Walking in Our Authority

Jesus approached and breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go then and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18-19)

And as the Father has appointed a kingdom and conferred it on Me, so do I confer on you {the privilege and decree} (Luke 22:29)

But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His Name. (John 1:12) {Emphasis mine}

I have read the above passage from the book of John many, many times over the years. But when I recently read it, the word “authority” captured my attention.It is a key to kingdom life that many who truly love and honor the Lord have never fully understood because they have never been fully taught.

There are obstacles we must overcome to accept and understand and walk in the authority we have been given. The first thing that must be recognized is that there is a vast difference between human understanding and spiritual Truths:

Now we have not received the spirit {that belongs to the world}, but the{Holy} Spirit, Who is from God, {given to us} that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts {of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly} bestowed on us by God. And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the {Holy} Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language {to those who possess the Holy Spirit}. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)

Satan certainly does not want us to fully understand and walk in the authority we have been given, for through that authority he is defeated (Luke 10:19, Colossians 2:15). Watered down (“lukewarm”) Gospel teaching diminishes the message as well (Revelation 3:14-17). There is also the Truth that God is God and we are not! It can be a difficult balancing act to walk humbly before our God while operating with divine audacity concerning the authority He has given us:

“There is humble and there is ineffective! God’s people need to learn and operate in Holy Spirit boldness and kingdom authority. Stand on the Word you know and seek hard after the Truth you have yet to learn. Pray for insight into the Word (Ephesians 1:17-22) and a deep and intimate knowledge of God (Ephesians 3:19).

We are, indeed, to be humble in God’s Presence, in awe and honoring (James 4:10, Luke 18:14). As we walk daily before Him we are to humbly and, yes, fearfully acknowledge His Lordship (Proverbs 1:7)), His Sovereignty, His position of absolute authority in our lives. However, that same attitude of humility does not extend to all things spiritual. It is, in fact, inappropriate and counter-productive when encountering worldly issues and Satan’s attempts to derail us, or to diminish our success and our testimony. We need to understand who we are in Christ and walk in that knowing.” (From God’s Beloved Daughters the devotional)

Our living Father has bestowed upon all in Christ an authority that we seldom take full advantage of. The only thing that will rectify that is the Word of God. God sent His Son – so that we might once again be alive to God through Him (1 John 4:9) – His Spirit – to guide us into all Truth concerning Himself (John 16:13) – and His Word – to reveal to us Who He is and Who we are in Him.

Over the next few weeks let’s look together at Gospel Truth concerning the authority we have been commissioned to walk in, acknowledging at the very beginning of our study that God’s Word is our foundational and defining authority. Let’s let the Word transform and renew our minds (Romans 12:2). For now, let John 1:12 and Luke 22:29 capture your attention.