The Dominion of the Church
“…the coming of the kingdom means that the saints are, in Christ, seated in heavenly places, enthroned in fulfillment of the dominion mandate. Heavenly dominion over sin and Satan is the basic form of dominion for the individual Christian. But the Bible teaches that the saints have dominion over earth as well as heaven (Rev. 5:10). Heavenly dominion is over “spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12), but by exercising this heavenly dominion, the church rules also on earth. The rule of the church over the demons is not only subjective and spiritual, but has objective historical consequences.
Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration to find His disciples trying to cast out a demon—unsuccessfully. Jesus’ response is worth noting. He did not say that the disciples lacked the power to cast out demons. He did not apologise to the disciples for expecting too much. He did not excuse them in any way. On the contrary, He was ANGRY. He placed all the blame on their unbelief and inaction. If the demon was not cast out, it was the disciples’s fault, not Jesus’ or the Spirit’s: “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:14-21).
Alasdair MacIntyre has said that today the barbarians are not at the gates; they have been ruling over us for some time. Carl F. H. Henry and Charles Colson have suggested that we are entering a new dark age. If evil, satanic men are riding the high places of the earth, it is not because there is any flaw in the gospel. If our world has become demon-possessed, it is not because Jesus lied about His victory over Satan. If ominous clouds fill the darkening sky, it is not because of any lack of power in the Spiritual weapons of our warfare. If Satan is alive and well on planet earth, it is because of our unbelief, our prayerlessness, our cowardice, our unwillingness to fast from the pleasures of this life. If we are entering a dark age, it is because of our lack of training in the weapons of spiritual warfare, or because we have become too enamoured of carnal weapons. If righteousness is not prevailing on earth, it is only we Christians who are to blame.
Because the church is enthroned in heaven, she has the authority and power to exorcise a demonised world. If we faithfully use the spiritual weapons given us, the “satans” of our day will be crushed under our feet (Rom. 16:20).”
Peter J. Leithart, The Kingdom and the Power, p. 178-9
