Understanding the Believer's Jurisdiction
One of the strongest
revelations from God's Word ministered in our generation has been the teaching
on the Authority of the Believer. Understanding this one truth has helped free
many Christians from Satan's manipulations. It is absolutely essential that we
understand our legal authority over Satan and his host.
It is just as important, however, that we
understand how to exercise that authority. What good is it to us if we know we
are free from Satan's power, but don't know how to appropriate our freedom? You
see, for every truth of God's Word there is a legal side and a vital side.
There is the specific truth, but there is also the practical aspect of walking
in that truth.
In this article we will take a fresh look at
the Authority of the Believer, emphasizing the vital application of this
reality and exploring how our authority relates to the principle of spiritual
jurisdiction. Our Legal Position of Authority in Ephesians chapters one and two
we learn about the legal authority of the believer. Ephesians 1:19-21 reveals
that God has positioned His Son in a place of preeminence and power ....according to the working of his mighty
power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set
him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in
this world, but also in that which is to come:"
Here we learn that
Jesus is positioned in the highest place of spiritual authority. He is seated
over all the powers of the enemy.
As we proceed to
Ephesians chapter two we discover a marvelous truth concerning our own
spiritual position. Not only has God raised Jesus from the dead and positioned
Him in a place of authority, but He has also raised us up from the dead and
positioned us with Christ in that same place of authority,
"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
Our position in
Christ is "far above all principality, and power, and might and
dominion..." [Ephesians 1:21]. Through our identification with Christ we
have the same legal authority over the devil that Jesus has! That's what I John
4:17 says as it declares: "...as He (Jesus) is, so are we in this
world."
We must remember, however, that the exercise of every being's authority is limited by the boundaries of its jurisdiction. Only within certain boundaries can the believer exercise his authority. Outside of these boundaries he cannot exercise authority. The authority of the believer has limitations that must be recognized. Let's identify some of the boundaries which determine the extent and limitations of the believer's authority.
The Boundary of the Spirit Realm
II Corinthians 10:3-4
reveals a very important boundary that governs our authority as believers,
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not
war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strongholds..."
The true jurisdiction
of the believer is in the realm of the spirit, for our authority is not a
natural authority, but a spiritual authority.
II Corinthians 10:3
says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the
flesh." Our authority is not in the natural realm! Though our authority
can be used to change circumstances in the physical realm, it is not from the
physical realm that we operate or exercise our intervention. Our spiritual
authority is exercised from our position in Christ. By using the weapons of
preaching, prayer, confession, and other spiritual weapons, we fight our good
fight of faith. Continuing on to verse four we read, "For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal...” If the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
then they must be spiritual!
To war after the
flesh is to war outside the range of our authority. We step outside the
jurisdiction of our authority when we resort to the natural weaponry of carnal
man! But when we remain in that territory called the realm of the spirit we can
exercise our right to intervene in the matters of this world.
Pulling Down Strongholds
Politics have become
a great concern in Christendom today. Never before have so many believers
involved themselves in governmental affairs. While I truly believe that God is
moving upon the hearts of many to stand up and declare what His Word has to say
about the social concerns of our nations, I cannot help but wonder what would
happen if that same amount of time, energy, and power were channeled through
our jurisdiction in the spirit and directed through our weapon of prayer.
Our weapons, you see, are not picket lines or
political parties. Our weapons are not manipulation, creative campaigning or
the exertions of human abilities. Our weapons are the spiritual firearms of
prayer, intercession, preaching, the name of Jesus and gifts of the Holy Ghost.
This is not meant to
criticize those that involve themselves in the political scenes of their
country. This is not to downgrade those who make public demonstrations declaring
the righteous cause of Christ before the media and the masses of their cities.
No, we as Christians are called to be the light of the world and the salt of
the earth. To be such we are going to have to get out of our
"shakers" and out into our world to perform the "curing"
and "preserving" that salt is intended to do. However, mere marching
and political parading alone will never pull down strongholds that can only
come down as we "war after the spirit." It is only when we utilize
the powerful weapons God has given us and operate in the spirit realm that we
will obtain lasting results.
We must remember that
our authority is not in the flesh, but in the spirit. Our weapons are not of
the natural realm, but our weapons are a spiritual "firepower", full
of God's ability! When we hook up with God's way of running our countries and
step over into the "arena" of prayer, we will see a change come into
the governments of the world!
James 5:16 says that,
"...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Elijah, a man of like passions with us, stepped over into the spirit through
the avenue of prayer and changed the condition of his nation! He did not resort
to natural means, but operated within the boundaries of the realm of the
spirit. In so doing he brought great physical change to the earth.
In Acts 12:5
"prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God..." for the
release of Peter from prison. The church did not boycott the king. They did not
launch a protest or lobby for their cause. They stepped over into the
jurisdiction where they could bring forth supernatural results and lifted up
their voices in prayer. In response to that prayer Peter's circumstances where
radically altered. An angel came and freed him from prison. Not only were Herod
and his henchmen surprised, but even the church was surprised at the swift and
amazing results which resulted from simply stepping over into the realm of the
spirit and praying.
Paul told the church
at Phillipi that he was confident that supernatural things would transpire when
they exercised their authority in the realm of the spirit through prayer,
"For
I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply
of the Spirit of Christ."
A man or woman may be insignificant in the
natural realm, but authoritative and effectual in the spirit. Paul wrote in II
Corinthians 5:16, "...henceforth know we no man after the flesh..." A
person who is unimpressive in the natural can be very effectual when they step
over into the realm of the spirit. When we realize the vast authority we have
in the spirit, we will stop resorting to natural ways of warfare and step over
into God's way of warfare!
I believe this is one thing Paul had in mind
when he exhorted Timothy saying, "No man that warreth entangleth himself
with the affairs of this life" [II Timothy 2:4]. He was encouraging
Timothy not to entangle himself with the natural, carnal way of doing things.
Our real authority and effectiveness does not rest in what we can do in the natural
realm, but what we can do, "...through God to the pulling down of
strongholds."
Even if there are two
ways of accomplishing the same task, it is wisdom to use the most effective
way. Why use a bow and arrow if you have a machine gun? Let's use our most lethal
weapons; the weapons that work in the realm of the spirit. It is when we step
over into the realm of the spirit and pray that we can bring God's will to
pass.
It is when we use our
spiritual weapons which are mighty through God that we can turn the hearts of
our government leaders. Proverbs 21:1 declares, "The king's heart is in
the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it withersoever he
(God) will." Because of your position in Christ, you have jurisdiction in
the realm of the spirit. You don't necessarily need to be a spiritual giant or
a seasoned veteran of prayer. Just put on your "badge" of authority,
step into the spirit and begin to pray.
The Boundary of Faith
The authority of the
believer will not successfully operate outside the boundaries of faith. In the
gospel of Matthew we find an account that illustrates this point,
"And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a
certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for
he is a lunatick, and sore vexed:
for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought
him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and
said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how
long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil,
and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then
came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And
Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief..." Matthew 17:14-20a
Jesus had already
delegated to the disciples authority to cast out devils. But this delegated
authority would not function outside the boundary of faith. Though only a few
weeks before Jesus had empowered the twelve with "...power over unclean
spirits, to cast them out..." [Matthew 10:1], they failed to exercise
their authority because they operated outside the boundary of faith. The fact
that their authority over this particular demonic spirit was limited was a
great surprise to these twelve men. Upon questioning Jesus, however, they
discovered that their delegated authority would not operate outside the
boundary of faith.
This account in
Matthew reminds me of a story that
Kenneth E. Hagin tells in his book I Believe in Visions, in the chapter
"If—the Badge of Doubt." In this chapter Kenneth Hagin recalls an
instance in the early days of his healing ministry when he was attempting to
cast a devil out of a man who had tuberculosis of the spine. After he cast the
devil out of the sick man, Hagin said to
the man, "See if you can stoop over and bend your back." Hagin
recalls that as long as he asked the man to "See if you can...", the
man could not. Jesus appeared to Hagin at this time and instructed him
concerning this situation. Following this vision he made a correction and
commanded the man to bend over in the name of Jesus. The man obeyed and was
instantly healed. Kenneth Hagin concluded that chapter of his book by saying,
"I learned that no matter who we are, if we move in unbelief, we
will stop the flow of God's power."
I share this story to
illustrate the fact that our authority as believers will not operate outside
the boundary line of faith. Another way of expressing this truth is to say that
we negate our authority when we step outside the boundary line of faith.
The
Boundary of the Fruit of the Spirit
As we read in Galatians 5:16-23, "This
I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and
these are contrary the one to the other. so that ye cannot do the things that
ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the
works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told
you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom
of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law"
Here we find other
boundary lines that define the ranges of authority in the two distinct and
diametrically opposite kingdoms that co-exist and operate in the earth today.
The boundaries of the kingdom of darkness are defined as the works of the
flesh.
The boundaries of the
kingdom where Jesus is Lord are called the fruit of the spirit. The borders
within which you live will determine how much authority you will be able to
walk in.
Galatians 5:19-21 identifies several borders
in Satan's jurisdiction and calls them the works of the flesh. As long as we
walk within these borders we are subjecting ourselves to Satan and allowing him
to lord it over our lives. You may say, "I am not subjecting myself to
Satan's domain." But according to what we have already learned from Romans
6:16 you are! To whomever you yield yourselves to obey, to him you become a
servant!
When we yield
ourselves to serve the lust of the flesh we not only lower ourselves into
Satan's jurisdiction, but we also forfeit our authority as believers. We place
ourselves within the territory where he has the right to exercise his power and
where we lose the right to exercise ours. When we walk in the works of the
flesh we are not walking within the jurisdiction of the authority that God has
given us.
The contrast is also true. When we walk in the
spirit, then we will not walk within the dark borders of the lust of the flesh.
When we walk in the fruit of the spirit we are free from Satan's authority not
only legally, but in our actual daily walk. And most importantly our own
authority can be exercised fully as we remain within the boundaries of the
fruit of the spirit. Within these borders we can reign in life!
Galatians 5:23 says
concerning these nine fruits of the spirit that, "...against such there is
no law." W E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says
that concerning the person living in the fruit of the spirit, or the believer
that is led of the spirit that, "the law has no scope in his life ... in
so far as he is led by the spirit." Scope is another way of saying range,
or jurisdiction. In other words, the death of the law has no jurisdiction in
the life of the believer walking in the fruit of the spirit.
The fruit of the
spirit represents a boundary line that defines the limitations and extent of
our spiritual jurisdiction. Praise God, when we walk within the boundary lines
of the fruit of the spirit, against these borders there is no jurisdiction of
the devil or of sin at all. When a person truly walks in the fruit of the
spirit not only is Satan's jurisdiction stopped, but he can exercise his
authority in the realm of the unseen world!
The Boundary Line of Love
One fruit of the spirit that marks the range
of our jurisdiction more clearly than any other listed is the boundary line of
love. Many fail to recognize what walking in love is really all about. Walking
in love means to walk within the boundaries of God's jurisdiction as well as
your own. When you walk within this jurisdiction God can bless you. When you
walk in love you walk free from Satan's ability to destroy your life. When you
walk in love you walk within that defined border where your own authority will
fully operate. Your authority as a believer will not function beyond the border
line of love! One step out of love is a step over the border line where your
full authority is no longer intact.
One step outside of
love is a step into darkness and a step into Satan's range of attack. One step
out of love is one step away from the jurisdiction where God has the right to
bless you with His best. God cannot bless us when we are in strife or when we
are fighting with our brother or sister in the Lord.
Another way of
stating this truth is to say that walking in love activates three areas of
spiritual jurisdiction in our lives.
First, walking in love keeps us in a place where God can bless us
and give us what we need. Jesus taught that when we stand praying in faith for
our needs, we must forgive the offenses of others before we are able to receive
blessings from God [Mark 11:25-26].
Second, walking in love keeps us out of Satan's jurisdiction and
his demonic chains of bondage. It was for this reason that Paul wrote to
Timothy in II Timothy 2:24- 26 and instructed that, "...the servant of the Lord must not strive,
but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing
those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to
the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the
snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
Walking in love is walking in the light. The
opposite of this is also true. Walking in unforgiveness or hatred is walking in
darkness; outside of the light of God's Word. We forfeit our authority over the
devil and actually are on his "turf" when we get into strife. When we
walk in hatred, resentment, envy and quarreling then we enter into Satan's
range of authority. We get into his jurisdiction. Whether we like it or not,
when we are in the devil's jurisdiction we are in the region where he has the
right to enforce his power. We are unprotected and without our authority. James
3:16 actually says, "For where envying and strife is, there is confusion
and every evil work!"
We talk many times
about "opening a door" to the devil, but a more accurate description
would be to say that we actually "descend into his jurisdiction." We
lower ourselves into the devil's domain by getting into strife and other works
of the flesh; by not walking in love.
Not only do we
"give him place" as it says in Ephesians 4:27, but we actually
"get into his place"; into the place where he has the right to
enforce his power.
Third, walking in love keeps our authority and faith intact.
Walking in love keeps our faith working [Galatians 5:6] and keeps our authority
over Satan in force.
We see the importance
of operating within the boundary lines of love by what John said in his first
epistle,
"He that saith he is in the light, and
hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother
abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he
that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not
whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." I John
2:9-11
The walk of love is a
walk within the borders of our jurisdiction and will always keep our authority
intact for "Love never fails" [I Corinthians 13:8].
The Boundary of God's Word
The final boundary of
the believers jurisdiction that we will look at is the boundary line of God's
Word. Our authority only works within the confines of the written Word of God.
We cannot exercise authority beyond the scriptures. People are operating in
presumption and foolishness when they try to exercise authority beyond what the
Bible teaches. But when we stay within the boundary of God's Word we can boldly
and confidently stand in our position in Christ and enforce our authority.
A confirmation that
the Word of God is a boundary line defining the range of our authority can be
seen by what Jesus said in John 15:5. He told us, "Without me you can do
nothing." We would be well within the laws of scriptural interpretation to
say that outside of the Word we can do nothing. Outside of the Word of God we
have no authority.
Our authority over Satan can only be exerted
when we operate within the borderlines of God's Word. Even in the ministry of
deliverance, if Satan can get you on his "turf" through unbelief, or
if you go past the directions of God's Word, then you will not be able to cast
out devils even though you have the legal authority to do so!
For example, those
who try to cast devils out and command them to go to hell, or try to cast them
into the abyss or the lake of fire, will not be able to successfully minister
deliverance to the captives. That person is trying to operate their authority
outside the boundaries of God's written Word. Nowhere does the Bible say that
we can cast demons back into hell, or into the abyss or the lake of fire. No,
the Bible simply says that we should cast demons out of those who are
possessed. That's all we need to do.
Any time the devil
can seduce us or deceive us over the boundary line of God's Word, our authority
over him will be less effective and his operations will remain intact.
Therefore, let's remain in the Word and, thereby, maintain our full authority
as believers.
Conclusion
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