The Authority of Living Royalty

It may seem like we as Christians are merely humans located on a deteriorating planet.  The reality is that we’re just “sojourners and pilgrims” on this earth (I Peter 2:11).  This world is not our home or permanent residence.  In fact, our actual location in God’s eyes is a place of reigning with Him in heavenly places.  He doesn’t see us as human nobodies; He’s made us kings and priests unto Himself.  The Queen of England, the Prime Minister of Israel, or the Supreme Leader of Iran couldn’t compare to this position of reigning!

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus… Ephesians 2:4-6

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)   Romans 5:17

With that position of reigning comes what every ruler enjoys – authority.  Rulers, because of the crown on their head or the vote of their people, have the authority make and enforce laws.  They are in a position that automatically comes with power to command.

Because of our position in the royal kingdom, authority has also been delegated to us.  It’s an authority that doesn’t begin and end with people or earthly things.  It extends far beyond what we can see and into the spiritual realm.  It comes from a commission and empowerment given to us by Jesus with the use of His Name.  Without it, we would have no authority at all!

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Luke 10:19

And He said to them, “God into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.  Mark 16:15-18

In addition to our authority to use the name of Jesus as our key weapon, we also have some hardware that we couldn’t do without.  This is how we stand in our position of authority when spiritual enemies come against us.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God . . .  Ephesians 6:10-17

Because we cannot see the armor of God with our physical eyes, it seems hard to believe that we are equipped with such powerful weapons of authority.  That’s why we are to believe in our hearts that it is so, just like we believe to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

We won’t act upon our authority unless we believe it exists.

Imagine how ridiculous it would be for a king to suddenly disbelieve that he is of royal blood.  Instead of enjoying the perks of royalty, he goes into panic, questioning everything he knew before to be true – including his authority.  The kingdom would soon fall apart because he was too intimidated to exercise his power, that same power that kept enemies at bay and laws of justice in place.

This is what happens when we don’t understand our authority, or choose not to exercise it.  The devil comes in and takes advantage of our ignorance.  He throws those “fiery darts” at us, and if our shield of faith isn’t up, we are wounded.  If we don’t know our position of righteousness before God, he’s able to weaken our belief in who we are.  Without our “Gospel of peace” shoes on, our confidence to change our world with the Gospel will be small and easily undermined.  Lacking the helmet of salvation, we fall easy prey to defeat.  If our sword of the Spirit lays to the side, dusty and rusted, we will have nothing to ward of the attack.

On the other hand, armies tremble when God’s army of kings rises up, fully geared in their armor and shouting the Name of their Commander.  Demons flee in terror and sickness drops its sword when faced by believers who know their authority.  It’s the kind of warfare that’s unstoppable!

Let’s be an army of kings that believes and acts, faithfully utilizing the authority and power that Jesus purchased for us at so great a price.  Let us not allow our resources to decay, but joyfully, proudly, and confidently sport our gear for God’s glory.  The result will be more than any earthly king could ever imagine!