Introduction
Jesus of Nazareth came to Earth, born of a woman, to live and work obediently before God as a human. He took back from the Enemy rulership over all Humanity and all of Heaven and Earth. Then He delegated His authority to those who believed in Him, became His ecclesia. This blog post is about the authority of ecclesia over the principalities and powers.
Jesus Reclaimed Authority over Regions of Israel
Everywhere the Savior (Yeshua) went up and down the land of Israel, He went out to pray (Luke 6:12). He traveled both sides of the Jordan River (Mark 7:31) and even went up to Sidon, north of Tyre (Mark 7:24).
He proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the people and to the rulers over those regions. He prayed to bind the strong men (Matthew 12:29) so He could plunder them of the edenic benefits they controlled and to negate their opposition to the spread of the Kingdom.
These Principalities and Powers Were Divine Beings
Created on Day 4 to inhabit the heavens, these spiritual beings were the sun, moon, and starry host (according to biblical – not scientific – understanding). They had spiritual natures – bodies? – like the Creator, and the Creator gave them rule over times and seasons (Genesis 1:14-18). Later, He gave them authority over the scattered nations of the Earth (Deuteronomy 32:8-9).
These principalities and powers were supposed to care for the nations under them. Instead, they accepted worship from and abused the people under their care (Psalm 82). The Most High God judged and condemned them to die like mortal men.
Yahweh needed an obedient human to overcome these principalities and powers. Jesus came, born of a woman, and emptied Himself of His divine power (Philippians 2:6-7). He totally depended on Holy Spirit for guidance and power (John 5:19). Overcoming the principalities and powers (John 16:33) and becoming God’s Anointed King (Isaiah 61:1-3), He totally disarmed them (Colossians 2:15). Then, He delegated His authority to His ecclesia.
Authority Delegated to His Ecclesia
Jesus took His students to the base of Mount Hermon, to the shrine of Pan near Caesarea Philippi. Outside the Gates of Hades, He got Peter to proclaim Him as the Anointed One, the son of the living God. Jesus said that on the strength of that truth, He would build His ecclesia.
His students were aware of several things in His statement.
- Ecclesia was the Greek word for a governing body of citizens.
- The gates of a city were the place where people of authority sat to render judgement and make decrees.
- Hades was the underworld, Sheol, the resting place of the dead. The Lord of the Dead ruled over it and was able to terrify the living with the fear of death.
- “…will not hold out against His ecclesia” meant that His citizens would have the authority of King Jesus and the power of Holy Spirit to conquer territories – hearts and minds – ruled by the principalities and powers.
Keys of the Kingdom
Jesus gave to His students/ apostles/ ecclesia the authority to rule in His place (Matthew 18:18-19). Wherever two or three believers met in His name, He promised to be with them. What they agreed together was His will would be done for them. Their decrees would be effective in Heaven and on Earth.
Paul wrote that the Corinthians (as part of ecclesia of Jesus) would one day judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). They were to pass judgement on the man sleeping with his father’s wife and cast Him out… temporarily (1 Corinthians 5:1-4).
I believe Jesus will not return to take up His throne in Jerusalem until His people world- wide get their act together (Romans 8:19-21) and overcome the world in His name.
Partakers of the Divine Nature
Yahweh told Abram to observe the stars above to see if he could count them. He promised the patriarch that his offspring would be like them. Did He mean in number only or did He also mean in spiritual nature?
These beings were called “sons of God”, among other things.
Danial predicted that One would come whom he called “a son of Man” (Daniel 7:13-14). He would have divine authority to rule over the Earth.
Jesus came to Earth, begotten by Holy Spirit, born of a woman (Luke 1:26-38). Though He had both the divine and human natures, He only called Himself “son of Man”.
However, He told Nicodemus that those who followed Him would be born from above. They would be like the wind/ breath/ spirit (John 3:5-8). Peter wrote that believers were partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Paul wrote that the natural bodies of believers are planted, but spiritual bodies would be raised again (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
One day, the sun will darken and the stars will fall (Revelation 6:12-13). (See Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4, among other prophets.) Those principalities and powers will be replaced by the members of the ecclesia of King Jesus. These will rule over the territories once ruled by the spiritual powers (Luke 19:17).