Throne Rights of the Believer
Part 2
Dr. John Hoole – October 6, 2019
Last week, we examined a fairly detailed description of the throne room of Almighty God, as given in Revelation 4. John also tells us in verse 2 that Someone was sitting on the throne.
Ephesians 1:19-21 NKJV
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.
After Jesus was raised from the dead, the Bible declares God highly exalted Him to a position of honor at His right hand in heavenly places, and gave Him a name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9-11).
How does Jesus’ seating in the highest position in the universe affect us?
Ephesians 2:6 (NIV) says:
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. Joint-seating with Christ is “far above” all principalities and powers of darkness.
Our seating and reigning with Christ is a position of authority, honor, and triumph—not failure, depression, and defeat All believers have certain rights, which have come to us by, with, through, and in our Lord Jesus Christ. These rights come to us as a matter of promise and are received by faith.
Because we are believers, our seating with Christ is part of our inheritance now. This is where we are already seated, because when Jesus was seated in triumph, we were seated with Him.
The word, “raised” and “seated” in Ephesians 2:6 are past tense. God has already raised us up and made us sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. We rule and reign with Christ in this life now—if we’ll exercise our rightful authority. Our position in Christ is already an accomplished fact. But we need to exercise the authority that belongs to us in that position of reigning with Christ over principalities and powers before it will profit us.
Our position is one of joint-seating with Christ in heavenly places. That may not always be our circumstance, but that is our position. If we want to rise above our circumstances, we must take advantage of our position in Christ.
Because we as believers are in Christ, when Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, we sat down with Him far above principalities and powers. The Church, the Body of Christ, is in Christ. The body is connected to the head. Jesus is the Head of His Body—the Church.
If Jesus—the Head—triumphed over the devil, then are we, the Body of Christ, any less triumphant since we are in Him? Of course not! It is our legal right to enjoy joint-seating with Christ in heavenly places in a position of authority and triumph far above all principalities and powers. If we will take advantage of our joint-seating with Christ, we will begin to triumph in life!
We don’t have to try to be seated far above principalities and powers with Christ. We don’t have to pray through to be seated with Christ in heavenly places. We don’t have to struggle through or fight through demons to be seated in a place of victory with Christ.
Our position and seating in Christ is a fact. It has already happened. That position was attained for us through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is enjoy the rights and privileges that already belong to us as joint-heirs with Christ.
When we get the revelation of our position in Christ, what a difference it will make in our lives! We will no longer be the defeated Church. We will take our place as the triumphant Church, which was God’s design from the foundation of the world.
Last week, at the end of our class time, I showed you a list of areas where I believe the Bible tells us we have authority given to us by Jesus.
1. Authority in the Name of Jesus Christ.
2. Authority to keep the devil out.
3. Authority to bind and resist the enemy and his demons.
4. Authority through the Blood of Christ.
5. Authority over all the works of the devil.
6. Authority to keep the devil under our feet.
7. Authority to preach the Gospel.
I said last week I would cover these in greater detail during our lesson today. Because of time constraints, instead of covering all of them, I will discuss several of them as representative of the whole.
1. Authority in the name of Jesus Christ
There is authority in the Name of Jesus. When Jesus appeared to John on the isle of Patmos, He said, “I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18).
The one who has the key is the authorized one to use it. Jesus is saying here, “I am the authorized one.” I have the authority.
Just before He ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus said, “All power [authority] is given me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). He immediately delegated His authority in the earth to the Church, “Go ye therefore… ” (Matthew 28:19). Then He promised, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; IN MY NAME.”
In My Name! In the Name of Jesus! He authorized us. He gave us His Name as the authority. The power is in the Name. The authority is in the Name. He gave us the Name that is above every name. He gave us the Name that is recognized in three worlds. His Name has authority in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Angels, men, and demons have to bow at that Name—and that Name belongs to us. We are authorized to use that Name.
Once again, He has commissioned us: “All authority is given me in heaven and in earth, Go ye therefore…” Some folks would tell us, “supernatural signs and works have been done away with. No! No! No! These supernatural signs follow the Name of Jesus. They accompany the believing ones.
But, blessed be God, the Name of Jesus does belong to us today! And, thank God, there is salvation in that Name. Yet there is more than salvation in that Name. That Name still enwraps all the power, all the majesty, and all the glory it ever did.
As we learned in an earlier lesson, the devil is already defeated. But you and I have to enforce our victory. We do that through the name of Jesus Christ. The power and authority of the Name of Jesus rightfully belongs to you as a born-again Christian and He expects us to use it. The Name of Jesus works. There is far more power wrapped up in this one Name than you may have realized.
Consider what Proverbs 18:10 says about our Lord’s name.
Proverbs 18:10 NKJV
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
Here, the name of our Lord is used for supernatural protection. The devil does not want you to know this. His entire profession is to steal, kill and destroy. Use the name of Jesus for your protection.
2. The authority of the Blood of Jesus
As Christians, we know about the blood, we sing hymns about the blood, and we remember it during our observance of Communion. But do we know how deep its power runs, and all that it has provided for us. Even more, how many of us use it in our lives every day?
Blood is so important to God that it is mentioned in the Bible around 700 times. David referred to the “incorruptible” blood. Peter spoke of the “precious” blood, and John wrote of the “overcoming” power of the blood.
We’re told in Leviticus 17:11 that, “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” This is true in both spiritual and physical realms.
From Genesis to Revelation, the words, the blood, are kept before our eyes. The sacrifices of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac were not without the shedding of blood. How wonderful it is to trace the scarlet thread of the blood of Christ woven throughout the Bible!
In 1 John 5:8 (NKJV), we are told that the blood is a witness.
8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
A witness is expected to speak to what it witnessed. And we read in Hebrews that the blood does speak.
Hebrews 12:22-24 NKJV
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
A witness is taken to the place of trial. Colossians 1:12 tells us that God “hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance” in Christ. Revelation 12:10 says Satan disputes this by his accusations, and seeks to keep us out of any part of this great inheritance. The blood of Jesus speaks for us and declares that Jesus bought the inheritance for us on the Cross and that it is all ours because of the shed blood.
Observe the next two verses.
Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
The blood of Christ gives every believer power over anything related to the devil.
Revelation 12:11 NKJV
11 And they overcame him (The Devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
The blood of Christ gives us power over the devil.
When your natural blood is healthy, you are protected from disease; When you are spiritually healthy, there isn’t anything the devil can bring against you that the blood of Jesus isn’t sufficient to overcome. There truly is life in the blood!
The blood of Jesus Christ can rescue us from anything associated with Satan.
Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
The blood of Christ delivers us from the power of darkness. Use the power of the blood of Christ for deliverance from anything associated with the devil. And you can pray the same for your family or your friends.
There are few things, if any, that the devil fears more than the blood of Jesus. He fears the blood of Christ because he has not response to it. He tries to counterfeit the things of God, but cannot counterfeit the blood. The blood is proof of his defeat and doom.
The blood of Jesus has the power to draw us closer to God. And the closer to Jesus we are, the more secure our victory over the devil. Ephesians 2:13 tells us that “we who were once far away from God have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
His blood gives us the power to defeat every evil spirit and every weapon that is fashioned against us. The blood strengthens our faith and gives life to our prayers because it is only through the blood that we can come into the presence of God.
3. Authority over all the works of the devil
You probably do not need to be reminded, but I will say it anyway: Your have an enemy. While he might not be visible through natural eyes, Satan, or the devil as he is known, is very real. He is not an imaginary, mythical character, but a spirit being, whose number one goal is to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). The devil is at the root of everything evil, and he works in an attempt to cause destruction to believers and the work of Jesus Christ.
This does not, if you are a believer, mean that you need to be fearful because, while the devil is against you, God is for you! He has provided everything you need to walk in victory over the devil and his works.
2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that,……
“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Know this: those who have victory are not those who have no struggles. Rather, those who have victory are those who persist and keep moving forward. Without struggle, there would be no need for the power to overcome them. Also, know that no one walks in authority by following a formula. It is, rather, a realization of who the enemy is, and it is about knowing who you are, and the victory you have been given in Christ.
Jesus said, “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” (Luke 10:19).
That is a great deal of authority! How is it, then, that the devil is able to keep causing believers so much trouble? It is because many do not exercise the authority God has given them. They are not walking in the understanding that, even though Jesus won the victory, they need to enforce that victory in their daily lives.
Think of it this way: it is illegal for someone to break into your house, but don’t you still lock your doors to discourage thieves and to protect your property? In the same way, when it comes to Satan trying to gain entrance into your life, you need to exercise your blood-bought right to close the door in his face.
By resisting the devil and standing firm in the faith, you are actively enforcing Jesus’ victory. God has given you all the authority you need to be able to stand against the devil and his works. He has also provided you with armor and spiritual weapons for your warfare against Satan.
Again, the position and authority we have been given us as believer is real. Jesus gave a parable that describes this forcefully.
Mark 13:34-37 NKJV
34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.
35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming — in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning —
36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"
This parable speaks about the span of time between his first coming and his second coming. It tells us that while he is away, he gave authority to his servants. Who are His servants? We are !! He gave to each of his servants on earth work to do, and the authority to get it done. For this entire church age, Jesus has given spiritual authority to His servants on earth.
Jesus also said, in John 20:21 NKJV
21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
We have been sent by Jesus in the same manner He was sent by the Father. The authority we have been given is to fill Jesus’ shoes. Each of us, as members of His family, have been commissioned to continue what He started
He came to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). We have been given the authority to continue that.