Does a believer have authority over Satan?

But there is another thing that characterizes the millennium — the binding of Satan in the abyss. Can the church bind Satan? Will anyone tell me that Satan can be absolutely hindered from deceiving the world by men? But there can be no universal blessing for the world till he is bound; and every Christian must acknowledge that God alone can either bind or crush Satan. He may employ an angel, or associate the saints with Himself, as it is said in Rom. 16:20, "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." The church is united to Christ, and then will be actually with Him who, as the woman's seed, is to bruise the serpent's head; but the power is in Christ, and not in the church. He will put down all adversaries when that day of judgment comes; as it is said, "He will smite the nations, and rule them with a rod of iron." (Rev. 19.) And we shall do the same in virtue of our association with Christ. (Rev. 2.) In the reign of peace (Rev. 20:4, 6) we shall still be associated with Him. It is by the church in its heavenly condition, not while we are on the earth, that Satan will be thus bruised.

Armour is provided, the whole armour of God; which we must take to us to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Many can bear his roar, who are overcome by his wiles. Israel could calmly contemplate the high walls of Jericho, knowing God was with them, but were utterly worsted by the wily Gibeonites. How treacherous are our poor hearts! How unfit to be trusted! We are only exhorted to "stand"; the bruising under our feet is not yet, though shortly (Rom. 16:20). One shudders sometimes at the light and vain talk so prevalent today, concerning the power of the enemy, and our power over him and his works. We need to remember the word not to speak evil of dignities, and Michael's reply to Satan, "the Lord rebuke thee." "He durst not bring against him a railing accusation" (2 Peter 2:10-11; Jude 9, 10). The utmost we can hope to do in "the evil day" (God's way of describing the whole of the present period) is to "stand": happy the saint who is able to do so.

And the elders are specially exhorted. How beautifully does he appeal for his warrant in this to the sufferings of Christ and His waiting glories, standing on the line which linked these contrasted things, as a witness of the one and a partaker of the other. How pathetically does he commend to their disinterested care and solicitude the flock of God, that they should feed and take oversight thereof. Himself an elder and a shepherd of the sheep (John 21:15-17), he points to the epiphany of the chief Shepherd, and the unfading crown of glory He would then bestow. The younger are exhorted to submit to the elder; yea, all to be girded with humility toward one another, humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of Him who, resisting the proud, giveth grace to the humble, and will exalt us in due time. Meanwhile the cares are to be cast where once were the sins - "upon Him;" for He careth for us. We are to be sober, to be watchful; for fearfully alert is Satan, making much mischief now by his serpent wiles, as then he sought to destroy as a lion roaring upon his prey, whom resist steadfast in the faith. This implies that we have not to attack him, nor to encounter him in conflict; but simply resisting him, the issue is as certain as it is prompt - "he shall flee from you."

Nevertheless, the mighty contest with the powers of darkness admits of no negligence on our part. We cannot afford to be unguarded anywhere. We have to stand, not so much against the strength of the devil (Christ did this) as against his wiles. In truth, he is to us a vanquished foe in the cross; and we are entitled always to treat him as such. Therefore, says James, (James 4:7), "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." It is his artifices that are chiefly and always to be dreaded; and to resist these we need to put on the panoply of God, as it is added here: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places."

We have now, in closing, a look at the hindrances that there will surely be to the filling just such a position as the epistle gives us. The highest position is that which will be most strongly contested. That in which we are most distinctly Christian, the enemy will oppose with all his power. The conflict in Ephesians is not conflict with the flesh. There is no question that Satan must work upon the flesh if he is to succeed in it. That is true, but we are never exactly called to conflict with the flesh. The lusts of the flesh war against the soul. We are not to war with them, but to abstain from them. If we are "dead to sin" and to reckon ourselves dead, that is not fighting. If there be conflict, it is the result of not having reckoned ourselves dead. Here, however, it is an enemy who is contemplated, and we must not think that the height of our position and the blessedness of the things which are set before us here will bring us upon ground unassailable to the enemy. When Israel got to Canaan, it was just there that they had to fight, and fight for the possession of that which God made their own. We have to remember what is the great point of the conflict here therefore, a conflict which we shall little feel if we are not bent upon possessing ourselves of what is our own. On the other hand, if to lay hold of these heavenly things is the earnest desire of our souls, we shall find, nevertheless, that we need all the strength which is ours and all the resources of God for us, in order to prevail in the conflict. The very first point here is that strength is to be "in the Lord." We are to fight "in the power of His might." How comforting is that title which is given to Christ here! He is, in fact, the Lord of all, and though Satan may seem to have things here entirely under his sway, yet after all, he is a beaten foe, and only part of the "all things" that "work together for good to those that love God."

That does not mean that we can afford to be careless in the least with regard to it. On the contrary, we must "put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand." It will not do to have part of it firmly on and some other part wanting. Satan will be keen to observe the deficiency, and we cannot be rightly for God if we are not for Him in every way. It is, in fact, — as we shall see directly, — this being for Him in every respect, that is our armor to withstand the enemy. Let us notice that it is "against the wiles of the devil" that we have to stand, not against his power, for he has none in the presence of God, but his "wiles" are things that test us. We must have the wisdom of God to meet them with. We must be able to discern "things that differ;" error in its nicest shades and its closest approximation to the truth. It is the devil we are meeting, and that gives character to his assaults. He is the accuser, the accuser of the brethren, the accuser of God, surely, to the brethren. His whole aim is to put distance between the soul and God. If he cannot do that, we are safe. But the struggle then is not against flesh and blood; it is not such a struggle, after all, as Israel under Joshua had. Kings seemed to swarm in Canaan. There were abundance of principalities with which they had to deal, all of which have a correspondence in our case. Against us are principalities and powers, "the rulers of the darkness of this world." Here is a hint, — more than that, — of the method of attack. The darkness is the "darkness of this world." It is the world which Satan knows how to use and which he will bring in to cloud our perception as Christians, our realization of the things that are our own.

We are not told what length of time elapsed before the seventy returned (v.17), but when returning they were filled with joyful enthusiasm, reporting to the Lord that even the demons were subject to them through His name. Actually, they should have expected this since the Lord had sent them for this. He did not encourage their excitement over the work, though He spoke of beholding Satan fall from heaven as will occur when the Great Tribulation is about to begin (Rev.12:9-14). Divine power alone will do this at the appointed time. Meanwhile the Lord said He gave the disciples authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, referring to the enmity of demons (v.19). The disciples too would be protected from the harm that satanic power would desire to inflict. But this was not for the purpose of drawing attention to the messengers, but to Him, the blessed Lord of glory, who Himself gave this authority.

Joys. — Without purse, wallet, or shoes the seventy went forth; and they returned to the Lord with joy, for even the demons, they found, were subject to them in Christ's name. There was power to deal with those spirits which tyrannised over men. The name of the Lord Jesus was omnipotent in that warfare, and His messengers could use it effectively. Joy filled their hearts, and they told it out to the Lord. "Subject to us," they said; not going in thought beyond themselves. But the Lord took at once a comprehensive view of it all. He knew what that presaged — the downfall of the enemy. They spoke of the demons. He spoke of Satan. "I beheld," He said, "Satan as lightning fall from heaven." The subjection of the demons to His name was the earnest of complete victory over all the power of the enemy. As yet men might not, did not see that. It was as the cloud like a man's hand, which Elijah's servant saw. But, as that cloud increased till it overspread the whole heavens, so the power of the enemy, which had begun to give way, would be completely annulled, and his final overthrow was certain. In the meantime the Lord would give His servants power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: "and nothing," He added, "shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice, because your names are written in the heavens" (10:20). The grace they shared in, of which that power was a proof, and not the exercise of that power, should be their cause of rejoicing. Man naturally values power; and covets to wield it. The greater thing, the more blessed thing, is to be a partaker of divine grace, and to belong to heaven, from which Satan will be expelled (Rev. 12:7-8).

We may well pause in the presence of such a statement, and exclaim, Who is sufficient for such a mission? Lest any, therefore, should be overwhelmed at the thought of what they might deem to be a tremendous responsibility, let it be remembered that He who sends us out to act in His name, sustains us in the mission with all His power. No one goes to warfare at his own charges at any time. His name, indeed, when rightly borne and used, carries omnipotence with it. Thus when the seventy returned to the Lord, they said, "Lord, even the devils are subject, unto us" (not "through," as rendered, but) "in Thy name." "Yea," replied the Lord, "behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy." The mission and the power for its accomplishment are thus intimately connected; only faith, faith in activity, is the essential condition for the use of the power. This truth needs to be earnestly insisted upon at the present time, if there is to be a revival, or recovery, before the Lord's return. It is written, "all things are possible to him that believeth"; we read the words, do not doubt them, and yet we seldom think of the possibility of their being verified in our own experience. A saint of olden time knew the secret when he wrote, "Lord, give what Thou commandest, and then command what Thou wilt." Even so, for it is only by the Lord's own power that the smallest of His precepts can be translated into practice; while it is equally true that His largest behests are as easy of performance as the smallest, inasmuch as adequate power is ever at the service of faith. This is seen in the case of the man with the withered hand. How could he stretch forth an arm that was dry and dead? He believed, and divine power flowed into his dead arm; he stretched it forth, and lo! it "was restored whole as the other."

This was the mind of the blessed Lord on now sending out His messengers; and on their return with a report of their labours, He anticipates the fall of Satan. A little sample of power in the hands of the Seventy hints this result to Him. But, after expressing it, He turns to check in His disciples the looking chiefly at power, telling them there was something for them richer than that, even a name in heaven, a memorial with a Father there; and however excellent authority over devils might be, or power in the earth, yet that memorial was happier still. It is not that He undervalues power, or withdraws it from them. Nay, He rather rejoices in it, and confirms it in their hands, saying, "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions." But the home in heaven of the children is to be still more precious than the power on earth of the heirs of God.

The Mission of the Twelve. — A further step is now taken by the Lord: He sends out the twelve on their mission of grace, to heal and to preach. With both power and authority He endowed them, a power which demons could not overcome, an authority which they could not resist. We have seen how the demons at Gadara confessed openly their inability to stir one step except by the Lord's express permission. Now on men the Lord conferred power over all demons, and to cure diseases likewise. Over men these malignant beings tyrannised. Over all demoniacal agency the twelve were to have authority, but an authority delegated by the Lord. He dealt with demons because of who He is — God over all, blessed for evermore. The disciples could only act as authorised and empowered by Him. To cure diseases, too, were they sent, both these inflictions being consequences of the fall. Vast indeed were the powers now conferred on them, for in those fields just mentioned no limit to them was assigned yet limited they were, for there was a domain which lay outside the area of the Apostles' commission, though that too was completely subject to their Master. He could turn water into wine; He could bring fish to Peter's net; He could rebuke both wind and waves. Such things no disciple could do. Thus in giving and in withholding His deity was displayed. He gave them power over all demons: no one but God could do that. He wielded, too, power over nature, and nature's forces, in His own name, a prerogative which belongs to the Creator.