Welcome back to the second part of Your Authority in Christ.
In the first part we, saw how authority was given to us by God, and how and when it is active. And now we’ll continue by looking at some examples of spiritual authority being used, and answer some further questions and common objections to its use.
Let’s dive in deeper…
Spiritual Authority Is Given, Not Earned
In the previous segment, I mentioned briefly that spiritual authority is given, not something earned or merited through performance— and we need to explore that a bit more, because one of the common objections is that we can somehow lose spiritual authority via performance or behavior.
Now, this idea of performance-based authority, is really no different than performance-based blessings—in fact, one could even say that spiritual authority is a blessing.
Furthermore, the idea of performance-based spiritual authority may sound very righteous, but it’s actually self-righteousness, because it’s placing the focus and the burden on yourself, rather than on Jesus. The self-righteous mentality is nothing new, it existed even in biblical times. In Galatians 3:5-7, we see the following:
“He therefore that ministers to you the Spirit, and works miracles among you, does he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”
The question asked in verse 5, is a question that everyone with a performance mentality needs to ask… Does the ministering of the Spirit and working of miracles happen by the works of the law, or the hearing of faith? This is the key question, that clicks everything else into place.
A few verses down in Galatians 3:10-11, the scriptures tell us this:
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
Notice that verse 10 makes it quite clear that as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. As many as are of and cursed is everyone who continues not in all things. This isn’t just saying “try your best” to keep the law. The Law of Moses demands absolute perfection.
And if that wasn’t clear enough, verse 11 says No man is justified by the law in the sight of God. Rather, the just shall live by faith.
Specifically, the faith that we live by, is the faith (the information) of what Jesus Christ has accomplished by His sacrifice— which includes making you righteous, not by your performance, but because of Jesus’ sacrificial payment on your behalf.
The Gift of the Spirit
Now, notice that the scripture says we live by this faith— the word “live” is a verb; it’s speaking about the belief (which is also a verb) that we have based on our faith. Acts 2:38, Acts 10:45, Acts 11:17, and Romans 5:5 all speak of the Holy Spirit as being a gift. And not just a gift to the original disciples or apostles, but to all who believe, as mentioned in these verses.
Now, what does this gift entail? We could spend countless hours meditating on everything included in the list of spiritual gifts found in 1st Corinthians chapter 13— and I would encourage you to do that in your personal study time.
However for the purpose of our topic today, I want to focus on a specific detail mentioned in 2nd Timothy 1:7:
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Take the time to ponder the divine implications of what this verse is saying. You have been given a sprit by God, and it’s not a spirit of fear; rather you have been given a spirit of power. That word “power” means the power to perform miracles, the power to influence things, situations and circumstances. This isn’t a weak spirit, it’s a divinely potent spirit. The very spirit of Christ Jesus, residing in you.
Your Words Are Your Weapon
As the scripture says in Ephesians 6:18, the main spiritual weapon at our disposal— the way that we use the sword of the spirit, is to be praying in the spirit. Now, this doesn’t say “pray in the flesh”, or to pray and repeat every thought that wanders through your mind— did you know that not every thought that goes through your head is good? Did you know that not every thought is from God, or even from yourself? Some thoughts are from the world; some thoughts are demonic.
So what do you do with those thoughts. Well, the primary way to take or reject a thought, is with your mouth; your words. A simple demonstration is if you start counting to one-hundred in your head, and then start reciting Psalm 91 out loud.
What happened to your mental counting?
Your words have power, over your thoughts and feelings, all the way into the spiritual realm. Jesus says in Matthew 6:31:
“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat?, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”
According to Jesus, the way that we accept, or take thoughts, is by speaking them; by saying. This is why the scripture warns repeatedly about the awesome power of our tongue
I encourage you today to take some time and meditate on the power of words, and how they can be used in your daily life. And in the next segment, we’ll look at some examples of using spiritual authority, and answer some more common questions.
Until next time, I look forward to thriving with you again.
Be blessed.