I was reading an article in the news recently where it talked about restrictions that some religious organizations and churches place on their members. It made me start thinking about the topic of authority, specifically spiritual authority.

Where does spiritual authority come from? Who gets to decide who has it and who does not have it? Who determines the rules or boundaries of spiritual authority?

What does it mean if someone has spiritual authority? Who do they have authority over? What power does it give them?

What happens if there’s a distorted view of spiritual authority? How does that affect people?

When I was younger, I was taught that I needed to be under someone’s authority in order to be covered spiritually – like the pastor of a church. Is that true? Does spiritual authority protect you?

What other questions come to mind? Write them in the comments below and we will do our best to answer them! 

In my decades of following Jesus, I have seen true and false spiritual authority. The false is much more common than the true, unfortunately. You know it in your gut, but as a young person you often don’t have the words to articulate what you are seeing. I’d like to share what I have learned – you may have a different opinion and that’s okay. This is a conversation – feel free to share your perspective in the comments. 🙂

I hope this article helps bring some clarity as you ponder this subject.

What is spiritual authority? Who has it? Where does it come from?

Spiritual authority is an ability to exert power or influence in the unseen realm. Spiritual authority can be given or earned (or both). True spiritual authority gives you power to stop the darkness and release the light of God’s love and goodness.

Jesus gave true spiritual authority to his disciples. 

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. Luke 9:1

He said, “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.” Luke 10:19

Authority can also be earned as Jesus illustrated in the parable about being a faithful servant. 

And he said to him, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.” Luke 19:17

Unfortunately the devil can also bestow authority to people. 

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” Luke 4:5-7

Jesus had an authority that was astonishing – people were amazed by it. They’d never seen anything like it! 

And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. They were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” Luke 4:32, 36 

Jesus was very clear where His power came from. 

“For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” John 12:49

[The Father] has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. John 5:27

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18

Pretty impressive, huh?

So how does this work in the real world – the earthly realm we live in?

How do you know what spiritual authority you have? Believe it or not, it’s pretty simple. The extent of your authority in the spiritual realm is equivalent to your authority in the natural realm. Consider what is under your direct authority and control. If you have children, they are under your authority. If you own a home, it is under your authority. If you own a business, it is under your authority. If you are in management at your job, you have a certain degree of authority. If you are a teacher, you have a certain degree of authority over the children in the classroom while they are under your care.

Authority can also be delegated to us by Jesus for specific assignments. There are intercessors who are given authority to pray over specific realms in the spirit over which they have no natural man-given authority. God will make this very clear to you if He gives you this kind of authority.

Authority can also come from great love or compassion. God can give you a deep compassion for a person or a group of people and as a result, He can give you authority in order to help them.

What do I do with this spiritual authority?

You ask God what kingdom business needs to be performed in your realm of authority. You are His representative in your little corner of the earth. Read His Word. What is under your authority that is not going the way He would like it to go? Ask Him for what needs to change. Ask for His Wisdom and Revelation to guide you. Ask Him what words to speak – just like Jesus did.

Then speak with His authority, the things that need to be changed. You must be convinced of who you are in God’s kingdom and then speak. God said, Let there be light and there was light. He gives us a similar type of authority in the spirit to speak those things that should be in existence. He also gives us the authority to bind up things that should not be operating around us.

Examples:
Your home – if your children are constantly bickering with each other, bind up pride and division and release peace, harmony, humility, unity, etc.

Your job – if communication is getting confused and projects never seem to get done. Bind miscommunication, confusion, apathy and loose clear communication, teamwork and diligence.

Your relationships – if there’s someone who tries to control you, bind fear and control, loose trust and freedom.

The key is to bind up what is bad and loose what you’d like to see. All the while, asking the Father what would be best. He will show you. You don’t have to have great discernment or know the names of specific spirits for this to work. Bind up bad fruit, loose good fruit.

At times, you will see immediate change in your surroundings. Other times, it may take some time. When you are in a place you have no authority, you can always loose good things around you like peace, light, truth, blessings, etc. You should not bind what has a right to be there, but you can loose God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done everywhere you go!

Warning: Do not take spiritual authority where it is not yours to take. Be very careful. Make sure you are certain you have been given authority. You can experience serious consequences if you overstep your boundaries. John Paul Jackson outlines this in his book, Needless Casualties of War.

There’s so much more we could talk about – I’ll continue this discussion in Part 2.