Spiritual Authority

What is Spiritual Authority? There is somewhat of a misconception about how things in the kingdom of God operate. The world doesn't have knowledge of God’s way of doing things, and many Christians don’t either. God’s kingdom is not a democracy, which means we don’t get to vote on things, and the opinion of the majority is not what decides the final say. The kingdom of God is a theocracy, meaning it has one king, who makes the rules. Our King is Jesus, and He has specific guidelines on how His kingdom is to operate. One of those guidelines includes the institution of spiritual authority and leadership in the body of Christ. As Christians, we are called to respect spiritual authority so that God's blessings can flow into our lives without interruption.

Romans 5:1-5 (NKJV)

¹ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

It is an essential truth to realize that we stand by faith which is a gift that God has given us through which grace operates in our lives.  When we allow God’s grace to operate in our lives, things do change.  Our perception of our world changes, we begin to see life from a God centered perspective, and even our character begins to change to reflect back to God the love that He has given to us so freely.

Spiritual Authority starts with submission.  We serve one King and that is Jesus Christ.  We also must submit to the authorities that God has placed in our lives, both Governmental and Church Leadership.  Many choose to not submit to Church leadership because they feel it is unnecessary, but it is necessary!  It is God's desire that we all be connected to the local Church Body.  He has assigned every Believer to a particular church, headed up by a pastor or leader after His own heart. Each person is to submit to his or her spiritual leader, as that leader follows Christ.

Romans 13:1-2 (NKJV)

¹ Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

As we grow in our relationship with the Lord and with Church Leadership we will find that we are also growing in our understanding of submission, one of the things we must realize is that we are standing in the grace of God.  God has given us authority to speak His words and do His works that others may benefit from the grace that has been deposited inside of us.  Here is where the beauty of being in submission comes into play, we can give freely of what we have received so that others may be blessed, and we can also be corrected by those who are in authority over us if we need correction, and because we are in submission we can receive correction gracefully as if from God Himself and we can grow from it.

Matthew 10:7-8 (NKJV)

⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Another aspect of Spiritual Authority is exercising our position in Christ over perceived attacks from our spiritual enemies. We tend to fight spiritual battles over things which have already been defeated because many of us have been given misinformation from well-meaning men and women in the Church.

John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Many Christians prayerfully take on Satan directly because they believe that Satan is God's enemy, this couldn't be further from the truth.  The "Middle English" dictionary says that the word enemy was first coined in the 1300's in the middle English as "enemi".  It is defined as two equal individuals or forces who are engaged in a battle.  In no way is Satan equal with God, Satan is a created being.

The only power that Satan has is the power of deception, and the worst thing about deception is that you don't know you're being deceived. Otherwise, it wouldn't be deception. Once the truth is received, deception loses all its power. Therefore, Satan loses all his power when we know what the truth is.

Many people don't know the truth about Satan's defeat. In fact, many Christians are the very instrument that Satan is using to foster the deception that he is still a powerful foe. "Spiritual warfare" is one of the hottest topics in the church today. People are expending great amounts of time and energy, constantly battling with Satan in ways contrary to Scripture, but in reality, Satan has already been defeated. We don't need to defeat him again.

Hebrews 2:14-15 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

We need to believe that Satan has already been completely destroyed and simply enforce his defeat. The only power he has is the power to deceive. Our battle should be against the wiles (trickery) of the Satan, not Satan himself. Any other approach is actually giving Satan authority and power which he doesn't have, and he uses that to intimidate us. The only weapon Satan has is the power we give him when we believe his lies.

Ephesians 6:10-12 (NKJV)

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Technically, warfare only takes place between two undefeated foes. Once an enemy has been conquered, the war is over.  Satan is a defeated foe.

Colossians 2:15 (KJV)

¹⁵ And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

The archaic meaning of the word "spoiled" here is "to plunder; despoil; or to take by force" (American Heritage Dictionary). This means that after Jesus defeated Satan, He stripped him of everything he had, specifically the keys of death and hell.  Satan has no power to imprison anyone.

Strong’s concordance states that the Greek word that was translated "shew" in the above verse is δειγματίζω  or " dāg-mä-tē'-zō" which means "to exhibit".  This comes from the root word "dā'g-mä" which means "a specimen (as shown)". Satan is like one of those bugs we had to capture for biology class. We caught it and then impaled it on a board with a little pin through it to exhibit it. You need to picture the Satan nailed to a wooden board like a bug on display. Hallelujah! Take that defeat Satan!

Strong’s concordance describes the Greek word that was translated "triumphing over" in the verse above as thrē-äm-byü'-ō, it is especially significant. It means "to make an exclamatory procession".  This is specifically referring to the way the Romans had a "triumphant procession" after they had defeated their enemies.

Upon conquering an enemy, the Romans would hold a parade. They would take the conquered king, strip him naked, and drag him through the crowd behind the conquering king or commander for all their subjects to see. He would be humiliated and insulted, but that's not all. They would also cut off the thumbs of his hands and the big toes of both feet. This was to assure the subjects this enemy would never be a threat to any of them again. He could not hold a sword and he would never be able to run again. There was no need to fear him any more. Any rumor about him ever challenging Rome again would be scoffed at because the citizens had seen him in the parade.

The same thing happened to the Satan. That's what this verse is referring to. Jesus not only beat the devil, but He had a triumphant procession to display the devil to the universe as a totally conquered foe. Satan should never terrify us again. Unfortunately, many Christians have missed the parade. They haven't seen God's triumphant procession that was pictured in God's Word where Satan was displayed as a totally defeated foe. They are circulating rumors that Satan is a powerful foe to be reckoned with. That is not so.

Satan is still alive, and we do have to reckon with him but only because he has so many lies circulating about his power against us. These are all lies, and therein is Satan's power. If we believe his lies, he then uses our own authority, which our fear grants him, to work his destruction in our lives. He has no power of his own. He's using the power and authority that our misdirected faith gives him.

Revelation 1:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Jesus not only exulted in a triumphant procession over defeating Satan, He took back control of the keys of Hell and death.  Jesus has the power over death.  No one is condemned to death to an eternity in Hell anymore unless someone chooses to go there.  Jesus paid the penalty for each of us that we would willingly come to Him and receive His precious gift of everlasting life.

Our part is to believe (trust in, rely on) the finished work of Christ as our own.

Our Spiritual Authority comes from the proof in the scriptures that Jesus defeated Satan once and for all time. We have been made alive in Christ and released from the lies of Satan that we may proclaim the truth to everyone
―We are all free to live in Christ!

Stephen Barnett

God is good all the time―all the time God is good!

Eternity

Word and Music by Brian Doerksen

I will be yours

You will be mine

Together in eternity

Out hearts of love

Will be entwined

Together in eternity

Forever in eternity

No more tears of pain

In our eyes

No more fear or shame

For we will be with you

Yes, we will be with you

Copyright © 1994 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.

The Lyrics above are copyrighted by the respective artist and are utilized here for educational purposes only and not for profit.

Thank you to Andrew Womack for his article on "Spiritual Authority" for insight and inspiration.