This is the Ask Pastor Alex podcast with your host, Pastor Alex.
All right, welcome back to the Ask Pastor Alex podcast.
We’re here with another episode and another question.
And the question this episode is, can Christians be possessed by demons?
Thank you for that question.
It’s a really interesting question, too.
I’m always curious what prompts people to submit certain questions, and I have to wonder
if this one is just curiosity and intrigue or if it maybe has something to do with the
amount of movies we see every year that have to do with demon possession.
And so if we want to answer this question, we have to do what we always do, which is
go to the Bible and see, well, what does the Bible have to say on this topic?
And it’s really interesting that Jesus, very early on in His ministry, had interactions
with people who were possessed by demons.
In Mark chapter 1, the very first chapter of Mark, Jesus encounters a person who is
possessed by a demon, and Jesus casts that demon out of the person.
And so Jesus faced this issue very early on in His earthly ministry.
And then I believe the longest account of a demon possession and exorcism occurs in
Mark chapter 5.
It’s a really famous passage about the garrison man who was possessed by not just a demon,
but many demons.
They are called legion because they are many.
And when you look at this account and the effects that this possession had upon the
garrison man, it’s pretty concerning.
So for instance, the Bible says that he possessed at least a level of what appears to be supernatural
strength.
It says that he could not be held by bonds, that he could break apart chains and any bonds
that were put upon him.
Not only that, but he was living in total isolation.
It says that he was in the caves and the mountains and he was totally by himself.
And not only that, but it says that he was always crying and cutting himself.
And so that’s really disturbing when you’re reading that and you see the effects that
this possession has upon the man, that he is in total isolation and he is crying constantly.
He’s harming himself, cutting himself constantly.
And then not only that, the Bible also indicates that he wasn’t in his right mind as he was
possessed.
He really wasn’t himself as he was possessed by these demons because the Bible says that
once Jesus actually cast the legion out and the man is free, he says then that he was
in his right mind.
And so when we read that, I can understand why someone would want to know the answer
to this question, why they’re curious about whether or not Christians can be possessed
by demons because nobody wants that, right?
Like that sounds terrible.
Isolation, a level of depression that we probably can’t even imagine, always crying, self-harm,
cutting yourself, not in your right mind.
It seems that the demons, if they possess a person, they gain total control over that
person and what that person thinks and does and how they act.
And so the question is, well, what does the Bible seem to say about Christians?
Can that happen to us?
When we get an answer in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, we actually, there are multiple places
in the New Testament that give us good reasons to believe that Christians cannot be possessed
by demons.
So 2 Corinthians chapter 6, starting in verse 14, the Bible says, do not be unequally yoked
with unbelievers.
For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?
Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
What accord has Christ with Belial?
Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
What agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we are the temple of the living God.
As God said, I will make my dwelling among them and I will walk among them and I will
be their God and they shall be my people.
And so we know that as Christians, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God Himself.
We are the temple of the living God and the living God lives in us.
He has indwelt us by His Holy Spirit.
And the Bible is really indicating here that the Holy Spirit cannot occupy the same space
as the demons, as that which is unholy and unrighteous.
The darkness has nothing to do with the light.
But then we even get a further answer in 1 John chapter 4, verses 1 through 4, the Bible
says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are
from God.
For many false prophets have gone into the world.
By this you know the Spirit of God.
So referring there to the Holy Spirit.
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
This is the Spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world.
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them.
For He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
So notice the contrast there.
The Bible is saying, hey, here’s how you can tell if a spirit is from the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of God.
They’re going to confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, that He is the Son of the
Living God.
And then the Bible also says, but if that’s not the case, it’s going to be the Spirit
of the Antichrist who comes from the demonic realm, the realm of Satan, things like that.
And the Bible says here that He who is in us, so referring there to the Holy Spirit,
is greater than he who is in the world, referring to the spirits of the demonic realm.
And so it wouldn’t make sense for the Bible to say, well, He who is in you, well, who
is He referring to there?
If Christians can be possessed by demons, then we would have to ask, well, in this case,
is this referring to the Holy Spirit or to a demon who might be possessing a Christian
at the time?
That wouldn’t make sense.
The only thing that would make sense is if this is referring exclusively to the Holy
Spirit and in such a way that it can never be referring to anyone else.
In other words, it is absolutely impossible for a demon to possess a Christian because
the Christian has the Holy Spirit of God living within him.
Now, I know that this next part doesn’t really, it’s not a direct reference to the question
that was asked.
The question that was asked was, can Christians be possessed by demons?
I think the Bible gives a very clear answer, an emphatic no.
Christians cannot be possessed by demons.
But that does raise another issue that I think we should at least touch on very quickly,
which is what about demon oppression?
Because I think there is a big difference between being possessed by demons and being
oppressed by demons.
Possession, as we mentioned before, seems to indicate that the demonic spirit has a
complete control over the person that it is currently possessing.
So they would be able to make sure the person is not in their right mind.
They would be able to make them do self-harm, cut themselves constantly, depressed.
They would have control over their speech, their thoughts, their actions, all that kind
of stuff, right?
And we know that that can’t happen to a Christian and praise God for that.
But it is also true that Christians can be oppressed or harassed by the realm of the
demonic, and specifically demonic forces and demons themselves.
I mean, if you want a good example of this, just think about Jesus.
In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus experiences oppression and harassment by Satan himself.
Satan comes to Jesus while he is in the wilderness, and Satan begins to harass him and tempt him
to the point where Jesus eventually says, get away from me, Satan, and he casts him
out, he banishes him.
Jesus wasn’t possessed by Satan, obviously, but he was being harassed by Satan.
Not only that, but we see an instance of this in the life of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians
chapter 12 when Paul talks about that he received a thorn in his flesh.
Right after that, he mentions he was given a messenger from Satan.
And this thorn in the flesh, this messenger from Satan, were there to humble Paul to keep
him from becoming conceited.
So Paul was absolutely harassed by at least one messenger from Satan, probably many, and
oppressed in many ways by the demonic realm as well.
So it is possible for demons to oppress Christians and harass Christians to try to thwart our
efforts that God has given us to preach the gospel and expand the kingdom here on earth.
The demonic realm can try to confuse Christians and sow seeds of dissension amongst the church
and cause divisions to take place and all this kind of stuff.
That absolutely can happen.
But to answer the question very plainly, no, Christians cannot be possessed by demons because
we are indwell by the Holy Spirit of God and praise God for that.
So good question, really interesting question.
Thank you for it and I look forward to answering more in the future.