Knowledge Is The Key

"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you."
Luke 10:19 (ESV)

Unfortunately, many of us believers do not quite grasp who we are. There are so many powerful things written about our identity in the Word, yet very little is lived out in reality. While there could be several obstacles to this awareness, I’d argue that a core reason is a lack of knowledge.


Knowledge Changes Everything

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…"
Hosea 4:6 (ESV)

It has always fascinated me that this verse emphasises “my.”

God is saying the people I have chosen, the people that serve me, the people that view me as their God, they are destroyed for lack of knowledge. It implies that it is not quite enough to claim the Lord as our God; there is something about acquiring knowledge that allows us to live in the fullness of what He has already declared over us.

To know clearly holds weight with the Lord, and it should with us too. Knowledge shapes how we live such that when we know who we are in Christ, we walk differently, instinctively.

Imagine being left a large inheritance by a distant relative, but never being told about it. By law, that money belongs to you, yet because you do not know and thus, haven't taken the steps to claim it, you could live as though you have nothing.

The same happens when we do not understand our position in Christ. We are already more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37), yet without awareness of that truth, we live far below what has been spoken.

This does not only refer to material things, but every single part of life. To live as God has written in His book concerning you requires knowledge — knowledge of His Word, His will, and His ways. You cannot live as though blind when you are fathered by a God who is light, a God who is illumination itself.


So, how do we go about knowing?

"The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."
Psalm 119:130 (ESV)

By soaking in His Word. By becoming a student of Scripture. By allowing the Holy Spirit to bring understanding as you sit with Him, and permit Him to transform you into the image of His Son. Through this, revelation comes — of who He is, and as a result, of who we are in Him.

Living in What We Know


In the book of Exodus, when the Israelites were instructed to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, the blood was symbolic of the blood of Jesus in that it held authority. God said when the destroyer passed through the land, he would pass over every home marked by the blood.

That night, the destroyer moved indiscriminately, yet every door marked by blood was safe. I often think about how, in some homes, they might have been crying out to God all night, while in others, they simply went to bed, resting in what God had already said. Still, all homes that obeyed the instructions were covered. The difference was not in their actions after the fact, but in the authority held by the blood itself — the authority that act of obedience released.

It is the same for us. The blood of Jesus already speaks for us. Whether we feel strong or not, whether we are praying through the night or simply resting in faith, we have that authority that Jesus gave. We must truly know that in order to truly live that out.

Stand on What's True


The destroyer had no power over the Israelites because the blood was recognised in heaven, and on earth. Similarly, the enemy has no right to move against those marked by the blood of Jesus. But he will make attempts against those who do not know they have authority over him by virtue of the blood. We see that in how the devil tried to tempt Jesus — he had to test: "does Jesus realise what He has already been given, or can I tempt Him with what I have?" It is the exact same tactic he uses even now.

The Bible says the devil left Jesus until an opportune time (Luke 4:13) — he waits, watching for a gap in our knowing. He seeks opportunity through our ignorance, so when we live with constant awareness of our authority in Christ, there is no room for him to operate. No weapon formed against us can prosper when we stand firm in what is true.

Jesus’ response to the devil showed that he knew. Does yours?