POSSESSION
(The Devil Made Me Do It!)
Article taken from the magazine: ANSWERS Issue 8
By CHUCK SMITH
The question has been forced upon us: "Can a born-again
Christian be possessed by a demon?" The answer based on the
Scriptures and logic is an unequivocal NO!
The proponents of this unscriptural doctrine use such terms
as Christians being "invaded by demons" rather than demon
possessed. This is nothing more than word games and a smoke
screen to hide the Scriptural weakness of their position.
They also present an illogical supposition that the demons
can invade or control the mind or body, but not the spirit.
God's Word declares that the body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit which is in us. We are told to glorify God in our bodies
and in our spirits, which are His, (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
In 2 Corinthians the question is asked: "What communion has
light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with
Belial...And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I
will dwell in them..." (6:14-16).
To say that a Christian's body or mind can be possessed or
invaded by demons is to contradict the Word of God and declare
that there is a communion of light and darkness, that God and
Satan are dwelling together.
The Scriptures also teach us that Christ is seated in the
heavenlies far above all principalities and powers and mights and
dominions, (Ephesians 1:21-22). These are references to spirit
beings and Christ is far above them. Where am I as a believer?
According to Ephesians 2:6, I am seated together with Christ in
the heavenlies.
As Christians we are in a warfare against these
principalities and powers, (Ephesians 6:12). We need the help of
God to stand, for these rulers of the darkness can and do attack
us in a variety of ways. But they cannot come in and take
control of our lives.
The Scriptures also teach that we are in Christ, and that He
is in us, (John 14:20). It is Christ in us which is our hope of
glory, (Colossians 1:27). Christ said concerning Satan, "The
ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me," (John
14:30). If I am in Christ and Satan has nothing in Him, Satan
can have nothing in me - praise the Lord!
We also read in 1 John 5:18, "We know that whoever is born
of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps
himself, and the wicked one does not touch him."
What about these experiences of Christians having demons
cast out of them? What are the voices that name themselves, the
writhing on the floor, and the regurgitation? I do not know. I
am thankful that since I do not engage in these unscriptural
practices, I do not have to explain them.
Some of the names given by these supposed demons which are
more popular are: lust, hatred, liar, gluttony, envy, fear and
jealously. These things are classified in Galatians 5:19-21 as
works of the flesh. We are to "put off all these" (Colossians
3:8) of by the Spirit to "mortify the deeds of the body" (Romans
8:13, 6:3-14). Not once are we commanded to have them cast out.
It seems to me that this whole demon trip is a cop-out for
the flesh. I would like to find some easy way to get rid of my
fleshly nature, and rather than the painful process of
crucifixion, I would just like to have it cast out. It is also a
way of escaping the responsibility for my fleshly actions. How
can I be blamed if "the devil made me do it?"
In the Scriptures there does not exist one piece of evidence
that Jesus Christ, His apostles, or the early Church once sought
to cast demons of the flesh out of anyone in the body of Christ.
The works of the flesh were recognized, and we are instructed how
to deal with them. Never are we taught they are to be exorcised.
Even in the supposed cases from the Scriptures that would
confirm that demons could inhabit a Christian - Ananias and
Sapphira, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart" (Acts 5:3); or
Simon the sorcerer, "Thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in
the bond of iniquity" (Acts 8:23) - Peter did not practice
exorcism. Instead, there was instant judgment of death in the
first case and a call to repentance in the other.
It is sad that many Christians and non-Christians seem to
have a greater interest in Satan and being possessed by demons
than they do in Christ and being possessed by His Holy Spirit.
Those who fall into the practices of exorcism soon seem to
be looking for and placing a greater emphasis on the power of
Satan to attack than on the power of Christ to keep. Demons
become the center of their conversations and teachings rather
than Jesus Christ.
We can rejoice in God's Word, "Greater is he that is in you,
than he that is the world" (1 John. 4:4). Thanks be to God Who
gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord! We as
Christians are told in James 4:7 to "resist," not "cast out," the
devil, and he will flee from us.
End Of Document
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