Spiritual Bondage, the Strongman’s Game

Spiritual Bondage, the Strongman’s Game

How can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. (Matthew 12:29).

When a strong man armed keeps his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils. (Luke 11:21-22).


Recognizing the strongman

We are to recognize that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the unseen realm of the spirit. We need wisdom and understanding of this realm (Ephesians 6:12) that includes principalitiesterritories, power- authority over places in the earth, and rulerslordship, princes that have dominion and control over strategic places in the earth.

What did Jesus accomplish at the cross, resurrection, and ascension?  Jesus completely – totally overthrew ALL demonic power and works of the spirits of wickedness that even attempted to accuse, dominate, oppose, or control the Divine presence of TRUTH - CHRIST in each of us. The victory has already been won by Jesus Christ, but many are not told the war is over (Col.2:15). Jesus totally destroyed the works of the devil, stripping the enemy of God of ALL principalities, power, authority, and rulership. Jesus chained him before us to spit on him our DNA – the WORD released when we speak in agreement of Christ authority over darkness. 

Before we can move forward in discerning who the “strongman” is we have to process the finished work of Jesus Christ. If there is any concept in our understanding of this from a position that says, “Yes, I know…but” then we limit the anointing power of the Holy Spirit in us, giving place for the enemy of God to enter our territory.

Our responsibility is to exercise our Christ authority on the earth as the finished work of Jesus Christ, and not a some day event in the future. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

Paul writes in Ephesians chapter one:

Verse 17: The God of Jesus Christ our Lord is also our Father. He is the Father of GLORY! That is, you and me. He desires to give you the Holy Spirit to unveil GLORY in you so that heavenly wisdom, revelation, and knowledge of HIM will have enlightenment in the earth.

Verse 18: This experience of knowing who you are in Christ is not a sense of intellect, but a heart matter. Your heart has eyes to see realms in the unseen – heaven, darkness, wickedness, angels where warfare is taking place. However, we must first know who we really are to know the power within us. This is the prayer Paul releases in this verse. 

Hope is the platform for faith to be activated to know the calling – why our Heavenly Father created us for that moment in time, culture, gender, race, language, and country- to release the riches, the excellency of the glory – Christ in us as children of the Most High God in the earth moving and having our Being presence in Him.

Verse 19: Paul uses the word “inheritance” in verse 18 to establish that a death occurred and NOW, those that follow in the family of God have rights to an inheritance NOW, not someday when we die. Jesus Christ died once and for ALL (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). 

Paul refers to the surpassing greatness of His power – God’s omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience as our inheritance for those that believe. God pours out our inheritance towards us in accordance with the working of the strength of His might. This means there will be confrontation against the enemy of God for us to develop the TRUTH in us.

Verse 20: Our inheritance was released to us, in us, and through us when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by God, and seated at His right hand in the heavens.

Verse 21: Where Christ is seated in heavenly places is NOT somewhere on another planet in the sky. Paul clarifies that rulership, authority, power, and dominion are connected to every name past, present, and future. Every name has a character, identity, and nature connected with it. Only mankind can create with names. Paul is establishing that no matter what humanity has given a name to, the power in that name ALWAYS has a lower authority and dominion than the name of Jesus Christ.

Verse 22-23: God put ALL things (names) in subjection under the feet of Christ and gave Jesus Christ to be the head over all things to the church -the body and feet of Christ. Christ is the one new mankind in the earth today. Christ is Jesus as the mind -the head- of this one body, and the true church, not a denomination, but true believers in Jesus Christ are THE ALL in ALL of Christ – the WORD becoming flesh and dwelling among humanity in the earth (John 1:14).

Once we have established within our spirit by the Holy Spirit that today, we are a new creation in Christ Jesus, and the old man is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17), we can begin to move and have our day to day life establishing our power, position, authority, and dominion in the earth for the Kingdom of God. It is the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us into all truth breaking the yoke of the strongman, and giving us the ability to reclaim the surrendered ground the enemy of God thought he had rights to. 

When we know in our spirit that we are from God because we are joined to the Lord Jesus Christ, we can do the greater works in the earth than Jesus did while in the flesh (1 John 4). He gave us this assignment. Those that know God will listen with one Spirit and the heart of the Father to be a part of the ministry of reconciliation being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). 

When the Holy Spirit in us is hindered by the “strongman’s” game there are challenges of spiritual warfare at play. Have you ever had that incident where everything was going as planned, then there was a shift in the atmosphere – offense, rejection, dominance, control, or some other kind of tension around you? These are familiar spirits trying to overshadow the Holy Spirit within you. Often, they accomplish their task simply because they know the familiar response on how a person will react to a particular situation. 

There is a lot of conversation taking place in the world of setting boundaries. This concept has a goodness for survival when one feels their enemy is in the world. However, what if your enemy is within you through attitudes and actions you developed in response to the world? Now you have become your own worst enemy because those “strongman” is renting space in your head free. That recording that is getting played over and over in your head is affecting your soul and your body while the world has moved on and doesn’t even know what you’re dealing with. 

Every individual has “thoughts” taking place within their mind and heart. Their body language and words they speak may or may not be telling the full truth. If the Holy Spirit can discern the intents of the heart, beware of “strongman” spirits at warfare (Hebrews 4:12). The enemy of God is not interested in whether you are saved and going to heaven when you die. He’s interested in hindering the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into ALL Truth that breaks the bondage of the “strongman” in this world.

If you truly KNOW who you really are, then you would also know the power within you…the consuming fire of God eating and transforming what is in the world bringing the Kingdom of God into manifestation while we are in our natural body (Luke 10:8-9). This “knowing” is an intimate exchange of love, life, and light between you and the Holy Spirit. Not just a head knowledge, but an experience causing transformation of the spirit, soul, and body quickening the heart. When the body of Christ, the womb-man, has been impregnated in their spirit by the Holy Spirit, he/she goes through an incubation season for the WORD to develop within them. When this WORD comes forth circumcised in the heart and spoken out of the mouth, creative LIFE is formed in the earth (John 1:14). 

“Strongman” spirits can tell when a believer in Christ is pregnant with the WORD. Their job is to hinder the birthing process from taking place from a believer that knows who they are in Christ.

“You are from God, little children, and have (already finished) overcoming them (the strongman): because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

“He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17).

Going back to our Scripture in Luke 11:21-22, the subtleness of what Jesus is saying to His audience is a reference to who is in the house, our body, the temple of the Lord? Listen for the “I” and what follows. Is the “I” spoken about self, ego, worldly possessions, accomplishments, personal views of life? Or is the “I” the oracles of the Father spoken by the Holy Spirit in and through us? We all go through this challenge coming short of the Glory of God to be released from us. God does not beat us up when we fall short, but helps us to, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he will lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert (watchful) and have a sober (discreet) mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:6-11).

God has called each of us to His Eternal Glory in Christ, while we struggle with darkness, sin, transgressions, and the “strongman.” This eternal glory is our identity in Christ established within us before we were created in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139). This eternal glory is the omnificent radiance and power of the Holy Spirit coming upon us and releasing the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent portion of Christ our Heavenly Father gave to each of us in Genesis 2:1-2. This eternal glory-eternal LIFE - being formed in the flesh and released in the earth IS what the enemy of God seeks to devour and destroy.

We have already been saved, sanctified, healed, and delivered into Christ and seated today with Him/In Him in heavenly places far above powers and principalities the enemy of God – strongman – thinks he has rights to… but he does not. Jesus stripped the “strongman” of ALL authority and power at the cross (1 John 3:8). Our job is to catch us with that TRUTH unveiling the greater works of the Kingdom of God that Jesus showed us before the cross. We are the resurrection of Christ Jesus in the earth today, and our responsibility and life purpose is to rule and reign with Him while in our natural body.

We must expect a daily dying to self, and arising with Christ through faith of the operation of God who raised Jesus from the dead. God made us alive together with Christ Jesus today. He already forgave us of all transgressions and canceled out any written decrees against us which were hostile to us. This was part of every nail on the cross. Jesus disarmed rulers and authorities of their world and made a public display of them (Colossians 2:12-15).

Today, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus because of the finished work of the cross, and resurrection. The cross is the residual the “strongman” tries reminding us of our past. The resurrection is the Holy Spirit speaking to us of our future.