[Pastor Ezekiel]

Can A Christian Be Demon Possessed?

Demons, devils, Satan, and other aspects of the "supernatural" have in the last few years become a fascination among many Christians. Several books have been written and sermons preached speaking about the amount of access or contact those in the spiritual realm have with mortal man. Opinions vary greatly as to the amount of influence or control Satan can have over a Christian. Some claim the Devil has relatively little influence over a believer while others insist Satan can actually "possess" a Christian much as he can a lost person. What does the Bible say about Satan and his demon's influence over believers? Is Satan of little threat to Christians or is he a formidable adversary that can actually rule or control a believers life?

That Satan has some access to Christains is of little dispute among believers. The Bible plainly says Satan can tempt a believer to sin and further influence him for evil. The question we will address in this "Taboo Text" is, what are the limits of Satan's influence, and is demon possession of a Christian a possibility. The large majority of Christians don't believe a born again Christian can in any manner be possessed by a devil or demon, but facts and truth are not determined my majority opinion. The final authority for ALL matters is the Holy Bible (KJV) and there is where we will look for our answers.


What Do We Mean By "Devils"?

Anyone that has read the Bible at all knows it speaks of people being possessed by "devil(s)" or "unclean spirits." Christ and His disciples dealt with possessed people regularly and always cast the invading spirits out (Matt. 4:24; Mark 6:7, etc.). As to how these spirits originated or became evil, the Bible is mostly silent. There is some indication they may be the spirits of the "sons of God" who took on flesh and came unto the "daughters of men" in Noah's day and later died in the flood (Gen. 6:1-4), but there is no proof that is the case. Others suggest they are angels that chose to rebel with Lucifer (Isa. 14; Eze. 28) before man's creation and subsequently became "devils," but there is no clear proof of this either. Instead of speculating as to their origin, let's look at what can be known; what the Scriptures do reveal.

Mark 5:1-20 is the definitive passage on demon possession and its effects in the Bible. Some of the details about demons the Bible reveals in this passage are:

1. Devils want to be near dead human bodies or tombs (vs. 2, 3, 5).
2. They can cause unusual strength (vs. 3-4).
3. They can make a person unreasonable or immune to sensible persuasion (vs. 4).
4. They cause excessive crying (vs. 5).
5. They cause sadistic and masochistic behavior (vs. 5).
6. They have an affinity for heights (vs. 5).
7. They recognize Christ as "the Son of God" and appeal to Him (vs. 6-7).
8. They know they deserve torment and dread it (vs. 6-7).
9. They have names (vs. 9).
10. More than one can possess the same body (vs. 9).
11. They desire to stay in the same geographical region or "country" (vs. 10).
12. They would rather indwell an animal body than none at all (vs. 12).
13. They can cause animals to kill themselves (vs. 13).
14. They desire to be in a body when it dies (vs. 13).
15. They have a desire for water (vs. 13).


Mark 9:17-29 gives us even more details about devils:

16. They can cause dumbness and deafness (vs. 17, 25).
17. They cause rabid animal like behavior (vs. 18).
18. They can indwell from childhood (vs. 21).
19. They cause suicidal behavior (vs. 22).
20. They resist leaving a body and violently "rent" it while leaving (vs. 26).
21. There are different kinds of devils. Some have more power than others (vs. 29).
22. Some can only be removed by prayer and fasting of believer (vs. 29).

Ephesians 6:12 states Satan has a hierarchy of "devils" in his kingdom, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Thus some devils have more power and authority than others.

In Daniel 10:13 (as well as Mark 9:29) there is an example of this. "The prince of the kingdom of Persia" withstood the angel sent to explain Daniel's vision to him for 21 days. He could only break free when the angel Michael came and helped him overcome the powerful "prince." The "prince" may have been Satan, but more likely he was a very powerful devil.