For us to understand the significance of our legal position in God's kingdom, we must go all the way back to Adam. Before God created man, he said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" (Gen 1:26). Then after creating Adam and Eve, he said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28).
Adam ruled the earth and everything in it. God told him to subdue the earth, which literally meant he was to walk on it and use it as he saw fit. Adam had authority over all the earth.
For the creatures in heaven, all activity surrounded God's throne because he was the ruler. On earth, however, Adam was the ruler. This caused God and Adam to have a unique relationship because they had so much in common.
Psalm 8:4-5 gives us some interesting insight about Adam's responsibility and his relationship with God. "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." The word translated "care" literally means "go to," as in to visit or attend to someone. Also, the phrase "heavenly beings" is the Hebrew word elohim, the plural form of "god." This cannot mean God made man a little lower than the angels, as some would suggest, because it clearly states God crowned man with glory and honor, which he has not given to the angels. These verses tell us that God, who is worthy to receive all glory and honor, made man a little lower than himself and crowned man with glory and honor. God, the ruler of all creation, visited Adam, ruler of the earth. They had much in common, so they could visit and "talk shop," virtually as peers.
When Adam sinned, Satan received Adam's authority. Since then, Satan legally has been the prince of the world. When Satan offered Jesus the world in exchange for his worship, he made a legitimate offer because the world was his to give. Adam not only lost his authority over the earth, he lost his glory and honor. Losing his glory may have been what caused him to be naked or notice that he was naked, as described in Genesis 3:10.
But there continues to be something in man's nature that causes him to know he should have authority on earth. Sin has perverted that knowledge and causes him to want authority for his own benefit. In our present state, if we have power and authority, it is natural for us to use them for ourselves. We often become domineering or demanding and abuse our authority.
God's concept of authority is service, rather than dominance. Humility and agape, the primary traits of godly character, cause us to consider the other person's needs and be unconcerned about our own. Godly character causes us to use power and authority to serve others, not ourselves.
As we have seen, Adam had power and authority over the earth. The earth was his to use as he thought appropriate, because he was its ruler. Adam's sin had profound significance for him and for his domain; all of creation has been subjected to frustration and decay as a result of Adam's sin (Rom 8:20-22).
There is hope, however. "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:17). One consequence of your salvation is the restoration of authority, which enables you to reign in life.
There has been a lot of teaching on the authority of the believer, and it is based on scriptural truth. But I think there is an important fact missing in the application of that teaching, that the purpose of the believer's authority is to serve. Everything you do as a believer must be motivated by humility and agape, and that includes exercising your authority.
Spiritual authority in the hands of a carnal Christian is generally ineffective and sometimes even harmful. The carnal believer still focuses on himself and tries to use his authority for his own advantage, which renders his authority largely ineffective (for example, see James 4:3). His attempted misuse of his authority produces only limited results, which can cause confusion and doubt. This may be harmful if it makes people wonder whether God's word is really true.
It is essential that you change the way you think if you are to use your authority effectively. To begin with, you will not even use your spiritual abilities until you are convinced you have them and can use them. Repenting, or changing the way you think, does not impart spiritual abilities; it releases them.
All authority other than God's is delegated. Jesus gave his disciples authority to drive out demons and to cure every kind of disease and sickness. He delegated his authority to them. When the centurion approached Jesus about his sick servant, he understood that authority is delegated, and Jesus commended him for his understanding (Mt 8:5-10).
God gave you some of his authority by delegating it to you. You are to use it in his behalf, that is, in his name. You are to use it as he would, that is, to do kingdom business.
Consider for a moment the keys you use to open the door to your home or to start your car. Keys are pretty ordinary and in today's culture they are essential. Keys have specific purposes. For one, they permit access to something of value; if something were not of value, you probably would not lock it up. Second, access to something of value implies a certain amount of responsibility for the way you use it. Giving someone a key is a sign of trust, privilege and responsibility.
In Matthew 16:19, Jesus tells Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Based on the universal significance of keys, we can conclude that Jesus was giving Peter access to the treasures of heaven. As we mentioned earlier, giving someone a key clearly implies a certain amount of trust and responsibility.
This article is a brief excerpt from a book chapter which addresses the following topics: