“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,” (Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV).
Martin Luther said: “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” You can’t keep the Devil from suggesting thoughts, but you can choose not to dwell or act on them.”
It is the space you give to Satan that he can operate on. You have the authority to limit his operation around you and your family. James 4:7 says: “Submit yourself to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you!” Paul also says: “Give no place to the Devil!”
Dominion in Hebrew rendering is Mamlakah, and in Greek is Basileia, which means, “to rule and to reign.” Dominion means sovereignty over a territory (domain). To have dominion is to rule, to be in charge. Dominion is about knowing who you are in Christ and asserting your God-given authority over Satan and over every issue that threatens your existence and destiny on the earth.
The authority of Jesus is given to us so that we may walk in dominion on this earth. When Adam and Eve were created and were given the power of dominion. However, this power was lost to Satan. But, Jesus regained the authority at Calvary.
Dominion belongs to Christ, but He has delegated power and authority to man to walk in dominion (Genesis 1:26-28; Daniel 7:13-14; Rev.1:6,18). The Psalmist declared that man has been given the latitude to rule on the earth. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men,” (Psalms 115:16; 8:6-8 NKJV).
We can learn how to defend our territory from the way animals guard their territories and prevent an enemy from intruding. Male lions guide their territories from any external intruder. So does the elephant guide its young ones from being mauled by other animals? Human beings do the same. We see community touts assert their authority over a given territory to prevent intruders, and in some cases, they exact levies within their territory.
Fathers have a God-given mandate to assert their dominion over their families. Like the mother hen protects her chicks from external intruders, mothers have a right to exercise their dominion in prayer over their families. Couples should learn how to jointly resist the enemy and not give place to the devil to intrude into their family affairs. Unless couples unite in prayer and faith, Satan will continue to intrude in their families.
When Jesus said: “All authority has been given to me…”, He implied that he has recovered the lost authority given to man. So, in Christ, we have the authority to walk in dominion. The cross is the foundation of our regained dominion. Without the cross, we do not have any dominion. We must always stand on the victory of Christ at Calvary when we exercise dominion (Colossians 2:14; Rev.5:5).
Jesus is our perfect example of how to walk in dominion. He exercised dominion over sickness, disease, over creation and demons. Thereafter He declared: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father,” (John 14:12 NKJV).
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