The Authority of Casting Out Devils: Understanding the Power of Faith and Name of Jesus

“And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. Luke 9:49-50

There should not be any division between those who proclaim Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. In the referenced verses for this topic we see a hint of division displayed by John The Apostle. (This is not John The Baptist) John answers Jesus and tells Him that "we saw someone casting out devils in thy name and we forbade him" “Because he followeth not with us”: It is ironic that John, who came to be known as “the apostle of love,” would be the one to raise this objection. John came to see that only legitimate tests of another person’s ministry are the test of doctrine (1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7:11), and the test of fruit (1 John 2:4-6, 29; 3:4-12; 4:5, 20; Matt. 7:16). This man would have passed both tests, but John was inclined to reject him because of his group affiliation. That is the error of sectarianism (excessive attachment to a particular sect or party, especially in religion) John is asking the Master a question that has really raged on until now and continues to be a source of contention even today. Can this other denomination be of God? They are not of our inner circle of members. Look at exactly what he said. The man was casting out devils which is one of the things the Master had told the disciples to do. So really, there is no error in that. He was doing good instead of evil, which also cannot be looked down upon. Last but certainly not least, he was doing this in the name of Jesus. Truly, there was no error at all in what he was doing. John, like so many closed denominations today, thought if he were not of the 12, something had to be wrong with him. And he and others of the disciples rebuked him for doing good because he was not a disciple. These disciples had missed the message of Jesus. This man probably, had been one of the multitudes who had followed Jesus and heard His messages. He had taken to heart Jesus' teachings and was going around doing good.

Jesus states "He that is not against us, is for us." Dear Friends, there is no middle ground and no neutrality in Christ Jesus. Here Christ gave a test of outward conduct to use for measuring others. He gave a test of the inward life that is to be applied to oneself. We see here, that this man is not against Jesus. In fact, he is elevating the name of Jesus every time he ministers. I think we see again in this a little jealousy on the part of the disciples. They believe that they are the only ones that Jesus has endued with this power.

Jesus tells them here, that there are only two sides to be on, those that are for Jesus and those that are against Jesus. One thing in favor of the disciples here, they are still in the learning process. They have not been filled with the Holy Ghost yet. This will come 50 days after Jesus' resurrection on the day of Pentecost, and will guide them to all truth. Their selfish ideas will fade away after Jesus is crucified and they begin to understand what He had been teaching them. My Friends, Search description and do not forbid those who truly preaching and teaching the word of God.