Introduction to The Armor of God Study

Quick Recap

In the first session of our study, we took some time to introduce ourselves, and then I gave a testimony about my experiences with spiritual battle. We watched a segment of a video to provide additional context for our study. Finally, we asked the group to read Week 1 "Sizing Up the Enemy" in Priscilla Shirer's book, and we said we would show the accompanying video the following week (June 14).

Video from Pastor Billy Crone

We watched a segment from a video by Pastor Billy Crone of Sunrise Bible Church in Las Vegas, NV.

Pastor Crone is a prolific writer and teacher, and he produces many videos and messages. He teaches topics in-depth, and it just so happens that as Jo and I have been preparing for this Armor of God study, Pastor Crone has been in the process of delivering a message series on The Satanic War – The Armor of God. I have been listening to a lot of Pastor Crone's teaching on various subjects, and I learn so much from him. To provide some additional context and information for the group, we watched about 30 minutes of Part 2 of his series.

Here are a few links:

• The approximately 30-minute segment of Part 2 that we watched: Sunday Service: Armor of God Part 2
• A playlist I put together of what is thus far an eight-part series: Sunday Service: Armor of God (Note that he just preached part 8 this past Sunday. If he preaches more in this series, I will continue to add to this playlist.)
• Pastor Crone's media site, where you can find an extensive collection of video messages on various topics: Get A Life Media
• Pastor Crone's YouTube channel
• Sunrise Bible Church website

The Teaching Pastor Crone Presented

Since we did not watch his full message, I shared in the outline I gave the group that Pastor Crone spent time talking about angels and demons and the structure of their hierarchies based on scripture. The hierarchy of fallen angels is described in Ephesians 6:12 (ESV):

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

This concept of a structure is important for us to realize, because it means that the enemy forces work in unity. Therefore, the Church must work in unity to be effective against them. Pastor Crone's video starts with him talking about the importance of unity within the church—the importance of a healthy church—in order to be effective at spiritual warfare.

Note: A further "window" into this organization of angels and demons can be found in Daniel 10. Pastor Barry Stagner of Calvary Chapel Tustin in Santa Ana, CA, has been preaching a sermon series on the book of Daniel, and he recently delivered this sermon in which he talked about demons and angels that are "over" various nations: The War of the Worlds

Pastor Crone then showed that the Bible teaches us how to be effective against the enemy—this was his precursor to going through the pieces of armor one by one. He showed how we are instructed to "stand firm in the mighty power of God" and to "resist the devil." These are the directives we are given. The Bible says that if we do these two things, the devil will flee.

About "Binding" Demons

Pastor Crone stated that many churches have added to the direct Biblical instruction about spiritual warfare by doing things that are not actually scriptural, such as "binding" the enemy: "I bind you!"

I want to point out a few things about the concept of "binding" demons:

"Binding" demons is not a direct Biblical instruction for spiritual warfare.

In the New Testament, there are two specific directives we are given for dealing with the enemy:

• Stand firm
  "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then…" Ephesians 6:13–14 (NIV)
• Resist
  "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7 (NIV)

The Armor of God scriptures this study focuses on provide the methodology we need to stand firm and resist as we deal with spiritual warfare—putting on the Armor of God and praying. But nowhere in the Bible are we instructed to "bind" the enemy.

Most people take the concept of "binding" from these scriptures where Jesus is quoted:

• Building the Church
  In both of these sections of scripture, Jesus is addressing his apostles in reference to building the Church. It's important to consider the context of a passage—we must not isolate a verse or a concept from its context.
  

  "Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'" Matthew 16:16–19 (ESV)

  "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 18:15–18 (ESV)

  "Binding" and "loosing" were legal terms. In these scriptures, Jesus is providing the apostles with the authority to instruct the new Church, and those instructions would be legally binding for the entire Church age, until Jesus returns. Nowhere in these two sections of scripture is Jesus instructing them about battling the enemy.
• Jesus's Mission on Earth
  In Mark 3, in reference to Jesus casting out demons, some scribes were claiming that the reason Jesus could cast out demons was because He was acting in the power of the devil. Jesus refuted this claim by using logic—a house divided against itself cannot stand. Casting out demons by the power of the devil made no sense.

  "And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul,' and 'by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.' And he called them to him and said to them in parables, 'How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.'"  Mark 3:22-26 (ESV)

In verse 27, after Jesus described why their premise was faulty, he then used a parable to describe His mission on earth:

"But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house." Mark 3:27 (ESV) 

The parable shows us Jesus invading the enemy's "house." This was a major part of His mission on earth—to gain victory and assert His authority over Satan. In John 14:30, Jesus called Satan the "ruler of this world":

"I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." John 14:30-31 (ESV)

Jesus's victory over Satan "bound" him so that those who put their faith in Jesus (His Church) already have victory over him. The enemy might attack us and harass us, but Satan and his demons have been "bound" by Jesus so that they have no claim over us.

Conclusion About These "Bind" Scriptures

In context, none of these scriptures are about believers "binding" demons. In addition, there are no direct instructions in the Bible telling believers that they must "bind" demons. We must stick to the actual instructions we are given in the Bible, and not attempt to take passages out of context in order to do something else.

Resources

See these pages for more information:

• Got Questions?  – What does it mean to bind the strong man?
• Grace To You  – Does the Bible teach that Christians can bind Satan and demons?
• The Blue Letter Bible  – Don Stewart's FAQs – Angelology: Questions about Angels, Demons, and the Power of Satan
• In my blog Get Wisdom, Receive Power, I establish a few "ground rules" for interpretation of scripture. I cite an excellent article by Ron Rhodes from Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries. Taking scripture in context and not subjectively "spiritualizing" meaning is a major premise for Biblical interpretation.
• Get Wisdom, Receive Power – Study Premises Part 1: Our Approach for Reading the Bible
• Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries – Rightly Interpreting the Bible

Prayer

Father, I thank you so much for this amazing opportunity to facilitate this study and help spread Your Word. I pray, Lord, that you would give wisdom to each of us participating, and that you would illuminate the Scripture for us so that we properly discern the instruction You have for us.

Lord, please be at work in every reader of this post and every participant of this study. I pray that you would feed them on Your Word, and do great things in their lives so that they can help further Your kingdom. Bless them, Lord, and protect them from the devices of the enemy.

I ask this in the precious name of Jesus! Amen!