Leaving the claustrophobic realm of your home quarantine to go back into the realm of other human beings can be a disorienting experience. When you are talking to people not on a Zoom call but face-to-face, the dynamics are radically different.
The Bible says that we are composed of “body, soul, and spirit.” Zoom is a place where the soul has preeminence. Get with a person face-to-face and suddenly, you get these other two dimensions: body (and so much communication is body language) and spirit.
Now as you move into a new season, you get to relate to people differently. Understanding your relationship to them in this realm that you’ve been away from for a few months can be complicated. And one of the most disorienting things that we fail to see is the element of spirit, a realm where spiritual authority is a big factor.
Today I’ll share some principles of spiritual authority that may help you make this transition. A person’s growth in the spirit is related to their ability to wield spiritual authority. It’s a longer post, but I believe it could be a big help to you.
Where we need authority
Where does authority come from? In the first chapter of the Bible, God delegated spiritual authority. We humans lost it, and he’s been looking to help us get it back ever since. He told Adam to “take dominion,” meaning, “exercise authority over a given realm.”
We need to understand the realms where God wants us to take dominion. Ephesians 6:12 says “We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world.”
I see four different levels or realms where we’re called to wield spiritual authority. This is where the “authorities of the unseen world” contest us for dominion.
1. Self – Knowing you’re loved and living secure in that place. Keeping your head free from lies, Maintaining your priorities and key relationships.
2. Family – Those you are committed to love for life – those people you’ve permanently taken into your heart. Sons, daughters, spouses, and parents plus others God has given you
3. Tribe – Your community of friends who share your spiritual DNA, who encourage you and call out greatness in you. You may covenant with them to share life and to do your dreams together
4. Kingdom – God’s rule and reign on this earth. He cares for all people and especially targets the widow, the orphan, the sick and the oppressed. He expects his followers to bring hope to them.
David is a good example of a man who we can observe progressing through each of the four realms. We see him first
as a shepherd. It’s a solitary life – his sole stewardship is his flock and himself.
As he gets older, his dad no doubt began to involve him more in family affairs, giving him more responsibility. As he grew in competence, he gained confidence and grew in his capacity to begin leading others.
One day David is anointed and promoted. He’s given a national stage and a contest in which to test his authority at a new level. It’s not his aim with a slingshot that gets tested, it’s his courage and authority. Not only is his fate in the balance, but the fate of his tribe.
Eventually, David is given stewardship as king over the entire kingdom. He has been faithful in exercising stewardship over lower realms, and God gives him a divine promotion.
Not that David ever “arrived.” We see that, though he is one of the finest kings in Israel’s history, he continues to be tested and to occasionally fail in each of the four realms of spiritual authority. The principle at stake is that the enemy is always going to look for your weak spots. You never get to rest on your laurels.
People Struggling
Many people struggle all their lives in the realm of the self. They have got their hands full just fighting off attacks from the enemy. Maybe it’s loneliness or depression or some issue where they continually struggle like pornography.
Meanwhile, because they can’t even defend themselves, they are not much help to their family or anyone in their tribe. They want to help, but they just don’t have the authority to do much. Parents who have struggled through broken relationships watch their own kids repeating the same mistakes.
Jesus announced the path of growth at the outset of ministry. It’s forgiveness and grace that sets us free. Get free in one realm and you are able to help others in another realm. “It’s for freedom that we are set free.”
So our enemy distracts us at the lowest level possible. As long as we are focused on our own identity issues, for example, we don’t have what it takes to help others get free wherever they are.
How we grow
Jesus understood that we have to practice taking authority. If you’ve not wielded authority before, it may not feel natural. You may feel awkward – all of us need practice.
We can advance in our ability to exercise authority in a new realm by experimenting – trying new things. These experiments may be as simple as identifying lies and exchanging them for truths. Instead of “I am ugly. No one likes me,” we think, “I am beloved. God has made me to be loved.”
An experiment looks like a departure, leaving a way of thinking and acting. Often a physical change of scenery can initiate a spiritual change. Experiments can take the form of journeys like the one that Jesus sent his disciples on.
Going on spiritual journeys can be a great way to accelerate the growing process. This is why short-term missions are so important – when done as Jesus did his, they help us make significant spiritual growth steps.
When Jesus sent his disciples on journeys in Luke 9 and 10, he gave them spiritual authority and told them to practice using it. He gave them authority over demons and authority to heal. He knew they needed small-scale journeys to try using it for the first time.
Taking stock of your life
How much authority do you have in each of the four realms?
As you periodically take stock of your life, you may be happy with the way you’ve grown in a given realm. Perhaps you experienced regular attacks of self-doubt and fear while growing up. But now you’re confident in who God made you to be.
If you hear a lie floating through your mind, you can exercise spiritual authority in that realm and dismiss it. And if you do, you’ll grow. It’s a thrill to experience spiritual growth like that.
Whatever your level of spiritual authority, realize it can grow. Why settle for less than God wants to give you?
A good place to start is in the realm of the self – exercise spiritual authority there and you will be able to help others in your family and beyond.
As you move out into new realms of relationship, recognize that you may lack the authority that you need. But it is available to you if you’ll reach for it. If you feel stuck, why not talk to him about it? God made you for more!
Such a good word! Thank you for this wisdom and insight!