Good morning warriors of the Lord!
When we accept the authority Jesus gave us, we realize that we have the ability to withstand the devil’s lies, strategies, and deceit. The devil cannot force us to do anything ~ the only power he has is deception. As Christians, we are righteous, holy, sancitified, and perfect. But when we do not know the truth of who we are in Christ Jesus and the dominion that has been given to us, by default, we turn that authority over to the enemy. We are God’s own children, but the devil will always try to shame us into thinking there is something wrong with us.
Ephesians 6:10-11 tells us that we must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Wearing His armor helps us resist the devil. When we are clothed with His armor, we can withstand the devil’s deception and craftiness. He wants to trick us into giving him what rightfully belongs to us and tries to convince us that we are not who Jesus says we are.
In the book of Genesis, the Lord gave all power and authority to Adam and Eve. Therefore, it would have violated divine law for God to interfere in human affairs when Adam and Eve got into trouble. The power is God’s, but we have the right to make use of it.
Psalm 115:16 says,
- The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men.
God made us in His image and likeness, and gave us dominion over the entire earth (see Genesis 1:26-28). Because Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus had to be born so that God could come down to earth in human form to redeem us, and atone for Adam and Eve’s sin. God could not redeem us without a physical body.
When Jesus came to the earth, He did not come to take back His authority, but to fix what had been broken. Isaiah 59:16 declares that when the Lord saw that there was no one to be an intercessor and stand in the gap between mankind and Him, He brought salvation through His Own arm.
God re-established His authority on earth when He finally received a physical body at birth. This was God’s plan all along, but it had to be spoken before it could come to pass. When the plan was revealed to Mary, her obedience allowed it to happen.
What God did through Jesus restores the authority and power to us. When we are aware of our authority, the devil will not have an advantage over us. We will be mindful of his schemes (see 2 Corinthians 2:11).
Resisting the wiles of the devil,
Lisa Gordon
Jesus City Church