I now want to get into the exercising of the delegated authority that every believer in Christ Jesus has been given.
Now let’s look at two key phrases in the prayer which Paul prayed for the Church at Ephesus in chapters 1 and 2.
Eph 1:20 …and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, KJV
Paul is talking about Jesus being set at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places.
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together,… KJV
In the mind of God the Father and in the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, we were not only raised up together with Christ but we were made to sit together in heavenly places with Christ. So in the mind of God we were raised when Christ was raised and when Christ sat down, we sat down too. That’s where we are right now. We need to realize that now we’re sitting with Christ with all of the authority that’s given unto Him and that authority belongs to us. We exercise the authority that was given to Him because it belongs to us through Him. You’ll notice it said, “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. We help Him by carrying out His work upon the earth.
Not only have we been made to sit in this place of authority but also notice where we are sitting.
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion,… KJV
Eph 6:12 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. KJV
The Church must remember that they are sitting with Christ far above all principalities, power, might, dominion, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places. Not only is Christ seated at the right hand of the Father far above all of these powers but the Church is as well. Father God has made us sit together with Christ.
Now the Word of God tells us to conquer the devil. We have the authority to do it. I want to share a testimony that proves the Lord has given us authority over the demonic and God won’t do what He has given us authority over.
God Is Expecting The Body To Stop Demonic Activity
I want to now share a testimony of a man of God who had several encounters with Jesus and in this testimony Jesus appeared to him in a vision and spoke to him. “At the end of the vision Jesus was talking to me about the devil, demons and demon activity and how to exercise authority over them. And right at the end of the vision He seemed to be standing up about where the ceiling of the room was and I was kneeling there before Him. And so here came a demon or an evil spirit between the two of us and put out something like a smoke screen or dark cloud and I couldn’t see Jesus any more. And then that demon just jumped up and down. It looked a whole lot like a monkey. When I say monkey I don’t mean exactly but about that size and sort of monkey like. The face was different but the body was sort of like a little monkey. And he jumped up and down and waved his arms and kicked his legs and in a real shrill like voice said, ‘Yakety Yak. Yak. Yakety Yak. Yak.’ Just as shrill as a whistle almost. It would pierce your ears. I couldn’t hear one word Jesus was saying and I couldn’t see Him because of the dark cloud. I wondered now why did the Lord permit that? Why did He let that happen? I needed to hear what He was saying. And I’m not hearing what He’s saying. Doesn’t He know I am not hearing what He’s saying? Why doesn’t He tell that demon to stop? Why doesn’t He rebuke that demon? Those thoughts are going through my mind. But the dark cloud is still there. I can’t see Jesus. I can’t hear a word that He is saying and yet I hear the sound of His voice but I can’t distinguish any words. And so I almost panicked. I thought I need to hear that. And so without thinking I just suddenly spoke to the spirit and I said, I command you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to shut up and to stop! Now when I said that I mean he just hit the floor, ker-flop, the cloud disappeared and I could see Jesus standing there then. And that little demon just laid there on the floor and whimpered and whined and shook like a little pup that you had whipped. And then Jesus said something that absolutely, upended my theology. I mean it was different than anything. Jesus pointed to that spirit lying there in the floor a whimpering and whining and shaking like he was afraid and said, ‘If you hadn’t done something about that I couldn’t.’ And I remember I got a hold of my ear and shook it. I said, “Lord, you know, I didn’t hear right. Now I know that you didn’t say that if I hadn’t done something about that to that demon you couldn’t. You said you wouldn’t, didn’t you? He said, ‘I said, if you hadn’t done something about that demon or evil spirit, I couldn’t.’ I said, there’s something wrong with my hearing. I’m not hearing right. Now you didn’t say if I hadn’t done something about that spirit, demon spirit, you couldn’t, you said wouldn’t? ‘No,’ He said. And He spoke real firm and stern like. And I mean He got real stern with me. And He looked at me very sternly and said, ‘No! I said I couldn’t!’ Now I said, Lord, that’s just different from anything I have ever heard. That’s different from anything I have ever preached myself. I said, I can’t even accept that. I don’t care if I am seeing You and hearing You talk to me. I’ll not accept any vision, any kind of experience if it can’t be proven by the written Word.” And I said, I can’t accept that unless You give me at least three references and all of them in the New Testament because we are living in the New Testament. Because I said, The Bible said, In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. So you are going to have to give me at least three references in the New Testament for me to accept it. He smiled so sweetly and said, ‘I’ll do you one better. I’ll give you four.’”
What happens with us is that a lot of times people try to figure things out in their head; but we’ve got to get the revelation of what God is saying in our spirits, in our hearts on the inside of us.
Continuation of the Testimony: So then Jesus went on and said to me,
“There’s no place in the New Testament where any writer told the Church to pray to God the Father about the devil or told the Church to pray to God the Father to do anything about the devil or prayed that God would rebuke the devil.” And He said, “Praying to me, Jesus Christ or to God the Father to rebuke the devil, is to waste your time.”
I think the whole body of Christ has wasted a lot of time trying to get God to get rid of the devil. Christians who ask God to rebuke the devil are wasting their time. The least member of the body of Christ has just as much authority over the devil as anyone else. And unless believers do something about the devil, nothing will be done.
Christ Has Given The Body His Authority In The Earth
Let’s look at some of those scriptures the Lord showed this man of God about the believer’s authority over the demonic.
Matt 28:18 All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. KJV
Jesus spoke this after He had risen from the dead and now He has been given the place of authority at the right hand of the Father.
The word “power” is better translated “authority”. All authority is given unto me in Heaven and in earth. Now the Church has stopped reading right there and said that Christ has been given authority in heaven and in the earth. But Jesus is not sitting there in that place of authority alone. We the body of Christ are seated right there with Him. Jesus has delegated His authority that this scripture is talking about here to the Church in the earth. We can see that plainly because the next word Jesus spoke was, “Go ye therefore…” See, Christ is the Head and we are the body. Because He is the Head and because He won the victory over the devil He’s authorizing us, “Go with my authority.”
In Mark the 16th chapter, we see Jesus saying the same thing, “Go.”
Mark 16:15-17 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; KJV
Now the very first sign that was to follow any believer was, “In my name they will cast out devils.” Jesus is talking about any believer.
“These signs shall follow them that believe.” Actually the Greek Testament said, “These signs will follow the believing ones...”
Jesus is simply saying believers will have authority over the devil. The very first sign of the believing one is that in the Name of Jesus the believer will exercise authority over the devil. A believer would have to exercise authority over the devil or he couldn’t cast any devil out. In other words, the believer will break the power of the devil. Every believer has that authority over their own life and over the life of their family members. Now we can’t go down the street and just break the power of the devil over everybody; because they got a will of their own. You got authority over evil spirits but not human spirits.
So believers will cast out devils, they will speak with new tongues, they will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Notice each time it says the believer will do it. It didn’t say Jesus will lay hands on the sick but that the believer will do it. The believer lays hands on the sick and they exercise authority over the devil and over sickness and disease. It’s the believer who does it all.
Here are two other scriptures in James where the believer uses their authority instead of praying for God to do something.
James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; KJV
James 4:7 ...Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. KJV
James does not tell the Church when there is sick in the Church to pray to God so that God will resist the devil. James says the Church, the believers are to resist the devil. We can resist the devil because we have authority over the devil. So we must resist the devil and his evil work and not ask God to do it.
The truth is that no Christian is supposed to get anybody else, a fellow believer to do anything about the devil for them. In the final and last analysis, nobody can anyway. They might help you temporarily but you are going to have to learn to exercise your own authority.
You resist the devil and he’ll flee from you. It doesn’t say that he’ll flee from Jesus but he will flee from you. The authority is yours. Somebody said, “I just don’t feel like it.” Feeling has got nothing to do with it. That authority is yours whether you feel like it or not; but you must exercise it.
A policeman exercises authority when he’s standing out in the middle of the street directing traffic, he holds his hand out and stops the traffic flowing this way and everybody stops. Well he’s exercising authority that’s invested in him. He doesn’t have the strength or the power to stop all of those cars. They can run over him. But he’s got authority.
Believers, you must know that the devil recognizes authority.
The policeman just holds up his hand and the traffic all stops because he’s authorized to do that. He might not feel like doing it but the authority works whether he feels like it or not.
There’s where a lot of Christians miss it because they are going by feelings. Their faith is not in their authority. Their faith is in their feelings.
The Believer Resists The Devil & He Flees
James 4:7 ...Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. KJV
The word “flee” has significance here in this scripture. “To flee from” means to “run from as in terror”.
Resist the devil and he will run from you as in terror. Now most Christians don’t know that. They see the devil and they want to run from him as in terror; but he’s supposed to be running from them.
Remember the vision of the man of God I shared earlier and that evil spirit was whimpering and crying and trembling and shaking? He was scared! He knew he was a defeated foe and he knew that now the man of God had found it out!
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,… KJV
We have an adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour. He’s our adversary, our opponent, our enemy, one arrayed against us. He is our enemy Satan.
The problem with Christians is they say, “Oh the devil is after me. Let’s pray. You all pray for me that the devil won’t get me.” If you talk like that you’re already gotten. You can turn in prayer requests, you can get all the preachers on the radio and television to pray for you but you will still be bound because you are not doing anything.
We might as well face up to it, we have to do something about it. We are told to do something about it with the authority of Christ given to us in the earth.
So first of all be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Now what are you going to do about it? Encourage one another with natural human sympathy? “Everything will be better tomorrow.” No, go ahead and do what the Bible said to do
1 Peter 5:9 Whom resist… KJV
That’s what you are supposed to do, resist the devil.
1 Peter 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions (same tests, same trials) are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. KJV
The American Revised Version reads, “resist him, steadfast in your faith”.
Every believer has the same authority that Peter had and that’s the reason he didn’t say, “Well send your request into me and I’ll handle it for you.” No, Peter told us what to do, you resist the devil. We are to resist the devil for ourselves and not count on others to do it.
A lot of people are always asking why they don’t get healed or why they don’t get delivered from this or that and the other. Something is wrong and they have ministers to pray for them and nothing happens. Why? I believe is it because they are not taking their place of resisting the devil steadfastly in their faith.
We have to understand that when people first get saved they are baby Christians and right at first God will allow other people to carry them for a while and pray for them; but the time will come when the Lord is going to require that person to grow up and use their own faith. God expects each one of us to grow in faith, develop our faith by using our faith daily.
For every believer there comes a time when they will have to exercise authority for themselves. Every believer must know what belongs to them. Every believer will have to walk in the light of what is theirs. For those who are not taught they will continue for years in a babyhood state and never attempt to exercise faith on their own and just remain dependent on somebody else to use their faith and pray the prayer for them but then the time will come when the other person’s prayers for them will not work any longer. Every believer is going to have to realize that they are sitting there too with Christ at the right hand of the Father; the right hand being the place of authority.
Our adversary the devil comes as a roaring lion. Now it doesn’t say that he is a roaring lion but comes as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour but every believer can do something about that. Resist the devil in their faith.
So we can see from the scriptures I have shared with you that Jesus, James and Peter tell believers to do something about the devil.
Heaven Is Not Going To Do Anything More About The Devil For the Believer
Now let’s see what Paul said about what to do with the devil
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil. KJV
That means don’t give the devil any place in you. So then every believer has the authority over the devil otherwise you couldn’t keep him from taking the place.
If you give place to the devil there’s nothing that Jesus can do. That’s important for you to know and remember. If you’ll give place to the devil, there’s nothing that Jesus can do; because you have the authority to get rid of him and not Jesus. Jesus got authority over all demonic through His death, burial and resurrection but now He gave it to you. You are seated at the right hand of the Father which is the right hand of authority. There’s nothing more Jesus can do now for believers. You have the authority and yet you have given the devil permission to take a place in you and there’s nothing Jesus can do about it. Can you see that? Unless you, a believer in Christ do something to render powerless the devil in your life, Jesus still can’t do anything about it.
Heaven has done all they are ever going to do about the devil until that angel comes down from Heaven and binds him and puts him in the bottomless pit. God is not going to do anything now a days about the devil. Jesus arose from the dead and delegated the authority over the devil to the Church. The believers have been delivered from the devil and not going to get delivered. They have been delivered. It’s terrible that most Christians are running around trying to get something the Bible said already was theirs.
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Christ has once and for all delivered us from the power of darkness or better translated, delivered us from the authority of darkness. So if every believer has been delivered from the power or authority of darkness and that word darkness means everything that Satan is and so then darkness, Satan, his kingdom has no authority over any believer. Every believer has been translated, delivered from Satan’s authority and have been translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
So now Heaven is not going to do anything about the devil for the believer. The believer is because they have been delivered from the devil. So every believer better wake up and change their praying for God to do something about the devil and get after the devil themselves because we have the authority to do it! Why? Because every believer is sitting at the right hand of the Father far above all the demonic! “Far above” are two words every believer should be excited about because that means far above all dominion and power and principalities. And so if we are far above them then we have authority over them.
Eph 1:22-23 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. KJV
The feet are members of the body. Feet aren’t members of the head. He’s the Head and we are the body. We are the body of Christ. It is wonderful to know that the least members of the body of Christ, those who are the very soles of the feet are far above all the mighty sources that we’ve been considering, all the principalities and powers.
No wonder Jesus told every believer there in Luke 10:19,
Luke 10:19 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.
KJV
“Power to tread on”, that means to walk on them. Serpents and scorpions here are symbolic of all the enemy. Jesus has given the Church authority to tread on the entire enemy.
The enemy has too long walked on the Church in this earth. You would think by the way the Church talks that the devil is bigger than anything and anybody, that he’s running everything.
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that he is the god of this world.
Even though believers, the Church are in the world we are not of the world. And he doesn’t have any right to tread on us or rule us or dominate us. In fact he can’t unless believers let him; because these scriptures we just got through reading were given to the Church, “Neither give place to the devil.” That means Church can keep him from taking place in them. That means Church; every believer has got the authority, the power, the ability to do it.
God’s not unjust. If God asked the Church, the believer to do something they couldn’t do then He would be unjust. But He’s not unjust. Paul states it plainly in Romans 5:17, explaining the exercise of the authority that is ours.
Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) KJV
It was Adam’s offense or Adam’s sin that caused spiritual death to reign over all mankind that came in the earth. But now by one man, Jesus Christ, the believer shall reign in this life. The Amplified Translation tells us we will reign as kings. And that’s the truth! Those that receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in this life as kings!
God’s plan is for every believer to rule and to reign in their life. What does it mean to rule and reign in life? Rule and reign in Christ over everything that concerns a believer’s life. God’s plan is for every believer to reign, to rule over circumstances, poverty, sickness and disease, everything that would hinder, harass, torment, anything that causes anxiety or mental torment, every addiction, everything!
The Amplified tells every believer “Shall reign as kings.” What does that mean, to “reign as kings”? Why and how does a king reign? A king reigns when he knows he has authority and he uses that authority. Even so believers reign when they know their authority in Christ Jesus and they use it daily. Every believer reigns in this life by their authority in Christ Jesus.
God doesn’t intend that the devil dominate any member of the body of Christ. He never intended for fear to dominate the body of Christ or that they are dominated by anything in this world system that the demonic operate through. Jesus was given power, given authority over the entire enemy and He has given His authority to His body, the body of Christ. And I am telling you it’s time the Church believes this and gets stirred up about it and tells every devil that comes against them to take their hands off of them, off their finances, off of their health and everything else! Every believer has a right to tell the devil just to stop what he is doing right now!
The truth is that the Church, the body of Christ, every single believer has more authority then what we have recognized, what we are using and that is why we are not using it, because we didn’t recognize it as ours. But glory to God I have told you and now you know. You have no excuse now.
The Church Must Realize Their Exalted Place To Rule From On This Earth
The Church, and that includes every believer, must learn to be exalted to the place where God has given us and wants us to rule from on this earth. Notice what he said,
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together,… KJV
God has exalted us. God exalted Christ but He exalted us too because we were raised up TOGETHER WITH CHRIST.
Phil 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,… KJV
Now when did God exalt Jesus? When He raised Him from the dead and after He ascended on high and sat down and give Him a Name above all names. Now the Church needs to see that Name belongs to us because we are the body of Christ in the earth. And Christ is not going to do anything in the earth but through His body, His Church
Now, with that thought in mind, go back to that Ephesians 2:6.
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together… KJV
We must learn to be exalted to the place where God wants us. We didn’t exalt ourselves. We are not trying to exalt ourselves. We’re just taking advantage of what belongs to us, being raised together with Christ and using our delegated authority and dominion over the entire enemy.
The Church fails too often in her ministry of authority and is bowed down in defeat and is overcome with fear and we don’t look and sound any different than the world and so the world doesn’t need the Church. But it shouldn’t be that way, not with any believer!
Christ Is Head Over All Things For the Church’s Sake
Eph 1:22-23 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. KJV
Christ is the Head and He proved that when He was here the earth. He’s Head over sickness and disease and over all the work of the enemy.
Now to bring out more clearly the deepest significance of what God is saying here in this verse; reverse the words in their order. He is Head to the Church over all things. He’s being Head over all things is for the Church’s sake. He didn’t need to be Head over all things for God’s sake. He didn’t need to be Head over all things for His own sake; but it’s for the Church’s sake. We need to meditate again and again these mighty truths with their tremendous meaning until our hearts grasp what God is saying to us and once our spirits gets the revelation of what God is saying we will reap rich rewards. Then the Church will know and see the true meaning of God’s revelation of the authority of the believer and become a mighty force the devil has to contend with in the earth.
God has made Christ to be the Head over all things to the Church. It’s for the Church’s sake that Christ is the Head; so that we through Him might exercise that authority over all things. Can you see that? When we see what belongs to us, then and then only will we enjoy the victory that He has given us.
Conclusion
I think there is no message in all of the New Testament that the devil fights any more than this one of the authority of the believer. He’ll fight for us getting there. But through stubborn faith in Christ the victory can be ours now.
Ephesians 2:6, this is God the Holy Ghost through the Apostle Paul writing to the Church, to every believer.
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places… KJV
Some Christians talk about hanging around the Cross when they ought to be talking about sitting on the throne. Every believer is raised with Christ. Sure we all came to the Cross but that’s not all of it. Every believer should come on up and sit at their place of authority in Heaven far above all the enemy.
Believer, come on up and sit down and exercise your authority over all the demonic activity in your life and the world around you!