Today I am starting a new series on the authority of the believer. It goes hand in hand with the stuff I am teaching on heart at the moment!
I think that many Christians today are very confused on the issue of the believer’s authority. The underlying deceit that brings confusion is firstly the lie of the traditional denominations that the authority that Christians had in the 1st century has somehow passed away. The second lie is the deceit of the charismatic churches that only special anointed people have the authority in this world.
The truth is that when we got every spiritual blessing in Christ, the day we became Christians, we got the authority of Jesus Christ to wield on the planet.
It’s really, really important that you understand this. You need to know the awesome power you have and the great responsibility you have as a believer to examine, investigate and utilise this power to make the world a better place. The enemy of our souls, the devil, has worked overtime to bring confusion here and make sure that God’s people do not know how much authority they have.
He blinds people still (2 Cor. 4.3-4) and many Christians are sadly so, so blind and do not believe how much authority they have.
To grasp authority and how much authority we have in Christ, our first foundational truth is we have to learn the difference between authority and power. Sadly, there isn’t a single translation of the New Testament that correctly translates the words for “power” and “authority”, and so people have got confused. For example in Luke 10.19 in the KJV it says:
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
That is a bad translation, sadly. The accurate truth from the Greek is that Jesus has given us authority over the power of the devil. The image is of a road, traffic is surging past, high powered vehicles are racing by and suddenly a man in uniform steps and raises his hand. Every vehicle stops.
Why? Because of the man’s great power? No – he is not more powerful than a juggernaut. But he has authority. Authority always triumphs over power and we have authority in Christ.
When you realize that you have authority over all the works of the power of the enemy, then you can face the devil without fear, without any sense of inferiority, without any hesitation or remorse. You have the same authority as Christ right here right now.
Next week: where does that authority come from (it’s a good one)
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