BOLDNESS: LANGUAGE OF DOMINION

And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth BOLDLY to make known the mystery of the gospel – Ephesians 6:19

Right from the very beginning, right from the creation of humanity, God had spoken with the tone and language of Dominion: “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and SUBDUE it; and have Dominion over…” (Gen.1:28). These were battle words – bold and forceful words. The God of Dominion spoke boldly and forcefully. He was not begging, pleading, or suggesting. He was commanding. To “subdue” and to exercise “dominion over” infer: to conquer, to reduce in strength, to control the actions of, or to silence. There is an underlying tone to Dominion that connotes Force for Conquest.

Dominion speaks a Commanding Language of Boldness and Spiritual Violence: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers VIOLENCE, and the violent take it by FORCE” (Mt.11:12). Dominion does not come cheaply. Dominion demands the Force of Faith and the Violence of Warfare: “…we wrestle…” (Eph.6:12); and “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (2Cor.10:4). “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom.8:37). Righteousness produces boldness: “…The righteous are bold as a lion” (Pro.28:1). Everything about God takes faith; but to live by faith, you must be bold.

At the fall, the devil took over Adam’s authority, while Adam took over the devil’s vices. At redemption, Jesus forcefully took back the stolen authority through the shedding of His blood on the cross and His resurrection. Satan has fallen like lightning from heaven (Lk.10:18). Every believer now has access to the original authority, to tread over serpents and scorpions, and to exercise dominion “over all the power of the enemy” (Lk.10:19). Dominion is not automatic; you’ve got to exercise it, because the devil fights back. Jesus said: “assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mt.18:18). Dominion actively decides what to bind and what to loose.

Dominion often involves resistance: “Therefore submit to God. RESIST the devil and he will flee from you” (Jam.4:7). Resistance implies the use of Force! When it comes to destiny-defining issues, dominion will refuse to take ‘No’ for an answer. For example, the woman with the issue of blood forcefully subdued the throng surrounding Jesus and pressed in, to possess her miraculous healing (Mk5:27). Dominion is not usually delivered on a platter of gold. It does not come easy, because the devil would want to hold you bound and down in perpetual bondage. But you must remain bold and forceful to take all that belong to you by reason of redemption. You must learn to speak and be groomed in the Language of Dominion!