And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18 NKJV
After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He declared that All authority has been given to Him. This authority begins in heaven and extends to the earth. This is significant on many levels, not the least of which, heaven is the place where the original sin took place before Adam was formed from the dust of the earth — the sin of pride which challenged the authority of God. When the serpent approached Eve in the garden he challenged that authority of God’s word — Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Genesis 3:1 Then again, in Genesis 3:4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Notice that the serpent said something in direct contradiction to the word of God and then usurped God’s authority in the life of Eve by lying, this is why Jesus calls him the father of lies.
Why was All authority given to Jesus in heaven and on earth? It is because He cleansed both heaven and earth from sin by defeating the one who stained heaven and earth with sin. The enemy of our soul wants to separate all of humankind from the presence of God and the life that flows from Him. God breaths and we are living souls, the enemy infects the earth with sin which works death. Jesus says this in John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life , and that they may have it more abundantly. Jesus brings abundant life while the enemy brings death to the inhabitants of the earth.
We sometimes forget that heaven is a created place and will pass away just like all things on earth, as it is written in Matthew 28:35 — Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. So it is, when Jesus accomplished the mission of destroying the works of the devil, He rightfully received All authority in heaven and earth. In heaven so that He can be the Lord of Hosts, and on earth so that He can be Lord of all. The angels in heaven bow in submission to Him after those who followed the wicked one were cast down to the earth. Hear the word of the Lord as it is written in Revelations 12:7-9 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
So heaven gets rid of sin against God while the earth becomes the habitation for the original sinner. What a deceiver he must be to convince angelic beings who were created by God, who lived in the very presence of God, to follow him as though he could overthrow the Kingdom of God. Thank God that we are not ignorant of his devices because we are in the One who has been given All authority in heaven and on earth. This means that we have chosen the winning side, since we have Michael the archangel keeping watch in heaven, with Jesus making intercession for us who dwell on the earth. I hope you can see the authority that is given to us when we obey our Father who is in heaven.
Jesus received this great authority because of His obedience, and He in turn distributes authority to those who follow Him in obedience as He says in Luke 10:19 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. We are safe when we abide under the authority of the One who has All authority. If Jesus has All authority, that means there is no authority except that which He gives or allows to be taken. But one thing is certain, there is no power or authority that can ever overthrow the Kingdom of God, and so we rejoice in hope because Jesus has won the victory for us!
We are therefore confident that we shall overcome every challenge in life because Jesus who has All authority has overcome the world. It is in Him that we live, move and have our being. That means His authority is given and available to us to confront every enemy that rises up against us. Remember that He promised that nothing by any means shall hurt you.
The willing sacrifice that Jesus made has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy. He has given the whole world access to eternal life. So then, what was meant for evil, God has worked out for our good. He has restored the original plan for us to be living souls not dying souls. It is vexation of spirit to think that there are many who are deceived on earth much in the same way that the angels in heaven were deceived by the cunning serpent. Whose authority reigns in your life? We cannot serve two masters, we will love one and hate the other because the stand in stark contrast of one another.
To you who fear the Lord, I say — Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice, because our Lord has been given All authority in heaven and on earth by our loving Father who is in heaven. Hallelujah!
Maranatha
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