The Hebrew word, radah , translated in our English word means to “rule over, have authority or subdue.” God gave responsibility and authority over all of creation to Adam and his descendants. I presume that even the king of the beasts, the lion, could be spoken to by man under God’s authority, and the lion would obey. Such was the dominion and authority that man had before the fall in the Garden of Eden.
Exousia on the other hand in greek means power, control, dominion, etc.
Authority therefore means to have power, dominion or control over someone or something.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
The following are ways we can exercise our authority in Christ Jesus as children of God.
Speaking
The first way to use the authority of God in your life is by Speaking. There is so much authority vested in the believer and one of the ways you can exercise that authority is by Speaking. How do you use your authority by Speaking? The Bible says life and death lies in the power of your tongue so you can decree and declare for sickness to depart and it will hearken to your voice.
Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Mark 11: 23-24 emphatically states it too. It means when you use your mouth to speak or command things happen on your behalf. You can therefore speak to things that are not properly functioning in your life and by the authority vested in you by the Almighty God those things will respond to your words.
Mar 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
The Bible makes us understand that all things have ears that is why when God spoke to the fish to vomit Jonah at Nineveh the fish did exactly that. There is also a story in the Bible where Jesus cursed the fig tree and it responded accordingly.
Mar 11:21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
It simply means you have such great authority therefore keep speaking and never stop.
Casting out
Casting out or Commanding is another way to use your authority in Christ Jesus. The Bible asks us to cast out devil and we do that by commanding them to leave a certain situation, body, person, etc.
Luk 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
You can actually command plagues, death, etc never to come near your dwelling because of the authority of God functioning in your life.
Laying on of hands
Laying of hands on the other hand plays a unique and vital role in using your authority in Christ Jesus. When you lay hands, you are transferring authority/power so that when somebody is sick in bed, you can transfer power for the person to be made whole. This is clearly evident when Jesus laid hands on Peter’s mother.
Luk 4:40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
That power has been vested in you too as a child of God so never stop laying hands and continue to transfer power to every area of your life.
The name of Jesus
The Bible says the name of Jesus is higher than every other name therefore Mentioning the name of Jesus is a powerful way to exercise authority. The Bible also says that at the mention of the name Jesus every knee bows and every tongue confessed that Jesus is Lord. My brethren it is an error not to mention that powerful name as a measure to exercise authority in every situation you find yourself.
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Another wonderful way to use your authority in Christ Jesus is to make Decrees The Bible says where the word of the king is there is power so when you make decrees you are actually exercising authority in the Spirit. You have what it takes to decree how you want your days, months, years etc to go. Declare positivity in every area of your life because that authority has been given to you through Christ Jesus.
The reason why most people fail in the exercise this authority is because of unbelief. Jesus said to his disciples after they couldn’t cast out a devil “this kind cometh out not except by fasting and prayer”.
Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
Mat 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
For a child of God to deal with the unbelief critically, he or she must engage in consistent prayer, fasting and studying of the word of God. The key word here is consistency . Consistency in the word, fasting and prayer will make you exercise your authority in Christ Jesus with no disappointment