Treasures New and Old

Spiritual Warfare: Kingdom Authority

Spiritual warfare for the Christian is largely a battle of the mind, bringing every thought into captivity and exercising authority over our minds. There are elements to this battle that make it very different than any other kind of warfare we might engage in.

For example, there is the element of faith, the ability to believe the promises and principles set forth in Scripture and act upon them.

There is the discipline of bringing every thought under control and not letting your thoughts “run away” from you: thoughts of lust, anger, jealousy, and others.

There is the element of overcoming fear and doubts as well as laying aside every weight and sin that easily besets us and drags us down.

In this article, I wish to explore the elements of kingdom authority that we have in Christ. We walk in two worlds, the physical and the spiritual. It is through the spiritual world that we have been given authority through Christ to overcome the wicked forces that seek to thwart us and render us powerless.

An important aside, beware of cherry-picking verses – always get a composite context from many verses on a subject before drawing conclusions. That is why I always provide many Scripture verses in my articles.

Our Kingdom Authority in Christ

THE CENTURION

Matthew 8:5-13:

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Here is perhaps the greatest example of one who understood the principle of authority. It is the only time we have a record of Jesus “marveling” at something or someone because of their insight into an important truth. And this came from a Gentile, not a Jew who should have been deeply aware of the principles of Scripture.

The centurion was a man in middle management (so to speak). He had men under his command as well as those to whom he was subjected. He fully understood two important principles about authority that made Jesus marvel:

• That those under him knew that they had to obey his commands just as he knew that he had to obey the commands given to him under penalty of serious consequences (even death) and
• That his authority to make and follow such commands did not lie with himself, but with the emperor who was the highest authority figure in the empire.

Each command the centurion gave, he did so not as if he had given it, but as if the emperor himself had given it and, therefore, the full weight and power of the entire Roman Empire gave force to those edicts.

The centurion then took it a step beyond this “everyday” understanding of Roman authority. He was able to transfer it to the spiritual realm (kingdom) and fully expected and believed that Jesus held the same kind of kingdom authority that he did, but in the spiritual world that translated into physical manifestations like healings.

 The centurion either had witnessed Jesus’ healing power or had heard enough about Jesus that he believed without doubt that Jesus had the same kind of authority to command results that he did as a centurion. Note, we don’t know at this time if the centurion believed Jesus was God as yet, but he did see and believe that He was much like the centurion (maybe middle management within the spiritual realm) and as such had indeed the authority to command healings.

Authority Translated into Faith

Notice something else about this exchange. Jesus turned to His followers (not to the centurion) and equated the centurion’s statement, not as a statement of fact about authority, but as one of faith. Even all of Israel did not have the centurion’s understanding spiritual authority.

When the centurion commanded a thing, he fully expected it to be carried out. When he was commanded to obey an order, he fully expected to carry it out.

If only our own Christian walk could be so conducted!

Important Authority Truths to Ponder

CHURCH AUTHORITY TO PROTECT

1 Corinthians 5:4-5 (emphasis added): “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

We have authority to exercise judgement and discipline to members of the church for their betterment. Did you notice what is implied? That as long as that sinning member remained within the body, he was protected from Satanic attacks. The church has protective authority to prevent Satan and demonic attacks on the members. Here Paul tells them to remove the sinning member specifically so that Satan can attack him and perhaps bring an end to his sin.

Also note the phrase: “with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ“, because like the centurion acting under the power of the emperor, our authority is not our own, but that of Christ.

EVEN JESUS OBEYED THE FATHER – ONLY

John 8:29-32: “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.“

Jesus sets the example for us in that He also was one “under authority”. That is, He was willingly under the Father’s authority for all things and only did that which the Father wanted Him to do.

This is an area that our prosperity brethren get it all wrong. “Name it and claim it” assumes that I have all the authority to decide what I want and then to grasp it at will. But that philosophy ignores that the real authority is in Jesus Christ and not within ourselves.

Because Jesus did only what the Father wanted, then it follows that if we obey Jesus’ words we will prosper because they are the words of the Father.

AUTHORITY ALSO MEANS SUBMISSION

Hebrews 13:17: “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”

James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

The centurion was successful because he was submitted to his commanders. This must be true for us as well. We may be kings and priests as the Bible teaches, but we are definitely “middle management” in the kingdom of heaven, and as such, we are to be submitted to the Lord and to whomever He has set as our spiritual leaders.

WE AS CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN GIVEN AUTHORITY

Matthew 10:1: “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”

Matthew 16:19: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.“

Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Matthew 17:20-21: “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.“

Mark 6:7: “And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;”

Mark 11:23 (bold added): “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.“

BE A FAITHFUL CONQUEROR

Mark 1:27: “And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.”

2 Timothy 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Titus 2:15: “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”

Revelation 1:6: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

Romans 8:37: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

WE MUST EXERCISE AUTHORITY IN JESUS’ NAME BY FAITH

John 14:12-14: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

MISCELLANEOUS VERSES REGARDING AUTHORITY

2 Corinthians 10:3-5: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Revelations 12:11: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

Maranatha!

Bro. Joe

Privacy Policy