"And the evil spirit answered and said, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?' "
This verse (above) is almost a comical section of the NT. The demons were used to being expelled by the Lord Jesus Christ, by the Apostle Paul, and by all the legitimately God-called ministers of the church--but here, the evil spirit is not going to take orders from some reli-
gious pretender, who sought to exercise power he did not rightly pos-
sess.
So it is for all the true church today: the demons are subject to us (Lk. 10:17). But, for all of those outside of sincere faith in Christ, the dev-
il runs roughshod over them (Acts 19:16). Let us who know Jesus em-
ploy our authority with discretion, and for the good of others (in the church first, but also in the world).
[Puritan quote of the day: "God intermixes mercy with affliction. He steeps His sword of justice in the oil of mercy. There was no night so dark but Israel had a pillar of fire in it." --Thomas Watson, in, "The Godly Man's Picture"]
