If you’ve lasted this long in the devotional series, you won’t be surprised that today we’ll properly turn this all towards our King. In Luke we saw Jesus taking authority over everything from disease to unclean spirits, storms and even raising the dead. Then, the Psalmist painted a mural of deliverance and refuge. All of these teed up the ball for the Apostle Paul to bring it home as he reveals the foundation for all Christian confidence: The resurrection and enthronement of Jesus.

Paul isn’t offering us some pithy encouragement fit for a Hallmark card, he is praying that believers would know the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward them … the very same power God worked in and through Jesus.
 
What kind of power? Resurrection power. Enthroning power. The same power that raised Jesus from the grave and seated Him at the Father’s right hand, “far above every ruler and authority.” Paul doesn’t depict Jesus just a little above other rulers engaged in a cosmic game of King of the Mountain. He places Christ “far above them.”

Jesus isn’t waiting to become King later. He is already seated in the place of authority and power. His victory isn’t fragile. His name outranks every other name in this age and the ages to come. Every authority, be it visible or invisible, is beneath HIm.
 
This is also where we must be careful to stay Christ-centered in our application of this text. We aren’t called to use our own strength and power to defeat the darkness, nor are we told to become spiritual experts obsessing and speculating over the unseen realm. No, we are called to know the risen Lord, stand in His victory, and live as a people whose King is already on the throne.

When we are flooded with feelings of guilt, fear, or temptation we can remember that Jesus is above it all. Earthly rulers will abuse their power and oppress the helpless, but the Lord remains above it all. Not even the grave has the final word over those belonging to HIm.
Paul prays for our eyes to be opened because he knows how quickly we forget. Our focus seems far more easily drawn by what threatens us than He who reigns over us. We notice resistance and opposition more acutely than the superiority of His throne.
 
So, let Paul re-center your imagination to see Jesus as more than someone near the hurting, but as the One exalted over all. He is simultaneously compassionate toward weakness and supreme over every power. The One who touched lepers, commanded demons, and raised the dead now sits at the Father’s right hand … and we, His people, follow Him from a place of victory, not uncertainty.

Where have you been living as if the powers around you are greater than the Christ above you? How does the present reign of Jesus reshape the way you face temptation, fear, suffering, or spiritual resistance?

Father, open my eyes to see the authority of Jesus in all I do. I know He is seated far above all authority, but teach my heart to be humble yet confident and not fearful. Keep me from relying on my own strength. I submit myself to your reign, anchored in your victory. Amen.

“Today I can walk under Christ’s authority by __________________.”