Can A Born-Again Christian "Bind" And "rebuke” The Devil?

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while" (Revelation 20:1-3 ESV).

The adversary, and his minions, are not omnipresent. They can't be in two places at once. There is only one satan, and he is limited to one place at a time. If a single Christian could "bind" satan or a demonic spirit, then they would be prohibited from doing anything to anyone else from that point on. "Binding" and "loosing" is directly related to the effects of forgiveness by showing the need to avoid offending others, and calling people to humility (See Matthew 16:19; 18:18-20).

The Born-Again Christian is the “house.” Our Creator lives inside us!! The physical body, which includes the flesh and not just the spirit or soul, is His dwelling place and is now His Temple - the Holy of Holies (See Luke 9:1-2; 1 John 2:13-14, 3:8, 4:4). There is no basement, attic, hidden room, or unguarded area where God does not dwell. There can be no squatters or tenants sharing the residence with Him. The Bible makes it absolutely clear that no unclean spirit can co-habitate, live, or reside in the same place as the Holy Spirit.

Rebuking the Enemy

Another common phrase used against the enemy is "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!" Sadly, too many Christians think that "spiritual warfare" is simply using the words "I bind you" or "I rebuke you" like some magical mantra.

The Bible says Jesus gave His disciples the "authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness," but He said nothing about how to 'rebuke' an evil spirit (Matthew 10:1 ESV). It is the responsibility of God alone to rebuke anything, and punish the enemy (Matthew 8:26, 17:18, Mark 1:25, 4:39; 9:25, Luke 4:39, 8:24, 9:42; Revelation 3:19).

God will "fight those who fight you" (Isaiah 49:25 TLB). No one should ever attempt to war against the enemy in their own strength.

"But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." (Jude 1:9 ESV - See also Zechariah 3:1-2)

Michael did not dare to insult the enemy by fighting with his own authority. He recognized that it was God alone who gave to the enemy the power he has in this world, and therefore, it was only God who could rebuke and cast him and his accusations away. God's Word is "like fire" that will consume and break the enemy "like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces" (Jeremiah 23:29 ESV).

RESIST

The Bible says that the way of dealing with demons is to submit to God in humility and resist the enemy, which will drive or cast them out. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Then, as they "draw near to God," He will "draw near" to them (James 4:6,8,10 NKJ).