In Jesus' Name

"Jesus holds all authority."

DEVILS HAVE NO patience. They have no self-control. They will not shut up but would rather make a scene. They are entirely selfish and do not care who is hurt, as long as they get their way. Even worse, they’d like someone to hurt because they got their way. There is nothing but evil and darkness in them.

They were made as angels of light. They were part of God’s heavenly kingdom, commanded to obey in word and action. When they sinned, they were removed from God’s kingdom and lost their light. They lost all they had been created with, their shape and being (spiritual body), their wisdom and understanding of heaven, including their memories of it. God left none of Himself to them or in them, and so strife, violence, hate, and untruth became their behavior.

People don’t like to talk about this. I get that. But until a child of God is wise to what these non-intelligent beings are and how they operate, they (we) cannot work with the Holy Spirit to remove them from here. I said it that way on purpose. God does not “move unclean spirits around” when we speak the name of Jesus. This is not a chess game where God moves then devils move, and eventually, He just swipes the board with His arm of justice. No, He removes them from existence constantly. Just as in Noah’s day, when violence became so great on the earth, God chose to send a flood. We have no idea the extent God will go still to set people free.

There is evidence throughout the Word. Again, I refer to the man of Gadara. Those devils (plural) asked not to be sent to the abyss, the abode of devils (Luke 8:11). Now, if it had been the devil’s (singular) kingdom, they wouldn’t have dreaded it. There is also the story of the rich man and the poor man. The rich man was in torments and the poor man in comfort (Luke 16:25). Hell is not a place of comfort, nor a place of Satan’s throne. He has no throne. All His works have been dissolved (1 John 3:8), and he has been rendered useless (Hebrews 2:14).

Hell probably isn’t even on this planet. I heard you apply the brakes there, but heaven is not on this planet either. There is no spot in the center of the earth where people and evil beings live in torment. That picture comes from men’s imaginations. Thinking back of the rich man and the poor man, Abraham said there was a great gulf fixed between them (Luke 16:26), that it was not crossable by anyone. Jesus called the place where Abraham and righteous souls waited for His death to be accomplished, Paradise (Luke 23:43) It is also mentioned by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:4 and in Revelation 2:7. God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Resurrected Son own hell, heaven, and all points in between and outside of them. Ephesians 1:22 says Jesus is “the head over all things,” referring to Jesus’ authority, and Colossians 1:16 says, “All things were created by him, and for him.”

In these truths, again, I know there is much to consider. But I tell them to you so that there is no confusion. Jesus holds all authority, and He’s given the authority of His name to us (Luke 10:19). But it is only properly used and used with effectiveness when we’re speaking it as we hold hands with Him. This is not a figurative picture. It is not something I’ve said to give you gumption, as we’d say in the South. It is a definite position of relationship, only obtained by time spent in God’s Presence. We can sing Jesus’ name and shout Jesus’ name over and over again and move nothing and destroy nothing. It isn’t about how loud we can crow, but knowing what beings we are speaking to, why Jesus allows it, and who we are in Him. We must know the Spirit and the Father, and honestly, that’s a beautiful relationship to have. They speak to me 24-7 because I have laid down my life on the altar. I don’t watch TV or read books, although in the past I’ve written them, and God is fine with that. I might write them again, who knows. But not at the expense of what I’ve gained in knowing God as a Father and a Friend.

There is nothing to fear of unclean spirits. Nothing at all. They have harmed people because men and women did not know what was happening and how to stand firm in Jesus. The church has given devils authority they do not have with incorrect interpretation of Scripture. Jesus removed any authority they thought they had. And we have not freed many held in torment through our laziness and ignorance. This must change. It must change from what is tooled “warfare” and become, instead, God’s heart of peace. Of shalom. Of rest. Of quietness. Of calm. He wants no more fighting for what Jesus has done, but instead, endless, unending trust in His nature, His character, and His methods of working. We say, “In Jesus’ name,” knowing Jesus. This is why He came. Not to be absent Jesus, but Emmanuel, God With Us.

“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)

“Grace to you, that is, supernatural favor that empowers you to be and do all that is needed—and peace that brings cessation to wars in your life, closures to conflicts, and the removal of distractions. This peace allows a time for rebuilding and reconstruction, ushers in prosperity, fosters the rule of order in the place of chaos, and produces a calm, inner stability that results in the ability to conduct yourself peacefully even in the midst of circumstances that would normally be traumatic or upsetting. May this grace and this peace and all they entail multiply and proliferate until they abundantly overflow in your life.” (1 Peter 1:2, Renner Interpretive Version)

Photo by Rob Potter on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com