Can a Christian be demon possessed?
By chuck smith

Paul the apostle exhorted both Timothy and Titus concerning sound doctrine.^l To Timothy he said: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; put after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables.² What is the only true criteria for sound doctrine? It must be, that God's written Word can be and is the only basis for sound doctrine. 

The words of, "Spiritual teachers or experiences," must never supercede the Word of God. Paul said that if he or an angel from Heaven preached any other gospel than that which they had already heard, let him be accursed.³ The relating of experiences which are fables can never be the true basis for sound doctrine, and the minute we open the door and begin to teach from experience we lose authority and introduce confusion. People have a great variety of experiences and if I accept one unscriptural experience as evidence for doctrinal truth, then I am bound to accept all experiences; for each one would have equal authority as a basis for doctrine. It is unfortunate that of late, Satan has been getting more than his share of attention; it is sad that many Christians and non-Christians seem to have a greater interest in Satan and being possessed by demons, than they do in Christ and being possessed by His, Holy Spirit... . 

The question has been forced upon us, can a born-again Christian be possessed by a demon? The answer based on the scriptures and logic is an unequivocal NO! The proponents of this unscriptural doctrine have begun to use such terms as Christians being "invaded by demons" rather than demon possessed. 

This is nothing more than word games and a smoke screen to try to hide the scriptural weakness of their position. They also present an illogical supposition that the demons can invade or control the mind or body, but not the spirit. God's word declares that the body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you and we are told to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits which are His.⁴ Also in II Corinthians the question is asked:⁵ "What communion hath light with darkness and what concord hath Christ with Belial, and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols, for ye are the temple of God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them." Now to say that a Christian's body or mind can be possessed or invaded by demons, is to contradict the Word of God and declare that there is a communion of light and darkness, that God and Satan are dwelling together. 

The Scriptures also teach us that Christ is seated in the heavenlies far above all principalities and powers and mights and dominions.⁶ These are references to spirit beings and Christ is far above them. Where am I as a believer? According to Ephesians 2:6, I am seated together with Christ in the heavenlies.7 The scriptures also teach that we are in Christ,⁸ and that He is in us, it is Christ in us our hope of glory.⁹ Now Christ said concerning satan,¹⁰ "the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me". If I am in Christ and Satan has nothing in Him, Satan can have nothing in me, praise the Lord! 

We also read in I John,^ll that we know that whosoever is born of God, sinneth not; but He that is begotten of God keepeth him and that wicked one toucheth him not... As Christians we are in a warfare,¹² against these principalities and powers, and we need the help of God to stand, for they can and do attack us in a variety of ways, but they cannot come in and take control of our lives. 

What about these experiences of Christians having demons cast out of them, what are the voices that name themselves, the writhing on the floor, and the regurgitation? I do not know. I am thankful that since I do not engage in these unscriptural practices, I do not have to explain them. I have noticed that some of the names given by these supposed demons which are more popular are "lust," "hatred," "liar," "gluttony," "envy," "fear," "jealousy," which things are classified in the scriptures as the works¹³ of the flesh which we are to "put off,¹⁴ or by the Spirit to "mortify."¹⁵ Not once are we commanded to have them cast out. It seems to be that this whole demon-trip is a cop-out for the flesh. I would like to find some easy way to get rid of my fleshly nature, and rather than the painful process of crucifixion, I would like to just have it cast out. It is also a way of escaping the responsibility for my fleshly actions, for how can I be blamed if the "devil made me do it?" 

In the scriptures there does not exist one single evidence that Jesus Christ or His apostles or the early church once sought to cast demons of the flesh out of any who were in the body of Christ. The works of the flesh were recognized and we are instructed how to deal with them. Never were we taught that they were to be exorcised, ...Even in the supposed cases from the scriptures that would confirm that demons could inhabit a Christian, i.e.¹⁶ Annanias and Sapphira, "why hath Satan filled thine heart," or Simon the sorcerer,¹⁷ "thou art in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity," Peter did not practice exorcism. Instead there was instant judgment of death in one case and a call to repentance in the other. 

The fruit of this unsound doctrine of demons in the believer has been to create a real division in the body of Christ. Those who fall into the practices of exorcism soon seem to be looking for and placing a greater emphasis on the power of Satan to attack, than the power of Christ to keep. Demons become the center of their conversations and teachings rather than Jesus Christ. 

We can rejoice in God's Word,¹⁸ "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.¹⁹ We as Christians are told to resist, not "cast out,"²⁰ the devil and he will flee from us. Amen.

1. I Tim. 1:10: "For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine." 
   Titus 1:9: "Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers." 
   Titus 2:1: "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine." 
2. II Tim. 4:3,4: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 
3. Gal. 1:8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." 
4. I Cor. 6:19,20: "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 
5. II Cor. 6:14,16: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteous- ness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Be'li-al? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and 1 will be their God, and they shall be my people." 
6. Eph. l:21,22: "Far above all principality, and power , and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church." 
7. Eph. 2:6: "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 
8. John 14:20: "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father. and ye in me, and I in you." 
9. Col. 1:27: "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory ." 
10. John 14:30: "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." 
11. I John 5:18: "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth him, and that wicked one toucheth him not." 
12. Eph. 6:12: "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."
13. Gal. 5:19,21: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultary, fornication, uncleaness, lasciviousness, idolatry , witchcraft, hatred , variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." 
14. Col. 3:8: "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth." 
15. Rom. 8:13; 6:3-13: "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." 
    "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
    Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unright- eousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive-from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." 
16. Acts 5:3: "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath satan filled ti ,ine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep bal-k part of the price of the land." 
17. Acts 8:23: "For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." 
18. I John 4:4: "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. (Satan)"
19. I Cor. 15:57: "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
20. James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you."

Reprinted by
CRI Christian Research Institute
Box 500, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693