Understand Your God-Given Authority

god given authority

I recently spoke on the authority Christians have over the devil at a women’s conference. I shared that when we have that understanding, we no longer live in fear of him.

We stop concentrating on what he may or may not do to us and put our focus on who God is in our lives and that we have overcome any assignment against us from the enemy. 

A woman approached me later and stated, “We have no authority over Satan.  Only God does and He does not give that to Christians today.” How sad for her and for many people who also believe that lie. 

Have you ever had someone say that to you or have you wondered about the authority you have as a born-again believer?

Remember the story in Exodus? “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” Exodus 12:13.

God-Given Authority

god given authority

Before the Passover, God promised that when He saw the lambs’ blood on the Israelites’ doorposts, they would be saved from destruction. When the angel of death passed through the land they were saved – not because they were Israelites or certainly not because of their good behavior or anything they did.  They were saved only because of one thing – the blood of the Lamb.

The same applies to us today. You may have had a disturbing diagnosis from your doctor or a bad report about someone in your family. But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He has proclaimed in His Word applies to each of us. 

You can put your trust in the royal blood that flows through Immanuel’s veins that is on the doorposts of your life.  The cross transcends time. On that day, His blood washed you clean of every single sin – past, present, and future. You are completely forgiven because of His shed blood. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians 1:7.

If you are disqualifying yourself from His healing because you feel you have failed, STOP IT.

Click to Tweet

 If you feel you do not deserve healing because of sin in your life, STOP IT. If you think that God does not heal today – STOP IT.  If you feel you are not healed because you do not read your Bible or pray enough – STOP IT.

When God looks at you, He does not see your shortcomings – He sees His Son and the finished work of the cross. The enemy wants nothing more than for you to believe his lies and half-truths. When he brings up your past – remind him of his future.

Because you are a believer, you have been accepted by God and are already blessed with every spiritual blessing. (Ephesians 1:3)

Part of your inheritance as a child of God is your God-given authority. “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” Luke 10:19.

The Value Of Your Authority

value of your authority

The value of your authority depends on the force that is behind the user. If a child was standing in the middle of an intersection trying to direct traffic, you may beep your horn and laugh. However, if a police officer was directing traffic, you pay attention. You are aware of the force, the authority, behind him. 

The authority, or delegated power, we have includes dominion over all the works of darkness, including sin, sickness, and spiritual death. The power behind it is God.

How do we become successful in usurping our authority? Ephesians 1:18 says, “…that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may KNOW your inheritance and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named.”  

Under the Old Covenant, they did not have authority over the demonic realm – only the High Priest did. But when Jesus rose again, He gave us that authority. The evil spirits recognize when you know your position just as they knew they had no power over Jesus.

Our High Priest dwells in us and gives us the right to use His Name, His Word, and His Blood over all evil. 

Stop Asking God...

stop asking god

So……STOP asking God for something He says you already have!

Hebrews 2:14 tells us that through Christ’s death, He destroyed the enemy. The original translation of the word ‘destroy’ in this passage means to ‘put to naught.’ 

Put to naught means put to NOTHING. This is how you need to see the enemy – as nothing. He has no influence, no power over you. When you see him that way, you WILL STOP FIGHTING and start thanking God that you are victorious in every area of your life.

The war is over. The battle is won. God has done everything He said He would do about the enemy – the ball is in your court. You must decide to believe what God’s Word is telling you as truth.

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” it was finished. Let that SINK IN.

If you believe that Satan has power over you, it is because you have given it to him. That is the only way he has it. WHAT?  Read that again.

You give him that authority by your lack of knowledge of the Word and the understanding of what God has already given you. You need to see the enemy as dethroned – as nothing. Dethroned means one who has been removed from a throne or place of prominence and deposed – removed from any position of authority.

Here is the drumroll that everyone needs to understand. 

  • Every time you ‘recognize’ Satan in your life, you are giving him a sick sort of praise.  He interprets this as praise and recognition and he thrives on it. 
  • Every time you beg God to fight the enemy on your behalf, you are saying that Jesus has not yet paid the price.
  • Every time you ask for prayer for a spiritual battle, you are saying you are still fighting an enemy who God says is DEFEATED.

Satan wants you to spend your effort and your time and focus on what he is doing to you, instead of praising God for the battle that is already won through faith.

Do you see the difference?

If Jesus is the Head and He has triumphed over the enemy, what does that mean to the body?  It is your legal right.

You Don't Have To Struggle

you do not have to struggle

You do not have to pray through, struggle or fight. It is a fact and you need to learn how to enjoy what God has already given you.

Your position in Christ has nothing to do with what you have done. It has everything to do with what Christ has done for you. 

When you read these verses about your position with Christ, do not just give them lip service. But get them deep into your inner person – your spirit. Meditate on them until they become second nature to your thought realm and well up inside of you when you need the strength of His Word. 

The same power that Jesus refers to is the power we have against the enemy. When we realize that we have this God-given power and authority and know that he CANNOT hurt us, then we stop fighting. This is when we stop talking about what the devil is trying to do to us or what we believe he has already done.  He L O V E S the attention. STOP giving it to him. 

Instead, quote Romans 16:20 that the God of peace will crush Satan under YOUR feet because God is with you. See him as the defeated foe. He has no power over us unless we choose to give it to him. 

You are not at the mercy of his attacks so you can stop asking God to protect you from them. God wants you to realize that He has done everything He is going to do regarding Satan already by giving you authority. Read Ephesians 1:19 – 22.

He has given you authority over every name that is named which includes the names of fear, disease, poverty, anxiety, and a host of others.

Click to Tweet

How do we exercise our authority? By using the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. The enemy has no defense against the Word. He is rendered as defeated.

No matter what is roaring towards you, your weapon, the Word of God, stops it. Pick up your sword and take your place of authority that Christ died for you and gave it to you freely. 

Decide to stop standing against something and start standing for something.

  • Stand for what the Word says about your situation
  • Stand for what Jesus has promised you
  • Stand for what you know to be true

Stop operating in the sense realm and start operating in the faith realm. The enemy wants you to look at what you are feeling. You must look at what God says is true – not your feelings. That is operating in the faith realm. The devil has no defense against the Word of God.


You may also like

No More Guilt

No More Guilt

The Day Of Restoration

The Day Of Restoration

He Remembers Our Sins No More

He Remembers Our Sins No More
{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
>