COMFORT IN TRIALS
Binding What Has Been Bound in the Heavens
and Loosing What Has Been Loosed in the Heavens
Matt. 18:18 Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
The Ascended Christ Having Given Us the Authority
After His resurrection the Lord told the disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. The Lord also told us clearly that He has given us the authority to overcome the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). The enemy has power, but the Body has authority. Authority is much stronger than power. Christ as the Head has the authority, and as His Body, we automatically have this authority also. This is not a small matter. We have this authority, but whether or not we exercise it is up to us.
Binding What Has Been Bound in the Heavens
and Loosing What Has Been Loosed in the Heavens
Since the Body shares the authority of the Head, the Lord told His disciples that whatever they bound on earth would have been bound in heaven, and whatever they loosed on earth would have been loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19; 18:18). When we pray with the authority of the Body, anything that we loose on the earth will be something that has already been loosed in the heavens, and anything that we bind on the earth will be something that has already been bound in the heavens. Because the Body is one with the Head in the heavens, the Body has the authority to bind or loose what has already been bound or loosed in the heavens.
Executing What He Has Already Done
through Our Prayer
If we have the vision that we are the Body of the Head and that the Head has ascended to the heavens and is now transcendent, we will take the ground and claim what the Lord has attained. We will simply claim, proclaim, and declare to the sickness, “Do not trouble me; you are under my feet!” We can deal with sins, weakness, and worldliness in the same way. We should not deal with these things like a beggar. We can tell all these negative things, “Do not bother me. Go to the lake of fire! I am transcendent. You cannot touch me. You are under my feet.” Whenever the devil hears this kind of prayer, he runs away. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 1, “Prayer on the Ground of Christ’s Ascension,” ch. 2 )
We must exercise our spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus, standing on all these verses to claim something for the Lord’s recovery. We must pray in a claiming way, not in a begging way. But we must be one with Him. If the work we are doing is not of Him, with Him, in Him, and for Him, we cannot claim anything. The only thing we can do in such a situation is beg. However, if we are doing something that is of Him and we are one with Him, it is not necessary for us to beg. We need only to claim and proclaim, “Lord, You have done all things; now we execute what You have already done. We bind what You have already bound, and we release what You have already released. We forgive what You have forgiven, and we retain what You have retained.” This is the proper way for us to pray in His service. (CWWL, 1969, vol. 1, “Serving the Lord by Seeing the Heavenly Vision,” ch. 1)
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, praise You that You have resurrected and ascended. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to You and You have given this authority to us that we can bind what You have already bound and loose what You have already loosed. Lord, I am willing to exercise the spirit to be one with You, and stand in the transcendent position of ascension to proclaim: Lord, You have done all things; now we execute what You have already done.