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Scripture does not contain a
single credible example of a demonized believer - instead, the consistent
teaching of the Bible is that Christians cannot be controlled against their
wills through demonic inhabitation. The principle is foolproof - if you are a
follower of Christ, the King Himself indwells you; and you can rest assured
that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”
by: Hank Hanegraaff
This article first appeared in
the Ask Hank column of the Christian Research Journal,
volume 27, number 5 (2004). For further information or to subscribe to
the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the
contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments
and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we
take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5 NIV).
While we would greatly overestimate Satan’s power by
supposing that he can interact directly with us in a physical sense, an equal
and opposite error would be to suppose that he does not have access to our
minds.
First, while Satan cannot read our minds, he can influence
our thoughts.
Thus, the Bible instructs us to “put on the full
armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11 NIV).
Without it, you are a guaranteed casualty in the invisible
war; with it, you are invincible.
Spiritual warfare is waged against invisible beings that
personify the extremities of evil; and their weapons are spiritual, not
physical.
While they cannot bite us physically, violate us sexually,
or cause us to levitate, they can tempt us to cheat, steal, and lie.
Furthermore, it is crucial to note that if we open the door
to Satan by failing to put on the full armor of God, he does, as it were, sit
on our shoulders and whisper into our ears.
The whisper cannot be discerned with the physical ear; it
can, however, penetrate “the ear” of the mind.
We cannot explain how such communication takes place any
more than we can explain how our immaterial minds can cause the physical
synapses of the brain to fire; but that such mind-to-mind communication takes
place is indisputable.
If it were not so, the Devil could not have tempted Judas
to betray his Master, seduced Ananias and Sapphira to deceive Peter, or incited
David to take a census.
Finally, while fallen angels are not material beings and
thus cannot interact with us directly in the physical sense, they are as real
as the very flesh on our bones. No doubt much to the Devil’s delight we often
depict him as either a cartoonish clown with an elongated tail, red tights, and
a pitchfork — or as a cultural caricature.
Far from silly or stupid, however, Satan appears as a
cosmopolitan angel of enlightenment.
He knows full well that without our spiritual armor we are
but pawns in a devil’s game.
In the final analysis, the whole of Scripture informs us
that spiritual warfare is the battle for the mind.
Can Christians Be Demonized?
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4 NIV).
Over the years, I have read a wide variety of stories that
claim to support the notion that Christians can be demonized.
In the end, they all have one thing in common: they greatly
overestimate the power and province of Satan.
Some deliverance ministers make a more valiant attempt than
others to provide a biblical basis for the contention that a Christian can be
inhabited by a demon.
Inevitably, however, Scripture itself undermines their
stories.
First, Christ himself precludes the possibility that a
Christian could be inhabited by demons.
Using the illustration of a house, Jesus asks, “How
can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he
first ties up the strong man?” (Matthew
12:29 NIV).
In the case of a demon-possessed person, the strong man is
obviously the Devil.
In a Spirit-indwelt believer, however, the strong man is
God.
The force of Christ’s argument leads inexorably to the
conclusion that, in order for demons to possess believers, they would first
have to bind the one who occupies them — namely God Himself!
Furthermore, I discovered an equally airtight argument
against Christian demonization in the gospel of John.
The Jews once again were accusing Jesus of being demon
possessed.
Rather than circumvent their accusations, Jesus condescends
to reach out to His accusers with reason.
The essence of His argument is, “I am not possessed
by a demon” because “I honor my Father” (John 8:49 NIV).
The point is impossible to miss: Being demon possessed and
honoring God are mutually exclusive categories.
Finally, Scripture does not contain a single credible
example of a demonized believer.
Instead, the consistent teaching of the Bible is that
Christians cannot be controlled against their wills through demonic
inhabitation.
The principle is foolproof. If you are a follower of
Christ, the King Himself indwells you; and you can rest assured that “the
one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4 NIV).
The Christian Research Institute exists to provide Christians worldwide with carefully researched information and well-reasoned answers that encourage them in their faith and equip them to intelligently represent it to people influenced by ideas and teachings that assault or undermine biblical Christianity and the essentials of the historic Christian faith. In carrying out this mission, CRI’s strategy is expressed by the acronym E-Q-U-I-P:
https://www.equip.org/article/does-satan-have-access-to-our-minds/
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