A Study of the Authority that belongs to every believer in Messiah Jesus.
LK 10:17 NIV
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
Mark 16:17 NIV
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons
We have authority in the Name of Jesus. It is ours to use subject to His Lordship.
LK 10:18-20
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
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.
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you;
but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
The 2 Words translated in the KJV as "power" here are different words.
The first one * is Exousia, "Authority" the second one is "Dunamis" which means
forceful power. We have Authority over all the forceful power of the enemy, whatever power satan still may have, we have authority over it.
Lets consider what satan is for a moment. When he was RIGHT with God, he was "the anointed cherub that covered", he covered God with praise, lead worship of God, and grew to lust after that worship himself, and fell. When satan fell, we read that fire consumed him from his midst. The spirit of a man, or of a created being is in their innermost being.. in their midst. We know from scripture that the Holy Spirit resides in our Spirit when we are born again. When he fell the Holy Spirit, also called the Glory, or Shekinah of God consumed satan from within. Demons are unclean spirits. They are seperated from God, and are full of darkness. They have no covenant with the Most High. They are unclean, even as something was declared to be unclean in the Mosaic covenant, meaning, they are DEFILED. They have no connection with God, no connection with His Spirit, with His Glory. They had LESS power when they fell than they had when they were RIGHT with God, when they were CLEAN.
Ezekiel 28:12-18 NIV
"Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
" `You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, [KJV = "from the midst of thee"] and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.
Col 2:13-15 KJV
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it(the cross).
Col 2:15 NIV
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them*, triumphing over them by the cross.
* Weymouth's Translation = "Boldly Displayed them as his conquests".
* Amplified = "Made a bold display and example of them"
We see that Jesus, through the Cross, brought all of satan's dominion to nought, and made a public display of every demonic force as if they were trophy's of conquest. In other words, every demon was Jesus' mounted prize. They were COMPLETELY vanquished and totally overcome. So what remains for us, the Body of the head which accomplished all that?
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.... Hebrews 10:12+13 NIV
Jesus has done ALL he will ever do about satan and demons. He did it at the cross, and now waits for US to put them under his feet, to bring every last one of them under ALL of the Body of Christ. To reign over them in our own life, and to exercise authority over them in the earth, and in the lives of others (when the people are seeking to be made free).
Rom 5:17b NIV
how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign (as kings) in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Adam and eve were given a teritory and commission to rule that teritory, the teritory was the Earth, and the commission was to rule over it and SUBDUE it. That means we were to undo the results on the Earth of satan's treason.
Gen 1:28 KJV
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Unfortunately Adam and Eve fell to sin, and severed God's ability to manifest His Authority through them, untill in Jesus He restored Man's relationship with Him.
Romans 8:19-21 NIV
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed (For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it) in hope that [it] will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
In Jesus we see creation subject to His Word. The waves stop, the wind dies down, when He speaks with authority and says "peace, be still".
We have that same authority, in Jesus, and the relationship with the Father has been restored so that we can walk in the fullness His authority. We just need to wake up to that and take and use what is ours in Him. As we grow in our faith and our relationship with the Father we will see a greater manifestation of His power as we use our authority in Jesus.
Eph 6:10+11 NIV
EPH 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Restoration of the fullness of the Power and Authority of God in us. He can use us to the fullness of His Power, and we are kept and protected by His Armor!!! No wonder "nothing shall by any means harm you"!!!!
Eph 6:12 KJV
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
God's personal armor, and the Fullness of God's Might are granted to US so that we can wrestle VICTORIOUSLY with demonic forces and Walk in the Conquest of the Cross, and continue to "make a public display" of Jesus Conquests!!!! Glory to God!!!
Our Authority is in the Name of Jesus:
Php 2:8-11
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
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.
Heb 1:4 NIV
He became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Jesus Inherited That "Name Above Every Other Name", and so did we!!!
Romans 8:17 NIV
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.
What are the limits on that authority? In reality only our faith in Jesus and in the name of Jesus. Authority is a right, a possession, just like a bank book is a possession that gives you a legal right to withdraw funds from your account. With a bank account, you need not be the one who established the account to use it, only be someone authorized to do so. "Authority" means you have been authorized to excecise a right! It is your RIGHT to use the Name of Jesus to exercise his authority.
Mt 28:18 NIV
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.