Luke 11:20-22
But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
Yes, let’s have some temple work. First off, read this passage slowly and deliberately because this passage will make or break your spiritual life. And just so we are clear on the definition of the temple, let’s refer back to the Bible for the explanation.
1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
So, say it out loud, who is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Go ahead…out loud. Me! Each of us who believe in the saving work of Jesus have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. There is a lot to unpack with that… for another day.
Take careful notice of the similarity between the Temple in Nehemiah’s day (Ne. 13:8-9) and what Jesus teaches us regarding the house (temple) today. First, Nehemiah and then Luke.
Nehemiah 13:8-9 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
The background of the story is that Eliashib the priest had made a way for the enemy of Israel to enter the Temple and make a home there. In the years past, Tobiah had physically fought against Jerusalem attempting to stop the rebuilding of the walls around the temple and city.
He was unsuccessful in his endeavor, however, later Eliashib the priest made a way for him to come into the Temple invited. We find out that Tobiah successfully shut down the Temple activity from A to Z.
Nehemiah throws out all of Tobiah’s stuff and has the Temple cleansed so that once again the Temple can be functional. Otherwise, the Temple would have the unclean remnants of the enemy living there.
Jesus teaches the exact same thing in Luke 11. Except this time Jesus zeros in on the spiritual components of the enemy living in the temple. This time there is no Nehemiah, Eliashib or Tobiah. The characters are Jesus, the enemy, and you. let’s take a look.
In verse 20, Jesus is making it very clear that what he is talking about is a kingdom phenomenon. This is real and we should take notice. He even puts this into a kingdom context for all of our ears to perk up. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. The message of freedom through Jesus in this passage is unmistakable.
Here is how we can leave this point so that we can move on to the next. A key feature of the kingdom of God is that freedom will come into the lives of those in the kingdom. A telltale sign of true kingdom citizenship is that the enemy loses ground in the temple. The finger of God touches a person and that person is more free through the demise of the evil one who is parked in the person’s life.
Believe it, because it is true.
Jesus Christ has the power to overcome the enemy who likes to make your soul his home. Just like Tobiah had set up his household goods in the Temple, so the devil wants your soul to be his home. If you read verse 21-22 you see that the strongman, the enemy has made a home in a place that does not belong to him. The finger of God is about to do its work.
Tobiah has to be dealt with so that there can be freedom in the soul. Can you see the enemy at work in you, even if he is not there working to take the ground of your soul as his, you can certainly recognize the places where he wants you to unlock the doors to let him in.
Don’t give in.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Father in heaven, thank you for the power to be transformed into the image of Jesus your Son. Oh what is available to us if we would simply trust you. Lord, teach us to lean more on what you say than what we can do. Jesus, please touch us and deliver us from the evil one. Thank you Jesus for making freedom available to us by overcoming death and sin on the cross.
Blessings,
Pastor D
