August 3
OUR ACCESS TO CHRIST'S AUTHORITY
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
Do we enjoy the same claim to Christ's authority in the spiritual realm as those who were personally sent out by Him? Absolutely! In fact, because of the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we have an even greater advantage in spiritual warfare than the first disciples did. They were with Christ (Mark 3:14-15), but we are in Christ. That was Paul's great news in the opening lines of his letter to the church at Ephesus. Ten times in the first 13 verses he reminded us that everything we have is the result of our intimate, personal relationship with the resurrected Christ and His indwelling Spirit.
Having firmly established the reality of our position in Christ, Paul expressed his heart's desire for Spirit-filled believers in this prayer:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:18-20).
Our problem with identity and self-perception as Christians is not that we aren't in Christ; it's that we don't see it or perceive it; we're just not conscious of it. We are not supposed to pursue power because we already have it in Christ. We are to pursue truth and pray that our eyes will be opened to our rich inheritance in Christ.
As long as we fail to perceive our access to Christ's authority over the kingdom of darkness, we will fail to exercise that authority in our lives, and we may live in bondage.
Prayer: Open my eyes, Lord; I want to see Jesus. Open my ears and help me listen, abide in You, and draw strength moment by moment.
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