‘Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.’ (Luke 4:41 NLT).

KNOWING ABOUT JESUS IS NOT ENOUGH

At Simon’s mother-in-law’s house in Capernaum, Jesus healed and cast out demons from a multitude of people who lined up to see Him. Many of the demons tried to speak, rightly recognizing Jesus as the “Son of God,” but He commanded their silence and cast them out. Of course they knew who Jesus was, they had seen Him in glory before their rebellion. They were fully aware of His Sonship, but they had rejected His Lordship.

Many of us are like them. We know a lot about Jesus. We may even give mental assent to His Sonship, but this is not the same as bowing the knee to Him as Lord. Knowledge about Jesus is not saving faith in Jesus. Right doctrine is not right relationship. As the apostle James wrote, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19).