Message For January

The Authority Of The Believer

We received a most powerful word from God concerning the “Authority Of The Believer.”  God has used Bishop Allious Gee, Jr. to deliver this most powerful word to the saints. Bishop Gee preached under a heavy anointing and with great passion and fervor, please enjoy this brief overview of Bishop Gee’s message. 

Scripture is coming from: Ephesians 1:15-1:23

In Ephesians 1:1-14, Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the great plans God has for them, as well as, for us as believers. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have untapped potential, untapped because most Christians are not aware of what they possess and they go through life limping along as a result. 

We saw how God not only adopted us and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places, but He lavished upon us the riches of His grace, making known to us according to verse 9 of Ephesians 1, the mystery of His will “Eph. 1:9 (KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:”

Why did he do this? Lets read verses 10-14 to get an understanding.

Eph. 1:1-14 (KJV) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints, which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: [2] Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: [4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: [5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, [6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. [7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; [8] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; [9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: [10] That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: [11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: [12] That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. [13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, [14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

There is a day coming when Christ will return and establish His millennial Kingdom, when every knee will bow and tongue confess Christ is Lord of all. God has sent His Holy Spirit as the guarantee of that promise, so Paul states we should be people of praise, praising God in advance for his plan and purpose.

Lets look at the remaining verses in this chapter…

Eph. 1:15-23 (KJV) Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, [16] Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; [17] That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: [18] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, [19] And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, [20] Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, [21] Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: [22] And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, [23] Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

I want to spend our time looking at these verses. There are important keys laid out here and in later verses we will look at that point out the spiritual authority we have in Christ.

VS. 17] Paul said he has asked the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, to give us spiritual wisdom so we would grow in spiritual wisdom and under-standing. Here is the thing, if we are to grow in our Christian faith; we are going to need wisdom and understanding. One translation says we need revelation. We need God, through His Holy Spirit, to impart in us wisdom and revelation. 

When we begin to comprehend what God has done for us, it opens the door to what He wants to do through us. 

VS. 18] Paul goes on to pray the eyes of our heart will be enlightened. The heart, in Paul’s time was considered to be the seat of the mind and the will. Our modern culture has the heart as the seat of emotion. We have to make this differentiation when we read this passage. Paul prays our minds and our wills will be enlightened. We have the information but we lack the transformation of information into understanding the will of God for situations in life, which comes when the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and brings us into an understanding, when the Holy Spirit enlightens the information we have so we can make rational decisions with right motivations.

 What is it we need enlightenment for? Paul said so we might know the hope of our calling, what the riches of the glory of Christ’s inheritance is for us who believe in Him. 

This is crucial in our understanding of spiritual authority. In Matthew 28:18, it says, And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 

How much authority does Jesus have? (All). Where is His authority exercised? (In heaven and on earth). 

From reading Scripture, we know when Christ ascended into heaven; He transferred his authority to the church. Jesus is the head of the church, and believers make up the body of the church. 

We also know from reading Scripture Christ is right now seated in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father, which is the seat of authority. And Scripture tells us as believers in Christ we are seated with Christ Jesus in those same heavenly places. 

As Paul is praying, he is asking God to reveal to us, to take the blinders off our eyes, to show us the riches of His inheritance in the saints, the believers, the church to whom He is the head. The verse says it is in the saints, which means we have already inherited it; it is not something we are waiting for, hoping for, wishing someone would die so we could take possession of. We have an inheritance already given but Paul knows it will not be useful unless we are enlightened toward its proper use. 

I think most of us would agree the church seems to be more powerless in the 21st century than powerful. It seems we have more information and less application, we have knowledge without enlightenment because we have thought man to be able to enlighten himself without the power of the Holy Spirit. We stand at a time when the need for the prayer of Paul is more necessary than ever before. 

VS.19] Paul goes on in verse 19 to say that through the enlightenment of our hearts we will understand what the surpassing greatness of His power is toward us who believe.

 Do you know his power? Read through the Gospels, read the miracles he performed. Read through the opening of Genesis and see what His power created. Read through other passages of Scripture and see what His power sustained. We have access to the greatest power in the universe, the power that created the universe, and He extends that power to those who believe. 

Paul states this is the power that raised Christ from the dead. Is there any greater miracle; is there any greater display of power than the resurrection of Christ from the dead? The devil thought Christ had been defeated, the demons displayed glee at the crucifixion thinking victory was sealed for them, little did they know that the power of God could not hold Christ in the grave, instead raising him above all rule and authority and power and dominion, above every name named now and names yet to come, there is no power that can defeat him, no enemy that can destroy him, and now He has placed all this into our hands for the furtherance of His kingdom. It is under His feet and if we are in Christ Jesus, it is under our feet as well. We just need to access the authority and power we have by acting in conjunction with the will of God. We will see victory, we will seize the victory, and we will send forth the victory for the honor of our King, Christ Jesus.

The first chapter of Ephesians is a victory chapter, it tells of what God has done for us who believe in Christ and that we have a power source the world does not understand or can counterfeit. 

In our life there will be some opposition toward moving in the power of Christ, the devil is not going to sit back, he is going to push forward with his agenda but thanks be to God the battle has already been won, and we have the power to dance a dance of victory not of defeat. 

I want you to know right now, you have a victory if you believe in Christ, you have a power the world cannot defeat, and you have a call to use that power, to use your inheritance for the good of Christ’s kingdom, to bring people into victory. 

I want to pray the eyes of your understanding be opened, that God will bring a fresh enlightenment through the power of His Holy Spirit, that you will gain access to the keys of the Kingdom through Christ Jesus and reign in victory for the glory of our true king.

Selah, Until Next Month...