Skip to content

FAITH: Who Lives in You?

A column from Castlegar pastor Junior Spooner
221208-tdt-junior-spooner_1
Junior Spooner is the pastor of Kinnaird Church of God.

One day, Jesus encountered a man possessed by a demon. As expected, Jesus delivered the man, but His opponents, the Pharisees, accused Him of casting out the demon by Beelzebub’s power, the prince of demons (Luke 11:15).

Jesus then seized the opportunity to teach them, saying, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.” (Luke 11:21–22).

According to Jesus, only the stronger of two strong men can overtake someone’s home and possessions. Since this is correct, how could an impure spirit possess a disciple of Christ?

Jesus gave the only possible answer to this question to the Pharisees that day: “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24–26)

Notice that the impure spirit referred to the person whom they once possessed as a "house". The impure spirit can only re-possess or re-enter if the house (or person) is unoccupied or is occupied by a weak owner. In contrast, an impure spirit cannot reclaim or re-enter a house occupied by someone stronger.

In today’s teaching, Jesus represents the stronger man. Therefore, if Jesus, the stronger man, now lives within us, we can thank God that our “homes and possessions” are protected. 

What do you think?

Junior Spooner is the pastor of Kinnaird Church of God.