On Jan 7, 2024, I preached a sermon on Mark 3:22-28, where Jesus asserts that he has “bound the strongman” in order to “plunder his house.” In other words, Jesus is not only able to overcome Satan’s grip on souls, but is actively delivering the elect to salvation. What a joy!
The passage raises many questions about the nature of spiritual warfare and I’d like to suggest a few resources I’ve found helpful.
First, I highly recommend chapter 13, “Growth in Grace,” from Thoughts on Religious Experience, by the late and great Archibald Alexander. Archive.org offers the entire book for free in many formats. The whole volume is excellent, but that chapter in particular is a trove of insight about spiritual growth (and decline).
Second, I commend Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by the puritan preacher Thomas Brooks. Truly worthwhile.
A third, more modern resource is a little-known but useful study called “Satan Cast Out” by Frederick Leahy. It’s one of the only studies in demonology from a Reformed perspective that I’m aware of. The author brings Scripture to bear on many strange and even outlandish reports that were being circulated among missionaries of the Scottish church.
Finally, if you want a very thorough treatment of spiritual warfare, look no further than William Gurnall’s massive treatise, The Christian in Complete Armor, which is a practical study of Ephesians 6.
