A. The Authority of Jesus.
Origin of His Authority
Christ's authority came from the Father as God put His Spirit upon Him.
There are a few verses which confirm this. I will use one.
Philippians 2:9-11 (KJV) "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father".
Authority over all creation
things in heaven - existing in heaven.
things on the earth - existing on the earth.
things under the earth - things who dwell in the earth, departed souls.
Jesus confirms His authority. Matthew 28:18 "Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me".
Jesus Exercising His Authority. Jesus showed His authority in many ways during His ministry here on earth.
He healed every kind of disease (Matthew 9:35)
He had authority in teaching (Mark 1:22),(Luke 4:32)
He forgive sins (Mark 2:10),(Luke 5:20)
He claimed authority to give eternal life (John 3:36)
He rebuked and cast out demons (Matthew 17:18),(Luke 9:42)
He did not have always directly contact (Mark 7:24-30)
He had authority over nature (Mark 4:39)
He had authority to take action when appropriate (John 2:13-18)
B. Authority Believers Have in Christ.
God and Jesus have authority to govern their kingdom.
Before Jesus left this earth in victory to be seated at the right hand of the Father, He said some important words to His disciples in Matthew.
Matthew 28:18 "Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me".
Ten days later, His followers received the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ.
We are the Body of Christ. He is the Head
1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it".
The Bible says that believers are the body of Christ. Jesus is the Head, we are the Body - and His authority is perpetuated through the Body. When Jesus rose from the dead, He transferred all His authority on earth to His Body and the Church.
We are seated with Him.
Ephesians 2:6 "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus".
In God's mind, when Christ was raised, we were raised. Both the Head and the Body are seated there, next to God, in the place of power and authority. That means you are seated there! Get this revelation. It will give you a different perspective. You are seated in the power position, and you are His heir.
We are heirs of Him.
Romans 8:17 "Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory".
That means that everything that is His - including His authority - now belongs to you.
He has given you authority.
Luke 10:19 "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you".
Jesus delegates authority to the Church (believers).
Our authority is over the powers of the enemy
Matthew 16:19 "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Jesus has given us authority over all the powers of the enemy.
You are In Christ
Romans 6:3-5 "Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his".
You have power in the Spirit
Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
You will do greater things.
John 14:12 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father".
C. Knowing Satan and his works.
Satan rules us primarily through deception. Satan wants us to believe he has power. Deception has nothing to do with power. So what is the difference?
Power means, "I can cause something to happen because I am more powerful than you."
Deception means, "Something happens when I am able to influence or manipulate another through lies."
The names of Satan:
The accuser of the brothers - Revelation 12:10
The god of this age - 2 Corinthiers 4:4
Satan is a murderer - John 8:44
The prince of darkness - Matthew 12:24
The prince of this world - John 14:30
The ruler of darkness - Ephesians 6:12
The evil one - Matthew 13:19
The enemy - 1 Peter 5:8
The ruler of the kingdom of the air - Ephesians 2:2
The thief - John 10:10
The father of lies - John 8:44
The serpent - Genesis 3:4
The tempter - Matthew 4:3
The malignant works of Satan.
Tempting to disobedience - Genesis 3:4
Slandering the saints - Job 1:9-11
Infecting disease - Job 2:7
Opposing the righteous - Zechariah 3:1
Tempting Christ and believers - Matthew 4:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 3:5
Instigating mankind to sin - John 13:2
Lying - John 8:44
Preying on believers - 1 Peter 5:8
Sowing weeds - Matthew 13: 38+39
Misusing scriptures - Matthew 4:6
Cunning plans - 2 Corinthians 2:11
Appearing as the angel of light - 2 Corinthians 11:14
Ruin and destroy mankind - John 10:10
It is time for believers to use their authority (power) Jesus has given them to stop the works of the enemy. Jesus defeated the devil at Calvary. We have the power to stop the works of darkness in our lives and in our family.
Satan is already defeated, remind him!
D. How to rule and reign with Jesus Christ.
Jesus is Our Head. We know Jesus because:
He is the image of God.
Creator of all things.
Was before all things.
Holds all things together.
He is the head of the body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead.
Jesus is our head. We are His body. His body is made up of all believers. As His body, we are described as having already been rescued from Satan's dominion and translated into a brand new kingdom where we will reign in dominion with Jesus, the Son of God. We are described as being redeemed and completely forgiven from all sins.
The head of the body, Jesus, is in heaven. The rest of His body, including His hands, His feet, is on earth.
It is on earth that man must fulfill his function of absolute dominion. It is here where we must forcibly advance the kingdom of God by effective spiritual warfare.
God placed Satan under Jesus' feet and appointed Jesus to be the head over everything concerning the church.
To be under one's feet is a picture of being totally conquered, defeated and subdued. It is a picture of absolute authority and dominion.
Luke gives us a clear picture of Satan's position. He is to be trampled under our feet. We are also promised that nothing shall in any way hurt us.
Luke 10:19 (Amplified) "Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you".
E. How to rule and reign with Jesus Christ.
When Jesus ascended back to His Father, He laid aside His rights as the Son of Man and took back upon Himself all of His rights as the Son of God.
Man's Rights on Earth.
Mankind having been rescued, brought in, redeemed, forgiven and completely restored to God's image on earth, is now to trample Satan under their feet and demonstrate satan is a defeated enemy.
As God, He no longer exercises dominion on earth because, here on earth, He gave all dominion to man, those who believe, that means all the believers.
It is man (believers) who must put Satan under their feet on the earth as he was created to do. It was in God's original plan.
Isaiah 54:14-17 (NIV) "In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD".
The prophet Isaiah gave us a wonderful, encouraging prophecy.
In righteousness you will be established.
Oppression will be far from you.
You have nothing to fear.
Terror will not come near you.
If anyone attacks you, they will surrender.
No weapon formed against you will prosper.
You will refute every tongue which comes against you.
F. Understanding your authority to exercise it.
There are some qualifications which believers must meet in order to have rightful authority in Christ. The best is to look at the parallels between the Traffic Officer and a Christian or a believer..
Parallel between a Traffic Officer and a Believers authority.
A Traffic Officer must be under authority himself, obedient to his superiors. He goes where he has been assigned to carry out an instruction, not outside his jurisdiction. Believers must be doing what Jesus has said, according to the Bible and His personal word to us. We cannot be doing our own thing but doing God's will in our life. A clean, submitted heart is imperative.
A Traffic Officer must continue to stay in contact with his superiors, and he must get their direction as needed in difficult situations. Believers need to be in communication with our superior officer, Jesus.
A Traffic Officer must know his weapons and know how to use it. Believers must be skilled in the use of our weapons - the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, our faith. We have to know the Word of God and use it properly. Appropriate the Word.
A Traffic Officer must understand the law and not step outside its boundaries. He can not arrest people if they have not broken the law. Believers must understand what Jesus has given them. The Word of God is our instruction book. We must know the word to use it effectively.
A Traffic Officer is issued with a uniform which he must wear when he is on duty. He also has a badge or an ID document. Believers are clothed with Jesus, our spiritual uniform. Our actions should show that we are different from the world. Remember whose authority it is in which we operate. We have no authority to come against the powers of darkness in our own strength. We come against them in the name of Jesus. It is His authority, not ours.