Sun Tzu in the Art of War wrote one of the most widely used but unaccredited lines of relationships - Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. This is a cute proverb, and although it is not necessarily a Biblical proverb, it presents a good principle we should all endorse.
Jesus kept his friends close and his enemies closer. Jesus knew the heart of men and women. Jesus knew the truth about people. He knew all about Judas. He knew what Judas was going to do, but still He kept him very close to His side.
When dealing with the Spirit of Judas inside of the church there is a distinct before-Judas timeline and an after-Judas timeline.
The spirit of Judas chisels at the strength of relationships inside of a church. Before the ultimate betrayal, the spirit of Judas sabotages and operates through manipulation trying to gain desired place, power and possession.
This spirit blurs the lines between God's purpose within a church and a manmade purpose.
In the aftermath of Judas, those remaining behind must deal with trust issues, being vulnerable and remaining faithful to the work within the Kingdom of God in spite of their hurt and betrayal.
Who was this spirit's namesake? How did a man whose name paralleled the meaning of the name Judah, the name of one of the 12 sons of Abraham and another name for the God's chosen people get selected by God to be part of His ministry?
It was through the linage of Judah that Jesus was born. Why did God use Judas, whose name, like Judah, also meant "praise and thanks" to be the one we now know as a traitor or betrayer?
This is Judas' ChurchBuster episode.