I need you to know that the ordinary man without Christ is powerful and can even defeat the devil in SOME areas, if he knows how to trick him, not to talk of the believer in Christ.
It is true that the unbeliever is taken captive by the enemy against his will, BUT if this same unbeliever somehow comes in contact with a knowledge that frees a part of his will from the devil, he can experience victory over the enemy in that area.
I’ve known people who “merely” confessed consciously their way out of terrible situations. They took poison and stepped on charms. They were not believers, but their will was strong, and nothing happened to them.
Africa is home to demonic practices, yet with our shrines and gods, the white man who had no regard for our gods conquered us and took our idols to British museums for display, and the demons did nothing.
One can argue that the demons did nothing because slavery was also part of the devil’s plan, but that argument won’t hold up in every context. And I will tell you why.
During the Biafran War, I read that there were several uses of charms for vanishing and whatnot, but in the end, it seems the demons could not stand the gunpowder of the Nigerian soldiers. Some folktales will tell us about how a person’s chi was so strong that certain spells could not be cast on them.
The one whom the attack was targeted at was not even aware; he or she probably just had this strong mindset that they could not be harmed, and it worked for them.
Some people believed their way out of poverty, curses, spells, etc.
Today, drugs and certain medications cure demonic madness. I mean, how can a demon be expelled by a drug?
I know there could be cases where the problem returned or even became worse, but nonetheless, the demons yielded to the power of drugs and confessions.
I am going through this route to let you know that the believer does not just have power over the devil. The believer has SO MUCH power over the devil.
That is why IGNORANCE is one of the devil’s greatest weapons.
Do you realize that any time the Scriptures talk about what we have, they often use words like “exceeding”?
Exceeding great and precious promises...
Far above all principalities and powers...
Believers are not seated in the heavens; no, we are seated ABOVE the heavens.
Actually, we are not seated in creation. The believer currently does not function from within creation. He functions from WITHOUT creation, in what the scriptures often refer to as “the spirit realm.”
Ephesians 2:6: “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
This verse is describing the believer. Not the believer who is diligent with Bible study, not the believer who prays fervently, not the believer who fasts often, not even the believer who never misses church. All these things are good, and every believer should do them, but primarily, the believer’s position is stated in the past tense. It has already happened.
We have been RAISED and are SEATED.
Your prayers and studies do not make you more seated, or “more spiritual,” than another believer. They help you grow in the knowledge of God, which is God’s plan for us.
Your spirituality is ALREADY secured in Christ.
The position of the believer is above ALL principalities and powers, rulers, etc.
This realm where we are seated can be said to exist in levels, so to speak.
The word “heavenly” in Ephesians 2:6 is the word “epouranios,” coined from two words: “epi” meaning “upon, on” and “ouranios” meaning “heaven.”
So, “seated in the heavenly” would mean we are seated upon, or on, heaven.
It is an adjective. Adjectives modify or describe a noun.
So we are not just in “heaven” — we are “upon” heaven.
As I said, this word can also mean “spirit realm,” and other beings exist in this same realm.
Ephesians 3:10: “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”
So, principalities and powers are also found in this realm. But where believers are seated is differentiated here:
Ephesians 1:20-21, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.”
“Far above” places us at a higher level than all the other beings existing in creation. So, our position as believers is so much higher than that of the devil.
Not only that, we have all that God has.
Ephesians 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
God did not give us SOME but ALL spiritual blessings. This means there is no power or gift or blessing that God has that we do not have. If you’re asking how come God did such a thing, then you’d understand better why he described his power toward us this way:
Ephesians 1:19, “And what is the EXCEEDING greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”
And WHY did he do this?
Ephesians 2:4: “But God, who is RICH in MERCY, for his GREAT LOVE wherewith he loved us...”
Ephesians 2:7: “That in the ages to come he might shew the EXCEEDING RICHES of his GRACE in his KINDNESS toward us through Christ Jesus.”
God did it because he is RICH in mercy, love, and kindness towards us.
This is beyond what we can understand, though.
So, you’d know that every time you cry because of the devil, you’re throwing away so much AUTHORITY.
You will also realise why it pains the Father’s heart when we are waging war against the devil as if he’s our mate. You’re literally throwing away his RICH mercy and love. You’re calling his EXCEEDING great power in us nonsense.
We were not told to fight the devil. We were told to STAND against him.
We were not told to stand against him so that we will now be fighting together. No.
We were told to STAND against him because the only thing he really knows how to use is TRICKS.
He feeds off our ignorance.
Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the WILES of the devil.”
It is against the WILES of the devil that you’re standing, not against his supposed power.
An unbeliever who has a little knowledge about who he is as an ordinary man will, to some extent, withstand the devil, not to talk of a believer who lives above the devil.
Actually, this is already written elsewhere in a different way.
Colossians 2:15 says of Christ, “Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Notice the tenses.
“spoiled”
“made a show of”
“triumphed”
Not “will spoil,” not “is in the process of triumphing.”
Whatever confrontation needed to happen between Christ and the powers of darkness already happened, and it ended in a public parade of their defeat, not a negotiation, not a truce.
That’s why Jesus, sending out the seventy, didn’t tell them to prepare for a long war of attrition.
He said, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).
“Tread,” not “battle.”
You don’t tread on something you’re afraid might still win. When you stand against the devil, he doesn’t stand too and wait for you to come; no, he runs away.
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will FLEE from you.”
To “flee” is the Greek word “pheugō,” and this is what it means:
“seek safety by flight, to be saved by flight, to escape safely out of danger.”
So, when you resist the devil, he runs away to safety!!
He is terrified and quickly runs to escape danger. And YOU are that danger!
Think about that for a second. Go back to the beginning of everything I said. An ordinary man, with no covenant, no Spirit, no righteousness, nothing but sheer willpower and a confession he half-believed, could still make poison fail and charms fall flat. If ignorance of the truth still let an ordinary man stumble into that much resistance by accident, what exactly do you think happens when a believer who actually KNOWS what Ephesians says about him opens his mouth on purpose?
You were never handed a sword to go looking for a fight. You were handed a position to simply stand in.
The devil’s entire strategy depends on you never finding that out.
My dearly beloved, garnish your heart and soul with these words.
Put them to practice, and the Lord will keep you always in his love.