Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

Whenever we engage in spiritual warfare we must first remember who Christ is and who we are in him. Everything else rests on that foundation. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that he has all authority in heaven and on earth, that he has a name that is above every name, and so forth. We cannot enter into spiritual warfare with an expectation of winning if we do not already know that Jesus has already won the victory and that we are only enforcing what has already been determined. As many have said, we are not fighting for victory, but from victory.

The battles we fight in the spiritual realm today are parallel to the battles Israel fought when entering the Promise Land. The land had already been promised to the descendants of Abraham. In essence, God had already deeded the land to his people. It was his to give and he had given it. His people had a legal right to the land they were about to take. Suddenly, those who had been inhabiting the land were trespassers and Israel’s first task was to evict those who no longer had any claim to the property that was the inheritance of God’s people.

The irony of God’s gift to his people was that although it had already been given to them, they still had to take possession of what had been given. I know men and women who have been given land by parents or grandparents with an expectation that they would live on it someday and, perhaps, raise crops or herds on it. Sometimes the land had been developed but at other times it had not. The land belonged to them but they still faced the daunting task of clearing rocks, brush, and acres of mesquite trees. Wells had to be dug and fences erected. Unwanted critters had to be dispatched and others tamed. Hindrances to life and productivity had to be removed. Enemies, in all their forms, had to be uprooted and removed.

Israel faced the same dilemma, but instead of rocks, trees, and brush they were called to remove hardened enemies who lived in walled cities and who had experience with war. Some of them were “goliath-like” in size and temperament. And yet, the Lord promised to go before them and guarantee the victory if they would step out in faith and obedience. God was asking them to fight from victory rather than striving for victory. Israel failed to take the Promise Land when they first came to the Jordan River because they continued to believe that they had to fight in their own strength. They were not convinced that God would be strong and victorious for them. Israel still had the identity of slaves rather than sons of God. They still anticipated that the God who had defeated Pharaoh with plagues and ocean water would abandon them in the face of inferior forces.

We can also drift into that same mindset, thinking that God may or may not be there for us when we face the enemy. We can drift into the mindset that although God gave us the victory yesterday, we are not sure that he will do the same today. We know we are in that place when we pray or command out of a sense of hoping that God will come through rather than operating in a firm expectation that he will come through. We know we are in that place when we feel that we are facing the enemy in our own strength and skills rather than in the strength and authority of the Commander of the Armies of Heaven.

We are not slaves. We are not servants. We are sons and daughters of a God who does not change, does not abandon, does not sleep, and who never loses. We may exercise the power and authority of heaven because of who we are in Christ. It is not about our righteousness, our wisdom, or our performance. We are who we are because God has placed us in a position of favor, authority, and rule because of what Jesus had done.

What we need to remember is that we have exceptional standing with the God of Creation. We are sons and daughters, friends of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, co-heirs with Christ, ambassadors of heaven, appointed and anointed, seated with Christ in heavenly realms, and so forth. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6 that we have such standing that we will sit with Christ, judging both the world and angels, when the curtain comes down on this age.

When we begin to clear the spiritual land that God has given us, we need to spend a moment remembering who our Lord is and his immense, infinite power that he is always willing to wield on our behalf. We also need to remember who we are in Christ. We need to remember that because of a cross and an empty tomb, the victory has already been won and both the Father and Son have agreed to go into battle with us because they will never leave us or forsake us in any circumstance. The Spirit goes with us as well because he lives in us.

As we remind ourselves of who Jesus is and who we are in him, we should also remind the enemy of those two things as well before we pray, declare, or command.   Our confidence in both creates fear in the enemy. If we doubt who we are, the enemy is emboldened. Who we are does not change from day to day based on our spiritual performance that day. We are who we are in Christ. Even on bad days, our position allows us to call on the power of heaven to destroy the works of the devil because the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the best hell can offer. As you pray for healings, command spirits to depart, or declare God’s promises over “impossible situations,” take a moment to remember who you are. You are one of God’s chosen, who will judge the world and even angels and, through Christ, you are to exercise that authority even now. Be blessed today and know who you are.