Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give you the power to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
10:19 ἰδού, δίδωμι ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμᾶς οὐ μὴ ἀδικήσῃ
Behold- ἰδού- to experience any state or condition
I give- δίδωμι- to give one to someone as his own
Power- ἐξουσία- the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
Serpent- ὄφις- referring to the serpent that deceived Eve
•root word: optanomai- ὀπτάνομαι- to behold
Scorpions- σκορπίος
•root word: skopos- σκοπός- watchmen (principalities and powers of darkness)
Power- δύναμις-power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts
Nothing- οὐδείς- not even
Shall- ἀδικέω- absolutely
•Root word- deiknyō- δεικνύω- to give evidence or proof of a thing
I want you to experience what is now yours. The power of authority and right of privilege to trample on the knowledge and wisdom of the world and the principalities and powers of darkness and over all of the authority and privilege of the enemy, and evidence will be seen that not one thing will by any means hurt you.
Because of the blood covenant that God made with man, not only are we made in the exact image and likeness of the Creator of all things, but we have been given the power and the authority on the earth.
A covenant is an agreement between two or more individuals or groups that establishes their relationship between each other. According to David Dean (2014), an understanding of covenant is essential to understand the scriptures and God's interaction with human kind, nation of Israel, and the church.Throughout the scriptures, there are at least six different covenants that God created with certain people during the canonical history. Each covenantal relationship that was created, set up for the next one to be established and fulfilled (Barrick, 1999).
The covenants that are extensively emphasized are the Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and new covenant. In each of these covenants, God initiates, establishes, and fulfills the covenants either with a person, a group of people, or the whole world conditionally or unconditionally. The biblical concept of covenant involves God’s promises to certain individuals, people, and the world. As each is made, the next becomes even more detailed than the previous in the commitment of all of creation being saved through the Abrahamic lineage.
The new covenant is the final contract between God and man, in the canonical text, which all other covenants created lead up to.
“To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”(Galatians 3:15-22).
The initiation of the covenant started as soon as man sinned (Genesis 3:15). It shows us how much God cares about us and how much he wants us to be rescued from our bondage of sin and death. He wanted to fulfill the promise he made to Adam, and he finally gets to come through with it in this new covenant.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV).
The establishment of the covenant was done through the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross of Calvary with the promise of eternal life for those who believe in him as Lord. Along with the establishment of the church and the promise of the Holy Spirit, the third Godhead of the Trinity is an unconditional promise to the world.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV)
This passage gives us the knowledge of God vowing an upcoming point in time when he will renew his covenant with the church so that his own covenantal authenticity brings his people to a full realization of redemption through him. Therefore, the purpose of initiating, establishing, and fulfilling these covenants, God intended to establish a relationship with mankind and ultimately their redemption.
In the time of the Old Testament, as well as in tribal lands today, blood covenants between tribes are very common. As part of the ritual, the head of each tribe exchange their armor, weapons and crops. Signifying that everything one tribe has, also belongs to the other. And in times of war, one tribe will stand by the other tribe till death, no matter whose fault it is. Then, a cut is made on the wrists of both tribal leaders and connected. Doing this states that they are now as one tribe. And the only way out of the covenant is death. We see a similar act made between David and Jonathan, hence why Mephibosheth was given a seat at David’s table.
And so, through this blood covenant that God made with man, He takes on everything that we have. All of our sin, sickness, pain and our rags and we put on His robe of righteousness and His armor. And on the cross, one hole in the wrist for God and the other for humanity.
Because of this covenant, The authority given to us in the conception of our creation has been expounded.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth...Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26, 28)
Image - צֶלֶם - image, likeness, idol (“Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’?” (John 10:34 NKJV))
Likeness - דְּמוּת - modeling, shaping, and resembling in the same manner of
Fill the earth - מָלָא - replenish and consecrate
Subdue - כָּבַשׁ - bring under the authority of
From the beginning of creation, we were made in the Likeness of who He is (1 John 4:8). And from the beginning, we have been given the authority of Heaven to rule this domain and bring the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. And now in greater measure through the covenant, every place the sole of our feet tread upon become consecrated land where Heaven resides. Through the mandate of humanity from its conception, through the power and authority given to trample on serpents and scorpions bring the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the consecrated place, all things must bow before the name that is above every name, whom we represent. All sickness, death, and lack must bow. Every knee must confess that Jesus is King over all.
References
The Holy Bible
Barrick, W. D. (1999). The Mosaic Covenant. The Master's Seminary Journal, 10(2), 213-232.
Dean D. A. 2014) Covenant, conditionality, and consequence: new terminology and a case study in the Abrahamic covenant. Journal of The Evangelical Theological Society [serial online]. June 2014;57(2):281-308. Available from: ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 12, 2017.
