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Luke 11 v 18. “If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?”

The great miracle of the dumb man being delivered from the demon is an analogy of our own salvation and deliverance by Christ.

The illustration of what Jesus does when he saves us is given by our Lord Himself in his imagery about the “strong man” (11 vs 21, 22)

When a strong or powerful man guards his house and goods, all is undisturbed and secure. That is the way it is with those people who remain stubborn and opposed to the Gospel. They guard their emotions, consciences and feelings and give us no way in. They are actually in prison. They are under the spell of the enemy. They stubbornly refuse to ask God for anything – especially not salvation, because they do not believe they need it. They do not believe in eternal life or the world of unseen spiritual warfare, because they are blind, deluded and spiritually dead. They cannot speak.

This is why God never waits for invitations to save us. It will never come. We are prisoners spiritually-speaking. So He takes the initiative. When Jesus came into the world the One who is stronger than the “strong man”, arrived. This strong Man from Heaven invades the deepest dungeons of the “strong man”, the devil, and sets people free. He breaks through their ignorance and stubbornness and leads them into freedom.

I know that we often speak of “Inviting Jesus into our hearts”, or language similar to that. But the truth is, we would never “invite” Jesus in, if the spell had not already being broken. God, by His powerful spirit, has released our spirit from prison so that we can now see and understand the Gospel, and the result is we “invite Jesus in”.

How wonderful for Jesus to perform this particular miracle, so that we can catch another glimpse, by analogy, of the dire condition of the human soul without God, and how glorious it is when God, by His mighty Spirit, breaks our chains, sets us free, through the One who is stronger than the “strong man”.

What a blessed people we are!