Binding and Loosing, Part 1
by Bob DeWaay
"I bind you, Satan!" is uttered in thousands of prayers every day in America. "Spiritual warfare" books that teach Christian how to "bind Satan" are hot sellers. Not only is Satan himself subject to continual verbal "binding," but a whole host of demons and "principalities and authorities" of the heavenly realm are also thus assaulted. Christians who practice this form of spiritual warfare hope to forestall calamities and sickness, convert loved ones, and turn cities, states and even the nation to righteousness. If binding Satan will do all this, we should put this new spiritual technology into practice.
However, if this practice is not Biblical, it may be more harmful than helpful. Those who teach and practice "binding and loosing" as verbal warfare against evil have several Biblical passages that they claim support the practice. The two most prominent ones are found in the book of Matthew: Matthew 16:19 and Mat- thew 12:28,29. Matthew 16:19 states, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." By combining that thought with the Matthew 12 passage, which speaks of binding the "strong man," they draw the conclusion that we have the authority to bind Satan, thus making his "goods" exposed for plundering. According to many followers of this theory, the "goods" are money, political power, people, etc. The church supposedly, therefore, has the opportunity to take world power away from Satan and deliver it to ourselves.
Binding and Loosing
The crucial issue is whether this is what Jesus meant by these teachings. What did He mean by the terms "bind" and "loose?" These words were commonly used by Jewish rabbis. New Testament scholars agree that "binding and loosing," when used in this way, retain the basic meaning that they had in the Jewish culture of the first century.
For example, the THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT states under the entries for "deo" and "luo" (the Greek words for binding and loosing used in Matthew 16:19 and elsewhere), "Jesus does not give to Peter and the other disciples any power to enchant or to free by magic. The customary meaning of the Rabbinic expressions is equally incontestable, namely, to declare forbidden or permitted, and thus to impose or remove an obligation, by a doctrinal decision."1 TDNT draws the conclusion that this is the meaning of the words as used in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18.
A. T. Robertson, one of this century's leading Greek scholars, also comments on Matthew 16:19: "To `bind' in rabbinical language is to forbid, to `loose' is to permit. Peter would be like a rabbi who passes on many points. Rabbis of the school of Hillel `loosed' many things that the school of Schammai `bound.' The teaching of Jesus is the standard for Peter and for all preachers of Christ. Note the future perfect indicative..., a state of completion. All this assumes, of course, that Peter's use of the keys will be in accord with the teaching and mind of Christ."2 Dr. Robertson's comment about the use of the future perfect tense is important. If we were to translate the passage very literally (though awkwardly in English), it would read "...whatever you loose on earth shall having been loosed in heaven." This shows that the disciples were not unilaterally to decide a matter, thus binding "heaven" to their decision. It means that their decision, as Dr. Robertson suggests, will be in line with what already was God's mind on the issue.
Passing on an issue of doctrine or ethics does not equal shooting a verbal barrage at Satan or another wicked spiritual entity. It is also quite different from "loosing" the money needed or the job wanted, as some are now prone to pray.
We can see how Peter and the others understood Jesus' teaching on binding and loosing by examining their actions as recorded in the Book of Acts. Acts 15 records a dispute that arose about the behavior of Gentiles who were recently becoming part of the church. Their customs were far different from the Jews, who then made up most of the church. Should the new Gentile converts be required to be circumcised and to keep other requirements of the Law of Moses? After "much debate" (Acts 15:7), Peter stood up and asked, "...why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?" (Verse 10). After James agrees with Peter, quoting Scripture as proof, they reached the decision that the Gentiles should abstain from idols, fornication, and what is strangled. No further burden was to be placed upon the Gentile Christians. The apostles herein exercised the power of binding and loosing, as given by Jesus.
Did the apostles ever utter "I bind you, Satan?" Not once is such an utterance recorded in the New Testa- ment. It is not credible to assume that they understood Jesus' teaching as an instruction to "bind Satan" through prayers and verbal declarations and then never followed the instructions personally. The church of the twentieth century should not understand and practice the teachings of Jesus differently than the church of the 1st century. If it does, the authority of Scripture is depreciated.
Other Bible commentators also believe that "binding and loosing" find their meaning in rabbinical usage. Concerning Matthew 16:19, William Hendriksen states, "The very wording - note `whatever,' not `whoever' - shows that the passage refers to things, in this case beliefs and actions, not directly to people. Binding and loosing are rabbinical terms, meaning forbidding and permitting."3 Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament, under the entry "de " (to bind), states, "...by a Chaldean and rabbinic idiom to forbid, prohibit, declare illicit: Matthew 16:19; 18:18." Each source I have checked (including several not quoted here) agrees with this interpretation of these words. I have to wonder if those modern teachers who have popularized the "spiritual warfare" teachings that command the saints to "bind Satan," supposedly based on Matthew 16:19, have carefully researched the passage. They should at least offer some evidence that suggests that the scholars of Biblical Greek are uniformly wrong.
The authority to bind and loose is the authority to declare what is God's mind on a matter of doctrine or practice. This is what the early church did in Acts 15. To "bind" is to obligate, to "loose" is to remove obligation. The future perfect tense ("shall having been bound") shows that this authority is only valid when used in submission to Christ's word or teaching. It does not give the church the authority to make up new teachings later in church history. Binding in this context has nothing to do with speaking words to Satan or demons.
Satan's House Plundered
Let us turn to Matthew 12:28,29, which at least is addressing the issue of Satan and demons. The verses read, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." Upon hearing about Jesus casting out demons, the Pharisees, those perpetual critics of Jesus, said that He "...cast out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons" (verse 24). The Lord first shows the illogic of their accusations by saying that if Satan was casting out Satan, his kingdom would not stand. He then asks about their own misguided deliverance attempts (the Jewish historian Josephus wrote about some Jewish exorcism practices which were quite strange).
The verses we are studying describe Jesus' own interpretation of the powerful deliverances He had accomplished. These were done by the Spirit of God and showed the power of the kingdom of God in the person of Christ. In Christ, there is a confrontation with the powers of darkness, and Christ is victor! The Pharisees should have recognized this and committed themselves to Christ, but they were unwilling. Jesus goes on to warn them about blaspheming the Holy Spirit (verse 31) by accusing Christ of being of the Devil.
The key verse, which some claim as support for "binding" Satan through direct verbal assault, is verse 29. In this passage, Jesus uses a metaphor to illustrate His own mission. A strong man controls his own house until a stronger man comes, binds him, and plunders the house. Luke 11:21,22 record the same illustration. Luke does not use the term "bind," but says the stronger man "...attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied..." (Luke 11:22).
New Testament scholar George E. Ladd gives the following interpretation of Jesus' words: "Satan is a strong man. His palace or house is `this present evil age' (Gal. 1:4), and his `goods' are men and women under his evil influence. However, he has not been left in peace to manage his affairs. A stronger, Jesus, has assailed and overcome him."4 The deliverances in the ministry of Jesus demonstrated Jesus' power to deliver people from the power of Satan. The spoiling of the kingdom of darkness will go on throughout church history, though the final victory is not complete until Christ returns in glory.
"Bind," as used here in Matthew 12, is metaphorical terminology, not a magic word, the utterance of which will stop the activity of evil spirits. That the Luke account does not even use the word "bind" shows this. "Bind" is incidental to the picture of a strong man's house being plundered. Whether victory is accomplished by binding, overpowering, disarming, etc., is not as consequential as the fact that it is a stronger man who must do it.
The meaning is that Jesus is stronger than Satan and that the casting out of evil spirits in His ministry proves that fact. The "goods" that are "plundered" are people, previously held in bondage. This plundering has been going on since the Day of Pentecost. The coming of Jesus and the "binding" of Satan liberates the souls of people who were all of their lifetime subject to slavery (Hebrews 2:15). How is this accomplished? The Bible does not leave us in the dark. It is not accomplished by people continually shouting "I bind you Satan" into the heavenlies!
Hebrews 2:14,15 declares "Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."
Binding And Loosing
