The devil had boasted to Jesus (during Jesus’ temptation) that he could give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world because these had been delivered to him and he could give them to whoever he liked (Luke 4:1, 5, 6). Because Jesus died as a sinless man, He took the legal authority back from the devil. “He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” (Col. 2:15 NLT).
When Jesus rose from the dead He said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). After Jesus rose from the dead He passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14), the first and second heaven, to the third heaven and He then gave that authority that He has from that position to every man woman and child who choose to make Jesus Lord of their life.
“Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you” (Luke 10:19 Amp).
We live our lives on earth in the first heaven. Satan and his demons were thrown out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) and now dwell in the second heaven and continue creating havoc in the first heaven, earth. As soon as we are born again we have been raised to live in the third heavens with Jesus: “For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6 NLT).
Because we are rightfully positioned in the third heaven when we are a follower of Jesus, we can exert all authority over the first and second heavens. However, if we choose to just live out our lives in the first heaven, then satan in the second heaven will continue to have rulership over us.
Satan influences our lives by killing, stealing and destroying (John 10:10), typically by affecting our health, finances and relationships.
When a Christian has a crystal clear understanding of their authority in the third heavens, they can call on the name of Jesus and can see satan’s attacks on their health, finances and relationships overthrown. We can expect to see healing of bodies, relationships and finances if we exert our authority in Christ Jesus and we really will be living a rich and satisfying abundant life that Jesus promised us (John 10:10).