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Bible Study Lesson Authority of Believer
Bible Study Lesson Authority of Believer
Bible Study Lesson Authority of Believer
“There are few subjects relating to the Christians life concerning which there is so little
exact knowledge as that of the authority of the believer, this is not because such authority
is the property of only a few elect souls, on the contrary, and it is the possession of every
true child of God. It is one of the “all things”, received in Christ its reception dates from
the souls contract with Calvary.”
John Macmillan
Ex: police officer stopping traffic. Police officer is small and cars can easily over
power him, but because of the power backing him drivers respect his authority.
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities [archas,
the first or preeminent ones] against powers [exousias, the authorities]”.
III. Source of the Believers Authority
• Calvary- The believers authority comes from the blood of Jesus, shed on
Calvary. Jesus, the captain (Archegonn, or Prince Leader) of our salvation,
who was raised from the dead. The act of resurrection was accomplished
through “the exceeding greatness of his [God’s] power[dunameos], to
unward who believe, according to the working[energeian] of the
strength[kratous] of his might[ischuos]
“All principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this world [aion, age], but also in that which is to come.”
Proverbs 29:2
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked
beareth rule, the people mourn
Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, F1 after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Dunamis (power)
“The very act of God that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead raised also his body. Head
and Body are naturally raised together; Christ, the Head; His body (the church) therefore
we have authority because of Him and do not need to confer with anyone- only HIM
(Christ).
V. Romans 6
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.
Wrestles:
1. wrestling (a contest between two in which each endeavors to throw the other, and
which is decided when the victor is able to hold his opponent down with his hand
upon his neck)
a. the term is transferred to the Christian's struggle with the power of evil
Principalities:
1. beginning, origin
2. the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader
3. that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
4. the extremity of a thing
a. of the corners of a sail
5. the first place, principality, rule, magistracy
a. of angels and demons
Rulers
Spiritual
1. relating to the human spirit, or rational soul, as part of the man which is akin to
God and serves as his instrument or organ
a. that which possesses the nature of the rational soul
2. belonging to a spirit, or a being higher than man but inferior to God
3. belonging to the Divine Spirit
a. of God the Holy Spirit
b. one who is filled with and governed by the Spirit of God
4. pertaining to the wind or breath; windy, exposed to the wind, blowing
Wickedness
●Secondly, he declares that our chiefest and mightiest enemies are invisible, so that we
may not think that our chiefest conflict is with men.
●Against men, who are of a frail and brittle nature, against whom are set spiritual wiles, a
thousand times more mighty than the flesh.
●He gives these names to the evil angels, by reason of the effects which they work: not
that they are able to do the same in and of themselves, but because God gives them
permission.
The enemy surrounds us on all sides. He is treacherous and viscous, and he wars against
us everyday.
This battle is not a physical one; it is spiritual. That makes it quite challenging. It is also
frightening.
The whole issue is who is going to get the glory in the universe. Satan told God, "You
cannot have all the glory in creation, I want some for myself." God’s response was, "My
glory I will not give to another" Isaiah 48:11.
The battle for the throne of creation continues, yet the outcome can never be disputed.
Day in and day out, the battle rages in our personal affairs, our families, our churches, our
finances and our communities. Paul said, "Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of
God" 1 Corinthians 10:31.
In relation to the battle that we are in, we must fight to win the glory. We have to always
be aware of Satan’s strategy. The bible makes it clear that he has a well-organized plan
that he has perfected over the ages. Ephesians 6:11 tell us to put on the whole armour of
God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The word "wiles"
describes a well thought out clever strategy. We cannot afford to be ignorant of his
devices see 2 Corinthians 2:11.
On one occasion while speaking to a carnal church, the Apostle Paul said, "I am afraid,
lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray
from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" 2 Corinthians 11:3.
Satan is out to deceive us; to trick us into buying into his lies and temptations. He does
not want us to be devoted to Christ. He wants us to doubt the Word of God and stumble
in our trust. That way, he can reduce us to the extent that we are insignificant in the
kingdom of God.
Satan has been doing his work for a long time. He is comfortable at it. He lies with the
greatest of ease. He can speak false and deceptive doctrine, and make it sound true,
exciting and believable. He will have us believing that we have heard from heaven when
all we’ve heard is a pack of lies. He wants us to believe that he is right when all the
while, that’s not possible. The devil cannot speak the truth, he is a liar.
The devil has perfected what he does. That’s why he can deceive the masses. He can
deceive us and makes us have a good time. But we cannot afford to be deceived, even if
it’s "good time deception".
Satan is not afraid of us, but he cannot stand against God for a second. Paul told us to be
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
It is so vital that we have everything we need to fight a good fight. Lack of victory in a
spiritual battle reflects a lack of understanding of our divine resources. We have
everything we need to win every victory. We all face problems in life, but it is our
inability to move beyond the problem that causes us to lose out. We must be able to move
past our setbacks and disappointments. We cannot allow anything to keep us in spiritual
defeat. We must let nothing separate us from the love of God.
Victory is found in our dependence upon God. Satan wants to keep us from depending on
God. He wants us to depend upon ourselves. But God alone has the power to establish us
and give us the victory.
Let us decide today that we will trust in the Word of God. As we lean and depend on God,
we will consistently experience victory in our lives.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty so
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3
Message Bible: And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his
smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ
FEAR
BEGUILE - to deceive
SUBTITLY
1. Craftiness, cunning
2. a specious or false wisdom
3. in a good sense, prudence, skill, in undertaking and carrying on affairs
MINDS
CORRUPTED
1. to corrupt, to destroy
a. in the opinion of the Jews, the temple was corrupted or "destroyed" when
anyone defiled or in the slightest degree damaged anything in it, or if its
guardians neglected their duties
b. to lead away a Christian church from that state of knowledge and holiness
in which it ought to abide
c. to be destroyed, to perish
d. in an ethical sense, to corrupt, deprave
SIMPLICITY
The authority is the portion of EVERY believer. It is not a special gift imparted in
answer to prayer, but the inherent right of the child of God. This elevation took place at
the resurrection of the Lord.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the
saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 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.
A bottle may be submerged in the waters of a fountain. But if the cork is not removed,
the holder may wait indefinitely and at last carry it away empty. In accord with this,
multitudes of truly spiritual believers are as it were immersed in the omnipotence of God,
it presses them on every side. There is a longing for its experience and a belief that it
should be theirs and a readiness to received. Yet, because their minds have been “holden”
as they have read the Word, the simplicity and the glory of this truth have not dawned
upon them.
To usward who believe. Thus to believe means to live in accordance with anything. We
are accustomed to consider belief as simply mental with some particular truth. But its
root leads us to action; that which the mind accepts, the will must obey. We must
understand that belief and faith goes together which in its deeper sense means not only to
have trust in a person but to manifest that trust by practical committal.
Questions
Do you believe that God hath quickened us together with Christ Jesus and hath raised us
up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:5-6).
Our prayer should be: Lord train me day by day that I may attain to the full stature of the
perfect man in Christ so that in me thy purpose of the ages may be fulfilled.
QUALIFICATIONS
A. Humility (the having a humble opinion of one's self) – Though our belief introduces
us to our place of throne power, only humility will ensure our retaining it.
2 Corinthians 13:4
Full boldness is faith in full manifestation. When God has spoke, to hold back is not
humility but unbelief.
D. The protection of God – The only safe place is to continue to occupy the place in
which God has given you. If the believer abides steadfastly by faith in this location, he
cannot be touch.
What is the enemy job in wearing us out? He wants to remove us from the place of
protection. We must maintain our place against the wiles of the devil.
The enemy – He is not omnipresent. He is not all-powerful. He cannot read our minds.
He is not sovereign. He doesn’t own the universe, or the earth for that matter. He is a
created being a fallen angel, whose end is certain.
Spiritual Warfare – Spiritual war is a reality. We are in a fight. The enemy is real.
Demons are real. Attacks of the enemy are real; but we must be careful not to give the
devil too much credit. He is not in charge – GOD IS! The enemy’s job is to steal, kill and
destroy.
Proclamation – Ephesians 1:18-21 Christ seated far above principalities and powers
Position – Eph 2:6-7; 3:11-12; 5:11; 6:10-18 - We are seated in heavenly places
What’s a stronghold – a stronghold is anywhere that the enemy has a foothold, resting
place, or nesting place in your life, your body and family, your job or your possessions.
These are arenas where Satan has been allow to gain access, control, or to present to lie,
steal, kill and destroy. Not every bad thing is an attach of the enemy. Look for his
fingerprints.