The Authority You Did Not Know You Had

The Two Extremes of Authority

Jesus gave His followers authority. Not advice. Not suggestions. Not a tip hat. Authority. Real, tangible, spiritual authority over darkness. Listen to what He said to His disciples: I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. That is not a metaphor. That is not poetic language. That is what He said. And then He added: Nothing will harm you. That is the authority Jesus gave His followers.

And most believers do not know they have it. They have been taught that they are weak, helpless, and constantly under attack. They have been taught that the enemy is stronger than they are, that they need to beg for protection, that they are always one step behind. That is not what Jesus said. Jesus said He gave us authority. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me, He said. And then He said: Therefore go. That means the authority was transferred. To us. From Him.

The church has swung between two extremes when it comes to using this authority. Some believers shout commands at the enemy like they are barking orders at a disobedient dog. They rebuke, they bind, they loose, they command. And honestly, most of the time it sounds ridiculous. It sounds performative. It sounds like they are trying to prove something. And it usually pushes people away from the faith rather than drawing them in.

Other believers do the opposite. They whisper prayers like they are afraid the enemy will overhear them and get angry. They approach prayer like they are asking for a favor, begging for help, hoping someone with more power will notice them and intervene. They do not know they carry authority. They think they are subjects asking the King for help. They do not realize they are co-heirs with Christ, seated with Him in the heavenly places, carrying His name.

Neither approach reflects the authority Jesus actually gave us. The first is theatrical. The second is defeated. Neither is accurate.

Authority Versus Power

I need to explain something that most believers do not understand. Authority is not the same as power. This matters more than you know. Power is the ability to do something. Authority is the right to do it. You can have the ability to do something but not have the right to do it. And you can have the right to do something but not have the ability to do it.

Here is the good news: You have the right. The authority. The moment you became a follower of Christ, the authority of Christ was transferred to you. Not because you earned it. Not because you prayed hard enough. Not because you were good enough. Because He gave it. Full authority. To His followers. To you.

The power comes from the Holy Spirit. He is the one who enables you to do what you have the right to do. But the right was given to you the moment you said yes to Jesus. You do not need to earn authority. You do not need to pray harder to get it. You do not need to be more spiritual to have it. You already have it. The question is whether you will use it.

How to Use Your Authority

Here is how authority works in practice. When the enemy tells you that you are worthless, you do not argue with him. You do not debate. You do not try to convince yourself he is wrong. You declare the truth. I am a child of God. That is not a feeling. That is a declaration. I carry the authority of Christ. The enemy has to leave when I speak.

When fear tries to paralyze you, you do not try to reason your way out of it. You declare the truth. God has not given me a spirit of fear. That is what 2 Timothy says. God has not given me a spirit of fear. What He has given me is a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. The fear is not from God. I do not have to listen to it.

When temptation pulls at you, you do not try to resist in your own strength. You declare the truth. I am not a slave to this. I am free in Christ. I have authority over this. The temptation has to go when you speak. Not because you are stronger than it. Because you carry the name that is above every name.

That is authority in action. You do not argue with the enemy. You do not debate. You declare the truth. The truth of who you are in Christ. The truth of what He has given you. The truth that the enemy is already defeated.

Authority Without Arrogance

I want to address something before we move on. Authority can sound arrogant. It can sound like you think you are better than others. It can sound like you think you have special powers. I want to be clear: your authority is not based on you. It is based on Christ. You carry His authority, not yours. The moment you think it is about you, you have already lost it.

Authority used correctly produces humility, not arrogance. Because you know you did not earn it. You know you did not deserve it. You know it was given to you by grace, through faith. And that produces gratitude, not pride. The person who walks in true authority does not walk around lording it over others. They walk in quiet confidence. They know where their authority comes from. And they use it to serve, not to dominate.

Here is the test: Does using your authority make you more humble or more arrogant? If it makes you arrogant, you are using it wrong. True authority produces the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Not power trips. Not dominance. Fruit.

Walking in What You Already Have

I want you to leave today knowing something: You are not powerless. You never were. You carry the authority of the One who defeated death, emptied hell, and sits at the right hand of God. The name that is above every name. The name before which every knee will bow.

That name is in you. That authority is yours. Not because you earned it. Because Jesus gave it to you. Not because you are special. Because He is special, and you are in Him.

Walk in it. Not with arrogance. With quiet confidence. The enemy already knows you have it. The question is whether you know it. The question is whether you will use it. And the question is whether you will use it in a way that brings glory to the One who gave it to you.