I have over the years observed many believers, who have been battered, abused, bound by fear, and demonic oppression. They have not been able to stand their ground and take authority over their situations. I have met believers who do not know that they were created to have dominion.
If you are a believer, you have been called to walk and operate in your God given authority. Paul in 2 Corinthians 10, tells us that even though we live on this earth we do not operate as citizens of this earth. The weapons God has given us, our armoury, is not of this earth. It is important to note that it is only a child of God who can have access to His heavenly armouries.
KNOW WHO YOU ARE
Ephesians 2:19 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,”
Many believers do not know who they are. They do not know whose they are. They do not know their position in Christ. If you are a believer ask yourself the following questions:
Who am I as a believer?
What is my position in Christ?
What are my privileges?
Many believers don’t ask themselves these questions; hence they walk this earth defeated, battered and sometimes give up and become angry and cynical.
SEATED WITH CHRIST
Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Positional truth is one of the elementary subjects that many Christians don’t fully understand. That is a reason why we fail to understand our position in Christ. Many believers today need to stop and ask themselves this question; do I really believe that I am who the WORD OF GOD says I am? Unless we believe in the Word of God and start acting on it, we will find it difficult to walk in our God’s given authority.
A NEW CREATION
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
When we heard the gospel of Salvation and believed the gospel we become a new creation in Christ Jesus and our position changed. When the Bible says, we are seated with Christ, it simply means that we abide in and with the Lord. We are in a place of rest, we are in a privileged position, a vantage position. A position where we trust, lean and rely on God for our protection.
Ephesians 1:13 - As believers, we are fully incorporated into the body of Christ.
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
You can only begin to exercise your authority as a believer once you know who you are and whose you are.
AUTHORITY
There are four Greek words translated authority or power but have over the years been used in the same way. They however denote different traits or characteristics of the power we have been given.
The first word is EXOUSIA.
This means delegated authority. The Lord Jesus uses this in Mathew 28:18-19
“And Jesus came to them and spoke unto them, saying, all authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.“
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:”
The same word Exousia can be seen in John 1:12
“But as many as received him, to them gave he the right (power, authority, exousia) to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
For those of us who are believers in Christ, we also carry the same authority as Jesus.
In Luke 10:19 Jesus said to His disciples:
“Behold, I have given you (Exousia) authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you.”
This is the delegated power or authority we receive as born again believers. This authority is similar to that of a police man who steps out in front of a truck or car to stop it, we know that physically the police man does not have the strength to stop a truck but has a delegated power that when he lifts up his hand the truck driver has no choice but to stop. If you are a true believer, you are a child of God, you have the authority of being sons and daughters of God, and therefore have the authority to stop the devil and sin in its tracks.
The second word is KRATOS.
This word Kratos is related to the word Exousia. This word points to the power of the Word.
Acts 19:20 “So mightily grew the Word of the Lord and prevailed.”
We are told that word of God is powerful in Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Here we see the authority and the power of the Word.
The third word is ISCHUS.
Ischus is related to the power of prayer. The book of James tells us that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man avails much (or has great power in its effects).”
In Acts 19:20 we read the Word of God grew mightily and prevailed. Here it is prayer that avails much. Here we see the authority and the power of prayer.
The fourth and final word is DUNAMIS.
Dunamis is the enabling power from the Holy Spirit. This is the ability that God gives to His children to be witnesses through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8 when Jesus said “do not depart until you have received power from above”, He was referring to Dunamis. The strength and extraordinary power that comes from God.
The truth of the matter is that we cannot separate these four from one another because they are all needed for us to walk in authority. You need to know that you have received the power to be a child of God (Exousia). You need the Word of Christ to dwell in you richly (Kratos). You have to be a person of prayer (Ischus). You now need to be filled daily, a daily immersion of the Holy Spirit. (Dunamis).
The good news is that all this has been made available to you by God. You have authority as a child of God. You have authority in the Word and through the Word. You have authority in prayer. You have authority through the power of the Holy Spirit. Catch this revelation and you will begin to walk in your God given authority like you have never done before…..
