Demons

[mrcorey]

Can a born again believer be possessed by a demon? Or, if they did have a demon before their conversion, will the demon flee when they accept the Lord as Savior?

Thanks;

Corey

[Ovedya]

A born-again believer cannot be posessed by a demon.

One who has been born again has been freed from the power of every form of bondage and oppression. I don't see how a demon could withstand the power of the Spirit in a newborn's life.

[mrcorey]

A born-again believer cannot be posessed by a demon.

One who has been born again has been freed from the power of every form of bondage and oppression. I don't see how a demon could withstand the power of the Spirit in a newborn's life.

Thanks Ovedya. I have for years thought I had a demon and went to a bunch of preachers asking them to rid me of the demon. They all said the same thing, you don't have a demon. And I wondered, how did they know. And why not pacify me and pray over me? So, it's been a sticking point with me.

Corey

[felix]

A born again Christian cannot be possessed by a demon. You are in fact possessed by the Holy Spirit. That is why we may say:

"Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" 1 John 4:4

The Holy Spirit is in us and we are in the Holy Spirit. No demon can enter us, the Holy Spirit is greater than demons. However, I do feel that we can still be influenced by Satan and spirits. This takes discerning. False prophets, false teachers, and false tongue speakers can really prophesy, teach and speak in tongues...however it is not being done by the Spirit of God. We must prove all things.

mrcorey, you should check to see if you have any mental condition. I discovered recently that I had ADD.

Edited October 27, 2005 by felix

[Ovedya]

I firmly believe that the main "battleground" in the believer's spiritual warfare is in the mind. Certainly a Christian can be influenced to think certain things, and he can even be led away by the doctrines of demons, but I have found no Biblical evidence or example of a believer being physically indwelt by a demon.

Christians constantly need the Spirit's renewing (Eph. 4:23; Rom. 12:2) in order to escape the corruption which is in the world, and the influence of the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2).

[nebula]

We seem to keep having this debate.

If believers cannot be demonized, be under the influence of a demon in any way . . . I sure went thorugh some weird stuff that needs explaining! Because I've had demons do some numbers on me - as a believer.

[EricH]

I am going to take a little different approach on this:

Here is my take.

Possession speaks of ownership. So in that sense it is true that demons cannot take ownership of a believer. We are owned by God, and what God owns cannot be owned by Satan

On the other hand, Christians, even through they are owned by God, are in different stages of surrender to the power of the Spirit. This is called being filled (or under the influence of the Holy Spirit). So, If a Christian is not filled with the Spirit (or under His influence), they are open to influences from other sources. It is conceivable that a Christian who exposes themselves to sin, and resisst the Holy Spirit, could come under so much influence from Satan, that it could appear they are "possessed". Even though they are not owned by the demon, they are being heavily influenced by it.

[nebula]

But I wasn't in the state of resisting the Spirit.

[felix]

We seem to keep having this debate.

If believers cannot be demonized, be under the influence of a demon in any way . . . I sure went thorugh some weird stuff that needs explaining! Because I've had demons do some numbers on me - as a believer.

hello nebula.

I had one experience where I felt evil near me while I was in bed. I said to it "Greater is he that is in me. I am in Christ and Christ is in me. You have no hold over me. You cannot touch me. In the Name of Jesus be gone."

While I was in the middle of saying "In the Name..." I heard scratching noising above my head. I thought it was a noise from outside. But When I said "Jesus" it abruptly stopped. Then there was a feeling of secure peace. I was covered by the Lord.

I still do not know what that was and I do not know why I spoke those words. I just started saying that when I had that feeling. Apparently my mind wasnt there because throughout that whole time I was thinking "is this just my imagination?" But I cannot deny the noise and the feeling of peace I had after I used the Name of Jesus.

[EricH]

But I wasn't in the state of resisting the Spirit.

Then perhaps you were experiencing what is called Demonic oppression, or Spiritual Warfare. That is where demons target believers who are serving God for attack. It cam come in many forms, but its goal is to discourage from service.