BIND THE STRONG MAN
In Matthew 12:29 the Lord Jesus said that unless the strong man is bound, no one can enter his house and plunder his vessels. If we are going to plunder his vessels, even all his house, we must first bind the strong man. The strong man is Satan, and Satan is in our physical body, endeavoring to control our mind. We need to bind Satan, the strong man, in the human mind. Then we can plunder his vessels.
All the brothers who bear responsibility in the churches must realize that most of the problems in the churches come from the brothers’ and sisters’ minds. According to the Bible, the church which had the most problems was the church at Corinth, and the main reason for the problems was the dissenting opinions. The opinions, of course, are problems in the mind. Therefore, Paul wrote that they needed to be attuned to the same mind and to the same opinion (1 Cor. 1:10, Gk.). Although all the saints need to be attuned to the same mind and to the same opinion, the leading brothers must also fight the battle in prayer. They must not argue with people, but pray specifically, "Lord, bind the strong man. Bind the strong man in the dissenting thoughts of the dear saints! O Lord, we can do nothing! We ask You to bind the strong man!" The thoughts of the sisters are touchy and the thoughts of the brothers are explosive. If you touch the thoughts, you will suffer. The best way is not to touch the thoughts, but to touch the throne of authority and bind the strong man. Once the strong man has been bound, you can plunder his vessels. Eventually, you will see that all the dear brothers and sisters will be helped one by one. They will not be helped by your arguing or convincing, but by the binding of the strong man. When a problem arises in the church, never touch the thoughts. Always touch the throne, asking the Lord to bind the strong man. This is a matter of the kingdom—the kingdom of Satan or the kingdom of God. The mind is the battlefield, and we all must fight the battle to capture the mind.
Second Corinthians 4:4 says that the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. Satan’s tactic is to constantly blind people’s minds. We have to pray to bind the strong man, to bind the god of this age. Ephesians 4:17-18 speaks of the "vanity of their mind." The worldly people walk in the vanity of their mind. Everything in their mind is vain. Verse 18 uses another term, "darkened in their understanding." The understanding of the worldly people has been darkened. Also, there is a third term, "the hardness of their heart." In these two verses we see the vanity of the mind, the darkened understanding, and the hardness of the heart. Suppose your mind were filled with vanity, your understanding were darkened and your heart were hardened. What a pitiful person you would be! Not only are the worldly people like this today, but also many Christians are exactly the same way. Their minds have been filled with vanity, their understanding has been fully darkened, and their heart has been totally hardened. What shall we do about this? We must pray to bind the strong man, and then we can plunder all his vessels. The vessels are God’s vessels, but they have been usurped by the enemy. Now we must rescue them for the kingdom by binding the strong man.
(The Kingdom, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee)
