Dominion: The mandate for mankind
Much can be learned about God’s intention for mankind by reviewing His original mandate and blessing of the mother and father of the human race, Adam and Eve. We find this directive recorded in Genesis chapter 1:
“God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28 AMP)
The Holy Ghost reminds us of this in Psalm 8:
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:4–9 KJV)
The famous evangelist John G Lake had such a startling revelation of these truths. His sermons are deep and provoking in this respect, and the fruit of his ministry speaks of their reality. I quote here from his sermon ‘Reign as Kings’:
“Here are some significant facts. Man was never made a slave. He was never made for slavery. He was made to reign as king under God. If you noticed, I showed you this, that kingly being that was created in the image and likeness of God, that he was created on terms of equality with God that he could stand in the presence of God without any consciousness of inferiority.
I quote you from the eighth Psalm in which this expression is used: “What is man that thou are mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than [God], and crownest him with glory and honour” [Psalm 8:4-5].
What does it mean? It means that God has made us as near like Himself as it is possible for God to make a being. He made you in His image. He made you in His likeness. He made you the same class of being that He is Himself.
He made Adam with an intellect with such caliber that he was able to name every animal, every vegetable and every fruit, and give them names that would fit and describe their characteristics. When God could do that with man, then that man belonged to the realm of God.
Adam had such vitality in his body that even after he sinned and became mortal, he lived nearly a thousand years, 930 years before mortality got in its work and put him on his deathbed. Methuselah lived 969 years. Life was so abundant, so tremendous in their minds and spirits that it conquered century after century.”
Dominion (Heb: rada), rulership and authority were given to mankind by God. The commission was to rule over the created world, extending God’s care and grace to all creatures.
This was a very real delegation, and Adam in a sense became the ‘god’ of this world.
“I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High.” (Psa 82:6)
I quote now from Kenneth Hagin’s book, ‘The Believer’s Authority’
“Originally, God made the earth and the fullness thereof, giving Adam dominion over all the works of His hands. In other words, Adam was the god of this world. Adam committed high treason and sold out to Satan, and Satan, through Adam, became the god of this world. Adam didn’t have the moral right to commit treason, but he had the legal right to do so.
Now Satan has a right to be here and be the god of this world until “Adam’s lease” runs out. Satan had the right to rule over us until we became new creatures and got into the Body of Christ, as we see in Colossians 1: “Giving thanks unto the Father … Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son …. ” (vv. 12,13). ‘The Believer’s Authority’, Kenneth E Hagin
Adam handed his authority, the stewardship he had received from God, and gave it to satan. Satan himself alludes to this in Luke 4, when he speaks of the kingdoms of this world being ‘delivered’ to him. Who delivered such to satan’s hand? Adam. The Amplified bible renders these verses:
“And he said to Him, To You I will give all this power and authority and their glory (all their magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, and grace), for it has been turned over to me, and I give it to whomever I will.” (Luke 4:6 AMP)
Adam, the appointed ‘god’ of this world, handed his stewardship to a rogue spirit, making him the new ‘god’ of the created order.
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2Cor 4:4 KJV)
“We know [positively] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one.” (1John 5:19 AMP)
Satan has misused Adam’s authority ever since. Illegitimate authorities are the result of rightfully delegated authority being misappropriated and misused.
The authority that satan has exercised in the earthly realm over he past 6000 years of earth’s existence is the direct result of legitimate authority being given into illegitimate hands.
Authority Restored
Through covenant God has provided legal avenues for man to operate outside satan’s authority over them, finally breaking satan’s right to hold humanity through the cross of Jesus Christ. All demands were met at the cross to liberate man from the authority of darkness and translate mankind to the kingdom of God.
“[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,” (Col 1:13 AMPLIFIED)
This has now taken place. It is a fact, not a hope!
Jesus by conquest and covenant regained total authority in the heavens and in the earth:
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matt 28:18 NASB)
He then transferred this authority His body, the church, telling them:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (v 19)
We quote again from Hagin’s ‘The Believer’s Authority’:
“When Christ ascended, He transferred His authority to the Church. He is the Head of the Church, and believers make up the Body. Christ’s authority has to be perpetuated through His Body, which is on the earth.”
In Christ, we have been delivered from the power of darkness, and raised together with Jesus to sit in heavenly places.
Jesus Christ, after His demon crushing victory in the resurrection, was raised by the Father, ascending to sit at the right hand of God in Heaven. The right hand always speaks of authority and privilege:
“the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may 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 exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His 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 age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Eph 1:18-23 NKJV)
“The right hand of the throne of God is the centre of the power of the whole universe! Exercising the power of the throne was committed to the resurrected Lord.” (Hagin, p 16)
We need to remember again and again, Christ was raised, Christ ascended, and Christ now sits in the heavens as Lord of all, waiting until every enemy is brought under His feet. No demon can resist His authority, and the authority of His Name. Every knee must bow, and every tongue confess. Praise God, He has given to us the authority to use His name to accomplish this end!
“What is the deepest yearning in the heart of the Father? What is His dream? His plan? God’s greatest longing is, and always has been, to have a people who are like Himself, made of the same substance of which He is made. His desire is to have a family that is of one mind and one spirit with Him.
That was His plan when He made the first man. When God breathed the breath of life into Adam, He transmitted His very self into him. God imparted the same spiritual substance of which He is made into Adam’s being. Thus God said, “Let us make man in our image … and let them have dominion … over all the earth … and subdue it” (Genesis 1:26-28). Dominion is that inherent power God has in which man was destined to walk.
But, Adam chose to separate himself from God. Through disobedience (Genesis 2:17), Adam lost his union with God. Sin cut him off from the flow of divine life. Man therefore lost the dominion that was his nature to exert.
…When you were born again, you were translated out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13). Your new birth restored you to God’s original purpose for your life. You received back into yourself everything Adam lost through the Fall. You are now destined to exercise the dominion God gave man over sin, sickness, demons and fear.” Kenneth Copeland, VICTORY, October 2007
Not only did God raise and exalt Jesus, He raised and exalted His Body also, to the same place of Heavenly authority:
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” (Ephesians 2:1 KJV)
He raised and quickened us together with Christ. The same power that raised Christ from the dead raised us!
Colossians 2:13 says:
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” (Colossians 2:13 KJV)
“Quickened” Strongs #4806. suzoopoieo, sood-zo-op-oy-eh´-o; from 4862 and 2227; to reanimate conjointly with (figuratively): — quicken together with.
Furthermore:
“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Eph 2:6 KJV)
This has to do with the conferring of Christ’s authority. We are seated together with Him, far above all principality and power. They are under His feet, and His feet are part of His Body, the Church. We are one with Christ, and as such we exercise and administrate His authority in this present age. What Adam lost, Christ restored:
“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” (Heb 10:12-13 KJV)
“We are seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High. All things have been put under our feet. The trouble with us is that we’ve preached a “cross’ religion, and we need to preach a “throne” religion. By that I mean that people have thought they were supposed to remain at the cross. Some have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, have backed up to the cross, and have stayed there ever since.
We’ve sung “Near the cross, near the cross.” Yes, we need to come by the cross for salvation, but we don’t need to remain there; let’s go on to Pentecost, the Ascension, and the throne!
The cross is actually a place of defeat, whereas the Resurrection is a place of triumph. When you preach the cross, you’re preaching death, and you leave people in death. We died all right, but we’re raised with Christ. We’re seated with Him. Positionally, that’s where we are right now: We’re seated with Christ in the place of authority in heavenly places.
Many Christians know nothing about the authority of the believer. They really don’t believe we have any authority. They believe they’re barely saved and they must go through life being dominated by the devil while living on Barely-Get-Along Street. They magnify the devil more than they do God.
We need to be delivered from the bondage of death and walk in the newness of life. We’re not at the cross. We died with Christ, but He has raised us up together with Him!” ‘The Believer’s Authority’, Kenneth E Hagin
Even under the Abrahamic Covenant provision was made to crush the enemy. How much more now when we are seated with Christ, and commissioned as His ambassadors!
“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 NKJV)
Exercising Spiritual Authority
Satan is stripped of power
As God’s children, and joint heirs together with Christ we have the right to exercise authority in the spirit world. Jesus has commissioned His church to exercise His authority to enforce the victory He won through the atonement.
Through the cross and the resurrection Jesus stripped demonic powers of all their authority:
“[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].” (Col 2:15 AMP)
In ancient times, victorious kings upon returning from battle, would parade the defeated and humiliated captives, making an open show of them. Jesus did this with the devil, putting him on display as a stripped and defeated enemy, and then to further humiliate him, placed authority over him into the hands of his former slaves!
Being under authority in order to exercise authority
The Bible does say that we wrestle with demonic powers:
“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.” (Eph 6:12 NKJV)
We must remember however that this wrestling is not carried out on level ground. We are seated far above all principality and power, and have been given mighty spiritual weapons to enforce a victory over an already defeated foe.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2Cor 10:3-6 NKJV)
We also see here that our ability to effectively exercise the authority we have been given, and rightly use the mighty weapons at our disposal to enforce Christ’s victory in our lives and the lives of our loved ones, will be directly proportional to our own obedience and submission to Christ and His Word.
We are only in readiness to punish demonic disobedience when we ourselves are in obedience to Christ.
Jesus affirmed this principle of authority when he commented on the faith of a Centurion soldier who came to him for help. Much can be drawn from this brief encounter recorded in the gospels, but what we need to recognise here is the principle that to have authority we must be under authority:
“Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, “Go,’ and he goes; and to another, “Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Matt 8:5-10 NKJV)
As we considered in our general exploration of the subject of authority in section 1 of these notes, we must rightly align ourselves, bringing ourselves under authority. In this way we are positioned to implement the authority we have been granted by Christ. Such positioning also affords us a level of protection that is lacking if we are misaligned, living independently. Many people would like authority, yet refuse to humble themselves and come under an authority. Still others would like to claim that their only authority is Christ Himself, yet Christ is the one who instituted certain earthly authorities in His Body for the care and protection of His people. To claim submission to Christ, yet refuse to submit to His Word, and ordained authorities in the home, workplace and church, is no less than deception.
Authority is a revelation
Some would like to believe that the devil is completely powerless. In one sense he is, but he is not devoid of schemes which deliver power into his hand. He has no intrinsic power or authority, but his dominion in this world is exercised through the ignorance, deception or willingness of those whom he now seeks to enslave. His power is derived from the will power of his victims and is no longer inherent. In and of himself he is completely powerless. The day will come when the world will look upon him in stark amazement that such a pathetic creature could have dominated so many for so long:
“They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms:” (Is 14:16 WEBSTR)
We have right now authority over the devil. It is not something for the future, for in the future we shall not need it. The devil will be bound and his nefarious work finished. Christ has given us authority right now, here, when and where we need it. As believers, we are anointed to set captives free from his snare, and we can only do this by understanding and acting upon what the scriptures say.
The Holy Spirit through Paul prayed that his disciples would have a revelation of these truths (Ephesians 1:16-20). As Kenneth Hagin rightly points out, “You will never understand the authority of the believer only with your intellect; you must get the spiritual revelation of it. You must believe it by faith.”
We do this by constant attendance to the Word of God, and prompt obedience to it. The world awaits the revelation of the sons of God, walking in the fullness of the stature of Christ, exercising their authority and accomplishing the greater works that Jesus prophesied:
“For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship].” (Rom 8:19 AMPLIFIED)
““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12 NKJV)
The Believer’s realm of Authority
Authority and power
Jesus Christ has given authority to His Body to deal with demons. We are not to ask Him to deal with them on our behalf, but take what He has given us and use it.
Jesus commissioned the Believer to cast out demons:
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;” (Mark 16:15,17 NKJV)
He gave power to His disciples to deal with demons on His behalf:
“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Matt 10:1 NKJV)
Jesus did not say to ask Him to deliver people from demons, He told us to cast them out.
James says:
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NKJV)
We must submit to God. We must resist the devil. Jesus will not resist the devil for us. Jesus has done all He is going to do. He has stripped the demonic realm of any capacity to hold its captives, and put in the Believers hand the necessary authority to cause the devil to flee in terror.
Peter says a similar thing in His letters;
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” (1Peter 5:8-9 NASB)
We have been given authority to resist the evil one!
Do not give place to the devil.
Paul says in Ephesians 4:27 that the devil cannot take any place unless we give him permission to do so.
The devil may be the god of this world, and we may be in the world, but we are no longer of it! (John 17:16)
Satan can only operate in the life of the believer to the degree we permit him. The keys of authority were won by Christ (Rev 1:18), and given to his people:
“… on this rock (the revelation that Jesus is the Son of God) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”” (Matt 16:18-19 NKJV)
The Amplified Bible expands the interpretation of this passage, and can help us comprehend what is being said regarding the believer’s authority:
“… I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:18-19 AMP)
The covenant instituted through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is enforced by His Body on earth. Certain things are already lawfully bound in the heavenlies. Demons have been stripped of their right to operate freely, sickness and disease is no longer lawful in the lives of believers, poverty and fear have been declared powerless and driven out. What remains is for the Believer to put in force this victory in the earth through faith and confession.
We must not ask Jesus to deal with these things, nor ask the devil if he would be so kind as to leave us alone. We must command with authority based upon the covenant. This is the honour of the Saints:
“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;T o bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.” (Psalm 149:5–9 KJV)
Authority and free will
Christ has given us authority over all the power of the evil one.
Just as a traffic enforcement officer does not necessarily have the ‘power’ to stop an oncoming truck, yet can stand in the road and put up his hand, exercising the delegated authority signified by his uniform, thus bringing the powerful truck to a halt, so we as empowered authorities in the realm of the spirit, have the authority to bring a halt to the works of the enemy (however powerful he pretends to be).
In Christ we not only have authority however, we have also been endued with power (dunamis) through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). The exercise of this power however is through the authority of Christ, and within the parameters of His Word.
Our authority cannot be promiscuously wielded. We cannot run down the street casting demons out of everyone. Although endued with everything necessary to deal with any demonic stronghold, the realm of authority still remains subject to the Holy Spirit and His leading, and to the free will of others. We know from the Word that we have authority, but we must depend on the Holy Spirit to help us in administering that authority.
Our authority is over demon spirits, not over people.
Hagin points out in his book on this subject, that although we have authority over demonic powers, we do not have authority over our fellow men or their wills (p55).
If someone desires to continue in bondage to a demon power, there is nothing you or I, or even Jesus himself, can do. God will never violate someone’s free will. If someone wants to continue in sin they can. If they want to be free, they can be free.
To seek to impose your will upon another human being is witchcraft. Through prayer, we can deal with some things spiritually, commanding demonic powers to desist in their work in another’s life, but never should we seek to manipulate another person through the exercise of our will over theirs. An example would be a man or woman seeing someone they would like to marry and beginning to claim that specific person as their own through confession. Such exercises are inordinate and a perversion of the authority we have been granted.
Primarily our authority is to be exercised in our own lives, our household, our own specific realm of influence, and any area entrusted to us by God. You cannot exercise the same authority in someone else’s household, because you do not have authority there. In your own life and family however, the devil should be given no place!
Spiritual Authority Begins With Yourself
Romans 5:17 says that we are to reign as kings in this life through Christ. We reign as kings over circumstances, poverty, disease, and everything else that would hinder the will of God being done in the lives of our families.
Our authority in Christ must first and foremost be exercised in our own lives.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2Cor 10:3-6 NKJV)
Much of our warfare is fought in the battlefield of the mind. God has given us His Word and His Spirit to aid us in this warfare.
When our own obedience to the Word and the Spirit is established, we are in an accurate position to then exercise our authority on a broader basis, praying for others, praying for towns and cities, and praying for nations.
A man or woman who has not taken authority over their own fleshly appetites however, is unlikely to affect much in the spiritual realm. Even if they are born again and seek to assert themselves in Christ, their fleshly lifestyle gives room for the evil one to operate and keeps them weak.
Jesus was able to say:
“I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.]” (John 14:30 AMP)
As with any doctrine, the teaching regarding the believer’s authority cannot be isolated from other teachings in the Scriptures. A life of consecration and holiness, a renewed mind to the truths of Scripture, and a healthy dose of common sense are all necessary if we are to grow in authority and influence. The authority of the believer must be balanced by the submission of the believer.
Some seek to misuse the authority they have been given with wrong motives. Jesus addresses this unlawful use of His name in Matthew:
“Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt 7:22-23 NKJV)
THE MESSAGE paraphrase renders these verses:
“I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’” (Matt 7:22-23 MESSAGE)
Personal obedience and submission to the command of Christ comes before the exercise of His authority in the spiritual realm. Right motives are key.
Furthermore, some have been tempted to run off with a half-baked truth and ended up in a mess because of it. It is important to understand that we do indeed have authority over demon spirits of every kind, but to pick a fight, or address situations you are not equipped to bring to completion is unwise and foolish. The sons of Sceva sought to operate in a manner they had no real revelation of and ended up beaten, bruised and naked (Acts 19:13-16).
As believers we must give ourselves to the Word of God until these truths become a part of us. Paul prayed that his disciples would live according to revelation, and one of the areas of revelation was the Believer’s authority in Christ.
We quote again from Hagin’s book:
“Sometimes believers say they will try something because it has worked for someone else. If they study God’s Word and clothe themselves in its teaching on authority, it will work for them. But if they try to act on God’s Word without really having that Word built up in their spirit, the devil will defeat them soundly.
You’ll only defeat the devil when you’ve got a foundation of God’s Word and you act upon it. The Bible says (speaking of Satan), “Whom resist stedfast in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9). Your level of faith is directly related to the degree of God’s Word dwelling in your heart, that is, that Word which is reality to you and in which you are daily walking.,,,
Jesus said, “… He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12 KJV). Someone will ask what the “greater works” are. Well, let’s just do the works Jesus did first and then think about the “greater works”!
Jesus didn’t say that only a select few would do these works; He said those who believe on Him would.
As we study what the Word of God teaches and educate our spirits about the authority of the believer, I believe that we’ll be able to walk in this great truth more and more.”
Conclusion
The Believer has been given authority in Christ to deal with demon spirits and circumstances according to the Word. We are called to enforce the victory won through the atonement, bringing all things into submission to Christ. Our own submission to the Word of God and to the instituted authorities over our own lives will also play a key part in the exercise of this doctrine in our lives. Through constant exposure to the Word of faith concerning our authority and identity in Christ Jesus, every believer has the potential to move into a realm where they are manifesting the works of Christ in their lives, and bringing healing and deliverance to a desperately needy world.
Appendix 1: John G. Lake
For five years in South Africa, John G. Lake displayed the greatest spiritual power seen since the days of Jesus — not only for others but also for himself. While assisting doctors during a bubonic plague outbreak, he was asked why he had not contracted the disease since he had used none of their medical protection. He said, “it is the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” To demonstrate, he had them take live bubonic plague germs still foaming from the lungs of a newly dead person and put them in his hands and then examine the germs under a microscope. As soon as they touched him the germs died.Lake later moved to Spokane, WA, and established a healing ministry that was so effective that a prominent medical doctor said about it, “Rev. Lake’s ministry of divine healing has made Spokane the healthiest city in the world.” Several years later he moved to Portland, WA, and did the same there.
“Reign as Kings”
I want to bring you a message that came to me today. I have been for years on the verge of this message, but never did I receive it until this morning. In Romans 5:17, in another translation there is a remarkable rendering: “For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned as king through the one, much more shall they who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign as kings in the realm of life, through Jesus Christ.”
That means that the moment you accept Jesus Christ, God becomes your righteousness. That is the “gift of righteousness.” Let me read it again: “For if by the trespass of one, death reigned as king through the one, much more shall they who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign as kings in the realm of life through Jesus Christ.” It means every one of us that has been born again comes into a kingly and queenly state, and we are accepted by God to reign as kings and queens in the realm of life.
We have reigned as servants in the realm of spiritual death. We have passed out of death, Satan’s realm, into the realm of life, into the realm of the supernatural, or the spiritual, or the heavenlies.
Here are some significant facts. Man was never made a slave.
He was never made for slavery. He was made to reign as king under God. If you noticed, I showed you this, that kingly being that
was created was created in the image and likeness of God, that he was created on terms of equality with God that he could stand in the presence of God without any consciousness of inferiority.
I quote you from the eighth Psalm in which this expression is used: “What is man that thou are mindful ofhim? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than [Godt, and crownest him with glory and honour” [Psalm 8:4-5].
What does it mean? It means that God has made us as near like Himself as it is possible for God to make a being. He made you in His image. He made you in His likeness. He made you the same class of being that He is Himself.
He made Adam with an intellect with such caliber that he was able to name every animal, every vegetable and every fruit, and give them names that would fit and describe their characteristics. When God could do that with man, then that man belonged to the realm of God.
Adam had such vitality in his body that even after he sinned and became mortal, he lived nearly a thousand years, 930 years before mortality got in its work and put him on his deathbed. Methuselah lived 969 years. Ufe was so abundant, so tremendous in their minds and spirits that it conquered century after century.
Jesus said: “l am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). More abundantly! Jesus made the declaration: “l am come that they might have life. II The thing that was forfeited in the garden was regained. God gave him dominion over the works of His hand. God made him His understudy, His king to rule over everything that had life. Man was master. Man lived in the realm of God. He lived on terms of equality with God. God was a faith God. All God had to do was to believe that the sun was, and the sun was. All God had to do was to believe that the planets would be, ;md they were. Man belonged to God’s class of being-a faith man. And he lived in the creative realm of God.
Friends, if you believe what I am preaching, it is going to end your impotence and weakness, and you will swing out into a power such as you have never known in your life.
…Every religion has some kind of recreation. Why? Every man has a consciousness (I am speaking of men who think) down in them. There is something that cries out against death, against sickness, against sorrow, against defeat, against failure. There is something that rebels against the bondage of fear and that cries for rebirth, a recreation that will give them dominion and mastery over the forces that have held them in bondage.
Our redemption is God’s answer to this universal hunger. We saw God’s hunger creating man; now you see man’s hunger bringing God to recreate him. Can’t you understand it, men, that the hunger in the heart of God drove Him, forced Him until He spoke a world into being for the home of His love project, man. It has driven Him to create universes to hold this world by the law of attraction and make it a safe place for man.
Then when man fell and loslhis standing and became a slave and subject to Satan, this universal cry went up until the very heart of God bled for this broken human. Then He made provision whereby this man that He had created who had sinned and had “decreated” might come back into fellowship with Him of a higher, holier sort than he had lost at the beginning.
…Have you? If you have your redemption it means that to you Satan has been defeated. Jesus conquered the devil as a Jew before He died. Then He let the devil conquer Him on the cross and send Him down to the place of suffering with our burden and guilt upon Him. But after He satisfied the claims of justice, Jesus met the devil in his own throne room and He stripped him of his authority and dominion. And when He arose, He said: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore … and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18).
He had gone into the throne room, taken Satan’s badge of dominion and authority that Adam had given him in the Garden of Eden, and every man that accepts Jesus Christ was identified with Him when He did it. He did it for you. He did it
for me. He died as our substitute and representative. When He put His heel on Satan’s neck, He did it for you, and you were in Christ. And to you who believe Satan is conquered and Satan is defeated, Satan can holler and bellow as much as he wants to, but you withstand him in the faith of Jesus Christ.
I saw a picture this morning as I was reading an article. I saw a company of men walk out, and I sawall the disease and all the crimes and agonies; I saw cancers and tumors and tuberculosis: and I saw a company of men and women walk down in the midst of it, and I heard them say, “Here come the sons of God: here come the conquerors.” And the sons of God said to disease, “In the Name of Jesus, depart,” and disease fled. It fled as it did before the Son of God. It obeyed because the Son of God sent them out and gave them His Name as authority. I saw the compapy of men enter into the lost dominion. They put upon them the garments of their authority and dominion and walked out conquerors over death and hell and the grave. They were masters. They were rulers.
…I cried, “My God, my God, where are the mighty men of valor of today, the men that can assail the forces of Satan?” God says they are coming out of you: they are going to arrive. God has in training some men and women that are going to do exploits for Him. Will you not come up and live in your realm?
God help you, brother, this afternoon to throw your reason that has led you into all kinds of doubt and fear, to throw it to the wind and say, “God, here goes. We trust in Your omnipotence to put it over.”
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“Spiritual Dominion”
“…Beloved, it takes faith to exercise your gift of God. There are just lots of people around everywhere who have gifts of God, and they are lying dormant in their lives, and there is no value for the kingdom of God through them because of the fact they have no faith in God to put the gift in exercise and get the benefit of it.
Probably Timothy was a timid fellow, and Paul is going to show him why he should be exercising this gift of God, which he believed to be in him.
There are so many preachers who are afraid of the devil. They have no idea of how big God is Who dwells in you. They have no idea of the power given to you because God dwells in you. They preach fear of the devil, fear of demons, and fear of this influence, and fear of that influence and fear of some other power. If the Holy Ghost has come down from heaven into your soul, common sense teaches us that He has made you the master thereby of every other power in the world. Otherwise the Word of God is a blank falsehood. For it declares: “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). “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” (Luke 10:19). And if we had faith to believe that the “greater than he” is in us, bless God, we would be stepping out with boldness and majesty. The conscious supremacy of the Son of God would be manifest in our lives and instead of being subservient and bowed down and broken beneath the weight of sin and the powers of darkness around us, THEY would flee from us and keep out of our way. I believe before God there is not a devil that comes within a hundred feet of a real God-anointed Christian. That is the kind of vision God put in my soul.
… God anoints your soul. God anoints your life. God comes to dwell in your person. God comes to make you a master. That is the purpose of His indwelling in a Christian. The real child of God was to be a master over every other power of darkness in the world. It was to be subject TO HIM. He is to be God’s representative in the world. The Holy Ghost in the Christian was to be as powerful as the Holy Ghost was in the Christ. Indeed, Jesus’ words go to such an extreme that they declare that “Greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). It indicates that the mighty Holy Ghost from heaven in the life of the Christian was to be more powerful in you and in me after Jesus got to heaven and ministered Him to our souls than He was in Jesus.
Beloved, who has the faith to believe it? Who has faith to exercise it? We cannot exercise anything beyond what we believe to be possible. Listen: “God hath not given us the spirit of fear.”
Fear of the devil is nonsense. Fear of demons is foolish. The Spirit of God anointing the Christian heart makes the soul impregnable to the powers of darkness. How I love to teach men that when the Lord Jesus Christ anoints your soul and baptizes you in the Holy Ghost, that the almightiness of the Eternal God, the Father, by the Spirit, and Jesus Christ combined has come into your soul.
…What I want to bring to you is that the Spirit of God, the divine master, the eternal power of God, the combined life and presence by the Spirit, of the Father and the Son, is given to you … not to leave you a weakling, and subject to all kinds of powers of darkness, but to make you a MASTER, to give you dominion ‘in God over every devilish force that ever wa
“God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” [2 Timothy 1:7]. The Spirit of Power is the Holy Ghost, bless God. And not only of power, but of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND. Not a craziness and insanity, but a sound mind, by which you can look in the face of the devil and laugh.
…I do not know, but maybe I have come through a different school from what others have in the lines of the Spirit, but I am sure of one thing, that if Christianity was to leave me a weakling, to be oppressed by the power of darkness” I would seek something else because it would not meet the need. It is that which meets the need that gives you divine supremacy in Jesus Christ. Friends, when your heart is surcharged by that faith in God so that “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world,” you will pray a new prayer.
Excerpts from John G Lake, Kenneth Copeland Publications
