Possessing The Gates Of Our Enemy

Possessing the Gates of our Enemy

Sunday, February 11, 2018

By Rev. James May

Genesis 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Gates in scripture are often symbols of authority. The king had a throne at the gates. The elders sat at the gates. Judgments were passed and sentences carried out. To possess the gates of the enemy, or Satan, is to displace Satan’s authority with that which is entrusted to us by Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. In reading this verse we see that there can be a dual meaning to the word power!

Is Jesus saying that we will have the ability through spiritual strength to tread on all of the spiritual strength of the devil?

Is He also saying that we have authority, through Jesus’ name, to defeat the devil? In both cases, I would have to say, Yes!

But there is a difference between power and authority in both the natural and the spiritual.

Let’s look at the relationship between ‘authority’ and ‘power,’ as they are used in Jesus promise.

The Greek word that is translated as ‘authority,’ is ‘exousia,’ and its basic meaning is to have the right to rule or govern as one whose will and commands must be submitted to and obeyed. The second Greek word that is often translated is ‘dunamis’ and it is translated as ‘power’. It means to have an inherent strength, power, or ability to bring about a desired purpose.

To illustrate the relationship between the two words, we will use the example of a truck and a traffic officer. A truck has inherent power, and so the driver has ‘dunamis’ power at his disposal to accomplish his work.

A police officer has very little power to stop the transport, but he has ‘exusia’ authority. When he holds up his hand the driver stops the power of the truck because behind the officer’s authority is the whole weight of the Police Department, and if necessary, the resources of the entire law enforcement power of the nation.

As Christians, we have “exusia”, or authority to command demons and all the powers of the devil – but that authority is not of ourselves, it is through the power, or the “dunamis”, of the name of Jesus Christ, who is above every name. That’s why we pray every prayer by invoking the name of Jesus. In invoking that name, in the spiritual realm, we release through faith the full power of God to move heaven and earth to accomplish God’s will in the answering of the prayer we have put before him.

In that name of Jesus there is healing – the “dunamis”, that omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is released to bring the healing power of God to bear upon that which we have taken “exusia”, or spiritual authority over through the promises of God’s word that cannot fail.

The Word of God says in James 5:14 & 15, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

How does that work? How can lowly human beings with a little bit of oil in their hands, take that oil and apply it to someone who is sick, say a few words in prayer, and then watch the sick be healed and even their sins forgiven?

Where does that power, that “exusia”, and that “dunamis” come from? It certainly isn’t within me, or any other man or woman, as we stand there!

It comes from the omnipotent power, or “dunamis” of Holy Spirit as He comes because we have used our God-given “exusia”, or “authority”, through the name of Jesus. And we know according to God’s word that Jesus has all power and authority in both Heaven and in the earth.

That “dunamis”, the power to perform the work asked for in prayer; and we assume the “exusia”, or authority to call forth the omnipotent power of God, and the fulfillment of his promises of healing power through his blood. That authority to call upon God is bestowed upon us through Holy Spirit, and the power to do the work is transferred to us through faith in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and his ability to answer the prayer we pray!