christ died for us as the perfect Sacrifice and what that did was provide us with so many privileges including having dominion and power over the devil and his kingdom. The unfortunate part about it is a lot of believers are bound, chained, and shackled because they are not reading God’s Word and understanding the Lord’s Biblical law.

The more sin that you have in your life, the more access the enemy will have to you. The more pure that you live, the more protection that you are going to have when the devil tries to come after you. One Scripture that depicts exactly what this means is found in Ecclesiastes 10:8 and it states, “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.”

In other words, when you allow God’s hedge of protection to be compromised because of willful disobedience and sin you can expect the serpent (devil) to bite or harm you. We have dominion over anything that the enemy would try to do to us but in order for us to successfully defeat Satan and his kingdom we have to submit to God’s Word.

When you go against God’s Biblical law, the enemy will have a legal right to come into your life. Psalm 94:20 reveals some very important information and it states, “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?” The question that the writer of the Psalm was trying to ask was what business do believers have living a life resembling the ways of the devil?

What this does is give him permission to kill, steal, and destroy us legally. God will not go against His Word so if He has already formed a Biblical law, it will stand no matter what. We have to be so careful not to give the enemy a foothold or place in our lives where he can create chaos. We have the dominion and authority to overpower the devil in the Name of Jesus but we have to make the decision to live upright in the eyes of God.

Conclusion

God intended for all of mankind to have dominion over the entire Earth. Due to the fall of Adam and Eve sin entered into the World giving the devil and his kingdom a level of power through sin. Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary as the perfect Sacrifice triumphing over Satan openly.

Now, through the Name of Jesus Christ we have the dominion and authority to overcome the temptation to sin. Jesus did not eliminate sin but His death weakened the power that sin had over Christians. The thing is in order to effectively live a life as a believer of Jesus Christ we have to make the choice to be completely surrendered to Him and abide by His Word.

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

Know Who You are in Christ-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