Dominion Over the Earth
Without doubt, Jesus of Nazareth demonstrated the power and the dominion of the Kingdom of God while He dwelt here among us. He exercised dominion over both the physical and spiritual spheres of existence and every other realms in between. He showed us that, as the Son of man, He had the power on earth to heal the sick, cast out devils, and even to forgive sins. And He did this in advance of His work of redemption.
And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? (Luke 5:21).
This incidence took place when the friends of the paralytic man brought him, through a hole in the roof, to Jesus for healing. And when Jesus saw the faith of these friend, He said to the paralyzed man, “thy sins are forgiven thee”. The scribes and Pharisees present in the room reasoned this verse above in their minds without saying them out.
“But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?” (Luke 5:22,23)
Obviously, it is easier to heal than to forgive sins. One is a physical manifestation, the other involves changing a human being’s spiritual state. Down here we may ask a similar question, which is easier, to have a builder rebuild a broken down wall of your house, or for a doctor to raise a corpse from the dead? The Pharisees already correctly answered the question, only God can forgive sins. And only God can raise the dead. But God was beginning a new thing in their day which they had not heard about. Things which eye hath not seen nor ears heard, which God had prepared for those that love Him.
The Son of Man Has Dominion on Earth
“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house” (Luke 5:24).
In the Old Testament days, the people of God had miracles performed through the prophets. Prophet Elijah and his servant, the double portion miracle-prophet Elisha, comes to mind. But they did not cast out demons. The entire human race was under the dominion of Satan and his demons, making it next to impossible to do. Then the Son of man came. The next verse tells us what happened after the Lord Jesus told the man to arise:
“And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, we have seen strange things to day” (Luke 5:25,26).
As discussed in an earlier chapter, notice that the dominion He exercised in healing, casting out devils, and even in forgiving sins, was that which has been given to Him as the “Son of man”. This is not the dominion He possessed as Deity, the Son of God, but that which, as Daniel saw in a vision, was given to Him by the Ancient of Days” (Let Pause and meditate on this…..) And consider that He said:
“Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion” (Isa 8:18).
The Works He Did, You Will Do Also
This is the destination of the overcomers who will sit with Him on His throne and exercise dominion over the earth. They will do the works that He did. They will all-together even do greater works because He will reproduce Himself in multitude of sons and cover the earth with them as water covers the seas.
On another occasion He appointed seventy of His followers gave them ‘authority’ and sent them out to preach the gospel of the Kingdom and to heal the sick.
“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name”(verse 17).
The Lord replied the seventy saying: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luk 10:18-19).
This event took place before the Lord went to the cross, before His resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God, and before sending the Holy Spirit to abide with us His people. If these seventy were able to exercise some authority over evil spirit, how much more should we, who have experienced salvation and enduement of power from on High, operate in power and dominion over the adversary.
Our resurrected Lord has given us authority to confront the adversary, the devil, and put him to flight. First, we are to resist him wherever we see him. Apostle Peter says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1 Pet 5:8,9).
We are admonished never to give satan any place but to resist him steadfastly “Neither give place to the devil” (Eph 4:27). We should not give him any opportunity to speak or participate in anything in our lives, our home, or in the congregation of God’s people.
When dealing with demonic cases, we should not waste our time and dilute the effectiveness of our authority by chatting with demons. Give him no place, just cast him or them out by the power in the Name of Jesus.
God intended for man to rule and to have full authority over the planet. Every born-again believer was created to walk in dominion and authority in the earth. Too many people live defeated lives, not knowing that they are destined to be in control right where they are. You were born to win.
You’ve Been Given Authority—Speak the Word Only
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (Matt 8:5-10).
Now, that was a man who understood authority. The Centurion was a military man, a commander of one-hundred soldiers. He was under authority and himself is an authority with officers and soldiers under him. He had come to the Lord Jesus to request healing for his servant. The Lord Jesus replied that He would come and heal the servant.
But this military man told the Lord Jesus that he was not worthy to be inviting the Lord into his house, and that it was not even necessary for the Lord to come all the way to his house to do this. He told the Lord that all He needed to do is to speak a word of command, and as with a military commander, the devils that caused the palsy in his servant would obey immediately and the palsy would be healed. He was telling Jesus that he understood that the Lord Jesus is a man with divine authority over all spirits and over sicknesses and diseases; and that demons, evil spirits, and the Devil himself are under him, and that Christ is their commander. And thus, He does not need to go all the way to his house in order to cast the devils out, but all He needed do was to speak the word only, and the devils would obey immediately.
The Centurion understood authority. Whenever he spoke or gave orders, his subordinates obeyed without question. He didn’t need to need to shout or travel to where they were for them to obey him, he just needed to utter the word of commands and the hundred soldiers under him carried out his order without delay. That’s the implication of what he said to the Lord. And the Lord Jesus commended his faith and “said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour” (Matt 8:13).
We need to understand our authority in Christ. We need to speak with authority against the devil and put him in his place. God has given us authority to reign as kings in this life. God has raised us up with Christ and set us in heavenly places far above all circumstances and has given us authority. We are not weary pilgrims trudging through this world. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We are not to be under the control of circumstances. We are not even to be under the control of what tomorrow may bring. We were created and given the authority to change tomorrow in the Name of JESUS.
No doubt about it, this is beyond us. This is why the Spirit of God tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It is not by our power, nor by our might but by His Spirit. He is not telling us to depend on or be strong in ourselves or our might, but to be strong in the Lord and to depend on the ‘power of His might’. And He is the Almighty God.
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is to be proficient in the exercise of our authority. Remember authority is delegated power. And the Might of the Almighty is behind our authority. When we exercise the authority that Christ gave us, we are essentially using the “power of His might” which is vested in the authority given to us.
Interceding for Those in Authority
We can win our cities and nations for God if we exercise our authority. We can thwart and render inoperative the devil’s strategy in our cities and in our country. We can release the enemy’s hold or influence over our governors, presidents, prime-ministers or kings. We can insist that the will of God be done in our community and our cities and put the control of our nation in the hands of God. It stands to reason that if people in positions of authority in a nation change to God’s glory, then God has more liberty to move in that nation, so the devil’s plans are thwarted and men are saved.
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:1-4).
Apostle Paul is here admonishing us to pray for all men and women who are in positions of authority before we pray for ourselves or our own families. We pray for those in authority as a priority so that we can affect changes in our nations, “…that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”. There are ruling spirits over cities and nations that influence people who are in authority. We are to exercise dominion over these rulers of darkness, thwart their plans, and render inoperative their strategies, and cause the purpose of God to prevail.
Our Father God expects us to be strong and competent people in this world when it comes to our dealing with the enemy. That’s why His word tells us to resist and overcome the devil.
He left us here on earth to occupy it till He returns. We are here to do the work which He started. We are here to overcome. We are here to reign and rule. We are here to subdue His enemies and put them under His feet. We are acting in Christ’s stead. We are taking His place and exercising His dominion.
Though we wrestle against spiritual rulers of the darkness of this world, we are not actually fighting them in the real sense. Our Lord Jesus Christ already fought them and won on our behalf. So, in this wrestling match, we are the predetermined winners.
God has already declared us “more than conquerors” through the blood of Jesus Christ and by the power of His love. The enemies we are fighting are those same ones that Christ disarmed during His work of redemption—they are the same powers that He spoilt, neutralized, or rendered powerless. He disarmed, made a public display of them, led captivity captives, and released us into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
When God exalted Christ and set Him in the highest place in the heavens above all, the whole Body was there in Him, and exalted with Him. When God set Him at His own right hand in heavenly places and put all things under His feet, the whole Body was there in Him.
We’ve been raised with Christ and exalted in Him to exercise dominion in His place, we must not fail in this ministry of authority. We must not whimper before them in fear, for God is in us and we are complete in Him.
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col 2:9,10).
My fellow child of God, we have limitless potential in Christ. What we are walking in as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven is an everlasting, continual, indestructible, unshakable, and immovable Kingdom. The dominion and associated authority of this kingdom has been given to you.
Go into the world and preach the Gospel and dominate the powers of darkness by the authority in the Name of Jesus.
For “the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever” (Dan 7:18) This is “according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:”