Behold, I give unto you power
to tread on serpents
scorpions and over all the
power of the enemy: and
nothing shall by any
means hurt you.
Luke 10:19 (KJV)

Reading the above scripture in the King James Version makes it sound like the enemy has equal and same level power as we Believers do. I grew up reading that verse and NEVER once understood what was actually given to me.

In the King James, the first translation of the word POWER is incorrect. It should have been translated AUTHORITY.  If someone gives you authority over something, it can’t have power over you. 

If you look at the Literal Translation (which is as close to the original Bible as possible) – it goes like this: 

Behold, I have given you the authority to tread on snakes and (tread on) scorpions and (tread) on ALL the power of the hostile one, and nothing shall hurt you, no, never!

The Passion Translation sounds even better: 

Now you understand that I have imparted to you all my authority to trample over his kingdom. You will trample upon every demon before you and overcome every power Satan possesses. Absolutely nothing will be able to harm you as you walk in this authority.

The last part of the verse is where most Christians get tripped up. That’s why we get beat up.

…as YOU walk in this authority. YOU

Most of us were never taught that WE had responsibility when it came to the devil. No, we were sitting around bemoaning the fact that God wasn’t taking care of the devil FOR us. All the while, we were getting the snot beat out of us. The enemy was doing his thing, “steal, kill, destroy”.  (John 10:10a)

We missed the whole point of Jesus’ sacrifice and the purpose of the Blood He shed on the cross. THAT was God taking care of our enemy for us.

Jesus died then Jesus turned around and gave US the authority over satan’s power. We already have it. When we got saved, born again, gave our lives to Jesus, WE gained this authority.

In the times we live in, it is more important than ever that we understand this. We also need to KNOW what our Bible says. We need to confess what our Bible says. We need to TAKE that authority we have been given and USE IT.

♥

And just in case you didn’t get it, let’s look at a few synonyms of the word TRAMPLE: run over, squash, flatten, override, step on, stomp