“And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…”
--Matthew 28:17-18 ESV
Satan has no authority or power except that which we give to him. He is empowered by human unbelief. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. Thus any authority that Satan has, he gets from people doubting God’s word, just like it happened in Eden. Adam surrendered his dominion over the earth to Satan when he sinned.
“Did God really say you may not eat from any tree in the garden?...God did not mean what He said. Your eyes will be opened and you’ll be like God when you eat from this tree…” (my paraphrase, see Genesis 3:1-5)
Rather than reigning in life through Jesus Christ (1), we lend Satan our authority when we doubt the Word of God.
How does Satan talk today?: “Did Jesus really say/mean ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.’? (2)...‘Whoever believes in me’ is only talking about the apostles or others but not you today...You can’t do miracles through Him who gives you strength…(3) You can’t trust the Word of God...That’s false hope; you’ll only end up disappointed…”
If we listen to the serpent by believing his words of doubt rather than the trustworthiness of God and His Word, we grant Satan authority over various aspects of our lives, resulting in disappointment, lawlessness, lovelessness, cowardice, and powerlessness.
Here are some application points:
Meditate on the promises of God’s Word, asking the Holy Spirit to teach us the meaning and how God wants us to apply it to our lives. (4)
Ask the Holy Spirit--our Helper--to fill us to enable us to obey Jesus’ commandments as we change the way we think to be more like the way Jesus thinks. (5)
If God (the Holy Spirit) doesn’t yet live inside you, see my article here for more information on thwarting Satan’s horrible plan for your life.
See Romans 5:17.
John 14:12 ESV
C.f. Galatians 3:5; Ephesians 3:20; Matthew 17:20; Philippians 4:13
C.f. Psalm 1; Joshua 1:8-9; John 14:23-26
C.f. Ephesians 5:18ff; Mark 1:15; Ezekiel 36:25ff; 1 John 2:6
