The Believer’s Authority #1: What Satan Fears the Most

What is Satan afraid of? Have you ever thought about that?

Satan doesn’t fear sound theology, Scripture memorization, Bible reading, and faithful church attendance. These are all valuable. But knowledge and religious activity alone do not make us effective against the enemy. What threatens his strategy is a born-again believer who understands and exercises the God-given authority received in Christ. The enemy is not intimidated merely by what we know; he is confronted when we believe God’s Word and act upon it.

The believer’s authority is a permanent position in Christ, and it becomes effective in daily life when it is understood and exercised.

Authority Begins with Identity

Have you ever thought about yourself as Satan’s master? If you haven’t, then it is likely that you haven’t yet understood your authority in Christ. Understanding your authority comes from first understanding your identity in Christ, so we will start there.

1 John 4:15-17 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 

This shows us that those who confess Christ as Lord abide in God, and “as He is, so are we in this world.” This means our identity and spiritual standing flow from our union with Christ. Therefore, understanding authority begins with accepting what God says about who we are in Him.

“As Christ is, so are we.” That’s a huge statement. Say it out loud a few times and let that sink in.

The enemy fears our authority, specifically the legal, blood covenant, purchased authority that was given to every born-again believer at the new birth. Many believers have spent their entire Christian life never using this authority. Not because it doesn’t work, but because they either don’t know they have it, or if they know they have it from a theological standpoint, they never understand it well enough to use it. 

Satan’s strategy in the life of the average Christian is dependent upon that ignorance. He puts a lot of effort into keeping us unaware of our authority. If we become aware, he focuses on keeping us doubting our ability to use it because he knows that authority not exercised is an authority that produces no practical result.

When a Christian lives in the scenario I just described, the enemy, who has been thoroughly and legally defeated at the cross, can continue to operate freely in our lives. It’s high time we changed that.

The first step in this change is to believe what God says about us in His written Word and let it shape how we think, speak, and act. We must first renew our minds to His way of thinking.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Transformation begins with the renewed mind. As our thinking is aligned with God’s truth, we become powerful ambassadors of Christ who walk in His authority, exercise His dominion, and demonstrate His good, acceptable, and perfect will. A renewed mind enables every believer to stand in Christ’s authority and take dominion over all the works of the devil.

We must believe that we have the right to enforce the victory that Christ has already won. He whipped the devil, stripped him of power, and then paraded him in front of the hosts of Heaven and made a public spectacle of him just so everyone would know.

Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Christ disarmed every hostile spiritual power and publicly triumphed over them through the cross. This means the believer does not fight to gain victory, but stands in and defends the victory Christ has already won. Our response is to resist the enemy from a place of victory in Christ.

I’m going to show you what our authority actually is, where it comes from, why the enemy fears it, and how to begin exercising it in our daily lives.

And just to be clear up front, the daily exercise of our God-given authority is the expected practice of every born-again believer. God expects us to understand who we are and take dominion wherever we go.

Dominion: The exercise of delegated authority for the stewardship and responsibility to rule and reign over God’s creation as His representatives. (It does not mean controlling other people.)

Luke 10:19-20 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. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

Jesus gave His followers authority over the enemy’s power. This supports the distinction between delegated authority and raw power: believers act because Christ authorizes them. Our response is to remain submitted to Him, resist evil in His name, and keep our identity in Christ as the foundation of our confidence.

In Luke 10:19, the word translated “authority” is the Greek word “exousia.” Authority is the legal right to act. The word “power” used in the same verse, referring to Satan’s power, is the Greek word “dunamis”, which is the ability or force by which an action is carried out. Delegated authority is the legal right to act on behalf of the person who grants that authority. Jesus is the source, and believers act under His authority rather than independently of Him. By acting in Christ’s authority, we destroy Satan’s power. This distinction is where the disconnect happens for many sincere believers.

They read this verse, maybe they can even quote it. But the distance between knowing what this verse says and actually living it out is the gap this teaching is going to close.

The enemy does not fear Christians in general. He fears one very particular kind of Christian. The believer who treats their authority as a legal right and uses it to take dominion over him and all his works, resisting his influence, exposing his deceptions, and destroying all of his strategies. This is what Satan fears. Is he scared of you? He will be if you get on board with this teaching.

Christ’s authority was delegated to us so that we could continue His ministry and fulfill His purpose on the Earth, which is to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Because believers continue Christ’s ministry under His authority, opposing evil is part of the Christian walk and an important part of our discipleship. We are to confront deception and evil works through truth, obedience, and the exercise of our delegated authority.

Authority Is Positional, Not Situational

Since our authority is delegated, we must first understand where it comes from and be absolutely clear WHO it comes from. It is not something that God gives us in moments of intense spiritual attack; it is not a temporary empowerment or a special grace for a specific situation. It is not something we can access through prayer and fasting or by developing to a certain level of spiritual maturity. Our authority does not come and go based on circumstances or our performance. The authority of the believer is not situational; it is positional.

The believer’s spiritual and legal standing comes from our union with Christ. It is a permanent legal position established when Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave and stripped Satan of his power. Christ took back the authority that had been handed over to the devil in the garden, and that authority is restored to every believer at the new birth. The purpose of authority is to take dominion.

Dominion means to rule and reign over, to subjugate, to prevail against. Dominion is the expected application and exercise of the authority that comes from our new identity as joint heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

We are God’s children and joint heirs with Christ. Our authority is therefore rooted in relationship and inheritance, not personal achievement. We do not need to earn a position God has already given us; we need to begin living faithfully from our established position in Christ.

Until believers understand who they are in Christ, they will not understand the positional nature of their authority. They will approach its exercise as though they must earn it or reach a sufficient level of spiritual maturity before they can use it effectively.

Seated with Christ

Ephesians 2 gives us a different perspective.

Ephesians 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus

God made believers alive with Christ, raised them with Him, and seated them with Him in the heavenly places. This describes a present spiritual position received by grace.

God has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are seated in heavenly places in Christ, right now! This is our present legal reality established at the new birth. Jesus ascended and sat down at the right hand of the Father, above every principality and power and might and dominion. Back up one chapter and read it for yourself.

Ephesians 1:15-23 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 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, 18 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, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 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. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Christ is seated above every spiritual authority, and the church is identified as His body. This supports the teaching that believers share in His victory because they belong to Him. Our response is to submit to Christ as Head and refuse agreement with any influence that opposes His rule.

Our authority is far above ALL principality, power, might, and dominion. And far above EVERY name that is named. Names like Satan, cancer, dementia, COVID, and every other name you can think of.

Think about this; We are members of the body of Christ; we are parts of His body. So, if anything is under His feet it is under ours too.

1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.

Romans 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

Believers are individually joined to one body whose Head is Christ. This means our authority is never independent, self-exalting, or isolated from the church; it is exercised as members who remain connected to Christ and one another. Our response is to act in unity, humility, and obedience to the Head.

How Authority Is Relinquished

These three scriptures confirm that we are parts of Christ’s body. No one will argue against that. So how, and why does Satan have any vestige of authority or power over any part of Christ’s body? We see in Matthew 28 that Christ has been given all authority.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Not some, ALL! If Christ has it ALL, then Satan should have none. But we see that this isn’t the case. So, again, we have to ask: How does Satan acquire any authority? If Christ has it all, then it must come from Christ somehow. But Christ isn’t handing over authority to Satan, is He? NO! So, how is the devil getting authority to operate in our lives? From Christ’s representatives, from His ambassadors. From you and me. The only way Satan can gain any authority is if we relinquish it. This is what happened to Eve in the garden.

This is the problem with creatures that have free will. They are sovereign. And a sovereign being has the right to choose, and the right to agree with whosoever they wish. They also have the right to say “NO” to whosoever they wish, and that includes saying “NO” to God.

The same thing that happened to Eve is the same deceptive tactic he uses on us. He is, at this very moment, trying his best to work out the same deception in our lives. He tried it on Jesus in the wilderness as the Lord came to the end of a 40-day fast. Jesus showed us exactly how to wage war against this type of demonic attack. We must use the Word. The sword of the Spirit.

We know from Ephesians 6 that the sword of the Spirit is not the only resource in our arsenal for resisting the devil and defending our position of authority and dominion. And we will explore this in detail in the next teaching. But, for now, let us review.

How to Exercise Our Authority and Take Dominion

1. Recognize and understand your identity in Christ. Begin with what Scripture says about you and your union with Christ, your standing before God, and the authority He has delegated to you. Build your faith in who you are IN HIM.
2. Identify the deception or attack. Name the fear, temptation, accusation, or destructive influence you are confronting and be specific.
3. Find the Scripture that addresses it. Ground your response in God’s written Word. Not feelings, facts, circumstances, or assumptions.
4.  Resist the enemy clearly and consistently. Reject the lies, speak God’s truth, and stand in Christ’s authority without fear or self-reliance.
5. Act in faith and obedience rather. Take the practical step God’s Word requires, trusting that authority is expressed through faithful action.
6. Seek mature pastoral help when appropriate. Spiritual authority does not replace wise counsel, accountability, or help from trusted believers. We are in this together. We fight as a team.

In conclusion:

The believer’s authority is a permanent position received through our union with Christ. It becomes effective in daily life as we remain submitted to Jesus, believe His Word, and act in the authority He has delegated.

We do not earn authority through performance; we stand in our position in Christ, resisting fear, deception, sickness, curse, and any other form of evil from confidence in what Jesus has already accomplished.

Submit to God, and search the Scriptures to understand your identity in Christ. Speak, pray, and meditate on these truths until you believe what God says about you is true. Once you are confident in who you are in Christ, every devil will know your name, and you will walk in a level of faith and authority that will change your life, terrify the devil, and bring great glory to God.

In the next teaching, we will examine what God has provided for successful spiritual warfare and the Scriptures that teach us how to exercise dominion and reign as kings in this life through Christ Jesus.

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JESUS IS LORD!