Let me begin with an excellent example of rebuking a demon.  It’s found in Jude 1:9 which says, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”  To address and rebuke a demon is a most dangerous and fearful thing to do.  In this verse, we see that someone as Michael the archangel dared not rebuke the devil, rather he called upon the Lord to rebuke him.  Michael is the one who will one day be used of the Lord to cast Satan down from Heaven (Revelation 12:7-9), yet here he did not speak harshly to that one who rules demons.  He left that rebuking to the Lord.

It does seem that some professing believers practice and teach that we have authority to rebuke the devil and should do so on an ongoing basis, but this teaching is not found in the Bible.  We are on dangerous ground when we trifle with one who is so powerful that even Michael could not and would not rebuke him.  We are assured in 1 John 4:4 that, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.”  Indeed, as true believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us (Romans 8:9, Ephesians 1:13) and He is MUCH GREATER than Satan and all his demons.  But…are we also stronger than Satan and his enemies that we can command them?  I dare so…NO, we are not.  In and of ourselves, we can do nothing and are powerless against Satan and his minions.  It is IN CHRIST that we have our strength, and He is the One who can rebuke and repel Satan.

Let’s read of an incident of some who sought to exorcise a man of demons in Acts 19:13-16, “Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” How tragic was this incident when some supposed they could drive out demons from a man.  They certainly had the earthly credentials.  They certainly used strong words, mentioning Jesus and Paul.  Yet, they, in themselves, were weak and could not bear the strength and intensity of this evil spirit. 

Because it is impossible to the Lord and Satan to both inhabit a person, we realize that a truly converted believer CANNOT be indwelt by a demon. It is only an unbeliever that can be indwelt by a demon.  So, how can we get a demon out of a person?  We do that by leading this person to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior, and then the demon MUST leave that person!

If we find ourselves, as believers, being mightily tempted by Satan or his demons, how do we get them to leave us alone?  The answer is found in James 4:7-8 which instructs us to, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”  In order, this is the key to what we must do:

SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO GO, for He, and only He, is our source of strength.

RESIST THE DEVIL.  Only when we truly submit ourselves to the Lord can be actually resist the devil and his attacks.  When we do that, HE WILL RUN AWAY!

It is a foreign thought that we should ever address, or speak to, the devil or a demon.  NO, it is to the Lord we must pray to, submit ourselves to, and look to Him for the power to resist Satan’s influences and temptations.  (CC)  (659.4)