Authority of the Devil

The devil has also some authority (exousia) in this world (Acts 26:18). There are authorities and rulers of darkness in the heavenly places (Eph.6:12), against whom the Church is engaged in a battle. The authority of the devil is called "power of darkness" (Col.1:13).

These evil authorities have been disarmed by Jesus; so, they have no power over the church. (Col.2:15; Matt.16:18). The child of God is delivered from the authority of the devil and from the kingdom of darkness and is transferred to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18; Col.1:13). He is a citizen of heaven and is protected by the forces of heaven (Phil.3:20; Psa.91:11; Heb.1:14). The devil has no authority over the believer (1John 5:18).

However, the world still lies under the wicked one (1John 5:19)
The devil is called the Prince of the power (exousia) of the air, the spirit that now works among the disobedient (Eph.2:2; Job 2:2)
He is called the god of this world or age (2Cor.4:4)
His workings are known as the mystery of iniquity (2Thess.2:7)
The devil will give great power and authority to the Anti-Christ during the 7-year Great Tribulation (Rev.13:2) (He tried to approach Jesus too, but failed (Luke 4:6,7).
But, Jesus will bring the devil and his powers to an end (Rev.17:13,14; 19:20; 20:10).

Sometimes, God allows the devil to oppress His servants; but, God controls the whole event and protects His servants (Job 2:6; 2Cor.12:7; 1John 5:18; 1Pet.1:5; 5:8,9; James 4:7)

Casting Out Demons

• A believer has Christ-given authority to cast out demons (Matt. 10:1,8; Mk. 16:17). The source of this power is Christ alone.
• Christ cast them out by the Spirit of God (Mt.12:28); therefore, a believer should have a Spirit-filled walk (Gal.5:25).
• Prayer, fasting and total submission to God is important (Mk. 9:29; James 4:7).
• The believer should seek the gift of discerning the spirits (1Cor. 12:10).
• He should not talk with demons, as a general rule (Mk. 1:24). They are deceivers.
• The believer should cast them out in the Name of Jesus (Acts 16:18).
• Do not close your eyes when casting out demons: you are commanding, not praying; demons are sometimes seen to be physically violent (Matt.17:15; Acts.19:15,16).
• The believer should not allow the demon to weaken his/her faith in God, His Word, and the power of Christ’s Holy Spirit. One of devil’s weapons is doubt (Gen. 3:1; Matt.4:3-10).
• In every deliverance session, there must be order and discipline among the servants of God; let one minister in authority while the rest back him/her in prayer (1Cor.14:33).
• All amulets, charms, fetishes, and occultic objects must be removed before any deliverance can take place. The possession of such things provide strongholds for demonic oppression. (Acts 19:19).
• The delivered must be guided into confession, repentance, belief, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit to avoid serious consequences of demonic return (Matt. 12:44,45). A life of holiness and keeping in the will of God is imperative (1Jn. 5:18).

Demons

Demons are those angels who rebelled against God along with Lucifer who is also known as Satan (meaning “adversary), the old serpent, tempter, the wicked one,  ruler of this world, god of this age,  murderer and father of lies (Isa. 14:12-15; Eze. 28:12-19; Jn. 12:31; 2Cor. 4:4; Matt. 4:3; 1Jn. 5:19; Jn. 8:44). Therefore, these demons are also referred to as “angels that kept not their first estate” (Jude 6); they are the fallen angels. They oppose God’s work (1Thess. 2:18), deceive the nations (Rev. 20:7-8), are proud (1Tim. 3:6), influencers of godlessness (Eph. 2:2), cruel (1Pet. 5:8), malignant (Job 2:4), and oppressors of mankind with various maladies and sicknesses (Acts 10:38; Mark 9:25). They possess the bodies of unbelievers (Matt. 8:16), can enter into a person (Lk. 22:3), can influence a person’s thinking (Acts 5:3), and can even possess the bodies of animals (Lk. 8:33).

A believer can never be demon-possessed since his body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and has no room for demons (1Cor.6:19; 1Cor.10:21).

The demons believe and tremble before God (James 2:19). Satan and his demonic angels await the judgment of God (Matt. 8:29; Rev. 20:10). The believers in Jesus Christ are called to submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7). One sign of believers is that they shall cast out demons (Mk. 16:17).