This story concerns seven sons of a Jewish chief priest. And while humorous in certain ways, it contains some basic truths regarding spiritual warfare. A man with an evil spirit manifested such great strength that seven men were totally overwhelmed and left a scene of a struggle not only beaten but naked. Although they had used the name of Jesus as the Lord instructed (see Mk 16:17), the demon spirit recognized that they had no authority to use His name. The evil spirit replied, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” (Ac 19:15). Contained in these few words are significant truths in regard to either the existence versus lack of power for any person’s warfare in the spiritual realm.
What exactly did the evil spirit know about Jesus? That is simple to explain. Evil spirits always recognized Jesus as the Son of God and were aware of His authority over them as a unique element in the coming of the kingdom of heaven to earth (see Mt 12:22-28). People were ever amazed at Jesus’ divine authority over the demonic, saying, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out” (Lk 4:36). They realized that power over demons was something that did not exist under the old covenant of the law and commandments! The OT has many records of the miraculous including healings and raising of the dead, but never of expelling demons.
What did the evil spirit know about Paul as well? That also is quite simple to explain and is made clear in Paul’s letter to the church at Colosse. In this letter the apostle speaks of “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints….the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:26,27). In other words, demons were aware of the Presence of Christ in the apostle. They realized that the One who was in Paul was “greater than the one who was in the world,” the latter being their leader Satan (1 Jn 4:4). Consequently Paul was able to exercise the same spiritual authority over demons as had Jesus Christ.
This fundamental truth of the new covenant has been lost by much of the church in contemporary times. Seminaries have become cemeteries, burying many basic truths concerning Calvary. The purpose of Jesus’ incarnation has become distorted, emphasis focusing almost solely on the forgiveness of sins as opposed to the gospel of the kingdom …..an exchange of lives wherein one is indwelt by the very Spirit of God so as to continue the work of the Savior on earth. What the apostle proclaims for himself is poorly articulated by the church: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
That many fail to comprehend what Paul is speaking about is reflected in the appalling feebleness of the church. The rate of divorce in the church appears to have now exceeded that of the unchurched. There is no significant difference between the two groups when it comes to alcoholism, substance abuse or the number requiring psychiatric medication for emotional disorders such as depression or inability to cope with the stress of daily living. Peace that “passes human understanding” is so seldom evidenced in believers instead of fear and anxiety that it’s no wonder people are heard to say, “If that’s all it means to be a Christian, I don’t want anything to do with your kind of religion!”
In writing the churches in Galatia, Paul describes his relationship with Christ as having an intimate union. The apostle sees himself crucified with Jesus on the Cross and buried with Him in baptism so that “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Ro 6:4). Having one’s old self crucified with Christ makes it possible to no longer live as a slave to sin because “anyone who has died has been freed from sin” (6:6). It’s a tragic fact that the meaning of what Paul is so clearly expressing is not appropriated by many who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Paul understood righteousness to be more than a legal declaration by God. It involved a very intimate union with Christ wherein he shared in the resurrection life of his Lord.
So it is the evil spirit who manhandled seven sons of the Jewish high priest by working through an oppressed if not possessed man was able to say, “I know about Paul.” No question existed that the same Jesus who caused demons to tremble was also present in the apostle’s life (Jas 2:19). Neither was there question that the authority of Jesus over Satan’s kingdom was manifested through the life of Paul. Why? Because the apostle was submitted to the authority of the One he professed as Lord over his life (Ro 10:9). A stark difference today is that multitudes in the church have listened to the preaching of ‘cheap grace’ and have been deceived into believing they can receive Christ as a personal Savior without having to obediently submit to Him as Lord over their lives.
When Jesus rebuked Pharisees who accused Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons (i.e., Satan), Jesus explained such was not possible because any kingdom divided against itself could not stand. Then Jesus added, “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Mt 12:28). Here we see the kingdom of God (or heaven) described as God coming into this world to manifest His power and authority over the world and a kingdom of evil (see Eph 6:10-18) ruled by Satan. The world is the enemy of God and of those consecrated to Him and this will continue for the remainder of the church age. So also will Satan and his evil spirits continue to manifest themselves in the lives of believers unprepared for their attacks.
The Greek word translated “kingdom” in the NT is basileia and literally means the place where a king rules. When Jesus refers to Satan as “prince of the world,” we’re being told that Satan rules over all aspects of worldly life which are not devoted to bringing glory to Jesus, the King of all kings. The kingdom of God has not only a future aspect when Jesus returns again to judge the world and ultimately triumph over evil and oppression. There is a present aspect to the kingdom of God here on earth. However this present kingdom cannot be equated to the visible church. The visible church contains not only committed believers as well as lukewarm believers, but also false believers planted within the body of the visible church by Satan himself (see Mt 13:24-29, 36-43).
Jesus teaches we’re not to look elsewhere for the kingdom of heaven. He specifically tells us that the kingdom of heaven (or God) is “within you.” Paul expresses the same thing by saying that we are “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19). Jesus intends for the work of the kingdom He came to bring to continue through His disciples on the earth in these present days. That the fullness of this work as described in the book of Acts is so seldom seen in American churches while frequently being manifested in countries less affluent is a tragedy. Causes for spiritual feebleness in our churches and the biblical remedy are the subject of a book soon available in Christian bookstores titled BLACK & WHITE.
