So are we to do as the lady in the movie “War Room” literally say the words, I bind Satan?

Doug

 Hello Doug,

Thanks for the follow-up to Q&A 124. The question you are asking is essentially, “Who binds the enemy?” The issue here is not necessarily using the word “bind” but applying the concept of binding.

Many of God’s people are afraid to even venture into the arena of spiritual warfare. Of those who do, many ask God to bind the enemy—but is that the scriptural precision? God is gracious even when we don’t have all the details in order, but Scripture does provide practical direction in this matter.

In a context of dealing with the devil, Jesus said, “Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house” (Matt. 12:29). Jesus also said, “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound [lit. have been bound] in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed [lit. have been loosed] in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). This is exercising throne seat authority over the enemy. Notice Jesus said, whatever you bind.

Christ is the head; we are His body (Eph. 1:22-23). Although Christ is the head and the authority is His, the body is to carry out the directions of the head. The authority is not ours separate from Jesus. It’s His, but it’s ours in Him. We as the body must exercise the authority of the head.

Some object, citing Jude 1:9 and concluding that not even the angel Michael did this: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” The example, however, is instructive. The authority is the Lord’s, but Michael said to the devil, “The Lord rebuke thee.” Michael said… and thus Michael exercised the Lord’s authority.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus was still deity and still possessed all the attributes of deity, but He emptied Himself of using those attributes in order to be fully man and fully God at the same time. Therefore, He functioned as a man in dependence on God (Phil. 2:6-8). As a man Jesus addressed Satan with the words, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Matt. 16:23). He was not praying to the devil. He was commanding. In the Gospels Jesus also commanded unclean spirits. “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him” (Mark 9:25). With this exercising of authority, the enemy was bound and the boy was loosed.

In like manner, Paul dealt with a girl with a spirit of divination: “But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (Acts 16:18). Paul addressed the spirit with the authority of the name of Jesus.

In all of this, we can discern there is a time for a believer to address the enemy with the Lord’s authority and thus “bind” the enemy.

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