“The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples…” Matthew 28:18–19a
Spiritual authority is something many believers don’t really understand, much less experience. And yet we find evidence of it—like in the verses above—all over scripture. Does it really make much of a difference in our Christian lives whether we understand the authority we’ve been given in Christ? We definitely think it does!
It wasn’t long ago that Keith and Megan Peeler, leaders of EverFree (a ministry focused on helping believers walk in freedom), didn’t understand what it meant to have spiritual authority either. As they began to realize how their authority in Christ brought a new level of freedom and healing in their own lives, they began seeing that authority multiply into the lives of others through their ministry.
In this engaging 30 minute podcast, Keith and Megan describe their journey to understand spiritual authority and the impact it’s made in their lives. Listen in to hear real-life stories as well as biblical truths that helped them understand their delegated authority in Christ—or just read on for a few of the theological highlights from their podcast.
Keith and Megan Peeler on Spiritual Authority
Keith: In the beginning of our spiritual journeys, authority wasn’t a concept we thought about. I read the book, I Give You Authority, by Charles Kraft and it started to challenge the way I thought about what spiritual authority was. That gave Megan and I a foundation, and from there we searched the scriptures and searched our experiences. It formed how we do what we do in our ministry of inner healing prayer.
Megan: Growing up, I experienced my parents and pastors having authority over me. But having personal authority as an individual did not resonate with me at all. Looking at scripture now, I can see clearly how the Lord gives each of us unbelievable authority in his name. But back then I only acknowledged the authority of those in leadership. If I needed help with anything, I would go to the authority.
Keith: One of our favorite scriptures about authority is Psalm 8. This Psalm references Genesis 1 and how God gave dominion to humankind over the earth. Verse 5 says that humans are made a little lower than God (some translations say angels, but in the original language it’s Elohim—God).
With my western mindset, I always had this picture: Here’s the earth, and here’s little Keith standing on the earth. And way up in the heavens is God. I saw the angels and demons in between all of that. In my mind, I had to pray through the atmosphere (past the angels and demons) in order to get to God. That’s how I saw my position.
Megan: It really wasn’t a powerful position. It was, “I’m under everything going on in the air.”
Keith: Yes, and specifically under the enemy. In my mind, I had to fight through the enemy’s power in order to get through to God. But the Bible says we’re sons and daughters of God (1 John 3:1). If you are in Christ Jesus you are a child of God—and as a child of God, scripture also says you are a co-heir (Romans 8:17). It says that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be filled to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19), and that the same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work within us (Ephesians 1:19–21)! That’s powerful!
Scripture tells us to be renewed in our minds (Romans 12:2), which means we are taking on what scripture says about us—not what our parents say, or our boss, or anyone else in authority in our lives. Spiritual authority is about understanding our identity and knowing we have been given this authority in Christ.
Having spiritual authority is different than feeling like I have spiritual authority. There are days I wake up and I’m not feeling it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have authority.
Megan: Consider the President of the United States (the current president or any other president). Suppose he wakes up and he’s having a really terrible morning—he doesn’t feel great, doesn’t feel like he has authority, doesn’t feel like playing the role of president. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s still the president or the fact that he still has full authority.
How we feel doesn’t change the truth of scripture that says, “Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We’ve been given authority in Jesus’s name, so we take that authority and walk in it.
ABOUT THE STAFF
Keith and Megan Peeler live near Austin, TX. They lead a ministry called EverFree, which focuses on equipping believers to walk in their freedom in Christ. Keith and Megan offer various types of training events and inner healing prayer sessions.
You can find more podcasts from Keith and Megan on inner healing prayer here.