Authority and Power Conveyed
In the first chapter of Ephesians the apostle Paul writes about our incredible position in Christ. Then he prays “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when he raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heaven” (1:17-19).
God’s power has been extended to us who believe, and we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies (2:6). The right hand of God is the position of all authority. We have both the power and the authority to do God’s will. We have neither when we try to serve God in our own strength and resources. We have the power as long as we live by the Spirit, and maintain a dependent relationship with God. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (Eph. 6:10).
A local counselor had been working with a young lady for years, and tried every secular treatment and test available. He had no room in his thinking for the demonic, so it was a last resort to call me and ask if I would provide some assessment. Within a few minutes I said to the lady, “There is a spiritual battle for your mind.” She was relieved that someone finally understood. The next week she came to see me. She was a satanic ritual abuse (SRA) victim, and had done little to help herself physically. Consequently she was quite large. Ten minutes into our time together she slowly got out of her chair and started walking toward me with a menacing look. What would you do?
I simply said, “I am a child of God, you cannot touch me” (a paraphrase of 1 Jn. 5:18). She stopped in her tracks. I said, “Sit down,” and she did. I was not saying that to the lady. I was saying that to the demonic spirit that was prompting her. It is very important to understand that our authority in Christ does not increase with the volume of our voice. We just calmly take our place in Christ. In that sense it is no different than parental authority. If we are shouting and threatening our children to manage their behavior, we are not exercising our God given authority. We are undermining it, because we are operating in the flesh.
Dr. Neil
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