I’ve always been fascinated by passages of scripture in which Satanic forces recognized Jesus, sometimes even before His own people knew his true identity.
In Matthew 8:28-29, Jesus was met by two violent, demon-possessed men who shouted at Him, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
In Mark 1:21-24, Jesus encountered a man possessed by an evil spirit. The spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”
The demons in these accounts knew Jesus was the Son of God and that He had the power to command and destroy them. James 2:19 tells us that demons know there is only one true God and they shudder at the thought of Him! And knowing that God never changes – that He remains the same yesterday, today, and forever – His Name is no less powerful in our generation. The very thought of God or the mention of His Name still has the same shuddering effect on hell.
Friends, the end of the story has been written since eternity past, and Satan has always known what awaits him and his demons – that their time is short and their power limited and that there is an appointed time at which they will be utterly defeated and cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. In the time he has left, Satan will attempt to destroy us with sin and death, but we need to recognize that the final chapter has already been authored and that believers (i.e. Christ followers) are eternally secure in Jesus. Growing up, I used to love watching the comedian Flip Wilson on TV. One of his most famous lines was, “The devil made me do it.” All humor aside, the TRUTH is that Satan has NO authority over the children of God. He cannot make us do anything.
We also need to remind ourselves that by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit – our Helper and Comforter, He enables us to overcome sin. In James 4:7, the Bible tells us to “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Unfortunately, we oftentimes only half-heartedly push back let alone put up a real, knock-down, drag-out fight. The reality is that we are at war. That’s exactly what Paul writes about in Romans 7 – our flesh waging war against the Holy Spirit within us…the natural fighting with the spiritual.
For at least all my American friends, I would assume that, unless you have been living under a rock, you have seen the movie “Wizard of Oz.” Remember the scene where Glinda, the Good Witch of the North tells the Wicked Witch of the West, “You have no power here! Be gone before somebody drops a house on you too!” Although the Christian life ain’t Hollywood fantasy, the principle of Glinda’s statement holds true for us as Christians. Whatever battles are raging in our lives, whatever demonic foe is confronting us, whatever threats the devil is making, whatever temptation he dangles before us, we have the authority IN THE NAME OF JESUS to resist and rebuke Satan. LET’S EXERCISE IT!