Grace and Truth,
When we truly
have the spirit of truth
indwelling in us,
The thought of "demons or evil spirits" is
not something we think
about or see or experience
If a church is overemphasizing demons, they
are likely
far from the presence of
Christ,
And not truly rooted in
Sound
New Covenant Doctrine,
The
Law of Grace
Just Speaking the Words
"in Jesus name I declare authority over this,"
is powerless and meaningless.
That puts its faith in nothing more that the words of Man.
It's Christ, and Christ alone
who has the
authority to cast out infirmity and
overcomes adversary.
'when you are indwelled with the
Holy Spirit,
he's already there,
you don't need to repeat
empty and void words that are powerless.
Exorcism (commanding demons to leave other people) was practiced by various people in the Gospels and the Book of Acts—the disciples as part of Christ’s instructions (Matthew 10); others using Christ’s name (Mark 9:38); the children of the Pharisees (Luke 11:18-19); Paul (Acts 16); and certain exorcists (Acts 19:11-16).
It appears that
the purpose of Jesus’ disciples
performing exorcisms was
to
SHOW CHRISTS dominion
over the demons
(Luke 10:17)
and to verify that the disciples were acting in
His name and by His authority.
It also revealed their faith
or lack of faith
(Matthew 17:14-21). It was obvious that this act of casting out demons was important to the ministry of the disciples. However, it is unclear what part casting out demons actually played in the discipleship process.
Interestingly, there seems to be a
shift in the latter
part of the New Testament
regarding demonic warfare.
The teaching portions of the New Testament
(Romans through Jude)
refer to demonic activity,
yet do not discuss the
actions of casting them out,
nor are believers exhorted to do so
We are told to put on the armor to stand against them
(Ephesians 6:10-18).
We are told to resist the devil
(James 4:7), be careful of him (1 Peter 5:8), and
not give him room in our lives
(Ephesians 4:27).
However, we are not told how to cast him or his demons
out of others,
or that we should
even
consider doing so
The book of Ephesians gives clear instructions on how
we are to have victory in our lives in
the battle against the forces of evil.
The first step is placing
our
faith in Christ (2:8-9),
which breaks the rule
of “the prince of the power of the air” (2:2).
We are then to choose, again by God’s grace,
to put off ungodly habits
and to put on godly habits (4:17-24).
This does not involve casting out demons,
but rather
renewing our minds
(4:23).
After several practical instructions
on HOW
to obey God as His children,
we are reminded that there is a spiritual battle. It is fought with
certain armor that
allows us to stand against
--not cast out--
the trickery of the demonic world
(6:10).
We stand with truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer (6:10-18).
It appears that
as the Word of God was completed,
the Christians had more weapons with which to
battle the spirit world than the early Christians did,
This is similar to some theology in the
baptist community,
as the
Jesus they know through John the Baptist is
NOT
the risen,
resurrected 'Christ
that
Paul Speaks of
The role
of 'casting out demons"
was replaced,
for the most part,
with
evangelism and discipleship
through the
Word of God
Since the methods of spiritual warfare in the New Testament
do not involve casting out demons,
it is difficult to determine instructions on how to do such a thing.
If necessary at all,
it seems that it is
through exposing the
individual to
the truth
of the
Word of God
and the name of
Jesus Christ.
For the NC Christian,
the power for victory over and
freedom from demonic oppression
is always available.
John declares,
“The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”
(1 John 4:4).
The power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9)
is always available to overcome demonic oppression. No demon, not even Satan himself,
can prevent a
Christian from surrendering to the Holy Spirit
and thereby overcoming any and all
demonic oppression.
Peter encourages believers to resist the devil, “
standing firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:9).
Being firm or steadfast in the faith means relying
on the power of the Holy Spirit
to successfully resist
demonic influence.
'The movement takes its name from the Greek words charis,
which is the English transliteration of the
Greek word for “grace,” and mata,
which is the Greek word meaning “gifts.”
Charismata, then, means “grace gifts.”
It emphasizes the
manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
as a sign of the
presence of the Holy Spirit.
These gifts are also known as the biblical “charisms,” or
spiritual gifts which supposedly give an individual
influence or authority over large numbers of people.
The prominent gifts among these “charisms” are speaking in tongues and prophesying. Charismatics hold that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit given to those in the first-century church may still be
experienced and practiced today."....
..What the above paragraph is describing here,
is the gift of prophecy in a believer that is cultivated
through fruits of repentance,
the speaking in tongues is the universal language of
true prophets,
it's is not blabber that can't be interpreted.
this power of the Holy Spirit is the
spirit of grace and truth,
A SPIRIT
FILLED WITH GRACE AND
TRUTH
That can only come from the
true living Christ...
The Charismatic movement is most known for its acceptance of speaking in tongues (also known as glossolalia), divine healing, and prophecies as evidence of the Holy Spirit. Most meetings are for praying and spirited singing, dancing, shouting “in the spirit,” and raising hands and arms in prayer. Also, anointing the sick with oil is often part of the worship service. These are the primary reasons for the movement’s growth and popularity. While growth and popularity are certainly desirable, they cannot be used as a test for truth.
The question remains: is the Charismatic movement scriptural? We can best answer that question this way: we know that since the creation of mankind Satan’s insidious master plan has been simply to put a veil between God’s children and God’s inerrant Word. It began in the Garden of Eden when the serpent asked Eve, “Did God really say . . .?” (Genesis 3:1), thereby raising doubt as to the authority and authenticity of what God had said. Ever since that day, he continues to attack the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Bible. Without question, we know that Satan has stepped up the pace of this strategy (1 Peter 5:8).
Today, we are witnessing a growing menace of demonic activity in the realm of the miraculous. Where Satan does not succeed in taking the Bible from us, he works hard at taking us from the Bible. He does this simply by getting Christians to focus their attention on the claims of men and women to some supernatural experience. As a result, those who seek after the experiences of others have neither time nor interest in searching the Scriptures for God’s truth.
There is no denying that God performs miracles. Some of what occurs in the Charismatic movement very well may be a true work of the Holy Spirit. However, the core truth is this: the Body of Christ does not need new apostles, nor new faith healers, nor self-styled miracle workers.
What the Church needs is to
return to the Word of God
and
proclaim the whole counsel of God
in the
power and love of the
Holy Spirit.