But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…
Ephesians 2:4-6, KJV
The Lord spoke to my heart over the summer about teaching on the authority of the believer during Fall 2020. At the time, I had not been thinking about the upcoming election, nor the incredible weight of authority that we (the Body of Jesus on the earth) carry when it comes to praying and exercising our Blood-bought power over the spiritual darkness that seeks to overthrow and destroy this nation. But today it is quite clear why the Lord wanted to teach us about authority in this season!
We are less than 40 days away from the U.S. election. I feel deeply in my spirit that this is the most important election we have ever had as a nation. Therefore, I am going to obey God and do my part to teach and encourage others to step into their realms of authority and release the power of God on behalf of this nation. I admit, then, that this blog post may come as a shock to you, especially if you are new to the concept of the authority of the believer as a son or a daughter who is co-seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father. But don’t bail out yet – let’s see what the Bible says about our authority as Blood-bought children of the King.
Dominion: God’s Original Plan for Man
As usual, when we begin to study or to teach on any subject in the Bible, we can find God’s clearest purposes and intents in the Book of Beginnings–that is, Genesis. Notice that before God even created Adam and Eve, He blessed them and spoke His eternal purpose over them.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:26
We could spend days on this verse: there is so much to glean from the Word of God regarding our dominion in each sphere that is mentioned here. For instance, when God speaks of giving Adam dominion over the fish of the sea, we find a double meaning. First, mankind was given authority to exercise dominion (we will study this word momentarily) over the natural fish that swim in the seas of the Earth in order to eat and establish economies and businesses, as well as having protection from harmful creatures. But a second meaning arises when you study the Hebrew word for fish and sea, which carry the idea of the wealth of the sea; or the wealth of the world economic system. Indeed, we find in the first chapter of Genesis God’s plan and purpose over mankind to rule and to dominate even the world’s system of finance and economics.
Is this too hard to believe? Think for a moment about Abraham and Joseph, to name just a few heroes of the faith that walked in financial authority. Abraham was “very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.” Abraham walked in such wealth that the land could not support his and Lot’s flocks and animals. Notice that God did not rebuke him for exercising wisdom in finances, but rather reminded him that He, the Lord God, was Abraham’s “exceedingly great reward.”
Joseph saved the entire nation of Israel through godly wisdom and control over Egypt’s economic system. Notice that God was the one who promoted Joseph to power supernaturally and – through the management and dominion over worldly wealth – God’s plans and purposes for Israel came to pass. Finally, I’ll point out that Jesus used many examples of exercising wisdom and dominion over realms of finance in His parables of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the minas (Luke 19:11-27) and His discourse on faith and finances in Luke 16:10-12.
Dominion: Power to Tread, to Subjugate, and to Rule
God did not use the word dominion casually. He always chooses His Words carefully, and we can learn much about the plan of God for man in the realm of taking our God-given dominion by studying the word dominion in the Hebrew language.
This word dominion is the Hebrew word radah, which carries the idea of treading, subjugating, and ruling over something. Interestingly, this word is used only 27 times in the Old Testament and is nearly exclusively used in connection with man’s dominion, not God’s. Furthermore, when this word radah is used of God, it is used specifically in reference to the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Here’s the crazy part: this word has both the connection to mankind directly and indirectly – for after Jesus rose again and was seated down at the right hand of the Father, we (the Body of Christ) have become the only physical presence of Jesus the Messiah on the earth today. So when we read of the Messiah’s dominion, we are actually connected to and vitally in union with that dominion, for we are seated in the heavenly places with God in Christ!
Now we come to the main point of what God is saying to us in this hour: we who are born again Christians have been given such dominion and authority that it would stagger all of us to know the first part of what we are truly capable of.
Because of the eternal Word of God, we know we were created to exercise dominion in life: to tread upon, to subjugate, and to rule. Certainly mankind has done this to the earth: look at the technological developments of the world today! Mankind has, in whole, stepped into our God-given identity as rulers and subjugators of the natural world around us. But our dominion goes deeper than technological advances. We were created in the likeness of God. We were not just given dominion; dominion is an inseparable part of our identity and spirit.
Walking in Our Dominion
Today, walking in our mandate from God oftentimes involves utilizing the original dominion God gave us in the Garden of Eden – remember, His will is made perfectly clear in the Garden before the Fall – in the areas of the spirit, soul, and body. Since we are a three-part being, we must learn to exercise this authority in all three areas.
Spirit
This is the greatest and foremost area in which we must assert our God-given powers of dominion. When we make Jesus Lord and Savior over our lives, we have willingly yielded to God’s plan and purpose for mankind and have accepted the shed Blood of Christ that forever cleanses us from our natural, sinful state.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins…
Colossians 1:12-14
Since we are born-again, we have taken authority through our submission to God, not Satan, and our spirits are permanently sealed against the sinful nature of the devil. We have received eternal life and are walking as children with brand new natures and our truest identities in Christ. This is the highest form of dominion possible on the earth.
Soul
A simple definition of the soul realm is: our mind, will, and emotions. As children of God, now, we must take action to walk in our God-given dominion over this realm–it doesn’t happen without our consent and cooperation. If we do not actively pursue domination in our soul realm, we will continually be open to Satan’s attacks on our mental and emotional realms.
Examples of this in Scripture include not being “conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Romans 12:2), not “giving place (topos; geography) to the devil,” (Ephesians 4:27), and “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
It is vital that we take a stand over our mental and emotional realms through staying deeply connected to God through prayer, worship, and reading the Bible on a daily basis. Reading your Bible daily isn’t to be taken lightly: consider this simple practice to be a high form of spiritual warfare and an act of taking your God-given dominion over your mind through renewal to God’s Word. Big difference, isn’t it? Oh, that we would all have revelation of the glory of the power of the Word of God!
Body
Finally, we are to exercise the fullest authority and dominion that God has given us in the natural world around us, or the realm of the body. This includes (but is not limited to) taking dominion over every work of Satan that attempts to attack you personally in your physical body through sickness, your physical circumstances through finances, or even our country as in this election. We have the authority of Heaven at our disposal to speak to the spiritual wickedness that seeks to “steal, kill, and destroy” the work of God on the earth and rebuke them in the Name of Jesus.
Though I’ve entitled this section of authority “body”, I refer to the natural world and our external circumstances here also. It is significant that God has given us authority that extends beyond our own spiritual, soulish, and bodily realms. The Bible teaches us through many means, in many areas, and with plenty of examples of how holy men and women of God utilized their God-given authority to shape nations, cities, and to bring the power of God on the scene for Godly change in the world. You and I are now the baton-carriers of that same authority!
We will continue to look at the specific areas of our authority as Blood-bought children of God as we march through the end of this year. For now, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your specific area of authority in your church, city, region, and country. Prayer is a powerful weapon that, when mixed with faith in the Blood of Jesus that purchased our Heavenly right to rule and reign with Christ, will cripple and defeat satanic strongholds and create an open atmosphere for the glorious gospel to be preached in an area. Take up your seat of authority! Let’s unify together in prayer and step into our anointing and calling to “take dominion” and pull down the strongholds of the enemy. Let’s exercise our authority as the Body of Christ on the earth in this hour!