The Believer's Authority

Praise be to God for this message that I want to share with you today. It is a four-part series on the Believer's Authority that I believe will be a great blessing to you. While I had initially planned to title this message 'We Rule the World,' the focus is all about understanding the authority that believers have been given. So, open your heart and let's dig into this message.

Before we begin, it is important that we understand who Satan is and how he became the adversary of God and His people. We must not be ignorant of his tactics (2 Corinthians 2:11). John reminds us that "the whole world is under the control of the evil one" (1 John 5:19, NIV), while Paul refers to Satan as "the prince of the power of the air," placing him at the head of the wicked hordes in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:2; 6:11, 12).

It is essential to note that Satan is a personal being. He is referred to by over 40 different titles and names in the Bible, including "adversary" (Isaiah 14:12; Zechariah 3:1; Matthew 4:1; 13:19; Genesis 3:1; Revelation 9:11; 12; Mark 3:22; John 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4). He appears over 52 times in the Bible, and every book of the New Testament mentions him.

Jesus did not dispute Satan's claim when he confronted Him and asked Him to bow to him so he would offer Him the kingdoms of this world and their glory (Luke 4:5-8). Satan is the leader of the fallen angels and comes into full view only in the New Testament. His name means "adversary" (opponent of God and His people), and the Old Testament introduces him as such (1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 1-2; Zechariah 3:1-2; Job 4:15-21).

The New Testament gives Satan revealing titles: "devil" (diabolos) means accuser, which is precisely what he does to God's people (Revelation 12:9-10); "Apollyon" (Revelation 9:11) means destroyer; "the tempter" (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5) and "the evil one" (1 John 5:18-19) mean what they say. "Prince" and "god of this world" point to Satan as presiding over mankind's anti-God lifestyles (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9). Jesus refers to Satan as a murderer and the father of lies. He is both the original liar and the sponsor of all subsequent falsehood and deceits (John 8:44). He seeks at every turn to thwart God's purposes.

Satan was created a perfect and beautiful being by God. He fell in love with himself and was so obsessed with his own beauty and intelligence that he deluded himself into thinking that he alone was worthy of worship and adoration. He corrupted the very wisdom that God had blessed him with. Before his rebellion, only the will of God was carried out on earth. A new creature appeared when he wanted to exercise his own will and set himself up as God to see his will carried out. He introduced malevolence into the universe, and the world promotes it today.

God created man to have authority and dominion over all that He had created. However, many times man abuses this authority because he does not know how to use it. Our authority is restricted to the earth and everything in it. Before God formed Eve, He said to Adam, "Of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

Adam and Eve were the seed of mankind, and if he could corrupt the seed, then all of mankind would be corrupted. Adam was the main problem. He knew what God had said, and he didn't stop what was going on. In 2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul referred to the devil as the angel of light. This indicates that the devil is a deceiver, liar, and usurper of authority. Eve was tempted in all three areas: spirit, soul, and body. She saw that the forbidden fruit was good for food (flesh), could make her wise (soul), and would make her like God (spirit).

Though Adam had the authority to resist the devil, he also failed. However, we don't have to fret because God sent his Son to save us (1 John 4:14). As believers in Christ Jesus, we are saved, not just in a hopeful state but already saved. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prayed for Christians to be sanctified completely in spirit, soul, and body.