Principles of authority, part i

I just love this passage I read last week in this book; it has been in my mind all weekend, and strikes me as especially appropriate for Easter. I want to set the context for it, though: Neal is establishing five principles about authority that are crucial for Christians who desire to walk in the kingdom of God. (All quotations from Neal Lozano's Abba's Heart.)

1. Carrying our authority means submitting to Jesus' authority.

We tend to be fine with wielding authority, but not so much with submitting to it. Or: we're perfectly fine with submitting to Jesus' authority as long as we decide for ourselves what that means! Neal talks further about how Jesus' authority flows to us from the Father when we submit to Him, and that's worth reading, too. It's the second principle, though, that contains the passage in which I've been soaking:

2. Walking in one's identity and destiny requires exercising the authority God gives to His children.

This is why the first principle is so very vital for us. If we misunderstand or misapply God's authority in our lives, we lack the power to walk as children of the Kingdom. So here is what has been blessing me:

We discover our identities and fulfill our destinies as we wield His authority . . . The liberation of creation that began with the Son continues with the sons and daughters of God who exercise their Father's authority on earth. This authority was bestowed upon the firstborn over all creation, Jesus the King, and flows to all who receive Him. Jesus has defeated Satan, sin, and death so that He could bring us home. (!) Now we enter His place as a son or daughter and continue the battle in a war He has already won. Every day we enter a battle to become children of God in this world, while at the same time we belong to Him already.

Yes, this is it. We know that Jesus has done it all, and that is true, so we forget that we are the Body of Christ in the world, called to let Him continue to do it through us. So yes: the strife is o'er, the war has been won, but word of our enemy's defeat hasn't reached all the distant battlefields in his theater of operations. And why should it? We keep giving him victory in so many battles by not realizing the authority we have and wielding the loving power it brings to our defense.