INTRODUCTION:
We share this reality created by GOD with other intelligent beings. Folklore and modern day tales of extraterrestrial and, or magical beings cause us to ask the age old question: “Are we really alone in the universe?” It’s been with us since time immemorial.
The fact of the matter is, we are most assuredly not alone. However, these extraterrestrial entities are not extraordinary in the sense that they are biological beings that inhabit other planets in our universe and have come to visit us in “nuts and bolts” space vehicles. Rather, these are noncorporeal entities of evil, malevolent towards man, and completely corrupt in their fallen nature.
I’m speaking of the “angels that sinned” in a rebellion that separated an entire third of the heavenly host (REV 12:4) along with their leader (Satan; see LUKE 10:18) and were cast out of heaven though Satan himself is permitted a visit now and then (JOB 1:6).
And if you’re imagining fallen angels as devils in skin-tight red suits, horns, cloven hooves, tails with pitchforks, this image has more to do with medieval folklore than the Bible. In today’s vernacular you can think of them as non-corporeal, highly intelligent super-beings.
They’re extremely powerful, intelligent, ever and always conscious, never tiring in their activities, and are exemplary in holiness or in evil in their respective kingdoms.
Many equate “demons” with “fallen angels” along with “wicked spirits, evil spirits, unclean spirits”. I think the latter three terms could be applicable to both, but I don’t think that fallen angels are equivalent or synonymous with demons (though this isn’t entirely conclusive, I think the preponderance of indications warrant such a view).
We know GOD created all the heavenly hosts (and a third of them fell), but if demons are not angels, what are they and where did they come from?
They most certainly are not an archaic phenomenon observed by uneducated man who mistook psychological conditions for evil spirits; Scripture makes distinction between demons and physiological and psychological maladies (MATT 8:16).
I am firmly convinced that the events that took place in GENESIS 6, where the “sons of GOD” (bene ha Elohim)” cohabitated with human females resulted in a hybrid species (half angelic/half human) that were called the nephilim. When these bizarre creatures died, their spirits roamed the Earth, and are today called “demons”. For more on this, see this video.
As a result of their disembodiment, having lost the pleasures of sensuality, these spirits crave possession of bodies in order to satisfy their lusts (as well as using their hosts to promote and expand the kingdom of darkness as well as to degrade, damage and destroy their hapless host who was made in the image of GOD – which is why they hate us so much!). Satan’s MO has always been to “deceive, use and trash” his victims, these agents of evil.
Demon possession has been very well documented for centuries. A modern day scholar that has ample documentation of this phenomenon is Kurt Koch. William Peter Blatty documented the demon possession of a handful of souls and wrote about them in the now infamous book The Exorcist (the basis of the film with Max Von Sydow and Linda Blair).
The question on whether or not a Christian can be possessed by demons is the subject of this article, and some superficial (certainly not exhaustive) treatment on these bizarre entities. Before we get to the question at hand, there are some necessary preliminaries that must be laid down as the foundation of this discussion.
~ PART ONE
REDEEMED By The BLOOD Of The LAMB
Jesus Christ, the spotless LAMB of GOD, perfectly holy and thus a propitiation (an acceptable sacrifice in the holy eyes of the Father) for the sins of the world has redeemed all who believe the Gospel by faith.
Upon salvation all sins (past, present, and future) are washed away vicariously. What this means is that since Jesus Christ died on the cross for all sin, for all time, the Christian therefore has all sins forgiven and has Christ’s righteousness imputed to them for all time.
They are granted new hearts (EZEK 36:26; JOHN 3:3-5; 1 PET 1:23; not reformed, refurbished, upgraded – the sinful heart is incurable, the Bible says (JER 17:9). Each member of the church, upon receiving salvation by faith is a new creation, given a brand new, Spirit-breathed heart, freshly and directly created by GOD Himself – how awesome is that!?
Now the Holy Spirit has a suitable habitation in which to live, and we become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 COR 3:16; 6:19). The Spirit of GOD is at the same time, an “earnest” (or “guarantee”; 2 COR 1:22; 5:5; EPH 1:13-15. A down payment with the promise to redeem in full – including that which has not been fully sanctified in our mind/soul, as well as the complete redemption of our bodies – will occur at a later date; ROM 8:23). The “seal” by which our hearts are permanently hermetically sealed in a spiritual sense is the heritage of every child of GOD, a member of the church!
This seal is spoken of in some of the above passages, but let’s lay them out here:
2 CORINTHIANS 1:21-22
21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
EPHESIANS 1:12-14
12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
EPHESIANS 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
SEALED BY THE SANCTIFYING SPIRIT of GOD
The word in the Greek for “sealed” in the references above is sphragizo, meaning: “a signet, a stamp, a private mark for security, preservation, to keep secret, to seal up, stop”.
It’s the same word used in MATT 27:63-66 where the tomb of Jesus was sealed by authority of Pontius Pilate (the sealing itself indicates this was done under his direction). This means that by no authority other than Pilates could this seal be broken.
The same word is used for Satan’s imprisonment which was also shut up and sealed by the seal of GOD (REV 20:1-3) and by the authority of GOD was his prison house secured so that no other authority could breach that seal. I find it interesting to note that the (probably) most powerful creature GOD ever created was apprehended by – another cherub? Or seraph? Or archangel? Scripture states it was ‘merely’ “an angel” who successfully imprisoned him.
How? Because he was acting under the authority of GOD Who decided to pass off his ‘light duty’ of incarcerating Satan to one of His holy subjects! I find that very gratifying!
So in every instance where this seal is mentioned, the same Greek word is used; no one could breach Pilate’s seal, no one could breach GOD’s seal – not even Satan! And you and I as children of GOD are likewise sealed with the Holy Spirit. All of this because we are redeemed by the blood of the LAMB, purchased of GOD, property of Jesus Christ!
We are safe in the Person of Jesus Christ!
1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
PLEADING THE BLOOD – IS IT BIBLICAL?
There is much disparagement about “pleading the blood”, particularly from the Reformed Camp, because nowhere is this phrase found in the pages of Scripture. However, what we do find is the shedding of blood to cover sin.
GENESIS 3:21 is the first instance where an animal was slain, the skins of which were used to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness, but doubtlessly, the innocent beast was slain not just to cover their bodies with its skin, but to also cover their sin with its blood! We find later that Cain and Abel offered up sacrifices to GOD but only Abel’s was acceptable. Why?
GENESIS 4:3-5
3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
In Egypt we see the Passover lambs being slaughtered, and the households were instructed to apply the blood on the doorposts and lintels. This would ensure that the angel of death would not touch any of the occupants within the houses so stained (EXOD 12:13-23).
The obvious implications of all of these incidences is that it’s by the blood of the LAMB our sins are not merely covered but washed away entirely!
1 PETER 1:18-20
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…
Thus whenever a New Testament saint is being assailed by the devil, undergoing severe attacks and hellish hassles, we may “plead the blood” which is a declaration of faith, stating that the devil has no grounds for attacking a child of GOD so covered by the precious, sinless, spotless blood of the LAMB (except under specific circumstances which we will get into later); that the devil is trespassing and is commanded in JESUS Name to get off the private property of the King!
The seal of GOD operates both ways: to prevent that which is secured from escaping, and also to prevent anything outside to breach the seal.
It’s for this same reason I believe that a truly born again Christian cannot be ‘possessed’ by a demon that I also believe that such a Christian cannot lose their salvation (though I believe in eternal security for far more reasons than just this – but that’s another article!).
SPIRIT, SOUL & BODY –HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?
Scripture states that we are a three-fold being composed of body, soul, and spirit (1 THESS 5:23). Different words are used for each of these components: soma for “body”, psuche for “soul” and pneuma for “spirit”.
Pneuma means “breath, air, wind, spirit, the rational soul, the vital mental disposition, superhuman – in reference to angelic beings (“ministering spirits”; HEB 1:14).
AN ANIMATING SPIRIT of ABOMINATION?Psuche means “spirit, the animal sentient principle only, thus distinguished on the one hand from pneuma (the rational, immortal aspect) and refers to vitality [as expressed by the animation of animals (GEN 1:30) and perhaps even plants as well as the carnal aspect of life in mankind]. Thus, psuche is directly related to, but distinct from the body.
On a side note, the image of the beast is given life by the false prophet in REV 13:15, but the word used for “life” is not “psuche” from the Greek, but rather pneuma. I often wondered how anyone could impart life to an image, but we see the false prophet doing so here, obviously by the power of Satan. Yet how could Satan impart “life” (the Greek word used is pneuma)?
When I realized that pneuma can mean “spirit” as in spirit being or [fallen] angel, it dawned on me that this “image” whatever it may be, will likely be inhabited by a fallen angelic spirit which will animate it.
GENESIS 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed [naphach] into his nostrils the breath [neshamah] of life [chay]; and man became a living soul [nephesh].
1 THESSALONIANS 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The LORD purchased us, and we belong to Him, “body (soma) and spirit (pneuma)” as stated in 1 COR 6:20. But where is soul (psuche) that passage?
Also, it would seem that animals are composed of body (soma) and soul (psuche), but absent any form of spirit (which separates mankind from animal kind – sorry evolutionists! (not sorry!)).
And even though demons are spirits, apparently they can possess animals; consider the man who was possessed by Legion, and when the LORD expelled them, they indwelt a herd of swine (hence the first recorded instance of ‘deviled ham’ – sorry, couldn’t resist!).
It would seem then that demons can indwell psuche as well as pneuma, but not the pneuma and soma of the Christian so sealed by the Spirit of GOD and is claimed by GOD (remember 1 COR 6:20).
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Is it then possible, that while a demon can’t possess the spirit of a Christian (or even the body?), that the psuche – or soul, or mind, could potentially be vulnerable to the enemy in some way other than outright possession?
Q: And what degrees of “possession” are possible? What is meant by possession, exactly? What signs are seen in those who are possessed?
A: Accounts of full possession where the victim is completely and continuously submerged is actually quite rare; yet because of the fact that occult and demonic activity is increasing exponentially across the globe, this degree of possession is likely to increase.
When addressing the issue of possession, what’s commonly believed is that the victim is not merely being attacked or influenced by a demon externally – that it’s moved into the victim and inhabiting them. This can cause the person to become unconscious while the demonic spirit asserts itself.
The demon will eventually but only momentarily desist in its activities and the victim then regains consciousness, completely (for the most part) unaware of where they might be, how they got there, and what they’ve done.
Then there is oppression - this is when the demon is influencing the victim to one degree or another, exerting its power to bring the victim under its power, to cause anxiety, paranoia, fear, depression, a lack of appetite or interest in life, a desire for solitude and actively avoiding the company of others. The demon seeks dominate, manipulate, and control with the objective of possessing them (and the possessed certainly will exhibit these same symptoms).
Those who are oppressed don’t typically exhibit the following phenomena as those who are possessed (though in some instances, they may):
Objects moving by themselves, sudden drop or increase in temperature, substantial air movement, apparitions manifest, poltergeist activities; the victim is able to speak in languages they’ve never learned, has superhuman strength, can actually change the color of their eyes, or facial features; they may have knowledge of people, places and events beyond the capabilities of their five natural senses.
They have an aversion to crosses, Bibles, Christians; especially godly, sanctified Christians who pray. They will protest with screams and plugging their ears when in the presence of saints worshiping Jesus.
The victim will often times seek their own bodily harm, may cough up foreign objects, they may contort and twist in positions that the human body is not built for, causing extreme distress and pain.
They may curse people who will then fall desperately ill, become deeply depressed or experience intense panic or anxiety. The demon spirit is a master manipulator who will adeptly play ‘mind games’ in order to demoralize any who are seeking to assist the victim.
The victim may even become comatose if the demon is threatened with being exorcised by Christians. Otherwise the demon will do all it can to resist exorcism by diverting or distracting Christians by engaging them in conversation, divulging information that could expose the secret sins among the Christians present, project a spiritual attack to cause brain fog, severe headaches, nausea, disorientation, even opening a gateway into the spiritual domain.
For more on this, check out the collective works of Kurt Koch as well as the more recent and comprehensive work of Russ Dizdar!
Q: Would a particular Christian whose mind is transformed by the Spirit of GOD to a greater degree than other Christians, being more completely sanctified, be less vulnerable against such a potential invasion, whatever form this may take?
A: Demon spirits encourage sinful behavior because this gives them legal grounds to influence and or invade the individual. This is why people engaged in drugs face not only a physical addiction, but spiritual bondage as well.
Thus a Christian who is growing in holiness would be far more resilient than a carnal Christian, to say nothing of a person who isn’t even indwelt by the Spirit of GOD by being born again in Christ.
~ PART TWO
SCRIPTURAL TEXTS SUPPORTING DEMON POSSESSION of CHRISTIANS
Here are some examples people present that would seem to support the idea that a true Christian could be possessed by demons:
ACTS 5:1-4
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.
The Greek word for “your heart” is se, and one might suppose that the word cardia would be found here, but it’s not. Se has various renderings in application. It can simply mean “you, yours, your own” and it can also in specific cases mean “house”. Might this refer to a house as in one’s own body or person? By way of emphasis could Peter be asking Ananias, “Why has Satan filled you, your very person to lie to the Holy Spirit…?”
Fiery darts are shot at saints all the time by Satan, and such spiritual poisonous arrows enflame all kinds of pernicious flames of lust, envy, strife, malice, etc. – all accomplished without a single demon actually entering into a person and taking up residence.
1 TIMOTHY 1:18-20
18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
The word for “delivered” in the Greek is: paradidomi and it means, to deliver, transmit or transfer, to commit to another, yield up, to entrust, to surrender, to give up. The same Greek word is used in ROM 6:17; 8:32; MARK 9:31; EPH 5:2,25.
The purpose of the apostle delivering up Hymenaeus and Alexander was to learn an object lesson: not to blaspheme. How could one learn such a lesson via demonic possession? Such buffetings by Belial (spiritual attacks) however could be used of GOD to bring correction, or to prevent undesirable effects.
The apostle himself, because of the abundance of revelation that was given to him, was also given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he should be exalted (in pride) because of all the revelation GOD gave to him (2 COR 12:7). No one would argue that said messenger possessed the apostle.
Citations are made that claim true believers could be demonized (that is, to come under the influence, oppression, enslavement of demonic spirits without actually indwelling the victim) such as king Saul who was plagued by an evil spirit (1 SAM 16:14-23); Ananias and Sapphira (as quoted above); the young man involved in an incestuous relationship with his stepmother (1 COR 5:1-13); and also Judas Iscariot.
Also there is the instance of a Jewish widow who was bound by Satan for eighteen years, one that the LORD Jesus referred to as “a daughter of Abraham (LUKE 13:11-16).
There is no evidence that any of the above mentioned people were actually born again in Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit; and quite obviously not king Saul who predated the Cross and the propitiation of Christ’s atonement, without which the Spirit couldn’t indwell the any of the Old Testament saints (JOHN 7:37-39).
Ananias and Sapphira could very well have been saved, indwelt by the Spirit and sealed, but Satan having “filled their heart” doesn’t at all mean that their heart was filled with a demonic spirit. Rather, simply that by many fiery darts, Satan enflamed their pride in seeking praise and honor from among the church for their charitable offering, and yet because of greed, kept back part of the finances while lying about it.
The same goes for the young man who was committing incest with his step mother; grievous sins such as these are by no means limited to those who are demon possessed. The depraved condition of the sin nature is such that even Christians could stoop so low as to commit such things.
The poor and oppressed widow was certainly bound by Satan with such a physical affliction that she was bowed over, unable to stand straight. Yet calling her a daughter of Abraham doesn’t necessarily identify her as a saved person.
She might be a true daughter of Abraham, or simply a descendant of Abraham, as were the Pharisees who could claim Abraham as their genealogical father (JOHN 8:37).
The same with the Hebrews that the writer of the epistle of Hebrews addresses (I believe it was apostle Paul): he addresses them as brethren, but as a sort of mixed bag: some were brethren because they were Jews, others were brethren in the faith.
In all of these cases, there was no indication of demonic possession (but certainly influence) as seen elsewhere with blatant, obvious manifestation and signs.
It’s expressed in no uncertain terms that Satan entered into Judas (LUKE 22:3); the question then remains, was Judas a true believer? The testimony of Christ Himself recorded in Scripture refers to him as “the son of perdition” (JOHN 17:12), a descriptive phrase that’s also used of the antichrist himself (2 THESS 2:3).
Consider the Last Supper, when the LORD told His disciples that one of them would betray Him. They all asked, “LORD, is it I?” except for one – Judas, who asked, “Master, is it I?” (MATT 26:25). A rather significant difference – not that this is conclusive, but it is an indicator that Judas related to Jesus differently than all the others. The LORD even referred to him as a devil (or adversary; JOHN 6:70).
SATAN’s LEGAL CLAIM ON THE SAME BASIS OF DEMON’S CLAIMS
Recall the events that took place in GENESIS 3: Adam was appointed regent over the Earth by GOD, but when Adam yielded himself over to Satan, that resulted in the legal claim by Satan to take that regency from Adam and become the new regent/ruler/god over the Earth (2 COR 4:4; LUKE 4:6).
Just as the Earth was appointed to Adam as the rightful ruler under GOD, each human being is a kind of regent unto themselves. We have jurisdiction over our lives because GOD has given us free will. If we surrender our life to the LORD Jesus Christ, then He enters in, grants us new life, and becomes the primary influence in and through us!
And it’s when we surrender our will by submitting to Satan in any number of ways (taking the Satanic oath is only one way) – tarot card reading, fortune telling, communicating with the dead, divination, hallucinogenic drugs, even (believe it or not) engaging in pre-marital sex (of various kinds) can allow a demonic spirit to enter in and influence a person(s), because any form of rebellion against the will of GOD will grant legal license to the (tempting) demon access into one’s life.
Another claim could be through family lineage: if your parents, grandparents, uncle, cousin (anyone up to the third and forth generation) were involved in any form of occult, and as a result become demonized once that person dies or in some manner becomes incapacitated then the demon (known as a familiar spirit) can transfer to another of the same blood line. It’s not really fair to the victim, but such can very well be the case.
All legal claims based on any demonic spirit can be broken through the power of Jesus Christ, when the victim openly renounces any involvement in such occult activities, repents of their sins, and in faith, turns to Christ for salvation.
The demons hate to lose, so in conducting this action, the newly born child of GOD may (or may not) have a battle on their hands, but Christ will be faithful to lead them step by step through the struggle and ultimately obtain the victory!
The LORD Jesus Christ already broke Satan’s claim over the Earth (MATT 28:18; JOHN 12:31; 14:30 (in the preceding verse, the LORD Jesus is declaring that Satan has no legal claim on Him as he does on every other human being who is born as a sinner); JOHN 16:11) and He can do the same for anyone who calls upon the Name of the LORD (ROM 10:13; EPH 2:2-9).
POSSESSION or DEMONIZATION – OR BOTH?
It’s also important to realize that when Scripture speaks of demon possession and it's various levels, the word in the Greek that’s used is daimonizomai, which can mean to be “possessed” by a demon but also to be “vexed” with a demon (MATT 15:22 KJV): MATT 4:24; 8:16,28,33; 9:32; 12:22; MK 1:32; 5:15,18; LK 8:36. Possession definitely means indwelling a victim, however to be vexed could be seen as oppression.
THROUGH The BLACK - LEVELS of POSSESSION with pastor Shawn Carter from UNVEILING THE PARANORMAL
There are two instances where this word is not employed in describing demon possession: ACTS 8:7 and ACTS 16:16:
ACTS 8:5-7
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed, and lame were healed.
ACTS 16:16-18
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
In these two cases the Greek word used is echo, an alternate form of scheo, meaning “to hold, directly or remotely, possession ability, to accompany, to reign”. In both cases it seems that the depth of possession is particularly formidable, more so than with the others who were victims of daimonizomai. In both passages the victims were either not at all believers (as in the slave girl) or those who were hearing the Gospel and perhaps coming to salvation upon hearing of Christ’s sacrifice, but in none of these instances can we presuppose that they were already Christians and possessed of demons.
Dr. Sean McDowell interviews Dr. Richard Gallagher, M.D.; premiered Jan 20, 2023
"What is the evidence that demon possession is real? What do exorcisms entail? Today I talk with board-certified psychiatrist, professor of psychiatry, and leading psychiatric expert on demonic possession, Dr. Richard Gallagher. He is the author of a book called Demonic Foes and has a ton of insight and stories to share with us from his twenty-five years of investigating the subject of the paranormal and diabolic attacks." ~ Dr. Sean McDowell
A SUMMATION Of THIS SPIRITUAL SITUATION For The SAINTS
I have had conversations with so-called exorcists who claim that “most Christians have demons”, which I found rather alarming. For all the above reasons, I believe we may safely conclude that born again, Spirit filled, and sealed disciples of Christ cannot categorically be indwelt by demonic spirit in the classical sense of possession.
However, I also believe that Satan (through his hierarchy of principalities and powers) assigns demons to tempt, harass, oppress Christians; most especially those of the following categories:
~ There are Christians who, while saved, are babes in Christ in their spirituality – Paul identifies them as “carnal” (1 COR 3:1). If these are not walking in the Spirit, filled with Him, and engaged in spiritual warfare with all the accoutrements of the Almighty (the armor and weapons of GOD: EPH 6:10-18), they could become easy prey; potentially veritable victims vanquished by demonic villains.
~ Then there are others who are the power houses of the church, walking in the power of the Spirit (EPH 1:19; 6:10), living sanctified lives that closely mirror that of the LORD Jesus Christ Himself (1 JOHN 2:6,13-14). Saints in the former category hardly pose a threat, and Ba'al the ultimate bully enjoys beating them down. However, these victorious saints who invade the kingdom of darkness regularly and decimate those demonic strongholds are of particular interest to the enemy, and he works tirelessly to compromise them in any way that he can.
So do “most Christians have demons”? Not in the way that this exorcist meant, because he said he casts demons out of more Christians than he does the unsaved. I believe that all Christians “have demons”, but only in the sense that these nefarious spirits are assigned to them, to deter them from advancing in their spiritual lives or attempt to impede those who are already victorious warriors for Christ.
Something that I’m constantly reminding my students in Discipleship classes on Spiritual Warfare:
“Upright and outreach: this is what spiritual warfare is all about. To live uprightly in sanctification and holiness and righteousness, so that the Holy Spirit knows no blockages in His desire to use us powerfully for the kingdom work set before us. Our outreach is successful to the degree that we remain upright, and therefore it’s the enemies primary objective to get us to fall into sin and even become trapped in bondage to certain sins.Let’s remember, while we are in this world, we are in enemy territory: this world is not a playground but a battlefield. We need our armor on 24/7, we need to remain vigilant, and serve the LORD in His army as dedicated and diligent soldiers of the Cross!
“Yet if we are upright before GOD, our outreach will be blessed: our Gospel endeavors successful, our prayers heard, our ministries to the saints will flourish, demonic strongholds will be decimated.”
2 TIMOTHY 2:3-4
3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
I strongly recommend you read Dr. Gregory Reid’s article: DEALING WITH THE DEMONIC: RULES Of ENGANGEMENT.
As well as the TTUF article: The AUTHORITY of the BELIEVER. And the series: The SANCTIFIER Is The SAINT’S FIRE.
Also to acquire a copy of his book, follow this link: WAR of the AGES. You can also read an interview we did with brother Greg on his book, here!
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