Before God created human beings, He declared His will for them. They were to be made in His image and have dominion over His creation [Genesis 1:26]. It struck me recently that God hasn’t changed His mind on this. Dominion was our birthright, but the first humans gave up that birthright to the devil for the bite of a fruit [Genesis 3]. Ever since then, we’ve all repeated their mistake [Romans 3:23]. Our sins cut us from God and the dominion He intended for us [Isaiah 59:2]. But thanks be to God because Jesus restored the possibility of regaining that dominion permanently on the cross.

Paul tells us that because of what Jesus did, we’ve been transferred from the domain of darkness into God’s kingdom [Colossians 1:13]. Additionally, everyone in God’s kingdom has been given the authority to exercise the dominion God intended for us at creation [Luke 10:19]. Jesus demonstrated this dominion when He walked on the earth and told us we could do the same [John 14:12-14]. Yet, how many of us experience this dimension of life? How many of us truly believe it is possible? Do we realise that dominion is a right that comes with citizenship in God’s kingdom? Ignorant of our authority and unable to wield the power God has given us, we become victims of this world instead of reigning over it like children of its Creator. As the prophet puts it, we perish because we lack knowledge [Hosea 4:6].

Jesus once promised His disciples that if they remain in Him and His words abide in them, they can ask for anything and it will be done for them [John 15:7]. That’s a staggering promise. Jesus was showing us how to walk in dominion and command even seemingly impossible results through God’s power [Matthew 19:26]. Yet, can you say this is your lived experience? There are only two reasons we don’t experience this promise. Either God is incapable of fulfilling it, or we don’t know how to appropriate it. I firmly believe it’s the latter. This promise is conditional. I can only appropriate it if I commit and completely submit to the lordship of Jesus [Romans 12:1], and if I also make every effort to know His words [2 Timothy 2:15]. This is how I’ll remain in Him and cause His words to abide in me. As such, the results I experience in my life, along with any anxieties and fears that plague me, are a direct reflection of my level of submission to Jesus and the extent to which His words abide in me.

Studying the Bible is the primary way to cause the word of God to abide in you. However, you can study it but never come to the knowledge of the truth [2 Timothy 3:7]. So, while studying is a good start, it isn’t sufficient. We need to pray and ask the Spirit of Truth, who authored the Scriptures, to reveal its truths to us as we study [John 16:13] and grant us understanding. With our knowledge of God’s word grounded in understanding given by the Spirit’s revelation, we will walk in wisdom. Wisdom brings clarity and enables us to act with understanding [1 Chronicles 12:32]. Consequently, what we say, think and do is informed by divine revelation, not our reality. Invariably, we will walk by faith and not by sight.

The Bible teaches that what is visible came from the invisible [Hebrews 11:3]. Therefore, our focus should be on the unseen instead of the visible, because what is visible is transient but what is unseen is permanent [2 Corinthians 4:18]. Without spiritual intelligence, such an assertion is nonsense [1 Corinthians 2:14-16]. However, for those with spiritual intelligence, their battles of life are won in the unseen or spiritual realm, not the physical. Consequently, their results in the physical realm are predictable. Elisha once demonstrated this [2 Kings 6]. However, if you don’t fight and win your battle in the spirit, you’ll be subject to the manipulations of those who do. Therefore, the key to dominion for a Christian is to abide in Jesus, who is seated above every power and authority in the unseen [Ephesians 1:20-21].

There’s a curious story in the book of Acts about the sons of Sceva [Acts 19:11-20]. They were sons of a Jewish high priest who witnessed the extraordinary miracles of Paul in Ephesus. When they tried to exorcise a demon from a possessed man, copying Paul’s methods without Paul’s revelation or dominion, the demon responded: “Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who are you?” Then the possessed man turned on them and beat them up. They fled from the scene naked. That’s what happens to some Christians today. We see someone with results and we resort to copying their technique. Then, we’re surprised when we don’t achieve their results. When facing a trial, many of us pray, fast, etc., without the requisite spiritual intelligence. That’s like punching shadows [1 Corinthians 9:26], you may land a lucky punch but you’ll never sustain dominion.

God gave us a definite path to live in dominion, and there are people in our world today who are experiencing this dominion. As a result, they are commanding uncommon results through God’s power. They are healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons and experiencing dimensions of God’s power that causes them to walk the earth like demi-gods. These men and women aren’t superhuman. They’ve understood the authority we all have, and possess the spiritual intelligence to effectively appropriate it. They are simply experiencing what Jesus said would happen and glorifying God in the process [John 15:8].

Do you believe you can walk in similar dominion? Are you making every effort to submit to Jesus and abide in His word? It’s our birthright to walk in dominion on this earth, but we’ll cheat ourselves out of it by failing to play our part.