26/09/2026
IS THE DEVIL REALLY IN CONTROL—OR HAVE BELIEVERS FORGOTTEN THEIR AUTHORITY?
The Bible makes it clear that the believer’s struggle is not ultimately against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness. These forces are presented as having been defeated and dethroned by the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer therefore does not have to approach the enemy as though Satan has unlimited authority. Through Christ’s victory, believers have been given authority over the powers of darkness and are called to understand that they can stand against the enemy rather than live under his domination.
The story of Adam helps explain how Satan gained his influence in the earth. God originally gave Adam dominion over the works of His hands, but through Adam’s transgression, Satan became the god of this world. Yet this did not remain the believer’s permanent condition. Through the work of Jesus Christ, the last Adam and the second man, redemption brought believers into a new position. Colossians declares that the Father has delivered believers from the authority of darkness and translated them into the kingdom of His dear Son. Satan therefore has no right to dominate the believer who has been made a new creature and brought into the Body of Christ.
This authority is not something reserved for the future. It is for the believer to exercise now, while there are still forces that seek to hinder, destroy, and oppress. Jesus said that those who believe in Him would do the works He did, and He gave His followers authority over the power of the enemy. The Church is Christ’s Body on the earth, and the authority Christ received has been delegated to His Body. This means believers must stop looking at every problem as something that God alone must intervene to change and recognize the authority that has already been entrusted to them through the Name of Jesus.
At the same time, this authority must be understood and exercised with balance.
