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The Two Kingdoms of Luke 11
The Two Kingdoms of Luke 11
In Luke 11 Jesus again takes up the idea of the two kingdoms that are at war - the kingdom of Satan (vs. 17-18), and the kingdom of God (vs. 20). Jesus came casting out demons and urging people to repent and return to God. The casting out of such demons was a sure evidence that He was waging war against the very domain and power of Satan. In the end He will overcome Satan, take away his armor, and divide his spoil (vs. 22).
We are not spectators in this war, even though many deceive themselves into believing such. We are part of one kingdom or the other. We are either WITH Jesus or we are against Him (23).
Having been transferred out of the domain of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s dear son (Col. 1:13), we must bring forth the fruits of repentance. We must be putting off the old man and being renewed in the spirit of our minds (Eph. 4:17-22). We must be walking in the light and resisting the temptations of Satan (1Pet. 5:17).
Without such diligence in our following Jesus and His teaching, we will end up returning to the old ways. Peter warns believers that “... if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Peter 2:20–21). This he learned from Jesus who said: “The last state of that person is worse than the first” (Luke 11:26).
Peter encourages us to “be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall” (2Pet. 1:8). Which side are you fighting on?
Hugh DeLong
