By the Finger of God

“...by the finger of God.” 

Luke 11:20

This phrase is found in the Bible in four places. The first time in the Old Testament we read this is in Exodus 8:19 when Moses unleashed the third plague and Pharaoh’s magicians could not replicate the appearance of thousands of gnats. In Exodus 31:18, and Deuteronomy 9:10, it is written that it was the finger of God that made the engraving of the Covenant Law on the stone tablets. 

The fourth mention is by Jesus Himself where He claims that it is by God’s power that He drives out demons. Even a small portion of Jesus’ power is enough to defeat the enemy. In this passage, Jesus cast a demon out of a man who could not speak, and the man’s voice returned, amazing the crowd. Jesus did many miracles but some believed He did it by Satan’s power, the prince of demons. 

“A kingdom at war with itself is doomed,” Jesus reminded them. “How will it stand? If it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” Jesus warns that, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” 

Sometimes the problem is we are not fully committed to God. Instead of being solidly on His side, we sit at the sidelines. On Sundays, we go to church, and pray. We even decide to do better, to love God and neighbor. But then during the week, it’s back to our favorite sins and worldly pleasures. One man told a priest during confession, “Father, I keep confessing the same sins!” The priest responded, “What do you want, new sins??!”

God can work powerfully in us, even an ounce of His power would be enough to change us, if we are not at war with ourselves. Many want to stop taking drugs, or want to quit drinking excessively, or know that pornography is destroying them. But they keep going with the same friends, visiting the same places, and are addicted to the same websites, where they get tempted. The same is true with other vices. To put a stop to it, we need to cut away from our lives that which lures us into sin. Then we can show Jesus we want to be on His side, not against Him.