Having Dominion
Dominion means having the right of governing and controlling. It implies, not only power, but also authority and has to do with a legal jurisdiction. When man sinned, death was given legality or dominion over his mortal body. When Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross, death had dominion over Him, but through the resurrection the legal power of death was cancelled. As Romans 6.9 says: “For we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again, death no longer has dominion over him.” The curse of sin was broken and Jesus was given all authority in heaven and earth. His rule is eternal and extends over all other powers and dominions.
Those who are in Christ Jesus have been given authority in His name over a determined realm, or dominion. It is not all inclusive, but is specific and limited. All authority is given to Jesus Christ and we have been delegated authority by Him. Delegated means that it comes from the One who is above. It does not originate with man. We are not at the top of the chain of command. Yet, what is our responsibility to govern, is our responsibility, and no one can do it for us. Because it has been delegated, we are accountable to the One who gave it to us.
Each of us have been given responsibility over our physical bodies. We are to present the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness and not of sin. We are to rule over sin in the members of our body. (Romans 6.12-14) We are also to take dominion over sicknesses. Jesus told us to heal the sick. (Luke 10.9) The blood of Jesus broke the power of sickness over our bodies and now we have the authority to command sicknesses to leave. (I Peter 2.24) We have also been given dominion over evil spirits. In the name of Jesus, we are to cast out demons, destroy the works of the devil and rule over the power of the enemy. (Luke 10.18-20) We cannot expect God to rebuke the devil for us. We must resist the devil, we must cast out demons, we must heal the sick and we must reign over our circumstances. One thing we do not to have dominion over is other people’s faith. (II Cor. 1.24) Each is responsible for their own walk with God.
Many of us shy away from taking personal responsibility. When things don’t go the way we want them to go, we tend to blame others. Many blame the devil for every evil that occurs, but who has been given dominion over him? Though he may be involved, we have been given the authority. In trying to alleviate the weight of responsibility, some even blame God; seeing that He is All-powerful. One may not say: “God, why did you do this?” But, often people say: “God why did you permit this to happen?” The truth is that many things exist because believers permit them to.
In the New Testament alone there are 571 appearances of the two letter word “IF”. Often these “ifs” imply conditions that must be met for a promise to be fulfilled. Before we begin to shift the responsibility on God or others, maybe we should check to see if we are not the one at fault. An example of this is found in II Peter 1.5-11. To make our election and calling sure and to keep from falling back into sin, we are told to add to our faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, etc. (vs. 5-8) If we don’t do this, we can blame no one but ourselves, when we fall back into sin. This is a call to grow up, to take dominion and to reign in life through Christ Jesus.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Romans 5.17; Eph. 1.20-23; 2.5-6; 6.10-20; Col. 2.15; Luke 10.18-20; Mat. 18.18
“When man sinned, death was given legality or dominion over his mortal body.”
Did man also die spiritually, as many teach? When Jesus spoke the following, it does seem like He is referring to a life and death that is outside the physical life and death:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
When Jesus said “will never die”, that sounds like He is not referring to physical death, because most of us will experience a physical death. When He says “will never die”, is He referring to never experiencing the second death?