It is important to know that Jesus came not only to die for us but to show us how to live as well. He came to show us what life in an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father could be. In one sense, he showed us what life in the Garden of Eden was like before man’s relationship with God was shattered by sin. When we see Jesus, we see what man was meant to be. When we see Jesus, we see what we can be again.
While on this earth, Jesus represented God in his character and purposes. In the gospel of John, we find these two quotes. “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (Jn.5:19), and, “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it” (Jn.12:49). These two quotes embody the idea of a representative who re-presents the one who sent him. In essence Jesus said that he did and said what the Father would do and say if he were physically present on the earth. He summed it up when he told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn.14:9).
Jesus walked in the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven because he represented the King, who was also his Father, and the Father had delegated authority to his representative. Jesus came as the “last Adam” (1 Cor.15:45) and was given authority to rule the earth just as God had given authority to the “first Adam.” As lofty as it sounds, we have exactly the same position by adoption. We too are ambassadors for Christ, his representatives on the earth, and children of the King. The amazing things that Jesus did are impossible for man alone, but not for a man who has God living in him and not for a man who has been delegated heavenly authority by the King.
The fact that God made man just a little lower than the heavenly beings and then placed him over all the works of his hands suggests that Adam and Eve had the authority to do what Jesus did before sin separated them from God. Jesus demonstrated his authority over the works of God’s hands when he strolled across Galilee, altered the molecular makeup of water so that it became wine, commanded the storm, directed schools of fish, and multiplied a Jewish boy’s meager lunch so that it fed thousands.
I believe Adam operated in the same authority before his willful sin caused him to forfeit that authority to the enemy. Now in Christ, we have been given a position of sinlessness and have been granted the power and authority to do what Jesus did so that we can re-present Jesus on the earth. The problem is not in his giving but in our receiving. God has enabled us to live as Jesus lived. We fail to do those things because of our lack of expectation, our limited awareness of our identity, and our minimal relationship with the Father. Jesus said that his followers could move mountains by faith not by their personal righteousness.
The faith Jesus calls for is faith in him, what he has done, and whom he has made us. By his grace we are forgiven, made children of the king, appointed as ambassadors on earth, and given authority to re-present Jesus to the world – to do what he would do and say what he would say if he were physically present.
The sons and daughters of kings are destined to rule and reign as a king or a queen some day. Both carry with them the privileges and the responsibilities of the royal house. Those privileges and responsibilities are attached to his or her position as the son or the daughter and heir to the throne regardless of their physical prowess, their giftedness, or even their I.Q. Authority is attached to that position and the children walk in that authority because of whose children they are.
It’s easy for us to see that principle at work in Jesus since he is the only begotten Son of God and we already know him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. However, we need to understand that God still intends to use that same model for his rule over planet earth. God originally intended to relate to Adam, Eve, and their descendants as sons and daughters – royalty in the house of God. The Father gave those “sons and daughters” dominion over the earth and the works of his hands. They were placed on this globe to rule and were given authority to do so.
A legitimate question at this point might be, “Authority to do what?” In general, we can say that Adam and Eve were given power and authority to keep earth and the cultures that would spring up on the earth aligned with God’s will and purposes. Later, Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on “earth as it is in heaven” (Mt.6:10). The Great Commission (see Mt.28:18-20) is another expression of that thought in which we are commanded to make disciples of all nations. To do so effectively establishes the kingdom of heaven on earth. God’s representatives on the earth – his sons and daughters – have always been given the mission of establishing a heavenly culture on the earth. What we need to understand is that through Christ, the Father is restoring us to the position he always intended his children to possess. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).
As believers, however, most of us do not understand the position and the authority we have been granted in Christ. We tend to see ourselves as mere men and women who differ from the unsaved only in that our sins are forgiven. The truth, however, is that we walk in more authority than we perceive and our words carry more weight than we imagine. Our diminished view of ourselves keeps us from being all that God wants us to be. Satan works hard to keep us from realizing our true identity.
The first step is to acknowledge the biblical truth of who we are in Christ. The second step is to begin to pray for a deep revelation of that truth in our hearts…for as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. The third step is to begin to speak and pray as those who have authority…not with arrogance but with confidence…not pleading for God to heal or save but declaring that he will do so as those who represent him on the earth. Be confident today. Reflect on who you are. Ask what the King would do in any given situation and then do it or declare it as done, because you are sons and daughters appointed to do what he would do in each and every circumstance. Blessings in Him.
