Spiritual Authority Rests on Your Shoulders

Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go…’ (Matthew 28:18-19).

There is never any question if Jesus’ authority is limited.

His governmental remit for Heaven and earth is secure and certain for all time. He proclaims all authority is His! At His name, every knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Because Jesus Christ, our God who is Three in One, has all authority no other god, spirit, power or principality has any. None. No other. Only Jesus.

Jesus announces His authority and then commands us, His disciples, to go in and under that authority that is His alone. We go as anointed ones—those who go ‘in Christ’. As our King and Lord, our Commander in Chief, we go with the same authority when we speak in His name or do something He has directed us to by His Word or Spirit. We then move and operate as if it were Jesus Himself speaking. Christ in us, the hope of glory! Alive in Christ! We are in Him and He in us. We are one with Him.

We all have all authority in Christ—there is never a moment, once you have given your life to the lordship of King Jesus, that you do not have it. As Christians we are often not aware of it or we believe in some way that it is diminished or limited. Jesus said all authority was His and yet He only did what He saw the Father do (see John 5:19). He did not move out on His own or in His own understanding or knowledge. He watched the Father closely and acted as He did—He spoke into what the Father was saying and doing.

We must be ones who understand that to be people of authority we must come under that authority. If we are speaking in Jesus’ name, we must be assured we are speaking what Jesus is saying and doing at that point in time, if it is in line with His word to us. That is why having our senses alive and awake to the spirit realm is so crucial, my friend! It allows us to partner closely with what the Lord is doing so we can daily move both under and with His authority.

If we consider the centurion who came to see Jesus in Matthew 8, he was moved with such great compassion for his servant that he requested Jesus to heal him. This man completely comprehended the extent of the authority Jesus walked under. He saw that if Jesus spoke the word of healing, then his servant instantly would be supernaturally healed. He understood, due to his military perspective on authority, that Jesus did not need to be within physical proximity to his servant to achieve the miracle:

…just say the word, and my servant will be healed… (Matthew 8:8).

Jesus was amazed at the centurion’s response and declared His astonishment at this soldier’s incredible faith in and understanding of Jesus’ authority. This is such an important lesson for us to grasp. The military mindset of the soldier is complete obedience—when faced with a superior who says, ‘Go’, he goes. ‘Advance’, he advances. ‘Stand down’, he stands down. The soldier is repeatedly drilled in the basic principles of obedience to those commands from authority. He is trained to do what he is told to do when he is told to do it. We can learn much from the soldier’s understanding, my friend. When the Lord says to us, ‘Move’, we move; ‘Rest’, we rest; ‘Go’, we go. Our obedience is key for operating under the Lord’s authority. We know how much God values obedience—it is ‘better than sacrifice’ (1 Samuel 15:22). Let us learn obedience to move under the authority of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Response

Lord, I choose right now to say I come under Your authority! I am willing to go where and when You say go. I am willing to move as You lead, Lord—to see and sense what You are doing and move with You. From today I choose to be obedient to You.

Once we learn to be the ones who submit to God’s authority and respond when He asks us, we will find He directs us and moves in and through us in greater measure. As we become ones who are trusted to obey every time, we are increasingly given instruction and are released to operate in the authority we have come under.

The Spirit of the Lord will instruct you and lead you to act and speak, with the full weight of His authority, as if He Himself were speaking, because you have submitted completely. Much like in the army, there can be expansion in influence and promotion as we prove ourselves diligent to the word of the Lord. Our remit can grow in influence; it can be expanded if we are conscientious with all the Lord has given us to fulfil day by day.

The Key to Authority Is on Your Shoulders

It is accepted military practice worldwide to represent a soldier’s rank and authority with epaulettes. So too, the Lord draws attention to shoulders to mark His authority and government. Just as Jesus Christ wears His authority of God’s government on His shoulders—as proclaimed in Isaiah 9:6 ‘…the government will be on his shoulders’—the Lord now touches your shoulders today and reminds you of the weight of authority He desires to put on yours.

Take a moment to acknowledge the Lord touching you and placing the weight of His hands on you today. He is calling you to carry the Lord’s burden of His rule and governance. This burden and weight is unique to you, bespoke to your calling in Christ. It is a privilege. The weight of God’s rule is a light burden for those who are called.

I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open (Isaiah 22:22).

We operate in the authority of Christ. The authority that has been given to those who are in Him and have submitted to His lordship with speech and action will enable you to enter the place where Isaiah 22:22 becomes a reality. God says open what is before you in the spirit as you are discerning with your senses. He says release the fetters and limitations from an individual or region. When we pray in accordance with His instructions, it will be so. When the Lord says, ‘Bind that demon’ or ‘Shut those gates/doors’, as He orders and we speak it, it shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven, just as Jesus said.

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).

When God speaks and we react like an obedient soldier, we will see things and experience things we never imagined. Friend, you will see the Lord move and open things you never dreamed. Enjoy this training and lifestyle in submission and obedience to the Lord for it will liberate you and so many others! This key to God’s authority, which opens and shuts, loosens and binds in the spirit, is crucial to the ‘violent’ advancement of the Kingdom of God and His people (see Matthew 11:12). Like Jesus says, ‘But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you [those we minister to]’ (Luke 11:20).

As we are diligent in our submission to the Lord, being the ones trusted with His governmental weight on our shoulders at the time He has set, we will see transformation in individual lives, in our neighbourhoods, towns and cities, our workplaces and our families. We will experience the unseen realm breaking into the natural, earthly realm and see the fruit of our obedience time and again.