Authority over All the Power of the Enemy
David W Palmer
(Matthew 9:32 NKJV) As they went out …
“They” went out. Jesus and his apprentices were out and about, doing things together. Learning on the job while being yoked to Jesus is an eye-opening experience for his serious apprentices, and it is available to us today. However, his wisdom would be unfathomable if you are not born again:
(John 3:3 CSB) Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Without Jesus’s new birth, you simply cannot “see” the Kingdom of God. In other words, you cannot see the ways of God and see what Jesus is doing in the spirit realm. Therefore, to understand and imitate him as an apprentice, you need to be born again and filled with the same Spirit of holiness that filled, empowered, and led him:
(Romans 8:14 CSB) For all those led by God's Spirit are God's sons.
Jesus’s authority is unending and unyielding in the face of the enemy. His power is limitless, and he is the greater one inside you—the “hope of glory” (1 John 4:4, Col. 1:27 KJV).
While yoked to Jesus, you learn all these truths firsthand and face-to-face. This was easily recognizable for Jesus’s original apprentices; they could see, feel, touch, and hear him physically. For us, however, while we are yoked to him and learning on the job—up close and personal with the action—we don’t see or feel him even though he is right there with us. We simply must move forward by faith, believing his promises: “I am with you always” (Mat. 28:20 NKJV); “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5 NKJV). He is with you right now, relationally; he is also present in the spirit and by his anointing and living word.
Let’s read today’s training passage in preparation for our own kingdom experiences with Jesus:
(Matthew 9:32–33 NKJV) As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. {33} And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”
In this miracle, we see again Jesus’s absolute authority over demons and his power to expel them. We also see in this passage, a glimpse of the extent of the evil that demons can perpetrate against humans: “when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke.” In this case, the demon caused a man to be unable to speak. Throughout the gospels, we see other fruit of their evil influence:
Satan and his evil spirits constantly publish deception and disinformation. They accuse us before God, to our brothers and sisters, and to unbelievers day and night:
(Revelation 12:10 NKJV) “… the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”
Having such an evil enemy in God’s face accusing us continually is not pleasant; it is hurtful and grievous. But thankfully, through Jesus’s name, his blood, and his achievements for us, we can overcome the accuser. Note how we do it:
(Revelation 12:11 NKJV) “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
What’s more, Jesus has made invincible armor and weapons available to us with which to overcome the enemy in every situation we find him—just like Jesus did in the accounts we have been reading. The Holy Spirit explains …
(2 Corinthians 10:4 NKJV) “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”
