A centurion who was considerate of the welfare of his servant came to Jesus when he fell sick. He wanted the Master to intervene and heal him. Jesus offered to follow him home to minster to the servant, but he felt that was not necessary. He believed that a word from Jesus would get the job done. He drew from his military background. In the old Roman army structure, the chain of command was that a centurion took orders from Senior centurion or Primus pilus who reported to Military tribunes, to Legate, to Provincial governor, and finally to the Emperor. Of course, below the centurion were a number of orders who looked up to him. The liberty that a centurion had to command his soldiers was tied to submission to his own superior.

Make no mistake about this: learning obedience will come at some cost…Our obedience to the Lord is what puts us in position of authority to subdue all powers of the devil.

Interestingly, one of the metaphors employed to describe believers is that of soldering. Every child of God must go through their obedience school. Without this, we will not be able to wield authority as God intends. Ability to pick instructions from the Spirit and act accordingly is cardinal in turning out as Kingdom ambassadors. Even Jesus had to go to learn obedience at a price. Though He is divine, the moment He took on human flesh He needed to learn what it meant to obey the Father. Make no mistake about this: learning obedience will come at some cost. Hebrews 5:8 says, – “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Our obedience to the Lord is what puts us in position of authority to subdue all powers of the devil.