Spiritual authority is “the God-given right to receive and use God’s power that flows from the indwelling Holy Spirit” (Charles Kraft).
If spiritual authority is a new term for you or feels a little scary or “out there,” you’ll probably appreciate this short introductory video by Novo staff Sheri Aberle. Sheri grew up in a church where spiritual authority was never talked about, but learning about it has brought new purpose and power to her prayers—because we actually can change things in the world.
Listen in as Sheri explains what spiritual authority is and why it matters:
What is spiritual authority?
I’m going to start with an example from Charles Kraft that I really like. He talked about a credit card.
This is my credit card. I have all adult children now. If I were to go to any one of my kids and say to them, “Since you’re my son [or daughter], I’ve added you to my credit card account. This is for you to use whenever you want. In fact, I want you to look for opportunities to use it. And I’m going to pay all the bills. I’ve got you covered. Spend as much as you want. You can keep using it for as long as you live. For the rest of your life, it’s all yours.” Do you think my kids would take me up on that? Would they use it? Most definitely.
In a sense, this is what God has done for us. He’s added us, his children, to his “Bank of God” credit card. He’s told us to go out and use it, and use it often—and he’s got it all covered.
This credit card is our spiritual authority. For some of you that may be a new term. I grew up in a church where this stuff wasn’t talked about; I’d never heard that term until I came to Novo (CRM). So for those of you who are like me, let me explain it.
The concept of spiritual authority is closely connected to the concept of power in scripture. They’re not the same, but they’re very closely connected. The Greek word for power is dunamis, which means to have the inherent strength or actual ability to bring about a desired purpose. The Greek word for authority is exousia. That focuses on the right to use power, rather than on the power itself. One Is having the power; one is the right to use power.
Well, we are all sons and daughters of the King, which means we have full access to the King and all the resources of the Kingdom. That means we both have access to and the right to use the power of God. It’s not our credit card; it’s God’s credit card. But he lets us use it.
God shares his power with us because he wants to challenge the enemy’s forces in Jesus’s name, and push back against Satan’s kingdom in this world—to bring God’s Kingdom instead, right here and right now.
Our authority, according to Charles Kraft, is “the God-given right to receive and use God’s power that flows from the indwelling Holy Spirit.”
That’s what spiritual authority is. Now let me tell you what it’s not.
Spiritual authority is not a feeling of authoritativeness. You may not feel very authoritative or powerful, and that’s OK. You don’t have to feel it.
It’s also not a feeling of being worthy to exercise the power. We all have our brokenness and mistakes and all kinds of stuff, so sometimes we don’t feel worthy to use it. But that shouldn’t stop us. Let me remind you that as a son or daughter of the King you are more than worthy, because of what Jesus has done for us all.
It’s also not a kind of gifting or a personality type. Spiritual authority is given to everyone in God’s family. You don’t have to be some spiritual dynamo or biblical scholar. You just have to be God’s son or daughter. It’s as simple as that.
Understanding this access that we have to God’s power is important because it’s obvious when we look at the news and listen to the radio that we live in a world that is under the authority of the enemy. John 10:10 tells us it’s an enemy who wants “to steal and kill and destroy.” The reality is that we are in a war.
We see signs of the battle here on earth, but the war is really raging in the supernatural realm. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” But here’s the good news. Every time we exercise our spiritual authority, we do battle in the heavenlies, and we cut into the enemy’s domain here on earth.
For most of my life, I prayed—because that’s what Christians do—but I didn’t have a lot of confidence that my prayers were making much of a difference, that they were really changing much. But after learning about spiritual authority and beginning to experiment with it, I’ve realized the power that prayer really has to change things.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sheri Aberle has been part of Novo since 2010 and currently serves as the Associate Director for the Partner Development Team. She loves ministering to Novo's financial partners, facilitating the Spiritual Authority Cohorts and First Things, and being creative and strategic with her team about how to serve Novo Champions and staff well. She and her husband, Rob, live in Corona, CA and have six kids, one son-in-law, and one incredibly cute dog.
The examples and quotes by Charles Kraft come from his book I Give You Authority.
This video clip comes from one of Novo’s earliest Spiritual Authority Cohorts, a nine-month class that aims to help believers understand their delegated authority in Christ and put it into practice in their daily lives. You can learn more about the cohorts and whether one will be offered in your area by contacting Aryn our Cohort Coordinator.
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