There is so much debate around spiritual warfare, demonic possession, deliverance ministry, and the like, causing me to evaluate my understanding and nail down exactly what is biblical truth about the matter.
Looking to the New Testament church, there is no Scriptural support for demonic possession of Christians, per se, but there is Scriptural support for:
- Satan filling the heart of a Christian (Acts 5:3), which in turn causes a person to think and act on wickedness.
- Satan being the Christian’s adversary and prowling around, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8-9), working in suffering and persecution to instigate faithlessness (we aren’t told to be watchful for nothing, because he can succeed if allowed [more about how he is allowed in the last point]).
- Satan working to outwit us (2 Corinthians 2:11), in which he attempts to destroy unity, forgiveness, and love among Christians, working to dishonor God’s glory in Jesus the Christ.
- Satan, the devil, scheming against Christians (Ephesians 6:11), wherein Christians wrestle (struggle in spiritual conflict to see who is the victor) with the rulers, authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (the enemy Satan and his servants, demons; this struggle is the basis of understanding spiritual warfare and all that is demonic), which is why we are to equip ourselves in God’s Armor—the truth (belt), righteousness (breastplate, also said to be faith and love in 1 Thessalonians 5:8), readiness given by the Gospel (shoes), faith (shield) which extinguishes Satan attacks—the flaming darts he shoots at us, salvation (helmet), and the Word of God (sword).
- Satan working to deceive Christians and lead our thoughts astray (2 Corinthians 11:3), as he attacks the mind, leading away from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
- Satan disguising himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15), as do his servants (demons and those he is using as false apostles/teachers), mimicking servants of righteousness (even lies have some sprinkling of truth and appearance of authentic/righteous), which will lead away even the elect (Matthew 24).
- Satan working among Christians (James 3:13–4:7), within our hearts and minds, influencing our actions—causing quarrels and stirring bitterness, jealousy, and selfish ambitions in the heart, pushing us to be friends with the world—via temptation, like he tried with Christ in the desert (Luke 13), but Christians are warned to resist, and the devil will flee—like he did with Jesus. Yet, this also means there is the opportunity Christians will not resist as warned, but will fall to his temptations, his influence.
- Satan physically hindering (1 Thessalonians 2:18), meaning he can physically, tangibly influence circumstances around us in order to hinder us from doing God’s work (sharing the Gospel, meeting with the church, etc.).
- Satan, in his prowling, seizes any opportunity to act (Ephesians 4:27), and Christians allow him this foothold (“opportunity, power, occasion for acting” BLB) when acting in sin and participating in worldly, profane practices. This is what I define as “opening a door” to Satan and the demonic. Not that Satan or his demons will fully “possess” (“to be under the power of” [BLB]/ ”own…control firmly…dominate” [Merriam Webster]) the Christian, but that we are inviting him, allowing the opportunity for him and his servants to influence our thoughts, hearts, and, ultimately, our actions.
(More on that in the closing)
It is to my discernment that if we are genuinely saved, living faithfully in obedience and full surrender in holiness, then Jesus Christ is our Lord—our owner—by His Spirit dwelling in us (He is our life—Colossians 3:1-4); therefore, Satan cannot fully “own” someone unless he/she is either a false convert, an apostate, or—possibly—on his/her way to apostasy.
*What I mean by “on his/her way to apostasy” is that when Christians who aren’t fully submitted to and abiding in the Lord in faithfulness—choosing to live and walk by the flesh rather than by His Spirit in holiness/sanctification, can, first, grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). This is what happens each time any Christian chooses to walk by the flesh and not by Him, though, at this point Christians can acknowledge sin, confess sin, and repent, and He will forgive (1 John 1:8-9). But when Christians do not repent and continue down the path of the flesh in rebellion, then, they can eventually quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). The Holy Spirit is likened to a fire/flame (Acts 2:3-4), and Christians can extinguish this flame, the Spirit in us, ignoring and rejecting Him and His work in us continuously, thus becoming open to allowing Satan in and turning and walking away from God (apostasy) in our free will (Romans 11:22/ 1 Corinthians 15:2/ etc.). 1, 2, 3 John are great passages for true conversion and sin. In these passages, we see that those who practice sinning are not of God. And those who are genuinely born of God and continue in the faith, do not keep on sinning, and the evil one (Satan) does not “touch” them (as in, assail them [without their allowance] to the point of severing “the vital union between Christ and the believer” [BLB] 1 John 5:18; this goes with God’s promises we see in passages like John 10:28-29 and Romans 8:38-39). However, as made clear from other passages of Scripture, like I’ve provided, Satan can influence and tempt all Christians—even causing whatever labor for the Gospel to be in vain, apostasy, because Satan would succeed in tempting Christians to the point of abandoning the faith of their own will (1 Thessalonians 3:5). Yet, God always provides boundaries for temptation, not letting us be tempted beyond our ability and offering a way of escape from the temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Something to note: We have the free will choice, even after salvation, to live for Him by His Spirit—abiding in Christ fully in faithfulness and repentance—or live in the flesh and rebellion, eventually walking away (I mean, Paul’s letters were written to the churches, the saved, and were full of rebuke, correction, and warning not to be led astray. It is apparent that living by the flesh or by the Spirit is a choice, but the genuinely saved will be bent in the Spirit toward the latter, while those who are either false convert or on their way to apostasy, having allowed Satan’s influence to lead astray, will be bent toward the former).
Paul’s letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 4, makes clear that Christians can depart from the faith BY devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons through insincere, lying people whose consciences are seared (desensitized and made ineffective). False teaching is demonic, and when Christians adopt those false teachings, which comes from the demonic, deceitful spirits (the source of the error—remember, Satan is the father of lies—John 8:44), they eventually depart from the faith. This example is also given with young Christian widows in 1 Timothy 5:14-15—those who give the adversary (Satan) an opportunity and have strayed away from the faith to follow Satan (in his falsehoods/lies).
Now, on to “deliverance.”
Got Questions has this to say about biblical support of demonic possession and exorcism (deliverance):
Exorcism (commanding demons to leave other people) was practiced by various people in the Gospels and the Book of Acts—the disciples as part of Christ’s instructions (Matthew 10); others using Christ’s name (Mark 9:38); the children of the Pharisees (Luke 11:18-19); Paul (Acts 16); and certain exorcists (Acts 19:11-16). It appears that the purpose of Jesus’ disciples performing exorcisms was to show Christ’s dominion over the demons (Luke 10:17) and to verify that the disciples were acting in His name and by His authority. It also revealed their faith or lack of faith (Matthew 17:14-21). It was obvious that this act of casting out demons was important to the ministry of the disciples. However, it is unclear what part casting out demons actually played in the discipleship process. Interestingly, there seems to be a shift in the latter part of the New Testament regarding demonic warfare. The teaching portions of the New Testament (Romans through Jude) refer to demonic activity, yet do not discuss the actions of casting them out, nor are believers exhorted to do so. We are told to put on the armor to stand against them (Ephesians 6:10-18). We are told to resist the devil (James 4:7), be careful of him (1 Peter 5:8), and not give him room in our lives (Ephesians 4:27). However, we are not told how to cast him or his demons out of others, or that we should even consider doing so.
Some have used Mark 16 in order to support the command for Christians today to continue deliverance ministry—casting out demons.
First, I do want to point out, that while we use Mark 16:9-20 sometimes (I’ve referred to it cautiously in reference to baptism—Mark 16:16), its authenticity as canon is debated. “This longer ending is missing from various old and reliable Greek manuscripts (est. Sinaiticus and Vaticanus), as well as numerous early Latin, Syriac, Armenian, and Georgian manuscripts. Early church fathers (e.g., Origen and Clement of Alexandria) did not appear to know of these verses…On the other hand, some early and many later manuscripts (such as the manuscripts known as A, C, and D) contain vv. 9-20, and many church fathers (such as Irenaeus) evidently knew of these verses. As for the verses themselves, they contain various Greek words and expressions uncommon to Mark, and there are stylistic differences as well…In summary, vv. 9-20 should be read with caution” (ESV Study Notes).
Whether we read Mark 16:17-18 as canon or not, there are some things to remember. I like Melissa Dougherty’s evaluation of the passage (video attached at the end of this blog entry). She has noted that this passage holds no imperatives, no commands. It was also pointed out to contain strangely misplaced concepts (like speaking in tongues) that are not found in any other part of the Gospels, but instead, seems more from the Apostolic era of Acts—the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost and in the chosen Apostles. For example, we know tongues (known languages, not incoherent gibberish) were spoken at Pentecost, demons were cast out by the chosen Apostles (e.g., Acts 16:16-18), the sick were healed through the chosen Apostles (e.g., Acts 5:14-16), and Paul (chosen Apostle) was not affected by an accidental viper’s bite (Acts 28:3-6). However, other than the mention of tongues (e.g., 1 Corinthians 14), there is nothing written in the rest of the New Testament of these sign gifts (driving out demons, drinking poison, handling snakes, and catalyzing healing the sick at the same level* as the chosen Apostles) beyond the Acts of the Apostles.
*James 5:14 calls to pray over “the sick” but, in context (vv. 15-20), this refers to spiritual, eternal healing, since the bulk of the text is addressing sin, wandering from truth, confessing sin, forgiveness, bringing back a sinner, and “the Lord will raise him up.” And 1 Corinthians 12 addresses the gift of healing, which has been the debate between cessationists and continuationists, but as someone who stands in the middle, I believe that God absolutely still performs healing today at His will and will use man in the way of medical intervention (doctors, the medically trained in the mission field, etc.) to work out His providential interceding as He judges. Christians cannot catalyze healing the same way the chosen Apostles did, however.
The main point with this section of Mark 16 is what we see in verse 20, “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.” These sign gifts were given in Acts in order to confirm new revelation as the Lord worked with them via His Spirit (what we see at Pentecost and by the chosen Apostles in Acts).
In summary about the ending of Mark, looking to Scripture, the only acts we see of Mark 16:17-18 is in the Gospels and in the acts of the chosen Apostles (the book of Acts). There is no mention elsewhere, no example given in the early church, of this being any part of the church (as the Got Questions quote above also explained). As many times as Paul wrote to correct and exhort the early churches, especially concerning proper, orderly conduct and instruction for when they met, you’d think he would have at least mentioned this practice had it been routine, continuing past Jesus and the acts of the Apostles.
We also have to keep in mind, there is a difference in Satanic/demonic influence and the flesh (desires of sin and rebellion, the “old” self if you are a Christian—Romans 6:6/ Ephesians 4:22/ Galatians 2:20).
*BTW, not everything is a spiritual, demonic attack. Sometimes we tend to over-spiritualize every negative encounter we have, just like we do with every positive thing, relating it to a “miracle”.
Looking at Scripture, like Ezekiel 28:12-28, Isaiah 14:12-14, and 1 John 3:8, Satan did not “create” sin, but was a fallen cherub who sinned himself from the beginning. God didn’t “create” sin either, but—it is to my understanding—sin was simply in existence in response to creation’s free will choice between good and evil (I’ll break this down in a minute).
“Assuming Ezekiel 28:12–18 is symbolic of Satan’s fall, Satan is described as a ‘guardian cherub’…Satan rebelled against God because of pride. Satan did not want to be the most beautiful or most powerful angel. Satan wanted to be God. Satan did not want to worship God. Satan wanted to be worshiped. So, Satan rebelled and became the fallen angel we now know as the devil” (Got Questions).
“Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8
At some point between God’s “good” creation and the Fall of Adam and Eve, sin (evil) transpired in created beings, obviously even heavenly beings in the heavenly realms. Satan used his free will to rebel in sin, in which other heavenly beings followed (his servants, demons). In Genesis, the forbidden fruit was from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (a knowledge that was not supposed to be privy to mankind, but was in existence beforehand). “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:22). At The Fall of Adam and Eve, Satan tempted (instigated rebellion), man caved to the temptation—transgressing/disobeying God’s law/command, and all of creation was corrupted by this transgression (sin), inheriting a sinful nature and condemned because of sin (Genesis 3:14-24/ John 3:18/ Romans 5): the world and the flesh (fully inclined toward sin/sin nature—Genesis 6:5; 8:21/ Romans 1:21; 3:23). Satan, therefore, is not the source of sin itself, but is full of it and an instigator of it. “[E]vil spirits are…a contributing factor in the proliferation of sin and evil among human beings” (Cottrell, p.170). Since mankind’s eyes were opened to good and evil, and submitted to sin, mankind is condemned eternally, both physically and spiritually. Since man’s eyes were opened to sin, and is corrupt, man’s flesh is now of a sin nature. We are corrupt, with evil intentions, from our youth (Genesis 8:21). This doesn’t mean Satan resides in all the unsaved as possession, but the flesh is naturally corrupt, with evil intentions, acting on sin.
To reiterate what I mentioned earlier, even after we are saved in Christ, we still have a choice, as Scripture makes clear, to choose to walk by the flesh and its desires, or to die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31), being a living sacrifice, holy and pure (Romans 12:1), walking by the Spirit. This is made clear in Galatians 5:13-26.
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
We often grieve the Spirit, because we are not perfect by any means (1 John), but when we are genuinely saved and faithful, we will repent of those sins and God will offer forgiveness for genuine repentance. Repentance is not a one-and-done deal, but something we will need to submit to over and over, being we are without perfection. Yet, as we grow in sanctification by the Spirit, we will grow in holiness, and that grieving would be expected to become less and less as we walk by the Spirit more and more (2 Corinthians 3:18/ Ephesians 4:15).
*As I’ve said before, there’s a difference between being truly saved and slipping up in sin (acknowledging sin, repenting of that sin – stopping it and surrendering it completely to the Lord) and willfully living in or choosing sin (no acknowledgment, no genuine remorse, no repentance, no confession, something that is not found in the life of a genuine Christian).
Ultimately, though there is no Scripture to support genuine Christians—filled with and fully walking by the Holy Spirit—being fully possessed (indwelt/owned) by demons, there is the fact that Satan and his demons do influence the mind/thoughts and fills the “heart.”
“Opening a door” means making ourselves vulnerable to, unguarded against, and receptive of spiritual warfare (demonic activity—one example is participating in anything which is occult-driven or paganistic that entices the flesh toward the demonic). The idea of “opening doors,” allowing demonic influence, is biblically based. I think James 1:14-15 clarifies this well, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (opening the door to demon influence by submitting to the flesh, not walking by the Spirit). Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” See also Ephesians 4:27. 1 Peter 5: 8-9 clarifies who it is that is “seeking someone to devour,” luring the person to sin by temptation—Satan (James clarifies temptation to sin is never God’s doing).
Picture a car thief prowling around looking for an easy target. He tries a car door, but it’s locked, so he moves on to the next. He continues until, finally, he finds a vehicle that’s unlocked. He hops in and takes control of or even possession of (for the one that’s open and unoccupied) that vehicle. This is similar to Satan. Satan is not omnipresent like God. He looks for those unlocked, open doors to enter. We open those doors, leaving ourselves vulnerable, when we participate in sin and demonic, profane, worldly practices—and especially when we turn to things which are devoted to false gods and religions (the main thing we see in the Old Testament with the Israelites and their rebellion against God). But when we walk in the Spirit, equipping ourselves as instructed in Ephesians 6, being on guard against prowling Satan (1 Peter 5:8)—who disguises himself as an angel of light, of things that look good and innocent and “Christian” even (2 Corinthians 11:14), and living obediently in holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16/ 1 John), we will be steadfast in the faith and in the battle of spiritual warfare. (Inspired by Joshua Birx)
Therefore, we have to, as Scripture repeats over and over, be on guard, be not deceived, be sober-minded and watchful. We have to equip ourselves in the full armor constantly, to stand against the wiles of Satan, to shield ourselves from his flaming darts (Ephesians 6). If Satan couldn’t influence Christians in any manner, Scripture wouldn’t be so full of warnings and exhortations to guard and equip ourselves. And if we are turning away, thus truly facing spiritual, demonic attack, then the way we find “deliverance” is to repent, turning from our rebellion, turning in full submission to God in Christ as Lord, which includes being baptized for the forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit in genuine salvation if we are not already genuinely saved.
References
G1139 – daimonizomai – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (esv). Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1139/esv/tr/0-1/
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Possess. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/possess
G681 – aptō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (esv). Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g681/esv/mgnt/0-1/
Can a Christian today perform an exorcism? January 4, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2023, from https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-exorcism.html
Was Satan an angel? January 4, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2023, from, https://www.gotquestions.org/was-Satan-an-angel.html
Cottrell, Jack. (2002). The Faith Once For All. College Press Publishing Company.
Dougherty, Melissa. January 16, 2023. Deconstructing Faith? Mormons? Telling Someone They’re Wrong?! Favorite Teachers? | Q&A Part 2. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/POAowcqJvcs?si=W_Qhcq6jGXA1n2_B&t=292