Whenever I am asked “can a Christian have a demon?” my usual response is to ask “why would they want one?” A great debate has taken place through the centuries within Christianity as to whether or not a genuine Born-Again Christian can be demon possessed. The argument revolves primarily around the translation of the Greek word Daimonizomai which is defined by virtually all Bible Dictionaries and Lexicons as “to be under the power of a demon.” Its usage throughout the New Testament has often been understood to mean; “to be possessed by a demon.” Possession implies ownership and satan doesn’t actually own anything.
When the word possession is used in the New Testament, it most often means “to hold” or to be “held by” (See Acts 16:16). There is not one single reference or warning in the Bible about a Christian being possessed, or under the control of, or being held by, an evil spirit. People have invented new meanings of the word that do not exist in Scripture.
Christians were bought by the blood of Jesus and washed clean from their sin – past, present, and future. They belong to Him, and cannot be stolen, controlled, invaded, inhabited, indwelt, or made unclean. The word Daimonizomai is most often used in the Bible in the context of evangelism and involves non-Christians.
The Fortress of Safety
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20 NIV)
The Creator of all things doesn’t live in a “Temple” somewhere “way up high in the sky.” He lives within the body of the person who has emptied themselves through repentance and obedience to His Word so that He can take up residence.
Jesus gave His disciple’s power over the devil and all sickness. Christians have already overcome the enemy. Jesus destroyed the works of the enemy and lives IN every Believer. The physical body is His dwelling place and is now His Temple - the Holy of Holy’s (See Luke 9:1-2; 1 John 2:13-14, 3:8, 4:4).
There are two words in the New Testament that are translated “Temple.” They are “Naos” and “Hieron.” The word used to describe the body as a “Temple” of Holy Spirit is the word “Naos.” This word is also used metaphorically to describe the physical body of Jesus: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19-22 NIV).
The other word used for “Temple” in the New Testament is “Hieron” which signifies the entire building, or the outer courts, where all the people had access. This is the area in Solomon’s Temple where Jesus taught His lessons.
Every person has a spirit that will leave the flesh one day. Within the Christian, the spirit dwells in the body, and Holy Spirit dwells in the spirit. The word “soul,” which is often used interchangeably with “spirit,” actually means the mind, will, and emotions. The body - every cell, tissue, and organ - is the very shrine, or Holy of Holy’s, where God dwells. Christians are “the temple of the living God” and have the “mind of Christ” (2 Cor 2:16, 6:14-16 NIV). The holiest and beautiful Creator God of the Universe lives IN every Believer and He “is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:1-5 NIV). It is because of that profound truth that every Believer has power over the power of the devil!
The Body of Christ
Christians have been “crucified with Christ,” and He now lives in them. The life they live in their physical “body” is “by faith in the Son of God” because Jesus loved them and gave Himself for them (Gal 2:20-21 NIV). Only the high priest, clothed in garments of repentance, surrounded by a cloud of incense, with the blood of sacrifice having been offered, could lawfully enter in the Holy of Holy’s (Lev 16; Heb 9:7). Born-Again Christians are a physical, as well as a spiritual, part of Jesus.
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? (1 Cor 6:16 NIV)
That is why the Bible says not to have sexual relations with a non-believer because the Believer would be uniting the body of Jesus with one who is considered a prostitute. As physical union causes two people to become "one flesh," the spiritual union with Jesus causes the Believer to be one in spirit.
When Jesus was dealing with the religious leaders, He said they belonged to their father, “the devil” and did not “belong to God’ (John 8:42-47 NIV). The Bible says that "He who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning" (1 John 3:8 NIV).
The Bible proclaims to the Christian:
“you were dead in your transgressions and sins when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Eph. 2:1-9 NIV)
Born-Again Believers do not live among those who are disobedient, those IN whom the devil is actively at work. Those found in the kingdom of the Son are not under the rule or authority of demons because God “has rescued” them “from the dominion of darkness” (Col. 1:13 NIV).
Jesus taught that "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall” (Luke 11:17-18 NIV). The physical, emotional, and spiritual body cannot hold both God’s eternal light and the eternal darkness of hell because there is NO darkness in God’s holy temple! No matter how many anecdotal stories a Christian has heard, or personal experience(s) with demonic spirits they have had, the Word of God is the only source that can be trusted for truth.
Flying Lessons
When pilots are trained to fly they are taught that they must totally trust the instruments of the aircraft. If they rely only on sensory input, they could get into a situation where they may not be able to get out. The senses are reliable only to a certain point. The ultimate proof is checking the instruments to verify their feelings. A pilot could have a “gut” feeling that something is wrong but they must confirm it by checking the instruments.
While flying through clouds, a pilot could feel as if they are flying straight and level, when in actuality they may be in a slow turning spiral, or even totally upside down, not realizing it because everything feels ok. If they look at their instruments, they will know for certain if they are flying straight and level or inverted.
I have personally seen and experienced many unexplainable things throughout my life. I know of many Christians that have had things happen to them that defy rational logic. Yet, one should never interpret the Bible in the light of their experiences, but rather, they should interpret their experiences in the authority of the Bible.
The body, spirit, and mind of the Born-Again Christian is the Holy of Holy’s, the dwelling place of God. There is no basement, attic, hidden room, or unguarded area where God does not dwell. There can be no squatters or tenants sharing a residence with Him. There is absolutely no way an unclean spirit can live and dwell in the same place with Holy Spirit.
The enemy was thrown out of Heaven. It is no longer his home. He may visit occasionally to accuse a Believer before God, but he cannot stay, dwell in, or inhabit Heaven. Likewise, the enemy cannot stay, or dwell in, or inhabit the Believer because they are the dwelling place of God.
Possession Obsession
Even though there is absolutely no evidence in the Bible of a Born-Again Christian being inhabited by an unclean spirit, there are those who choose to believe that it is possible.
If a Born-Again Christian has an unclean spirit, then the question that needs to be addressed is “why is it there in the first place?” What caused it to move in? What door was opened and is it now closed? What is the root cause?
Just rebuking and puking will not keep a demon it from leaving, or even returning! A Christian can open themselves up to attack where demonic forces exert such oppressive assault that it can feel as if there is an actual possession of the body or personality. These attacks may range from mild harassment to extreme subjection of the person involved. The Greek word for oppressed is Katadunasteuo. It means to exercise dominion, dominance, or control.
The enemy tries to dominate and control everything. However, Jesus has control over him! Jesus went about healing “all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38 KJV). The enemy has to submit to the authority of Jesus.
This belief of demonization subtly changes the focus from God to satan. It can inspire fear in the Believer when they should be experiencing security in Christ.
In actuality, most people are self-possessed, not demon possessed. Whether one believes a true Born-Again Christian can have a demon or not, the real issue is how to effectively fight against the attacks of the enemy and keep evil spirits away.
The Daughter of Abraham
Not all who have demons or who are oppressed by demons are maniacal like the Gadarene demoniac, who ran around naked and lived in a graveyard (See Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26,37). The Bible says that sickness can be the work of the devil. Jesus cast out spirits of infirmity in non-Believers wherever He went;
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38 NIV)
Jesus delivered a "daughter of Abraham" whom satan had bound for eighteen years. She had "a spirit of infirmity" that had her bent over, and she could not straighten up (Lk. 13:11-16). This woman was incapacitated by a demonically caused disease that could have been the result of an evil spirit dwelling within her. The expression in Greek is “pneuma echous astheneias” which should be translated as "having a spirit of illness." It may refer to a sickness or a weakness, but the expression "having a spirit" is equivalent to demon possession.
The expression "daughter of Abraham" is used primarily in Scripture as an ethnic term for being of Jewish descent. However, Jesus did not call every Jew a child of Abraham. He applied this term to those who believed in the coming of the Messiah, such as Zaccheus: "today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham" (Luke 19:9 NIV). The Jewish opponents of Messiah were Abraham's offspring but did not possess the faith of their father Abraham (See John 8:37-40).
The major focus of this story was not the power of the enemy, but rather the authority and miraculous power over the enemy Jesus showed to prove that He was indeed, the Messiah. The demonic possession of those who believed in the promised Messiah was possible prior to the Cross because it was only the shed blood of Jesus that could break the power of the enemy. The significant point to be made here is that this daughter of Abraham was not Born-Again because Jesus had not yet taken on the sins of mankind, and Holy Spirit had not yet come at Pentecost to indwell, and take up residence in, every Born-Again Believer.
Simon the Sorcerer
Simon the Sorcerer believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah and he was baptized. Yet, he proved by his actions that he was not Born-Again. He tried to bewitch and deceive Philip as he had already deceived many people in the city of Samaria (See Acts 8:9-11).
Even today there are people who make a profession of faith and are baptized, but it is, “by their fruits you shall know them" (Acts 8:18- 23.) If there is no evidence of the fruit of salvation, it is reasonable and legitimate to conclude that the person was never Born-Again.
As stated before, there is absolutely no evidence in the Bible of a Born-Again Christian being inhabited, or possessed physically, emotionally or spiritually, by an unclean demonic spirit. The Born-Again Christian can rest assured that the love of Jesus - who lives in them - is greater than the evil one and the hate-filled hordes of hell.
The war was won at the Cross by the shed blood of Jesus. There are still battles to be fought with a foe that won’t accept he is defeated, but the ultimate victory is guaranteed!
