Under Authority

Luke 10 : 18 – 20, And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 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. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." NKJV

Can you see the heart of a loving Father in the Words of Jesus to His disciples? The Lord had sent seventy of His followers out to minister in His name. When they returned to Him with the report, they were almost overcome with adrenaline because the demons had to obey them. In a loving but firm manner, Jesus began to instruct them by showing them how unimportant Satan really is to the true disciple.

The Lord wants all of His people to know that He has come to set us in a seat of authority over Satan. Paul teaches us in Ephesians 1 that God has made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ, far above principalities, and powers. Jesus doesn’t want us to become fixated over the fact that we can rule over the powers of darkness, but rather He wants us to focus on the truth that Christ has given us eternal life.

Since the Lord wants us to walk in spiritual authority but doesn’t want us to become distracted by the power He has given to us as children of God, then we must be very careful to keep our priorities straight. If we focus our hearts on our relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ, as we go about fulfilling the plan of God, this can keep us balanced. He gently reminded them that their authority was granted to them through their relationship.

One day a Roman soldier came to Jesus and sought Him to heal one of his soldiers. This gentile told Jesus that he recognized the authority on His life and that he knew Jesus could heal His soldier. How did a gentile Roman soldier know this about Jesus to the point that he also knew that Jesus had the power to heal people? He said to Jesus, “For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." NKJV

Notice that this commander in the Roman army recognized that Jesus was also a Man under authority. Because he recognized that Jesus was under the authority of someone else (the Father) he was also admitting that he believed that Jesus was being used by the Father, unlike the Jews who rejected that truth. When he told Jesus this truth about His authority, Jesus replied to his faith in this manner. "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” NKJV

Simply because this Roman soldier realized and acknowledged the relationship between the Father and Jesus, and that He wasn’t acting on His own, Jesus tells us that he had great faith. The Lord also wants you and me to walk in authority over the Devil and his imps. But He wants us to be submitted to His authority as our Lord. Those who remain in submission while walking in authority remain in power. Satan wants us to begin to think that we have the authority without or apart from walking with or obeying God. He tempts people in this regard with the aim of luring them into bondage to him through rebellion to God’s will.

Now that we’re in Christ, we have been granted authority over the Devil but beyond that we have been granted eternal life- relationship with the heavenly Father. Maintain your relationship and you will also maintain authority over the wicked one.

Glad to be a child of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery