If you "bind" it once, it seems it keeps escaping these "bonds." Of course we have to keep putting on the armor of God ourselves, and keep asking, seeking, knocking, not just once.
Greetings, Greg.
If I understand you correctly, yes. I take the position that it is persistent faith and persistent prayer that show demonic spirits we are serious, and they have a way of trying you on for size to see if you are.
When not properly taken in the context of
Matthew 18:15-20, I am not a follower of this "binding" doctrine.
Ok. I take Matthew 18:15-20 together with Matthew 16:13-20 as both referring to the exercise of spiritual authority in the kingdom of God. The former has reference largely to the exercise of authority over believers, such as in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5. Strictly speaking, the latter passage does as well, but along with exercising authority in the kingdom of God come
all the "keys," i.e. to exercise of authority even over the spirit world as well, in Christ and when He speaks through us by His authority mind you, not when we simply bark orders in the flesh because it is supposedly some form of "delegated" authority (I don't buy the concept of delegated authority under any circumstances).
But its application to exercising control over the spirit world is what you might call an extended revelation on the text, so it's not something I really argue about with people over. It's more something that is revealed, so I take no offense to those who go strictly by what the written texts state in context.
As for exercising the keys of the kingdom to bind spirits, the general reference from scripture is Mark 3:14-27.
And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils... And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, "He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils." And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house."
Blessings in Christ,
Hidden
