The story in Luke 10 of the commissioning of the 72 is critically important for our approach to spiritual warfare. You may recall that “the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go” (Luke 10:1). The 72 were “others,” which is to say, they were other than the apostles. They are anonymous followers of Jesus, ordinary men and women like you and me.

We continue in Luke 10 where it says, “the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions [standard biblical language for demonic powers], and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you’” (Luke 10:17-19).

We are now prepared to ask a critical question: “Do we, the church, have this same authority today? Or was this a temporary endowment?” My answer is: “We have even greater authority!” I say this for several reasons.

First of all, remember that this commission and the authority and power it entailed was given to the 72, not simply to the 12. It isn't possible to restrict this authority to a select few. Jesus' selection of 72 is surely in anticipation of the world-wide mission of the entire body of Christ. The 72 were not uniquely gifted or specially called people with high office or position in the body of Christ. They were ordinary followers of Jesus, just like you and me.

Second, we live and operate on this side of the cross, subsequent to the defeat of Satan. In other words, their authority and power, prior to the cross, can hardly be regarded as equivalent to ours, subsequent to the cross.

Third, similarly, we live and operate on this side of Pentecost. In other words, we operate with the fullness of the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit. They did not. We have also received the fullness of divine authorization as stated in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-19).

Fourth, Christians often forget or fail to fully appreciate the fact that we have been raised up and seated with the exalted Lord, under whose feet all principalities and powers have been subjected (Eph. 1:19-2:7; Col. 2:9-10).

Fifth, and finally, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. In other words, the evidence of authority is the exercise of authority. One need only read numerous texts of the authority and power operative in the early church, following the ascension of Jesus, to see confirmation of this point (I suggest you read closely Acts 5:16; 8:7; 16:18; 19:12-16; 2 Cor. 10:3-4; Eph. 6:10-13; James 4:7; 1 Pt. 5:8; 1 John 2:13-14).

Praise God for this impartation of authority! May we faithfully depend on the name and power of Jesus, through the Spirit, to help facilitate the freedom of so many who are oppressed by the enemy.