There are a number of liberal “biblical scholars” who do not believe in the actual existence and activity of demons. They believe that Jesus simply ministered and spoke in the context of cultural superstitions and ignorance. The “casting out” of a demon, in their view, was simply the psychosomatic response of a person who believed something had happened to deliver him or her from their suffering in the same way that a sick individual might feel better after taking a placebo medication. In the view of liberal scholars, science and learning has debunked the myths of scripture so that the idea of demonic activity is only for the superstitious and ignorant.
Others believe that although demonic activity was a reality in the days of Jesus, the cross disarmed Satan and demonic activity faded away along with miracles and the supernatural gifts of the Spirit somewhere around the end of the first century (Cessationism). The idea seems to be that God allowed the activity of demons in the days of Jesus to demonstrate his power over the enemy in the same way that God allowed healing miracles to demonstrate that Jesus was, indeed, the Son of God.
Some of these theologians might concede some possibility that demons are active in cultures where voodoo and other dark religions are practiced but they would maintain that Christians are immune to their attacks and certainly immune to any demonic spirit that would want to take up residence in a believer where the Holy Spirit dwells. Therefore, the topic as a current reality is typically ignored by most Protestant or Evangelical churches in America.
However, these same individuals would not want to deny the existence and activity of angels watching over us or working to bring about answers to our prayers. To acknowledge angels acknowledges a spiritual realm in which unseen forces exert power. Not only that, but scripture speaks of demons operating in Old Testament times hundreds of years before their “showdown with Christ” and we are warned constantly throughout the New Testament to arm ourselves against the attack of the enemy.
To discard the idea of demonic activity would nullify a great number of passages in the New Testament for any present application: the armor of God (Eph.6); divine weapons (2 Cor. 10); demonic doctrines in latter times (1Tim.4), Satan as a roaring lion (I Peter 5); Satan, still at work as the prince of the power of the air (Eph.2); and so forth. When we appeal to the cross and the defeat of Satan as the rationale for the disappearance of demons, we must remember that the letters of Paul and the other apostles who spoke about the continuing power of the enemy were written 20-30 years after the cross.
There is no doubt that Satan was defeated and judged by the cross. There is no doubt that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, that he has a name that is above every name and that he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. His defeat was the action in which his rightful authority to rule the earth was taken away. God will not take away what rightfully belongs to someone. The blood of Christ paid the ransom price for man and the resurrection demonstrated that the authority of Satan had been taken away. As a result, the church has the authority to put our foot on the neck of the enemy in every circumstance.
We are not trying to achieve the victory, rather we enforce the victory that has already been won. We are not fighting for victory; we are fighting from victory. Satan still has a measure of power but no blanket authority over men. He has only the authority now that men give him through their choices. Those who align themselves with the Lord can resist the devil and he will flee.
So then, how do individuals become susceptible to demonization? That is a better biblical term than possession. Possession is rare and does not happen to believers. Possession implies ownership and typically manifests as an individual who has lost all control of his or her life to the influence of demonic spirits.
Demonization implies oppression or affliction by a spirit or spirits but typically the individual will function normally in most areas of his or her life. Believers will work, care for their families, attend church, pray and even read their Bibles but one part of their lives will be out of control and at times will dominate them. This spiritual oppression or affliction may show up as depression, fear, addictions, anger, constant feelings of unworthiness, bitterness, etc. Each of those expressions has its origins in wounds from the past. Demonic spirits magnify the pain of those wounds and keep them from healing. These spirits may also manifest as physical or psychological illnesses. Remember the woman who was bent over for eighteen years until Jesus cast out a demon (Lk.13).
Some believe that since the Holy Spirit dwells in a believer, demons could not share that same space. But the Holy Spirit shares space with all kinds of sin in the hearts and minds of believers without departing: adultery, pornography, unforgiveness, rage, alcoholism, drug addictions, etc. We never assert that believers caught in these traps are unsaved or that the Holy Spirit has abandoned them or claim that he keeps those things out of a believer’s life because of His holiness.
In Ephesians 4, Paul warns believers not to let the sun go down on their anger or to give the devil a foothold. Unresolved anger opens the door for the enemy even in the lives of believers. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul declares that believers need to employ divine weapons to destroy strongholds within the believer’s mind. The real battle against demonic spirits takes place in the mind where lies and temptations are launched. Strongholds suggest a continuing presence of demonic influence in the life of a believer.
It is true that we don’t see absolute examples of deliverance for believers in church services in the New Testament. However, there are numerous warnings about Satan and his schemes, the need for spiritual alertness, and the need for armor. For the most part, we don’t see examples of deliverance for New Testament Christians because the church practiced deliverance when people first came to faith. We can safely assume that many of those who found freedom from the demonic at the commands of Christ became faithful followers. The miracles performed by the apostles and other church leaders such as Philip when planting churches must have included deliverance since the pattern set by Jesus was to preach, heal, and deliver.
On the other hand, the American church, by and large, has offered no deliverance for decades so that many believers are demonized without knowing it and without help and, as a result, make little progress in their Christian life. In my next blog I will briefly talk about how believers come to be demonized and how Jesus sets captives free.
