The Importance of Exousia: The Power to Exercise Choice

[GerWat]

Interesting article: 
http://www.warsofgod.com/01_the_importance_of_exousia.html

The Importance of Exousia: The Power to Exercise Choice
By Stens Christensen, excerpted from Getting Your Head Around Exousia: The Power to Exercise Choice

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the exousia to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12, KJV)
Exousia is generally translated as 'authority' or 'power', but in the original Greek it literally refers to the power to exercise choice.

Exousia is ancient. It was given to the race of angels who were in existence before God created the physical universe, as they are seen shouting for joy at the creation of the Earth in Job 38:4-7. After God created the Earth, He gave exousia to the recently created race of humans. From the actions of Helel (Lucifer, Satan, the Devil) to the current distresses on this present Earth, exousia is the cause of almost all drama, from Genesis to Revelation, and many bloody conflicts and wars across history have been fought over it.

exousia is the central system by which god governs his people

When God created humans, he had a simple system. People were to live together with one another as something called 'neighbors.' In this simple system, the relationship of neighbors had some basic boundaries, which were later enumerated by Moses (the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20:1-17), which stated that one was not to harm the person of his neighbor ('thou shalt not kill'), nor take or harm the property of his neighbor ('thou shalt not steal', or 'take your neighbor's wife'), nor harm the reputation or character of his neighbor ('thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor'), and one was not to even secretly desire or be jealous of that which his neighbor has ('thou shalt not covet').

God gave humans the power to exercise choice to do no harm to his neighbor, and also the choice to, whenever possible, help, comfort, or give any assistance that his neighbor or neighbors may need from time to time. Doing this would result in what is called 'storing up treasure in heaven,' or establishing your reward and your status in God's eternity.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal." (Matthew 6:19-20, NASB)
exousia is the central system by which god rewards and ranks his children

God has determined to destroy this current heaven and earth and replace it with a new earth.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35, NASB)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10, NASB)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. (Revelation 21:1, NASB)
This present Earth would not be a comfortable place to stay for an extended amount of time. It orbits a sun, which is a highly unstable thermo-nuclear furnace spewing out deadly cosmic radiation. The earth is filled with a multitude of pathogenic microbes, viruses, bacterium, and fungi, which can make you sick or even kill you.

The Earth has venomous insects and reptiles which sting and bite, some of which also can kill you, and the larger mammals will eat you if given the chance. The Earth is also subject to storms, earthquakes, freezing cold and searing heat, all of which are very annoying. No, God has determined to do away with this creation in favor of better one, which God has even decided to dwell on with his loyal angels and humans.

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:12-14, NASB)
When Jesus Christ comes back to establish this new earth, the means by which He uses to determine which humans have a character and nature that is most compatible with His own and able to dwell with or near Him is by their deeds, in other words, by their exousia.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21, NASB)
Humans, by their choices, form and reveal their character. Some humans who consistently use their power to exercise choice to help and benefit their neighbors, even at their own expense (e.g. Mother Teresa, Francis Assisi, etc.), are the most likely to win the highest reward, which is the prize: to have the name of God written on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4) and to be able to come in and out and dwell in the New Jerusalem; the City of God, where God himself will dwell. The rest will have to dwell outside of the city and are not allowed to enter. They are those who use their exousia for their own selfish purposes and even to the detriment of their neighbors.

"Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying." (Revelation 22:15, NASB)
Even though they are saved, their use or misuse of exousia while living on earth will determine how near or far they dwell from the city of God and its light. Some of God's children who are exceptionally selfish and ambitious will wind up on the very darkest side, which is sometimes called outer darkness (Matthew 8:12, 25:30).

If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:14-15, NASB)
The New Earth and the City of God
exousia is the system that helel (satan) wants to destroy

The enemy of God, the fallen archangel Helel (Isaiah 14:12) who is also known as Lucifer or the Devil Satan, is openly hostile to God's simple and efficient neighbor system. And in Earth's early human history, Helel instituted an opposing system, which today we generally call 'The State.' It works like this: instead of respecting your neighbor's person, property, reputation, etc., the people of Helel — known as children of the Devil or servants of Satan — were to instead kill or enslave their neighbors and take their property, thereby enlarging their own property.

After doing this many times, they will amass enough people and property and extract enough tribute to buy soldiers, giving them the power to create a small state. Afterward, they will attack other small states, each time absorbing them and enlarging their own state. This will proceed to its logical conclusion until there is only one remaining global super state left. This is called their 'great plan,' to have a singular global super state with one language, one economy, and one religion (which of course will deify Lucifer), thereby creating what they consider to be world peace.

At this particular point in time, these servants of Satan will have at their disposal enormous financial resources, far reaching international political power, and military resources. And their agenda is obviously greatly different from God's golden rule, "treat others the same way you want them to treat you" (Luke 6:31, NASB).

The problem with the Helel-Luciferian state system is that once people are subjugated under it, their power to exercise choice is almost entirely stripped away. This is because its originator, Helel, was also given exousia, which he used, choosing to try to overthrow and replace God. Helel, being keenly aware of how he used his own exousia, certainly will not allow those in his state system to in turn attempt to overthrow him. Therefore, the best way to keep his people from overthrowing him is through a policy of removing exousia.

the abrogation (taking away) of exousia is the catalyst for the imminent tribulation

Whenever the Helel-Luciferian System takes global control, it means that God's people on the earth are not able to form and reveal their character. This is very dangerous. The first time this happened was in the days of Noah. The very crude translation in Genesis 6:11, that God destroyed the Earth and all who dwelled in it because it was "filled with violence," does not accurately represent what happened. This word "violence" is chamas, which in the original language literally means "injustice" and "oppression". These terms are political terms and not merely simple acts of physical violence. Humans had given themselves over to a sophisticated, unjust, and oppressive political system on the Earth at that time.

By abrogating (taking away) the gift of exousia, this political system was deemed evil enough to provoke God to annihilate the entire human race except for the family of Noah, who by Peter is called a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), and who had found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8).

God is very hostile towards this Helel-Luciferian system of the State, which is indicated by His severe reaction to the people of Israel when they had asked to become a Nation-State like the others around them. God considers choosing to become a State as a rejection of Him.

So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a king. He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day." (1 Samuel 8:10-18, NASB)
When American Christians framed the US constitution, they understood the importance of exousia, but knew they had to form some sort of a state in order to defend against other states. So the framers tried to create a constitution that would severely limit the control of the state over exousia. By framing a constitution based on Judeo-Christian principles, this constitution's righteousness (which means 'separated for God') would cause the land to be exalted, which has continued only until recently.

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. (Proverbs 14:34, NASB)
Jesus said that the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah (Luke 17:26, Matthew 24:37). The Helel-Luciferian system produced horrific judgment in Noah's days and will again produce it in the immediate future, as we now are currently moving towards the same global super state system, which is now being called the New World Order.

For the children of God, it is the lawmaker's responsibility to consistently stand against this Helel-Luciferian system, which has been forcefully imposing itself on the nations of the world. However, we know from biblical prophecy that this system will be so dominant and global that it will be the cause for the oppression and annihilation of many of God's children.

Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." (Matthew 24:9-13, NASB)

[marie glen]

Except for two things, perhaps, I agree with this article which you posted. Very interesting! I never thought of the state issue exactly like that.. or fully like that.. but I can see it now and think it is pretty much right on.

Of course, I believe, the big choice, of knowing Him, is a grace only especially bestowed by Him "..each in their own order" 1 Cor 15:23-28. And I also believe all "outside the city" and "outer darkness" though the destiny of all - if not for the intervention of God and His Great Plan of Salvation, is also temporary.

It can be amazing to us, that the earth as originally created by God didn't even have thorns and thistle's! And all, including the animals ate the herbs of the earth.. and not each other.. But man having been given dominion, when humanity fell, so did the earth.. But boy oh boy, do I ever look forward to that new earth where the "lion will eat straw like the ox and the bear will graze with the cow"!
:banana: Very good article, thanks for posting it! :thumbsup:

[RonnyTX]

 The best news is, no matter what comes, God is in full control of all things. So in the end, all things will have worked out well and that for all people. :-)


"1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Redemption in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both[a] which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[c] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Ephesians 1:1,21

[eaglesway]

I very much enjoyed the article and in principle I see it as true, within its scope. I know some people who take that premise to some weird places, but if we look back to the tower of Babel story we see all those principles portrayed.

Their assault against God was not actual physical tower to reach heaven- the very idea is ridiculous. It was a ziggurat, upon which the Chaldeans ruled and sought to gain demonic power to posses and control the world as an empire- and neighborliness had no place in it- it was all about ascending to dominion as opposed to brotherhood and community.