Spiritual Authority (3)

Yesterday we discussed the fall of satan and looked at how Jesus restored our relationship with God and restored kingdom dominion and power. Two of my fellow bloggers Manu – The Faithfood Blog and Pedro – Kingdom Thoughts, helped me to consider the time of satan’s falling. While I originally meant to write that he fell after Adam and Eve, Pedro pointed out that he fell before that. The discussion encouraged me to do a bit of research and some of my findings suggests that he fell before Adam and Eve, after the creation of the angels. Other accounts suggests that he fell after Adam and Eve did. I think from reading the bible, both ideas make sense, as satan was most likely in a fallen state when he tempted Eve. Did he want to take dominion from mankind, because he himself had fallen or did he want us to be as miserable as he was?

His shape shifting into a serpent was interesting and he was certainly not in alignment with God’s will and purpose. I won’t spend too much time talking about the serpent as the greater focus is on the authority that we have over him. While it is important to be aware of the strategies of the adversary, we have to balance that against giving him too much attention. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2, about salvation through grace. He points to our state after the fall, which was death through sin. “in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). When we were in sin, we followed sinful passions and desires. God loved us despite our sin and transformed us from death to life in Christ Jesus.

As we are saved by grace, we are now raised to sit with Christ in heavenly places. This sitting in heavenly places represents a seat of honour and authority and it gives us heavenly access and privileges. This is similar to having access to a VIP club or the business lounge on a flight. We have front row seats to the affairs of heaven and have access to come boldly to the throne of grace to find mercy to help in the time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Jesus explained this a bit more in Matthew 18:18, when he said, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” He was saying that we have the power to forbid happenings on earth, by an indisputable authority and to allow by an indisputable authority.

This indisputable authority is Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus continued in Matthew 18, that if two believers agreed about anything here on earth when they pray, it would be done for them by God in heaven. In essence, although we pray, agree, allow or disallow things here on the earth, this is registered in our seat of authority heaven, before we see the physical manifestation here on earth. When two or more believers gather in the name of Jesus, he is in our midst as a seal. Our salvation is a free gift from God which we don’t have to earn. This salvation grants us access into the affairs of heaven, which also gives us access to power and authority. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

A.P.-Y.