CAN A BELIEVER BE DEMON POSSESSED?

Is it possible that the Holy Spirit of God can dwell within a believer in co-presence with a demon?


Lev. 20:6: “If a person turns to mediums and wizards, whoring after them, I will set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” (God will have no part in anyone who cultivates the occult or offers himself to demons.)


I John 3:8b: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (The Lord came to destroy the devil’s works, not to dwell cozily side-by-side with him or his minions in the soul of a believer.)


II Cor. 6:15,16: “And 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 (demons)? For we are the temple of the living God.” (Believers are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Through the Son, who repeatedly drove demons out of people, the Lord has shown that it is decidedly not His will for His elect to be possessed by demons. The rhetorical questions found in these verses serve to highlight the contrasting natures of God and the devil. Much like opposing magnets, they strongly repel the close presence of one another.)


Luke 11:21,22: “When a strong man fully-armed guards his residence, his belongings are undisturbed; but when One stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, He robs him of his armor on which he depended and distributes his plunder.” (Satan, “the strong man”, was successfully defeated by the Lord God, “One stronger,” and Satan’s former possessions, i.e., people. have been given -- “distributed” -- as a gift to the Son by the Father. It is difficult to conceive of the Father giving His Son a “gift” still flawed by evil.)


Col. 2:15: “He (God) disarmed the (demonic) rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him (Christ).” (Again, God is stronger than the devil and demons. He despises them and defeated them. He does not and cannot tolerate their presence.)


Matt. 12:28: “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Again, the kingdom of God is characterized by the expulsion of demons, not co-habitation with them.)


II Cor. 4:4b: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (Satan and his demons blind people to Christ, while the Holy Spirit of God empowers His people to see Christ. Since God’s goals are at cross-purposes with the Devil and his demons, it does not follow that God would be tolerant of their presence in His people.)


John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (It’s not possible for demons to enter the sheepfold with the Good Shepherd on guard. He protects the sheep from these wolves!)


John 10:28, 29: “I (Jesus) give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hands. I and the Father are One.” (Demons have no hope of stealing God’s people from Him because they do not possess sufficient power to overcome God.)


II Cor. 6:14: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (If God does not desire His people to be united in marriage to unbelieving people, why would He allow a demon to possess them?)


Matt. 6: 24 & Luke 16:13 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (God’s plan is for restoration and wholeness. Satan’s plan is for destruction and schism. Their fundamental purposes are so oppositional, God and Satan cannot co-exist within a soul.)



Luke 11:17b “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” (Further illustration of the point established above.)



Who owns what, or where do worlds collide?


Eph. 2:22: “In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
John 14:16: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth.”
John 14:23: “Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’” (Believers belong to God. He dwells with them and in them. He has also revealed Himself to be a jealous God, and He is the only being for whom this response is appropriate as all love, worship, and possession rightfully belong to Him.)


Eph. 2:1,2: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” (Unbelievers, i.e., “the sons of disobedience,” belong to Satan. Satan wants to be like God, so he doesn’t share either.)


John 14:30: "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on Me.” (Satan is the ruler of this world, though this does not include the Kingdom of God and its citizens, God's people. Since believers are clothed in Christ’s identity, Satan no longer has a claim upon them.)


I John 3:10: “By this, it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (Satan has his own children, and God has His own children. There are no “joint custody” children. Based upon this, please consider that if someone says they are a follower of Christ, but do not produce actions and speech that is consistent with righteousness, then in all likelihood, they are not a true believer. Such a one may be one of those “wolves in sheep’s clothing” we have heard so much about.)


II Cor. 4:4b: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (Satan can blind the people of his kingdom to the good news that peace with God is found through faith in Christ. He does not have authority to do the same in the Lord's people.)


What level of interaction is Satan allowed to have with believers?


Acts 5:3: “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (Satan can’t dictate what we choose to do, but he may plant suggestions and introduce influences.)


Eph. 6:11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (The devil can try to trick us with his wiles, but Jesus has already defeated him. We don’t even have to fight him, we need only to stand the ground already won by our Savior. As pointed out in the verse, we have also been provided with armor which, if put on, leaves believers with no vulnerability to demonic oppression, let alone possession.)


Matt. 13:25,38: “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away . . . The field is the world, and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one.” (To read whole parable, see verses 24–30 and 36–43.) (Satan can make trouble for the church by planting unbelievers, i.e., “weeds” or “tares”, among the congregation.)


Luke 22:3: “Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.”
John 6:70: “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas.’ ” (As in the parable of the tares above, Judas, a Satanic "plant," was permitted within the fellowship around Jesus to serve God's purpose, and as Joseph commented concerning his own plight, “God used it for good.” This was not without Christ’s knowledge. Judas was called to join Jesus' entourage, but was not chosen to receive the gift of faith. Although he was selected to be among the original twelve, Judas was not a true believer and is not an example of a demon possessed Christian.)


Acts 19:15: “But the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?’ ” (To read whole episode, see verses 11-20) (Demons have been allowed knowledge about living people, including with whom they may, and may not, tamper.)


Some obliquely related asides:


Occult: Defined as pertaining to magic, astrology, or any system claiming use or knowledge of secret or supernatural powers or agencies. (Webster’s Dictionary)


Satan’s fall: Satan’s fall from heaven is symbolically described in Isa. 14:12-14 and Ezk. 28:12-18. While these two passages are referring specifically to the kings of Babylon and Tyre, they also reference the spiritual power behind those kings, namely, Satan. Also, see Rev. 12:4.