19 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. (Lk. 10:19)
The born-again believer has been given a tremendous spiritual authority in Christ. Sadly, only few Christians use their God-given authority to reign over bad circumstances in life, whether it is about financial lack, health problems, family or relationship problems etc.
When Jesus told His disciples that He had given them power to trample on serpents and scorpions, He did not refer to physical snakes or scorpions, but to demonic powers.
The devil is working overtime to keep Christians sick, broke, and discouraged in order to hinder the kingdom of God from advancing and to stop the spread of the gospel of grace.
However, because of the cross, the devil and his demons have been totally disarmed. They no longer have authority over the believer in Christ, since Christ now has ALL authority in heaven and earth.
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (Col. 2:14-15)
(It is interesting to note that the devil was disarmed and made a public spectacle of as a result of that the ”handwriting of requirements” – which refers to the law of Moses – was nailed to the cross. However, we will not expound on that subject more in this teaching article.)
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Gotherefore and make disciples of all the nations… (Matt. 28:18-19)
Since all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus, that means the devil no longer has any authority. However, the devil is still ”the god of this world” (see 2 Cor. 4:4), and as such he has access to the level of authority that humans give him. He is dependent on humans to exercise power, since he no longer possesses any authority in and by himself. This is a powerful revelation! The devil has no more authority than what PEOPLE give him. He exercises his authority by deception and lies.
One of the devils tricks is to keep God’s people in ignorance, so that they simply do not know about their God given authority in Christ. As to those who actually know about their God-given authority, the devil tries to prevent them from using it by keeping them focused on their present circumstances, instead on Christ and His victory on the cross.
As a born-again believer you have been given authority to trample on snakes and scorpions. You have been given the authority over all the power of the enemy. You exercise this authority by the words that you speak with your mouth – by speaking in accordance with God’s word. Start using the authority you already have! God has made you a winner!
