So is it possible? Can a spirit who’s not of the Lord dwell in a person who’s saved?
Well, before I answer this, I’d first like to call your attention to some of the New Testament examples of demon-possessed people.
SYROPHOENICIAN DEMONIAC
First of all, there’s the Syrophoenician’s daughter in Matthew 15:22…
“And behold, a Cannaanite woman came out from that region, and began to cry out [to Jesus], saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruely demon-possessed.'”
GERASENE DEMONIAC
And another example of demon possession is found in Mark 5. The Gerasene demoniac is given there in v. 1-20. His story, you might remember, is the one about “Legion.” This man was literally possessed by a legion / multitude of demons (some 2,000 of them potentially). And Christ would cast them out into a herd of swine and the swine would run into the sea and drown. So this is the second example of possession in the New Testament I wanted to bring to your attention ~ the Gerasene demoniac. (Mark 5:1-20)
CAPERNAUM DEMONIAC
And the third example is found in Luke 4:33-35…
“And there was a man in the synagogue possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Ha! What do we have to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are ~ the Holy One of God!’ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet and come out of him!’ And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him without doing him any harm.'”
And so this is the incident of the Capernaum demoniac. He’s the third example of New Testament demon-possessed people.
DEAF/DUMB AND DIVINING DEMONIACS
The fourth and fifth examples are found in Luke 11:14 and Acts 16:16 respectively ~ the blind and dumb demoniac and the young woman with divining insights who was harassing Paul you might remember.
SATANIC POSSESSION
And one final one, just because it actually shows how Satan himself can take control of a person. Luke 22:3 says…
“And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.”
This is the sixth example of demon-possessed people in the New Testament.
And let me just say and point out to you here ~ and just in case you missed it ~ each of the above six examples of New Testament demon possession are individuals who WERE NOT Christians. That should be a clue as to where I’m heading.
PARABLE OF THE HOUSE SWEPT CLEAN
Luke 11:24-26 is an important teaching about demon possession (among other things) and helpful when considering whether or not a Christian can be demon-possessed. It reads…
“‘When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.'”
Now the thing I want you to notice here is how the unclean spirit ~ the demon! ~ it leaves a person and after a time it returns to see what’s going on with him ~ to see if the person’s house is “swept and put in order” ~ if it’s empty. And if it is ~ if this person’s soul is not filled with something else (the Spirit of God), then the demon goes and gets some of his stronger buddies and re-possesses him (or her). Are you following me here? My emphasis is on this person’s “house” being empty. Nothing inside his heart. Since there is nothing there, he is free to be re-inhabited / re-captured.
SO CAN A CHRISTIAN BE DEMON-POSSESSED
And so finally now I’m going to answer the question outright (just in case you haven’t already figured out my answer): Can a Christian be demon-possessed? 1 Corinthians 3:16 says…
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
The Apostle Paul is speaking to believers here (obviously). And then down a few verses later, he reiterates in 1 Corinthians 3:19…
“[D]o you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
And so the Spirit of God dwells in believers. God’s Spirit dwells inside of us who are saved. He’s the One who’s in the heart of Christians. That’s what the Bible says. (1 John 4:4b)
So can a Christian be demon-possessed? No, he can’t.
Why?
Because, first, God’s Spirit lives inside of him.
And second, Luke 11:24-26 indicates demons seek to fill empty souls. A believer’s soul does not meet that criteria.
And third, there simply are no examples of demon-possessed believers in the New Testament.
A Christian, therefore, can not be possessed by a demon.
Now that’s not to say that a believer can’t be demonically harassed or oppressed. But that’s a subject for another day.
(Painting of Saint Francis Borgia performing an exorcism by Goya picture above is in the public domain: click here. PD-US)
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