Stop Living Defeated – Part 11
Dominion is God’s plan for every believer. It is not a coincidence that we find ourselves learning about this topic; it is a season for the church to step into its rightful role. However, dominion is impossible without authority...
March 8, 2026
The Authority of the Believer: Stepping into Your God-Given Dominion
Dominion is God’s plan for every believer. It is not a coincidence that we find ourselves learning about this topic; it is a season for the church to step into its rightful role. However, dominion is impossible without authority. You cannot rule in an area where you have not been granted the right to exercise control.
Many believers live below their calling, praying for a victory that has already been won or asking God to act on their behalf when He has already commissioned them to act on His. The primary issue is not a lack of power, but a lack of knowledge.
Hosea 4:6 – my people perish for lack of knowledge. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge. I reject you from the from being a priest to me.
Defining True Authority
Authority is delegated power. It is not the same as raw physical strength; rather, it is the right to use power because it has been granted by a higher power.
Consider a traffic police officer standing before a 100-ton truck. The officer does not have the physical strength to stop the vehicle, yet when he raises his hand, the truck must stop. The driver stops not because of the officer’s personal power, but because the officer stands in the authority of the government and the law. Similarly, the believer’s authority does not come from personal capability or name recognition. It comes because Jesus Christ and the entirety of heaven backs that authority.
The Scriptural Basis for Our Authority
In Luke 10:19, Jesus declares: Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
This verse confirms that God’s reputation is on the line when we exercise this authority. It is important to note that the scripture says “all” the power of the enemy, not just some of it. While “serpents and scorpions” are metaphors for the enemy’s tactics, the reality is that every demonic force and evil spirit is under the believer’s authority. Your authority in Christ overrides the enemy’s power completely.
The Three Sources of Believer’s Authority
Our authority does not stem from spiritual maturity or church positions; it comes from our position in Christ.The Authority of Jesus: All authority belongs to Him.
Matthew 28:18 – says: all authority in heaven and on earth have been given to me.
Ephesians 2:6 – That God raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
The Name of Jesus: God has bestowed upon Jesus the name above every name
Philippians 2:9-10 – Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Restoration of the Original Design
In the beginning, God’s design was for mankind to have dominion.
Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion. Adam was created to represent God’s authority on earth, governing everything in nature without fear or sickness.
However, when Adam sinned, he surrendered this authority to Satan. This is why Satan could claim in
Luke 4:6 – That authority had been “delivered” to him. But the story did not end there. Jesus came as the “Second Adam” to restore what was lost.
Romans 5:17 – For if because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:15 – Through His victory, Jesus disarmed the principalities and power and triumphed over them
Believers are called to exercise this restored authority in specific areas of life:
Authority Over Self: We must rule over our own lives before ruling elsewhere.
Proverbs 25:28 – A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Romans 6:14 – Sin shall have no dominion over your life. For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under the law under but under the grace
Authority Over the Enemy: We are commanded to be active, not passive.
James 4:7 – Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
God will not resist the devil for you; He has given you the jurisdiction to do it yourself.Authority to Influence the World: We are called to Fill the earth and subdue it Whether in the family, the office, or the marketplace, the believer carries God’s authority to advance His kingdom and destroy the works of the enemy.
Moving from Passivity to Faith
Many fail to walk in dominion because they are waiting for God to act, while God is waiting for them to use the authority He already gave them.
Ephesians 1:22 – Notes that God put all things under his feet and gave him head over all things to church.
Since the church is His body, even the “feet” the least in the kingdom are positioned above the enemy.
Authority does not work with doubt or fear; it only works with faith. We must stop begging the enemy and start commanding in the name of Jesus, knowing that the kingdom of heaven backs us.
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