Can a Christian be possessed by evil spirits?

DanL · July 21, 2013

Janiebeth,

I am still praying for you. Please come back and pray with us if you can.

Dan

Willa · July 21, 2013

People who find themselves doing what they don't want to do are living in Romans 7. The answer to the delemma is in Romans 8:1. Walk in the Spirit and obey His promptings. Keep your eyes on Jesus and be filled with thanksgiving and praise for all He has done in your life. Praise can be a type of spiritual warfare. I have even had an obscene phone caller hang up on me when I started praising and worshipping God on the phone!

Willa · July 21, 2013

As much as I respect Jesse Pen Lewis, I don't believe a genuine Christian can be possessed by a demon. Harrassed and oppressed, yes. I don't think the Bible tells of Christians being possessed. Much of what people claim to be demon possession can be solved by simple true repentance and learning to walk in the Spirit.

King Saul had the Holy Spirit come upon him at times and then an evil spirit would come upon him. But I don;t believe that he was fully committed to doing God's will. A double minded person won't receive anything from God. Saul was committed to doing his own will. He did God's will as long as it was the same as his own.

I have only encountered 2 demon possessed people. One visited our church and would start shreeking every time the blood of Jesus was mentioned. Her parents explained it was because she was epileptic. I doubt it. Too weird. She was escorted out where the elders ministered to her.

The second had once been a Christian of sorts but had gone back to animism and became a shaman in an Indian religion. You could see the evil in her eyes and the darkness was so heavy around her--the light in my family and my pastor (when I went to talk to him about it) reminded me of the halos they put in paintings. No wonder Christians can recognize each other whan they enter a spiritually dark land. Jesus is the Light of the world, and the darkness has not overcome it. All hail King Jesus! All hail Emmanuel. King of Kings, Lord of Lords, bright Morning Star.

Elhanan · July 21, 2013

The term demon possessed is a translation from the KJV Bible of the Greek word daimonizomai. A better rendering of the word would be demonized as people including Christians can be harassed & attacked by demons; complete possession is a rare occurrence. A helpful book on the subject including specific methods for deliverance which many books omit can be found in Spiritual Warfare by Dr. Karl Payne.

rjp34652 · August 2, 2013

The term demon possessed is a translation from the KJV Bible of the Greek word daimonizomai. A better rendering of the word would be demonized as people including Christians can be harassed & attacked by demons; complete possession is a rare occurrence. A helpful book on the subject including specific methods for deliverance which many books omit can be found in Spiritual Warfare by Dr. Karl Payne.

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I think Elhanan is on the right track here even though I disagree with the practice of American deliverance ministries (for fun and profit).

Most folks, Christian as well as secular, have no real idea what's going on with regard to demonic activity as well as their own spiritual salvation.

The rendering of the word 'possession', as Elhanan points out has been mistranslated. Originally misunderstood the concept has been seized upon by writers of ghost stories and Hollywood screenplays for the purpose of sensationalization and profit. The common understanding has little basis in reality or scripture.

According to the Bible ALL HUMANITY is possessed of the kingdom of satan. Jesus bled and died to redeem some of us for His kingdom. Some. Not all. Possession as a spiritual principle means 'who owns me'. If the reader is not a slave of Christ, of righteousness, then he or she is by default a slave of sin. There is no middle ground. One cannot sit on a fence and watch the parade go by as many atheists and deists believe.

The operative word, for lack of another, is operation. The human body is operated by the human spirit which in turn is influenced and guided either by unclean spiritual parasites of sin or the righteous loving guidance of the Holy Spirit. If guided by unclean spiritual parasites the body is weakened and destroyed throughout its life, which can be cut short through abuse. The human spirit thus having no connection to God in Christ is therefore left to drift in the emptiness of spiritual reality (damnation means to be denuded of all things - including one's self-identity. Disembodied human spirits -the damned- lose all sense of identity and wither away to wander alone in the endless darkness of the spiritual void). The Bible describes these parasites as unclean and if anyone has ever been in contact with one of them he or she actually feels dirty - literally in need of a bath/shower. Missionaries in S.A. attest to this experience as have I. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, leaves a person feeling squeaky clean and energized. God gives strength and power and life and cleanness. Parasites are robbers, liars and murderers. Take your pick which one you'd rather serve. For me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The nature of salvation, as described in the Bible, is more than spiritual occupation by the Holy Spirit. It's not simply 'in there floating around'. According to the Bible, at the point of spiritual regeneration (accepting Christ), the Holy Spirit joins with the human spirit thus creating a new spiritual entity. The process is not unlike the joining of sperm and egg in the physical life to create a new life. Jesus even referred to the process as being born again. The caveat is that the born again process must be preceded by true bone deep repentance to divest one's self of the old life. If there is no repentance, then one cannot be born again. Jesus said that new wine must be put into new wine skins else the old would be ruined. The phrase is often mistakenly assumed to refer to the Baptism/Filling of the Holy Spirit, not the Born Again process. The two are completely different. The context of the discussion on Jesus' part was about being born again - about the process of creating a whole new spiritual being.

The epistles of the New Covenant/Testament go into more detail about the experience, even talking about the influence of parasites of sin upon this new spiritual entity. God is jealous and will not allow the influence of sin to adversely affect that which has been created with so much difficulty. If necessary, the Bible says God will cut off the born again person prematurely. That means death before its time. The NT is full of warnings about God's extremely close scrutiny of the life of the Born Again person. He is very jealous of that which is His - literally His.

Earth being what it is - a festering swamp of spiritual warfare - it is almost inevitable that any born again person become affected at some time by the influence of these unclean spiritual parasites that wander around seeking who they shall trap and consume. In a rather unusual ceremony, Jesus demonstrated foot washing. The meaning of this is clearly in reference to this sort of spiritual cleansing. As we go along in life we step in crap from time to time. If you have a dog you've no doubt had the experience of stepping into their messes. The spiritual experience is the same. Sometimes it simply can't be helped.

The Holy Spirit is there to get rid of it and to make us clean again. We don't need to be 'resaved', but we do need to repent of the error of our ways and to be willing to be made clean again.

The bottom line is that one cannot lose one's salvation any more than one can be unborn - reenter his mother's womb and have the egg separated from the sperm. If you are born again that's what it would take - and the whole thing is impossible. BUT one can suffer grievous punishments and an early death should one refuse the cleansing offered freely by Jesus. In other words, if you get dirty take a holy bath.

and that's just me, hollering from the choir loft.....

Edited August 2, 2013 by rjp34652

Micheal Westin · September 22, 2013

In the book "War on the Saints" by Jessie Penn-Lewis and Evan Roberts (1911), I found this passage: THE MEANING OF "POSSESSION" DEFINED

Such cases as these are known to-day, amongst even true believers in Europe, as well as in heathen China, but "possession" is much more wide-spread than is supposed, if the word "possession" is taken to mean just what it is, i.e., a hold of evil spirits on a man in any shade of degree; for an evil spirit "possesses" whatever spot he holds, even though it be in an infinitesimal degree, and from that one spot, as a spider finds his base ere he weaves his web, the intruder works to obtain further hold of the whole being.

Christians are as open to possession by evil spirits as other men, and become possessed because they have, in most cases, unwittingly fulfilled the conditions upon which evil spirits work, and, apart from the cause of willful sin, given ground to deceiving spirits, through (1) accepting their counterfeits of the Divine workings, and (2) cultivating passivity, and non-use of the faculties; and this through misconception of the spiritual laws which govern Christian life.

It is this matter of ground given which is the crucial point of all. All believers acknowledge known sin to be ground given to the enemy, and even unknown sin in the life, but they do not realize that every thought suggested to the mind by wicked spirits, and accepted, is ground given to them; and every faculty unused invites their attempted use of it.

The primary cause of deception and possession in surrendered believers may be condensed into one word, passivity; that is, a cessation of the active exercise of the will in control over spirit, soul and body, or either, as may be the case. It is, practically, a counterfeit of "surrender to God." The believer who "surrenders" his "members"--or faculties--to God, and ceases to use them himself, thereby falls into "passivity" which enables evil spirits to deceive, and possess any part of his being which has become passive.

The deception over passive surrender may be exampled thus: a believer surrenders his "arm" to God. He permits it to hang passive, waiting for "God to use it." He is asked, "why do you not use your arm?" and he replies "I have surrendered it to God. I must not use it now; God must use it." But will God lift the arm for the man? Nay, the man himself must lift it,^{note 1} and use it, seeking to understand intelligently God's mind in doing so.

End of quote.
As I am seeking to understand why I do what I do not will to do--in fact, I do things against my free-will, just as Paul did crying out in his guilt concerning this earthly body--I began reading this book. This section, chapter 4, rings true. I finally have an answer besides, “Call on the name of Christ,” or “The battle is in your mind,” or “Put on the armor of God,” or “You must not be saved if you are experiencing demonic control in your life.” I have also been told, repeatedly, that people give Satan way too much attention as he is conquered. He has no power over a Christian.” However, after experiencing spiritual warfare for years myself, these words became empty platitudes. I am not saying that the verses referenced are empty; I am saying that those of us who have unwittingly fallen into surrendering a small section of their members to the control of darkness need something more. The book continues with this quote:
“THE WORD "PASSIVITY" DESCRIBES OPPOSITE CONDITION TO ACTIVITY
The word "passivity" simply describes the opposite condition to activity; and in the experience of the believer it means, briefly, (1) loss of self-control--in the sense of the person himself controlling each, or all of the departments of his personal being; and (2) loss of freewill--in the sense of the person himself exercising his will as the guiding principle of personal control, in harmony with the will of God.
All the danger of "passivity" in the surrendered believer, lies in the advantage taken of the passive condition by the powers of darkness. Apart from these evil forces, and their workings through the passive person, "passivity" is merely inactivity, or idleness. In normal inactivity, that is, when the evil spirits have not taken hold, the inactive person is always holding himself ready for activity; whereas in "passivity" which has given place to the powers of darkness, the passive person is unable to act by his own volition.
The chief condition, therefore, for the working of evil spirits in a human being, apart from sin, is passivity, in exact opposition to the condition which God requires from His children for His working in them. Granted the surrender of the will to God, with active choice to do His will as it may be revealed to him, God requires co-operation with His Spirit, and the full use of every faculty of the whole man. In brief, the powers of darkness aim at obtaining a passive slave, or captive to their will; whilst God desires a regenerated man, intelligently and actively willing, and choosing, and doing His will in liberation of spirit, soul and body from slavery.
The powers of darkness would make a man a machine, a tool, an automaton; the God of holiness and love desires to make him a free, intelligent sovereign in his own sphere--a thinking, rational, renewed creation created after His own image (Eph. 4: 24). Therefore God never says to any faculty of man, "Be thou idle."
God does not need, nor demand non-activity in the believer, for His working in, and through him; but evil spirits demand the utmost non-activity and passivity.”
End quote.
I am posting this here for those who may want to debate these ideas, those who find themselves in this predicament also, and those who may find themselves ministering to those trapped by repeated sin. I welcome your responses and opinions.

sounds right on the mark

Micheal Westin · September 22, 2013

The term demon possessed is a translation from the KJV Bible of the Greek word daimonizomai. A better rendering of the word would be demonized as people including Christians can be harassed & attacked by demons; complete possession is a rare occurrence. A helpful book on the subject including specific methods for deliverance which many books omit can be found in Spiritual Warfare by Dr. Karl Payne.

whether its total possession like the man who ran naked among the tombs, who was literally filled with demons or the man in the synagogue who had an unclean spirit, I would say the man in the tombs probably started with one demon, or unclean spirit and when he continually gave up more ground he could of opened the door for a whole legion of devils to come in. I think the bible gives reference to sweeping the house of demons and seven worse demons coming back if they find the house empty

whether a Christian can be demonized or have an evil spirit enter them?.......I always believed the bible when it named Judas as a follower and disciple of Christ, I believe the bible when it claims the disciples were sent out two by two casting out demons and healing the sick, I think it would of been pretty apparent if Judas was like one of the sons of sceva who was trying to cast out demons without the authority of Christ.

here again is where the OSAS have not included someone can turn against Christ in their heart and betray Him............I know I know they never really ever believed, but I don't understand how you can be called a disciple of Christ (by God's word) and yet not be a believer