Mark 16:17-18 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; (18) they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
We have seen in the previous section that the Lord has delegated His authority in the earth to His church; the main purpose being so that they can destroy the works of the devil. And so in this section we want to discuss the two main weapons available to the saints, which they can use to enforce their authority over Satan and his demons. A useful analogy to explain the believer’s interaction with the devil and his cohorts is to look at the interaction which takes place between police officers and criminals. Obviously in this analogy the police officer represents the believer while the criminal represents the devil. When police officers confront criminals, very often it becomes necessary for them to use force in order to subdue said criminals. And so in order to assist the police officers in subduing said criminals, the police officers have various weapons available to them, such as tasers and firearms for example. In a similar manner when believers confront demons, they too have certain spiritual weapons available to them in order to deal with said demons. In the above quoted passage of scripture Jesus taught us that the very first sign which would follow those who believe, is that they would cast out demons in His name. And so we see that the first weapon available to the saints is the name of Jesus. Clearly Satan and his cohorts are unable to resist the name of Jesus, for God has decreed that every knee must bow to that name. And so we see that demons are forced to obey any instruction given to them using the name of Jesus. In illustration of this point it is interesting to note that by using the name of Jesus, even unbelievers can exercise authority over the devil and his demons. For our Lord taught us that it will be revealed on the day of judgement that even those whom He has never known and who practiced lawlessness, were nevertheless able to cast out demons through the use of His name (Matthew 7:22). There is also the account of the apostle John mentioning to Jesus that, because they weren’t the Lord’s disciples, he and the apostles had stopped certain men from using the name of Jesus to cast out demons. Our Lord’s response to John was that, even if they were not His disciples, the apostles should not prevent people from using His name (Luke 9:49-50). And so clearly if even unbelievers can exercise authority over demons using the name of Jesus, then how much more should the church, which has every right to the use of His name, do the same.
Matthew 4:3-11 “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." (4) But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' “(5) Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, (6) and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angles charge over You,' and, in their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash your foot against a stone.' “(7) Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' “(8) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (9) And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." (10) Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.' “(11) Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”
Just as the saints have access to the name of Jesus; so it is that they also have access to the word of God. The bible refers to the word of God as being the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). And so we see that the second spiritual weapon available to the saints is the word of God. This is another weapon which Satan and his demons have no ability to withstand. So how should the saints use this weapon? In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that every time Satan tried to tempt the Lord Jesus, He would counter the devil’s temptation with the words “it is written”. In other words Jesus countered every temptation by quoting God’s word on the subject. And so we see that by quoting the word of God, that eventually the devil was forced to depart from Jesus. But I want you to notice that the devil also knows God’s word, for in this passage we see the devil quoting the bible to Jesus. Nevertheless we can see from this passage that when the devil quotes God’s word that he distorts it, for even though it was true that God had given His angels charge over Jesus, it would have been presumptuous of the Lord to cast Himself off the temple roof just to prove it. And so Jesus countered the devils’ distortion by correctly quoting God’s word on the subject. We see a principle here; which is that when Satan quotes God’s word he distorts it in an attempt to persuade the believer to act presumptuously and thus commit sin. And so we see from this account how the saints should use the sword of the Spirit against the devil and his demons. Whenever saints encounter any form of demonic attack then they should quote to the devil what God’s word says about the subject in question. And if the devil attempts to respond by distorting God’s word, then the saints should counter that distortion with the correct rendering of God’s word on the subject.
Michael E.B. Maher
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