I hear Christians all the time speaking of spiritual warfare and most of them claim to have the authority to bind Satan, cast out demons, heal the sick, and work miracles. I understand young Christians doing this for they have to sink before they can swim, but older Christians should know better. They should be more in tune with the will of God and the Holy Spirit who guides us in all the truth.
When speaking of the armor of God from Ephesians 6 they hone in on verse 12, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Their takeaway from this verse is usually one of impending doom from these rulers, and forces of darkness and wickedness in the heavenly places. They feel like this is so dangerous they need authority to conquer. They fail to realize Satan’s goal.
The devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, but how does he seek to accomplish it? He tries to get us to disobey our God. He picks at things that we are weak in, like our fleshly desire to take control of our lives, rather than giving God control. If the Lord tells us to clean a public restroom we have just used, we are tempted to talk ourselves out of doing it, and the devil gives us reason after reason why we shouldn’t clean the restroom. This is how he works; this is his modus operandi.
Many have latched on to the teaching that every Christian has the authority of Christ and rather than resist the devil, they bind him. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard people doing this.
If any reading this letter believes they have the authority to bind the devil and have bound him, I have some bad news for them — he is still prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. If they bound him in their name, understandably, he’s still on the prowl. But if they bound him in the name of Jesus, what does that say about the power in the name of Jesus? If they are correct in that they have the authority of Christ to bind Satan, then Satan is more powerful than Jesus, for he just ignores the name of Jesus, prances along his way unimpeded by their commands, and continues to prowl around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
This is very serious; those who do such things are lifting themselves up to the level of the Son of God who lived a life without sin before He was given all authority. Rather than submit to authority, they claim to have authority and revile angelic majesties. Michael the archangel didn’t dare bring a railing accusation against Satan, but instead said, “The Lord rebuke you,” Jude 1:9. These people do the opposite.
How does the word of God tell us to handle the temptations of the devil? It says we are to resist the devil and he will flee from us. We resist him through faith in the name of Jesus, believing He has overcome Satan’s power, and our Heavenly Father, in turn, provides us with a way of escape from every temptation common to man, 1 Corinthians 10:13.
This requires discipline on our part. To be disciplined one must submit to a higher authority than oneself. Christians must submit to their Father and go through trials of fire so that the dross will be removed from their faith. Discipline is hard to learn and the sinful self wants no part of it. So, instead of enduring trials, many claim to have the authority of Christ and use the name of Jesus and convince themselves that all is well. Jesus will one day say to all who refused to learn discipline from the things which they suffered, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness; I never knew you,” Matthew 7:23. The word of God says that all who do not learn discipline are illegitimate children, and not sons, Hebrews 12:8.
In Ephesians 6:10-17, Paul explains the strategy of our war plan:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.
11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up the FULL armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.
17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Please notice there is no mention of having or using authority, none whatsoever. Jesus is the savior; we are the saved. And we are saved through faith in Him. We walk by faith, talk by faith, and live by faith; our faith is IN JESUS. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth and He uses that authority to care for all who believe in Him, all who call upon His name, not all who use His name.
May God give each of us the determination and the fortitude to humble ourselves before Him and learn obedience from the things which we suffer, to the end that Christ may be manifested in us and the light in our hearts may penetrate darkness everywhere we go and in everything we do. May we be faithful servants of God who stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
May God bless everyone who reads this letter and takes it to heart.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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