Never thought I'd be writing this, but I've seen some things lately that have caused concern. I try to avoid offending people, but sometimes the truth is offensive and for that, I don't apologize. So why talk about this? Why bring attention to this idea?
According to the movie Come Out In Jesus' Name, deliverance ministry isn't for the lost, it's for the church. In other words, their ministry is a deliverance of Christians. Is this biblical? This is a controversial topic with many passionate people on both sides, but for the sake of truth, we need to focus on Scripture and not emotions or experiences.
So what does the Scripture say? Let's dive in.
John 8:34-36 “Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
In Greek, the word indeed or óntōs means "truly, or a point of fact". If you are free in Christ you are completely and totally free. Does this sound like you can still have demons? Let's continue.
Colossians 1:13-14 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
According to Paul, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. These two kingdoms are opposite of each other.
Paul makes the case that when we are saved that we are delivered, in Greek that's "rhýomai", which means to rescue, save, deliver. And then we are transferred to the kingdom of Christ. Transferred in Greek is "methístēmi", it means to move, to cause a change of position, to change sides.
This implies that God delivers us from the power of darkness and moves us out of that demonic realm and places us into the kingdom of Christ. This seems to refute the idea of being saved and still having demons.
There’s no Biblical precedent of Christians needing deliverance, true deliverance is to MAKE people Christian.
The usual argument is Philip in Acts 8. So let’s look at it.
Acts 8:5-8 “Philip went down to the city of Samaria to them Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in the city.”
Context, context, context.
Does this passage prove Christians can have demons? No. Who is having the demons cast out of them? Those who are hearing the gospel and believing it. These are new converts who needed salvation.
Another point made by those who believe Christians need deliverance is the Greek word for possession, daimonízomai.
According to those who promote this idea of Christians being "demonized" or having demons, they point to this Greek word that is usually translated as possessed. They argue that it doesn't really mean that. They say this Greek word means demonized or having a demon and not possessed or under the control of demons.
Strongs has this meaning of daimonízomai, "to be under the power of a demon". It also means to be vexed with or possessed by demons. So no, this doesn't just mean "demonized" or "having demons".
BDAG, which is the most trusted source among scholars, has daimonízomai meaning, "be possessed by a hostile spirit".
Louw & Nida has daimonízomai meaning, "to be possessed by a demon".
Mounce, which is the source most people learn Greek from, has daimonízomai meaning, "to be possessed, afflicted, vexed, by a demon or evil spirit,"
Just by glancing at some of the Greek sources we see that possessed, oppressed, and demonized, are all just modern words that all mean the same thing, it's being under the power of a demon.
So do we have any examples in Scripture of any Spirit-filled Christian being oppressed, possessed, or demonized? No.
The pushback on this would probably be that I don't take the demonic realm seriously enough. That's false, I 100 percent believe in Spiritual warfare. I know the demonic is real and people are suffering from its influence. And yes, there are people today who are possessed by demons. Are these people saved? No. These people need Jesus.
I'll give you a few more examples that I often hear on this subject to try to validate these teachings.
Matthew 16:23-24 "But he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men."
Does Peter have a demon here? No, the term satan means adversary, one who opposes another in purpose or act. Is Peter standing in opposition to Christ here? Of course! That's why Jesus calls him that. But to make this text mean that Peter had a demon is to add your own meaning to the text. It's eisegesis.
I've seen some point to Acts 5, saying Ananias was filled with Satan and he was a believer. Ok, let's look at this passage.
Acts 5:1-3 "But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?"
Notice the opening sentence of chapter 5, it starts with "But". Remember the original documents didn't have chapters or verses, so let's go back to chapter 4 to make sure we get the proper context.
Acts 4:32-37 "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet."
Then chapter 5 starts with, "But a man named Ananias," so obviously this is providing a contrast between the believers of Acts 4 and Ananias and his wife.
But even more important, the Bible doesn't actually say he was filled with a demon. The Bible says that Satan filled his heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. This simply means that he was tempted by Satan to do this thing, and he gave in to the temptation. Does this imply Ananias was demonized? No.
We all face temptations daily, between our flesh and the temptations from the demonic realm we all have to fight daily to walk with God and make the right decisions. Giving in to temptation isn't a sign of being demonized, it's a sign that we need to get our flesh in check. Blaming sin issues on demons removes accountability from Christians and excuses the behavior.
to show even further that this argument for Ananias being demonized is awful, when do you see the Apostles or even God killing someone for being filled with a demon? Why not just cast the demon out? Why not just deliver him and his wife so that they can live for God? What sense does it make to kill them for having a demon?
God killed them not because they had a demon but because they lied to the Holy Spirit and God was more concerned about order within the early church than he was about anything else. It's why we see Philip preaching in Samaria but the Spirit not falling into Peter and John came.
It's why Peter had to go to Cornelius, God had to validate the Apostles to ensure his message wasn't compromised by people with agendas or just bad theology. Killing someone for having a demon just isn't Biblical.
So what do we make of all this?
When you promote this idea of Christians being demonized, what difference does it make to be saved then? What power is in the gospel if the Holy Spirit can save you but not deliver you? Why would God fill you with his Spirit but leave demons attached to you? It doesn't make sense when you view this from Scripture.
Often these teachers say things like “A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.”
Is this true though?
If someone claims to have experienced something that is easily debunked, should I trust their experience or should I trust what is true? In the realm of Christianity, I’ve seen some crazy experiences. Do all of these disprove solid Biblical arguments? Of course not.
So what’s the answer?
Acts 17:11 “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness AND examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
The Bereans didn’t accept Paul’s ministry because of what they experienced. Instead, they balanced their experiences with the Word of God. The Bible then says they were more of more noble character.
This has to be what we do as believers. There are so many different voices and influences with conflicting theology. Don’t rely on what you feel, don’t rely on what you experience. Study the Word. Make sure that what you are seeing and feeling matches up with the Bible.
I've even heard these same teachers condemn intellectualism as if wanting to do the exegetical work of digging into the Scriptures is a bad thing. I don't care what your experiences are. The real test of your experiences is whether they are consistent with what the Scriptures teach. If not, then your experiences are invalid.
The issue is clear. It is not whether a professing Christian can be demon-possessed, but rather can a genuine, "born again" Christian become demonized? The Bible teaches that those who have trusted in Christ are permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14 "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."
Believers are a new creation in Christ.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
God doesn't save us to leave us in the condition that we were in. He completely transforms us and makes us a new creation. There's no room for a theology of demonized Christians in this passage as well as other passages as we will see.
The body of the believer is now a temple of the Holy Spirit.
1st Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
The context of this passage is sexual immorality, but the point Paul is making is that your body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit, it's not your own anymore. How can there still be demons attached to a person who is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
The Bible says that these evil powers cannot separate the believer from the love of God.
Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Specifically mentioned are the angels and principalities - angelic orders. Not even they can separate the believer from the love of God. All of these things would make demon possession or being demonized an impossibility for the believer.
"Satan and demons are defeated foes, yet they are still very much active in this world, causing much harm. Though they cannot possess and control a believer, they can cause a number of problems." - Don Stewart
In conclusion, I'll submit an entry from Got Questions that sums this all up.
"Notice that in all the New Testament passages dealing with spiritual warfare, there are no instructions to cast a demon out of a believer (Ephesians 6:10-18). Believers are also told to resist the devil, not cast him out (James 4:7; 1st Peter 5:8-9).
Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11); 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). Surely the Holy Spirit would not allow a demon to possess the same person He is indwelling. It us unthinkable that God would allow one of His children, whom he purchased with the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19) and made into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), to be possessed and controlled by a demon. Yes, as believers, we wage war with Satan and his demons, but not from within ourselves. The apostle John declares, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
Who is the One in us? The Holy Spirit. Who is the one in the world? Satan and his demons. Therefore, the believer has overcome the world of demons, and the case for demon possession of a believer cannot be made scripturally.
With the strong Biblical case that a Christian cannot be demon possessed in view, some Bible teachers use the term "demonization" to refer to a demon having control over a Christian. Some argue that while a Christian cannot be demon possessed, a Christian can be demonized. Typically, the description of demonization is virtually identical to the description of demon possession. So, the same issue results.
Changing the terminology does not change the fact that a demon cannot inhabit or take full control of a Christian. Demonic influence and oppression are realities for Christians, no doubt, but it is simply not biblical to say that a Christian can be possessed by a demon or demonized.
Much of the reasoning behind the demonization concept is the personal experience of seeing someone who was "definitely" a Christian exhibiting evidence of being controlled by a demon. It is crucially important, though, that we do not allow personal experience to influence our interpretation of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Seeing someone whom we thought to be a Christian exhibiting the behavior of being demonized should cause us to question the genuineness of his/her faith. It should not cause us to alter our viewpoint on whether a Christian can be demon possessed/ demonized. Perhaps the person truly is a Christian but is severely demon oppressed and/or suffering from severe psychological problems. But again, our experiences must meet the test of Scripture, not the other way around."
- https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-demon-possessed.html
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