Debby Stickfort

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The Work of Christ

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 Woollen and Linen

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Jim Joyce - When I was 16, I decided to leave home and live on the street.  I thought real living was having fun and going after a thrill.  I became a regular user of drugs and alcohol. In my parents' home, God and spiritual things were most important. Just as I decided to leave the house, it occurred to me, “If I leave, I will leave behind the gospel. This will be my final decision to reject God.” It was as real as if I was opening a door and walking into hell. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to be lost. I wanted to be saved...

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Jesus Tomb

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Tom Bentley

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Do Christians have the ability or the authority to bind Satan?

No. Instead of confronting the Devil with strong language, we need to approach God with our needs and let Him deal with the situation whatever the problem may be.

Despite the frequent claims from some quarters of Christian churches that believers should “bind” Satan through strong prayers or demands against him, there is no basis in Scripture for a believer to be “binding” Satan.

An example of the error

A prayer to “bind” Satan usually takes the form of something like this:

“In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, I come against you, Satan, the Prince of Darkness to bind you, paralyzing your power, forbidding you to come near this person and influencing her thinking.  I demand that you leave her immediately!”

By “binding” Satan, claims are made to be able to paralyze Satan or silence him or forbid him from influencing a person.  As powerful as this commanding prayer may sound, it is unscriptural.  Nobody in the history of the Bible ever spoke to Satan this way, nor are we commanded to speak to him like this.

How to oppose Satan

The believer can oppose Satan by correctly teaching and applying the truth of Scripture to our doctrine and behavior.  Two examples of this command to oppose Satan are found in 1 John 4:1-14" TARGET="_blank">1 John 4:1-14 and James 4:7." TARGET="_blank">James 4:7.

In 1 John 4," TARGET="_blank">1 John 4, the way to overcome Satan is to hold to sound teaching in regards to the divinity of Jesus Christ.  He is truly God and truly a man.  Any claim to the contrary is a doctrine of Satan that must be corrected.

1 John 4:1-4" TARGET="_blank">1 John 4:1-4  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  (2)  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,  (3)  and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.  (4)  Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

In James 4:7," TARGET="_blank">James 4:7, the command to “resist” the Devil does not imply chastise, bind, scold, paralyze or attack Satan.  Rather it is to yield oneself to God for His will.  What is the attack that Satan is utilizing in James 4" TARGET="_blank">James 4?  What form of demon is apparent here?  The first few verses of the chapter tell us that the Devil is behind our selfishness, quarreling and intense covetousness. Resisting Satan implies yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit who gives us his character which is seen in the fruit that He produces in us according to Galatians 5:22-26." TARGET="_blank">Galatians 5:22-26.

James 4:1-10" TARGET="_blank">James 4:1-10  What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  (2)  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.  (3)  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.  (4)  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  (5)  Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?  (6)  But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  (7)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  (8)  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  (9)  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  (10)  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Satan will be bound

Satan indeed will be “bound” by an angel for 1,000 years during the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3)." TARGET="_blank">Revelation 20:1-3).  This means that Satan is as good as defeated already.  His end is known.  However, the work of binding him is done by the angel who in truth can paralyze his movements, stem his influence and shut his mouth.

Revelation 20:1-3" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 20:1-3  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.  (2)  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,  (3)  and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Avoid railing

The Scripture stresses that "Michael made not a railing accusation against Satan over Moses’ body" (Jude 1:9)." TARGET="_blank">Jude 1:9).  This shows us the seriousness in dealing with Satan.  It wasn’t for being too frail that Michael refrained from railing against Satan.  Michael the Archangel has power over the Devil. For example, there was a demon in the Book of Daniel who was withstanding an angel. Michael came to remove him without any difficulty (Daniel 10:13)." TARGET="_blank">Daniel 10:13).  In Revelation 12:7-9" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 12:7-9 Michael and the other angels fight and defeat Satan, casting him out.  Satan is just as good as defeated already.

The point that Jude is making that we need to be very careful in dealing with spiritual powers.  Again, looking at Jude 1:9," TARGET="_blank">Jude 1:9, Michael, the Archangel, did not dare to bind Satan, or even rebuke Satan. He deferred the job of rebuking Satan to the Lord GOD.  It’s awfully presumptuous to think I could exercise such authority. He is telling us to be very careful how you play around with that dimension, even Michael was careful not to get himself involved with Satan in an argument. The point there that is being made is not that Satan is a match for Michael, but that Michael recognized the fearfulness of dealing with the devil, and it’s a warning to the believer to stay away from those things, which are the manifestation of the devil.

Instead of confronting the Devil with strong language, we need to approach God with our needs and let Him deal with the situation.

Shad Sluiter

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Why in 2 Samuel 24" TARGET="_blank">2 Samuel 24 was it counted a sin in David to number the children of Israel, whereas Moses was commanded by God to do so? (Exodus 30:12)." TARGET="_blank">Exodus 30:12).

Perhaps the very point our questioner notes as to Moses having been commanded to take the census of the people goes some way toward solving this difficulty. A thing may be commanded at one time, and not at another. For instance, the Feast of Tabernacles was commanded to be observed on the I 5th day of the seventh month, but to keep the feast in the 8th month, as Jeroboam did “out of his own heart,” was a flagrant offence (1 Kings 12:32)." TARGET="_blank">1 Kings 12:32).  So, spurious imitations of God’s ordinances to-day become positive acts of disobedience; for instance, baptising infants, or making of the breaking of bread an idolatrous act, the “eucharist” or the mass. Moses was commanded in Exodus 17:6" TARGET="_blank">Exodus 17:6 to smite the rock, but when he did this in Numbers 20:11-12," TARGET="_blank">Numbers 20:11-12, it was counted a sin unto him. In Exodus 30." TARGET="_blank">Exodus 30. 12 the Lord gives a direction to be followed when an occasion arose for numbering the people—each one was to give a half shekel as a ransom for his soul unto the Lord. It was, so to speak, a recognition before the Lord that the life numbered was in reality forfeited and needed to be ransomed. There is no mention of this being observed in David’s case, though that was a command to the people in general. In Numbers 1:2, 3," TARGET="_blank">Numbers 1:2, 3, Jehovah commanded Moses to take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel—”From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel.” It was clearly a matter of order and importance that the number of the people should be known at the commencement of their desert journeyings, and it is given as 603,550. Then again in chap. 26, Moses and Eleazar were commanded to number the people at the close of their wanderings. They actually shewed a decrease of nearly 2,000, surely an eloquent commentary on the effect of their disobedience. Had they taken possession of the land when this was proposed to them they would, no doubt, have shown a large increase over a like period. In the case of David’s census, we read that “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and He moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah” (2 Samuel 24:1)," TARGET="_blank">2 Samuel 24:1), of which census a man of the world like Joab, and also the captains of the host, saw the futility. Joab’s words are remarkable; he expresses the desire that God might add a hundred-fold to the people, that the king might see the increase, i.e. without any need of a census. In 1 Chronicles 21:1" TARGET="_blank">1 Chronicles 21:1 we read, “Satan stood up against Israel,” which simply means that Jehovah in inflicting judgment on His people for their transgression, allowed Satan to move in the matter as His agent. Men may make difficulties and cavil at God’s ways, but He is Sovereign and He will be justified by all, when His ways and the secrets of men are known. In reality there was no command to David from Jehovah to number the people. It was an arbitrary act of self-will and self-glorying, resulting in the infliction of the plague on the very ones on whom God would inflict judgment. We see, then, in the “Samuel” account God in government carrying out His judgment on David and the people—He is the ultimate cause; but in the “Chronicles,” Satan is presented as the instrumental cause—He tempts David to engage in the path of self-will, and the King allows himself to be led astray and is responsible, as he admits himself (2 Samuel 24:17)." TARGET="_blank">2 Samuel 24:17). David, however, knows the grace of God, as well as His government, and his prayer is: “Let me fall now into the hands of the Lord; for His mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hands of man” (v. 14); and so he is led to build an altar unto the Lord and offer burnt-offerings and peace- offerings, typical of the sacrifice of Christ.

W.H.

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What is the true sense of Psalm 2:7" TARGET="_blank">Psalm 2:7?

There is no verse quoted so often as referring to the Incarnation by deniers of the Eternal Sonship of our Lord. Have they sufficient ground for this?

No, for to do so merely begs the question; it is exactly what has to be proved. The Psalm begins prophetically much later than the Incarnation, namely, with the rejection of Christ, for the apostles by the Spirit quote verse i, as fulfilled in His rejection by “both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel” (Acts 4:27)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 4:27). The Psalm is divided into four sections:

(1) Verses 1-3—the language of the rebels against Jehovah;

(2) Verses 4-6—Jehovah’s answer of derision and wrath. So sure is His purpose, that it is as if already executed: “Yet have I set My King upon My Holy hill of Zion,” though naturally this purpose did not begin then;

(3) Verses 7-9—the King Himself speaks: “I will declare the decree.” What decree? Would the Lord refer at such a juncture to His incarnation, which to the eyes of men has proved a failure by His rejection? No, it was the Eternal Decree, on which all God’s purposes rest, concerning the Eternal generation of the Son. “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee”;

(4) Verses 10-12 words of the Holy Ghost through David to living kings and judges of the earth, to be wise and serve the Lord NOW, and rejoice before Him. “Kiss the Son* lest He be angry and ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little, blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” The word “NOW” shows that this closing section is not prophetic at all, but was, we might say, a lesson drawn by David to his fellow-kings. In the language of to-day, he is turning the occasion to profit to lead them to repentance and reconciliation to the Divine Son. In “NOW” the sense is adversative, in contrast with what has gone before, and with the future reign, when it will be too late to turn. David warns his brother rulers of their present duty. Surely such an appeal, addressed in about 1030 B.C., to kings living at that date, to “kiss the Son,” (evidently a Divine Person, the equal of Jehovah), does bear witness to the Eternal Sonship of Him who was at once the progenitor of David, and later “made of his seed, according to the flesh.” How shallow then are the thoughts of those who deny the relation of the Son to our Lord in the Divine Trinity, on the ground that such a relation is not recognised in the Old Testament Scriptures! How soon, alas, the Scriptures become so far a closed book to those who close their eyes to its teachings!

Now, let us return to the immediate object of our consideration, namely, the words, “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee,” and enquire whether these words do indeed refer to the Incarnation. If so, we should expect to find them addressed to the Lord in the manger, or at any rate that some allusion to them would be found in the herald angels’ annoucement, but we search in vain for any reference to such a thing. All they say is, “Unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord,” but there is no hint that in that birth, a Divine Person, hitherto unknown, had become the Son of God. Not even do the words of Gabriel to Mary bear this meaning. In answer to Mary’s legitimate question, he makes a double statement:

(1) “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,” that is, “the Holy Ghost will become to thee the Divine Agent of thy conception,” or in the words of Matthew i, “Thou shalt be found with child of the Holy Ghost.” But that conception, unlike any other human birth, was to be of One who had already existed in another form, and who, by the fact of human birth, would enter into manhood. Hence we read:

(2) “The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee,” that is, a Divine Person shall, at the moment of the human conception by the Spirit, become flesh, or in other words, the Eternal Son will take to Himself perfect human nature in the womb of the Virgin. Hence the words of the Angel Gabriel:
“Therefore that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” To assert that Christ only became “the mighty God” at the Incarnation would be to deny His Deity; to assert that He only then became the Son of God is to deny His person. If the Babe were only Son of God by human birth, then the Incarnation was an exaltation, not a humbling, and must be the predominant truth of the New Testament, though we know that neither our Lord nor His disciples ever grounded their testimony to His Sonship on it. The Lord in the words of Jehovah’s decree, “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee,” goes back to the Eternal truth of Him as the Son. This He was “declared to be with power by the resurrection,” which, as Alford shows, is not less the subject of Romans z, because foreshadowed by resurrections on a lower plane. It does not mean that the Lord became Son at the resurrection, any more than at the Holy Mount, or at the Jordan, but that He was then “declared to be the Son of God with power.” Recognition of His Divine Sonship is repeated again and again, but the relation was Eternal.

Now, in considering the three-fold quotation of the words in the New Testament, if the Incarnation be ruled out in one case, it must be in all. Acts 13:33" TARGET="_blank">Acts 13:33 must refer to resurrection. In verse 23, certainly incarnation is in view, and the word in the best texts is agö= “to lead, to bring.” “God hath raised unto Israel a Saviour.” in verse 30, a general word is used for “raised” (egeiro), the same verb as in verse 22 of David’s appointment as king, but in verses 33 and 34 we have another verb altogether (anistmi), which is found eleven times in the Acts, of resurrection, while the substantive “anastasis” is translated “resurrection” thirty-nine times, out of its forty-one occurrences. As Alford says, “The meaning, ‘raised from the dead,’ in verses 33 and 34 is absolutely required by the context, both because the word is repeated with, ‘from among the dead,’ verse 34, and because the emphasis throughout is on the resurrection.”
In Hebrews 1:5" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 1:5 the reference is not only to resurrection, but to that eternal past, when He, the Risen, Glorified One, had received a name, that of Son, more excellent than angels, by inheritance. He was Son, before He was “appointed Heir of all things,” and before He created all things.
In Hebrews 5:5" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 5:5 the subject is Christ’s call to priesthood. This could not be by the fact of incarnation, seeing He was not of the priestly tribe of Aaron. He must first ascend, where another order reigns—that of Melchizedek, “made like unto the Son of God”—the chief point of which likeness, if not the only point, consisting in the fact that His eternity in the past as Son goes equally with His eternity in the future.

Some have attempted to divide the decree into two: “Thou art My Son,” referring to the Eternal Sonship; and “This day have I begotten Thee,” to the Incarnation. To our mind, this seems forced and unjustified by the context. It arises from a fear of applying the word,”begetting,” to the eternal past, but this was Anus’ objection, and can only be justified by applying laws of time to eternal truths. When we can fathom the mystery of the Divine Being without beginning, then we may be able to solve the eternal begetting without beginning. To what “day,” then, does the Spirit of God refer in Psalm 2:7" TARGET="_blank">Psalm 2:7? We have been reminded so often of the varied meanings of “day” in Scripture that we hardly need insist on this—indeed it is sometimes used so broadly that the question of time hardly enters into it. This, we believe, is the case here:
“The use of smeron (the Greek word which here in the LXX, as also in the New Testament, is translated ‘to-day’ and ‘this day’) in the sense of ‘eternally’ or ‘in eternity’ is well established (it is found in Philo). Consequently an orthodox reader would understand it:
‘Thou art My Son, I have eternally begotten Thee’ “ (cf. Hebrews 1:5)" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 1:5) This fits in with the New Testament quotations—a testimony in time to a fact beyond time, in the eternal NOW of a past eternity.

W.H.

* That the word here is “Bar” not “Ben” does not invalidate the argument, for as Gesenius notes, Bar is Son in Psalm 2:12" TARGET="_blank">Psalm 2:12 , in the sense of one begotten, and is applied to Jehovah, the King, and Tregelles adds, “that is Christ.” Gesenius goes on to compare the word here, with the more usual word, Ben, in Isa. o. 6. Indeed, here again we must note that the Son was not born at Bethlehem—but given (“A child was born”), that is, the Lord did not become Son by His human birth. He was bom a true human child. The Word became flesh.

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