Satanic Powers and Divine Dominion
Man Was Created for Dominion
by Pastor John Hamel

Testimonial: "Hello JHM, my Ministry is based in Kakamega County, Western Kenya. I wanted to let you know that your article on 'Satanic Powers and Divine Dominion' is transforming this region. When I read it, I did not hesitate to preach it. Great is the impact it births. Your Ministry is a blessing and we desire to network with you. God bless you." Apostle LJZ, Kenya 

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, ... So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." (Genesis 1:26-27)

The Bible says God has created all things and beings that exist in Heaven and in Earth, but only of man did He say, "Let us make him just like us."  

God's reference to "our image" and "our likeness" means He created man to resemble Him as all-loving, just and powerful.  

It also means He created man as a shape or a model of Himself.  Man was made to look and act just like God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Man is the apex of all creation.  Nearly 3,000 times man is referred to in the Bible.  

King David said that God made man to have dominion over all of creation. (Psalm 8:6)  To have dominion means "to reign, rule, have power, tread down and to take."  So it is clear from Scripture that man was made for dominion.  

God placed man in the Garden of Eden to protect it and to keep it. Nothing was off-limits to him with the exception of partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve were to share God's dominion in the Earth as long as they obeyed Him.

"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat of it: For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17) 

To make a long story short, Adam and Eve leaned to their own understanding.  They did not cling to the Word of the Lord and they disobeyed Him. As a result, they died spiritually, meaning they became separated from God in their spirits. Their disobedience cost them severely and they lost their power, position, authority and world dominion.  

Sadly, God was then forced to drive them out from the Garden of Eden.  He did so to protect them from eating of the Tree of Life in their fallen condition.  Had they done so, Adam and Eve would have lived in that fallen condition eternally.

"Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from when he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life." (Genesis 3:23-24)  

God did humanity a great favor by placing guards around the Tree of Life and keeping man from partaking of it until He could work out a plan of redemption.

God's Divine Dilemma

Mercy is one of God's great attributes. The Mercy of God said, "I've got to forgive My man and woman for this, otherwise the next time they make a mistake they won't come to Me with it. They'll run from Me.  They'll not see me as merciful.  If I don't show them mercy they'll never see Me as a God of mercy."

Justice is another of God's great attributes. The Justice of God said, "I love My creation. I want to show them mercy. But they must pay a penalty for their disobedience.  Otherwise, they'll always question My justice. I need them to understand that there is always a penalty for sin for I would not have them sin."

It is clear that God found Himself in a Divine Dilemma. Quite possibly the dilemma He found Himself in with Adam and Eve could be considered the Crisis of the Ages. 

The Mercy of God said, "Forgive."  

The Justice of God said, "Punish."  

You can be sure Satan never laughed so hard at God before this.  

But you can also be sure he will never laugh again because the All-Wise God had a plan already worked out.  

A Love Plan.

Fortunately for man, God's Mercy and Justice are not His greatest attributes.  

God's Love is His absolute greatest attribute.  

The Love of God said, "Here is what I'll do.  I'll allow My Son Jesus to go into the Earth as Heaven's Solitary Missionary.  He will enter the world through the legal door of a woman's physical womb.  He'll become a flesh and blood man, just like Adam.  As a matter of fact, He'll be called 'the Second Adam.' (1 Corinthians 15:45) 

"As a perfect, sinless, willing and obedient man He will bear the punishment for man's disobedience.  He will bear it for all of humanity.  

"That way every time a human being accepts Jesus' punishment as their own, I will be able to forgive them, for their sin has been punished in My Son. This will satisfy My Mercy. 

"Every time a human being accepts Jesus' punishment as their own, My Justice will also be satisfied because the penalty for their sin has already been paid.  That way I can allow My man to go free."

Can you see it?  The Mercy of God and the Justice of God were satisfied by the Love of God.

"For as by one man's (Adam) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One (Jesus) shall many be made righteous." (Romans 5:17)

Adam's fall in the Garden was quite possibly the Crisis of the Ages.  In the natural it appeared that it could never be repaired but God had a plan.  God always has a plan.  

If God could fix that mess, He can fix anything you are going through. 

The most microscopic drop of Jesus' Blood is far greater than even the most concentrated form of evil.  

Christ's work at Calvary far outweighs Satan's work in the Garden. 

Man's disobedience was supernaturally forgiven at Calvary, but there is more.

Jesus Has Restored Man's Dominion

"For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise partook of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." (Hebrews 2:14-16)

The Bible is clear. Jesus Christ became a man in order to retake man's dominion from Satan. 

A man called Adam gave dominion of the Earth to Satan, so only a flesh and blood man could take it back.  Jesus was that flesh and blood man.

Jesus walked right down the middle of Main Street in downtown Eternity, walked up to City Hall, kicked in the door and demanded that Satan return the Keys to man's dominion and he did so.

"I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of Hell and of death." (Revelation 1:18)

Jesus is the only man who can say this.  Only He was able to confront Satan and to strip him of world dominion, returning it to man.  This is the only truth that can set human captives free.  All other false promises and weak boastings by other false gods and false disciplines are exactly that - false promises and weak boastings.

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him; If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (Romans 8:31-32)

Only the truth of Jesus' redemptive work can free men and women from the bondage of Satan.  Only Jesus Christ can remove the veil of darkness and bondage from humanity. (Isaiah 25:7)

If you are bound to sex, tobacco, drugs, booze, disappointment, deception, distraction, pride, poverty, sickness, etc., you are not free.  Satan is holding you in areas where he should not be, because you have not known the whole truth of redemption.  Or possibly you do know it, and you are not acting on it.  Jesus Christ has set you free to reign, to rule, to tread Satan down and to exercise dominion in this Earth.  

"And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Not only are we supposed to be free as Believers in Jesus, we are supposed to be accepting responsibility for informing the world that God wants them to be free as well.  

"And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My Name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues ... they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark 16:15-18)

These are Jesus' last words before ascending back into Heaven. Everyone knows that someone's last words are, at least to them, their most important words. Jesus said if we will do a little thing and obey God by preaching the Gospel and commanding the captives to be set free, God will do a big thing and confirm His Word with miracles.

Dominion Is Promised to All Born-Again Believers  

Someone always says, "But that was only for the twelve Disciples."  Let's look at a passage of Scripture that will put that untruth to rest once and for all.

"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whether He Himself would come. And the seventy returned again with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us through Thy Name. And He said unto them ... behold I give you power ... over all the ability of the enemy;" (Luke 10:1-20)

It is wrong to teach or to believe that Holy Spirit power and dominion over Satan and demon powers was reserved only for the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. God's plan of redemption and restoration of dominion was on behalf of all humanity, not just Jesus' Disciples. 

There were over 120 followers of Jesus in the Upper Room who received Holy Spirit power on the Day of Pentecost, including Jesus' Mother Mary. So, the Scripture itself puts an end to the "But that was only for the twelve Disciples" lie. (Acts 1:8, 15; 2:4)

There is always a controversial someone who will say, "Well, that ended with those 120."  

But that is not what the Apostle Peter said.

"As every man has received the gift (of Holy Spirit power) even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10)

The "gift" Peter refers to here is the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Peter makes it clear that as Believers, once we receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we should not hesitate to share that power with others.  

Peter never said, "It's only for the twelve or only for the 120."  Peter said, "Share it with all."  He also clearly implied that if we refuse to do so, we are poor stewards of the grace of God.  

Too many Church people are in bondage to Satan.  Jesus said, "Go and tell them they are free."  Our job is to tell humanity, both the Church and the world, that God is not angry with them, that God has reconciled them to Himself in Christ and He wants them to be free.  

"And all things are of God Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18)

The Church of Jesus Christ is not a referral agency.  We are not to be sending people to unsaved psychiatrists to solve their problems.  We are God's problem-solving machines.  We are to point people to God's solution in His Word, pray for them and cast out unclean spirits whenever it is necessary.  

Every Christian is an authorized agent of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Unsaved psychiatrists cannot possibly help anyone when they cannot even help themselves.  

Statistics reveal that psychiatrists commit suicide four times more often than the average white male.  

People need Jesus, including psychiatrists, and they need you to tell them about Him.

Untold millions of people are oppressed, obsessed and even possessed of demon spirits and they need you to set them free.

Jesus and you are Masters of demon powers.  

Unbelieving People Will Challenge This Doctrine

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron." (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

The Apostle Paul warned us that in the last days even Believers will depart from the faith, attempting to convince other Believers that man does not have dominion over his life, his circumstances and the world he lives in.  This is what happened to Adam and Eve.  They stopped believing God.  They stopped trusting God.  They stopped obeying God and they departed from the faith.  The devil told them, "You won't end up separated from God if you disobey Him."  But they did.  

Doctrines of demons are flooding America and the nations of the world like no other time in all of human history.  The bookstores of America and of the world, cable television and the Internet are bursting at the seams with doctrines of demons, false disciplines and pagan belief systems.  

Millions of Christians in America alone refuse to stand up to this demonic onslaught, fighting back with the Word of God.  I once announced that I would be teaching a series on the Believer's dominion over demonic principalities and powers, and fifty percent of my congregation ran away and never returned again.  

Satan wants man to fear him.  Satan does not want man to discover he has dominion over him.  Jesus has restored man's dominion over Satan, demons and disease, and Satan will do everything in his power to prevent man from discovering this or acting upon this truth.  

Christians Are Commanded to Exercise Dominion over Satan

Christians must understand that exercising dominion over Satan and demon powers is not optional.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." (1Peter 5:8-9)

Peter's instruction to be sober is not only referring to not being drunk.  Peter is addressing a silly, giddy body of Believers with an amusement park mentality who only want to be entertained, amused and play church.  

Peter is calling Christ's Body to be alert, to wake up and realize that Satan is an everyday enemy.  

Men are not our enemies.  Women are not our enemies.  Our spouses, our relatives and our bosses are not our enemies.  Denominations are not our enemies.  The Bible says Satan is our enemy. 

The Apostle Paul said that we do not battle with flesh and blood, but with demonic principalities and powers. (Ephesians 6:12)

All Believers are called to resist Satan by faith.  The Bible promises if we will do a little thing and stand up to him, using the power of Jesus' Name, Satan will do a big thing and run like a scared jack rabbit.  

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)

The Believer submits one's self to God first by obeying the Bible. It is impossible to walk with God apart from obedience to the Bible. The Believer submits one's self to God by living a clean, moral, upright existence before Him.  

One also submits to God by walking in love even when those times come when anything else would be preferred to it.  Then when Satan is resisted in Jesus' Strong Name, he is promised to flee.  

Believers are called to put away all timidity and fear of demons and man.  We are to trust in the Name and in the Blood of Jesus Christ.  

If Jesus Christ lives on the inside of you and Satan is harassing you, a loved one or someone you know, you are commissioned and commanded to resist him and he is commanded by God to obey you.  

No matter what you are going through Jesus is the answer to your dilemma.  He was the answer to humanity's dilemma in the Garden of Eden and He is your answer today.  

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)  As a Believer He has restored you to a position of dominion and dignity.  

Rise up and boldly use your authority in Jesus' Strong Name.

God needs millions of liberator, deliverer Believers to rise up soberly, intelligently and resist Satan, freeing humanity from terrible bondage.