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JESUS HAS AUTHORITY OVER DEMONS

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
DEUTERONOMY 18:14-20
1 CORINTHIANS 8:1-13
MARK 1:21-28

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is, “Jesus has authority over demons” Authority means the power or right to give orders and enforce obedience. Demons are unclean spirits. “Jesus has authority over demons” means unclean spirits are subservient to the power and dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our reflection points us to three lessons.

Firstly beloved in the Lord, Jesus demonstrated that He has authority over demons when He commanded the man possessed by the unclean spirit, ““Come out of him!” ²⁶ The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.²⁷ The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” (Mark 1:25-27). Because Jesus has authority over demons or unclean spirit, “he gave them(His disciples) power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, ² and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2 ) We the children of God and the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ must never be afraid of demons or unclean spirits because Jesus has given us “authority to drive out demons. (Mark 3:15) In addition, John greatly assures us that we “are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4).

Secondly, the authority to overcome demons will be made effective in us if we have faith that “there is no God but one.” ⁵ For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), ⁶ yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. (1 Corinthians 8:4-6) It is for this reason Jesus further assured us, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14). We must do the will of God always and have faith in Jesus Christ so that through Him we shall overcome every demonic attack in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us not be afraid or be doubtful of the authority we have from Jesus to overcome demons, for He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 21:6)

Last but not least, you may be a messenger or servant of the Lord but if you fail to do the will of God and hold on to your faith, the unclean spirits can possess you and use to mislead others. It is for this reason the Lord said “… a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” (Deuteronomy 18:19-20). We must understand that anyone who preaches God’s Word is a prophet. A prophet communicates or reveals God’s will to His people, however, if the prophet or the messenger of God is possessed with an unclean spirit or a demon, he will mislead God’s people. It appears the sin of misleading God’s people is unpardonable since it leads God’s children astray from God to the path of disobedience and eternal destruction. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1). Indeed, there are many fake prophets out in the world who have misled many people, destroyed marriage and family bonds and relationships through fake prophecies, impoverished people and mentally and spiritually held captive many ignorant and gullible people. How can we test the spirit if we are not filled with the Holy Spirit? Again, how can we test the message coming from fake prophets if we do not know the Word of God ourselves? To test and have authority to overcome fake prophets and their unclean spirits, we need to be in constant relationship with Jesus through the study of the Word, we need to pray without ceasing and always allow the Holy Spirit to take full control over our lives. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) Again Jesus assures us that “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:25-26. In other words, to have authority over the unclean and deceptive spirit that is at work in fake prophets, we need to hold on to the teachings of Jesus and also allow our Advocate the Holy Spirit to empower us and grant us divine knowledge.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme “Jesus has authority over demons” We have discovered that Jesus indeed has authority over demons, He made this authority active in those who believe in Him to overcome unclean spirits, and last but not least, He has given us authority to overcome unclean spirits that are determined to mislead us through fake prophets. May the Holy Spirit empower you to always overcome demons or unclean spirits in our lives . Amen.