Chapter 15: Binding and Loosing

The Scripture declares that Jesus has given us power to bind and loose in reference to satan and his cohorts.

The context to this promise is in connection with Peter's declaration concerning Jesus: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Now, note the reply of Jesus:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: AND WHATSOEVER THOU SHALT BIND ON EARTH SHALL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN: AND WHATSOEVER THOU SHALT LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN. Matthew 16:18,19

This passage has been controversial in its interpretation. But it makes a lot of sense once one has obtained a little understanding of the Christian's power and authority over demon spirits. What is the immediate context of the authority to bind and loose?

The immediate preceding phrase is: "AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT", I.e. the church. In other words, the church is given complete authority over the "gates of Hell". The Amplified Bible translates this, "The gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it - or be strong to its detriment, or hold out against it." Thus, the; churchis pictured as militant. Nothing can stop it - not even the forces of satan!

The power to bind and loose in regard to satan is described as "the keys of the kingdom of Heaven". The word for "kingdom" is basileia which means "to rule". It is the promise of God's word that those who inherit the kingdom of God will rule with Christ.

For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 Praise God, He has promised that we shall reign, or rule, as kings in life-NOW! How could we do this apart from being able to bind the power of the devil and to loose that which he had already made captive?

This is precisely what the Lord has promised. Christians need to wake up and realize that they have been given much more authority than they have imagined. It is no longer a matter of prayer by which we cry out, "Oh, God, please come and do something about this awful devil that is giving me such a hard time." But it is a matter of rising up in the power of the name of Jesus and telling the devil what he has to do!

What is the meaning of the phrase "shall be bound in Heaven... shall be loosed in Heaven"? Williams, the Bible translator, points out for us that the verb from is the perfect passive participle, so the reference is tothings in a state of having been ALREADY forbidden (or permitted).

This tells us that whatever is bound or loosed by the believer is done on the basis that it has already been done "in Heaven", I.e. by the Lord himself.

What is it, then, that the Lord has already bound and which he has given us power to bind again? Jesus teaches us: Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

Matthew 12:29 The context of this passage finds Jesus casting out demons. His authority for thus doing is challenged by the religious authorities. They accuse him of doing it by the power of the devil himself Jesus is explaining that he is able to control demon spirits and make them obey him because he has already bound the strong man - satan. ' The fact that the demons obey Him is evidence of satan being bound. satan is already bound "in Heaven" - by Heaven's power. His power is broken. The key is given to us. We have power over him, too. Amen!

The Greek word for "bind" in the passage before us is deo. It means to fasten or tie - as with chains, as an animal tied to keep it from straying.

This is glorious! When satan is bound he is made inoperable. He loses his ability to act against us. An example of how this works was shown to my wifeseveral years ago. We were just coming into the knowledge of demon spirits and how to deal with them.

She was working in a bank. Once or twice a week a certain customer came into the bank who used very bad language.

He was very loud and extroverted. Each time he opened his mouth he punctuated every phrase with profanity and cursed using the name of Jesus. Since my wife had never been exposed to such foul language in all of her life she was horrified by it. She began to pray and told God, ''You know that it is not me saying those things and I do not approve of them.

Then God spoke back and said, "That is a spirit of blasphemy causing the man to talk like that, and you have power over it."

My wife had never attempted anything like this before.

She was acting on the word that the Lord had given her.

The next time the man came in the bank he began to curse and blaspheme as usual. She stood a few feet away from him and under her breath began to say,"You demon of blasphemy, God has shown me that it is you. I have power over you to bind you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot curse in my presence and take the name of my Saviour in vain." Of course the man heard none of this but the demon was hearing plenty! The color drained out of his face and he began to gulp as though something was stuck in his throat. He never said another word of profanity in that bank.From then on, each time this customer came in she bound the spirits in him and he could not curse. The other employees noticed the change in his behavior and commented about it. They had no idea what had taken place. But satan's power had been bound on earth even as it is already bound in Heaven. satan has his "strong man" appointed over nations, cities, churches, homes and individuals. God is showing us that these strong men have already been defeated and bound by Heaven's power.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. I John 3:8b To us are given the "keys of the kingdom". There is power to rule over the forces of darkness. We do not have to pray for it. The battle has been won in Heaven; we are to bind on earth what has already been bound in Heaven.

Then, to what does the loosing refer? The loosing is setting the captive free. Through deliverance ministry the captives are released from the bonds of enslavement which satan has put about them.

And behold there was a woman which had a SPIRIT OF INFIRMITY eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art LOOSED from thine infirmity. Luke 13:11-12When the ruler of the synagogue became angry over this deliverance because it was done on the sabbath, Jesus answered: Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath LOOSE his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom SATAN HATH BOUND, lo, these eighteen years, BE LOOSED FROM THIS BOND on the sabbath day? Luke 13:15,16 The Greek word for "loose" in the text is luo. It is defined in the lexicon as "to loose anything tied or fastened; to loose one bound; to set free; to discharge from prison. To free from bondage or disease (one held by satan) by restoration to health." (Thayers)

The victory over demon spirits is already won by Jesus.

As far as Heaven is concerned every captive is loosed!

The principle is the same as in salvation. Jesus provided for every man's salvation. Then why isn't every man saved?The blood must be personally applied. Every man who applies the blood by faith is saved. Those who refuse or neglect to apply that blood are lost. So, Jesus has provided deliverance. It is finished so far as Heaven is concerned. The key of loosing the captive is given to the believer. He can loose himself and others on earth because it is already done in Heaven! Glory!

Now, there are those who teach that the loosing spoken of means the loosing of the Holy Spirit or angels to fill the vacancy left by the departing demons. Since it has has been shown that the word "loose" is in respect to that which is fettered and bound, how could thispossibly refer to the Holy Spirit or angels? Are they in any sense bound?

Furthermore, it is not within the authority of men to command angels. While it is a blessed truth that angels are "ministering spirits" in behalf of all who are heirs of salvation (See Hebrews 1:14), it must be carefully noted that they are "SENT FORTH" to minister in our behalf.

Who does the sending forth? That is God's business. We can pray and ask God to release the angels, but there is no precedent in Scripture for our commanding or directing them ourselves. It is extremely dangerous to elevate angels to a higher role than is established in Scripture, for one thereby begins to look to angels for help rather than to the Lord. This, in fact, amounts to idolatry and may soon degenerate into a "worship of angels" which is altogether forbidden.

(See Colossians 2:18). To look to angels rather than God for help is failure to hold the Head in proper respect, that is Christ. (See Colossians 2:19).

To reiterate, the binding refers to satan and demons, and the loosing to the person who has been bound by the forces of darkness. satan is bound; the victim is loosed! This is what happens as the result of an effective deliverance ministry.