Totally Defeated (Luke 11:22; Matt.12:29; Mk. 3:27; Isaiah 49:24-25)

Luke 11:22 says, "But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, He takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils."

This passage, and the other NT references concerning binding the strong man, (Matt.12:29; Mk. 3:27) are taken from Isaiah 49:24-25, referring to the coming Messiah, the Christ.

"Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus says the Lord: 'Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contends with you, and I will save your children.'" (Isaiah 49:24-25)

By quoting this passage, Jesus was declaring that He was the Messiah, the Christ who was come to fulfill this word by:

1) Delivering people from the authority of the devil, and

2) Taking away all the weaponry of the devil and demons, and giving it to Believers. [ Literally dividing the spoil among those who had once been the captives].

SPOIL - [This word is from the other two NT passages referring to Jesus' dominion over the strong man. (Matt. 12:29; Mk. 3:27)]. The word means to totally and completely "spoil", or "plunder" the goods and weaponry of another until there is nothing left to take.

ARMED - This word, taken from Luke 11:21, means to be fully furnished with weaponry. Literally it is to be "armed down", meaning from the head right down to the toes, with nothing lacking or incomplete.

DIVIDE - This word has three different shades of meaning that complete its definition:

1) First, the word refers to the distribution of something obtained by conquest, as the only two LXX references attest (Gen. 49:27; Josh. 13:6).

2) Secondly, the word means to distribute from hand to hand, or in succession, and carries with it not only the idea of giving out to a large group of people, but that the possessions given will continue to be under the ownership of those people.

3) The third thought conveyed in this word, is in keeping with the second, in that the word is used in an absolute sense, meaning that this is a once for all action, never to be repeated, or taken away from.

Scripture teaches that Jesus totally defeated the devil and all his demons, but not only did He defeat them, He "spoiled" them, taking away all the spiritual weaponry that they ever possessed, so that there was nothing more left to take. Then Jesus "divided" to His body, the Church, once for all, these spoils of war, so that we now have the authority and power that the devil wrongfully once possessed.

Not only does the devil no longer have any authority over our lives, but we have authority over him. This is not the possession of just a few, but is the possession of the entire body of Christ; every single Believer. In fact, the real strength of this weaponry is not in the use of it individually, but rather, as the analogy suggests, it is the WHOLE BODY exercising the authority that produces the greatest results. [see the word study "Take Your Place"].We are to continue the work of our Lord and Master, in bringing deliverance and liberty to those who are now wrongfully held captive to Satan and sin.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours.