The Authority of the Believer

The Blessing
Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV
(26) Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the
cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
(27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male
and female He created them.
(28) Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the
earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air,
and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

H6509 – be fruitful
‫פרה‬
parah (826a); a prim. root; to bear fruit, be fruitful: - bear fruit (2), bearing...fruit (1), become
fruitful (1), flourishes (1), fruitful (18), fruitful tree (1), increased (1), made me fruitful (1), make
him fruitful (1), make you fruitful (3).

H7235a - multiply
‫רבה‬
rabah (915a); a prim. root; to be or become much, many or great: - abundance (2), abundant (2),
abundantly (1), amounts (1), ask (1), became many (1), became...numerous (1), bitterly *(1),
boast *(1), considerable (1), continue (1), continued (1), enlarge (1), excessively (2), gave
numerous (1), give great (1), give many (1), give more (1), great (10), greater (1), greatly (1),
greatly multiply (3), greatly *(1), grew (1), grow (1), grow...numerous (1), had gathered much
(1), had many (2), heap (1), increase (14), increased (7), increases (5), large (1), larger (1),
lavished (1), long (2), made their numerous (1), made many (1), make many (1), make more
(1), makes me great (2), many (21), many which increase (1), more (3), more he made (1),
much (15), much more (2), much *(1), multiplied (21), multiplies (5), multiply (45), numerous
(3), often (2), outnumber (1), pay more (1), plenty (1), profited (1), provided in abundance (1),
reared (2), repeatedly (1), risen (1), serious *(1), surpassed (1), take more (1), thoroughly (1),
use much (1), very (2), wealth (1).

H4390 - fill
‫מלא‬
mala (569d); a prim. root; to be full, to fill: - accomplished (1), aloud (1), armed (1), become full
(1), been completed (1), come (1), complete (3), completed (9), completion (1), confirm (1),
consecrate *(3), consecrated *(4), covered (1), dedicate (1), drenched (1), drew (1), ended (1),
endowed (1), expired (1), fill (38), filled (78), filling (5), fills (1), finished (1), fulfill (6), fulfilled (10),
full (37), fullness (1), fully (8), gave in full (1), given fully (1), gratified (1), live (1), massed (1),
messengers (1), mount *(1), mounted (1), ordain *(4), ordained *(4), ordination *(1), overflowing
*(1), overflows *(1), passed (1), presume *(1), refresh (1), required (2), satisfied (1), satisfy (2),
set (1), settings (2), space (1).

H3533 - subdue
‫כבש‬
kabash (461b); a prim. root; to subdue, bring into bondage: - assault (1), brought them into
subjection (2), forced into bondage (1), forcing (1), subdue (1), subdued (5), subjugate (1),
trample (1), tread our under foot (1), under foot (1).

H7287a - dominion
‫רדה‬
radah (921d); a prim. root; to have dominion, rule, dominate: - dominated (1), had dominion (1),
have dominion (1), prevailed (1), rule (12), ruled (4), ruling (1), subdued (1), subdues (1).

The very first thing man heard after being created is recorded in Gen 1:28. God gives
man The Blessing (be fruitful and multiply) and then tells him what to do with that
blessing (fill, subdue and have dominion). God’s intent for man is contained in these
three verses. God’s will was for Adam to take the beginning concept of the garden and
multiply it until it covered the earth. He gave Adam (at that time Adam = Adam and Eve)
the authority to rule over the earth.

Let us note a few things about God’s will.

• He intends for us to be fruitful not barren.

• He intends for us to multiply, grow, increase, and become very wealthy.
• He intends for us to take The Blessing to all the earth.
• He intends for us to have dominion over the earth and everything contained
above, on or beneath the earth.

What happened to God’s perfect will and why isn’t it being more fully carried out today?

The Fall

Genesis 3:6-7 NKJV

(6) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also
gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
(7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 NKJV

(21) For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
(22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Adam and Eve traded their God given mandate for a bite of fruit. Sin entered the world
and death by sin. Satan gained legal foothold in the earth to bring misery, disease and
poverty. Up to the point of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, all the kingdoms of this
world did belong to Satan (Matt 4:8-9).

Sin also brought with it certain curses.

• The serpent was cursed with enmity between himself and women and woman’s
seed (Gen 3:15).
 • The woman was cursed with painful childbearing and being subjugated to her
husband.
• The man was cursed with weeds in his garden, hard work and toil.

Thank God the story doesn’t end there!

The Redemption

Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV

(13) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us
(for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"),
(14) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we
might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

We discovered from Gen 1:26-28 that God intended for The Blessing to be on mankind.
Adam was to take the garden of Eden and duplicate it until the whole earth was filled.
Man was given dominion over the earth – authority to say what happened and what
didn’t. There was no sickness or lack in the garden – God’s perfect will was always
done there.

Man sinned and sold his birthright to Satan. Satan became the god of this world.

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

(4) In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep
them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God.

The patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – had walked in The Blessing to a degree (a
high degree to be sure!) but full redemption waited for the God-man Jesus Christ. God
now had a perfect man to be in blood covenant with. Once Jesus rose from the dead
victorious the covenant could no longer be broken.

Hebrews 6:13-18 ESV

(13) For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom
to swear, he swore by himself,
(14) saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you."
(15) And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
(16) For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes
an oath is final for confirmation.
(17) So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the
unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
(18) so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who
have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set
before us.

God’s purpose all along has been for The Blessing to be in operation in the earth. His
character does not change and He swore by Himself since there was no one greater to
swear by.
After the resurrection, Jesus makes an amazing statement:

Matthew 28:18-19 ESV

(18) And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me.
(19) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Jesus won back the authority that Adam had lost. Did He say, well I have all authority
now so I guess you disciples are on your own? No He didn’t.

Let’s look at Mark’s account of the Great Commission:

Mark 16:17-18 ESV

(17) And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out
demons; they will speak in new tongues;
(18) they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it
will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

A police officer acts “in the name” of the government. That’s where his authority comes
from. His baton and sidearm might be the dunamis power but his badge is his authority.
Jesus told His disciples, here is your badge – now go!! In my name make disciples, heal
the sick, cast out demons and speak in new tongues.

Who would respect any police officer who had a badge but no gun? Isn’t it a good thing
God thinks of everything?

Luke 24:49 ESV

(49) And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high."

Acts 1:8 ESV

(8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth."

There is your gun!! You are body of Christ – His arms and feet. He has given you His
name and the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out His word.