Finally, in this post, I will give my answer about this important question about whether or not a born again Christian can be possessed by a demon. This is a long post but I want Christians to understand about this.

The New Testament has a significant amount of detail about the unseen realm (to borrow a term from Mike Heiser’s book) when you pull it all together. The Lord wanted us to know about what demon possession looks like and how to deal with it and we find that in the gospels. Interestingly, the Epistles do not address demon possession at all! Now isn’t that interesting? I’ll discuss that later because its super important.

But first I need to be clear about what it means to be “possessed” by a demon,

Demon Possession in the New Testament

This is going to be a little technical but it’s necessary to dig down into the words used as well as look at angels, demons, and Satan to get some insight about who or what is doing the possession.

In the gospels, the word translated “possessed” is daimonizomai. To be clear, this term is found only in the gospels. The Strongs definition of daimonizomai:

“[the word daimonizomai means] under the power of a demon. In the NT, these are persons, afflicted with especially severe diseases, either bodily or mentally, (such as paralysis, blindness, deafness, loss of speech, epilepsy, melancholy, insanity, etc.)”.

Strongs Definition from the NET Bible, Strongs Edition

Physical affliction is certainly part of the daimonizomai demonic package. A lot of the physical afflictions Jesus observed were overtly demonic and He healed all who came to Him. But does the term daimonizomai mean also a spiritual habitation of the body? And if so, who is vulnerable to it? The Jews of the time thought demon possession meant a demon was actually resident within a person. The Strongs definition goes on to say:

“…whose bodies in the opinion of the Jews demons had entered, and so held possession of them as not only to afflict them with ills, but also to dethrone the reason and take its place themselves; accordingly the possessed were wont to express the mind and consciousness of the demons dwelling in them; and their cure was thought to require the expulsion of the demon.”

Strongs Definition from the NET Bible, Strongs Edition

The Jews thought it was habitation of a human host and even had their own methods of trying to expel demons which didn’t seem to work very well. They recognized it and it seemed fairly common from reading the gospels but the best they could do was to bind up the demon possessed person and dump them out of town somewhere, since they were a threat and also considered ceremonially unclean, like a leper. This supports the idea that the demon(s) resided in the person. When the person was taken away, so was the demon within that person.

Demonic presence inside a physical body is also indicated by the words Jesus uses to expel the demons from the man in the Gadarene incident.

For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”

Mark 5:8

Also, the fact that the demons went into the pigs is another clear indication that demons inhabit physical bodies.

There on the hillside, a great herd of pigs was feeding. And the demonic spirits begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. So the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about 2,000 were drowned in the lake.

Mark 5:11-13

The language, based on plain reading of the text, indicates presence within a body as the meaning of demon possession. A different word is used in regards to demon possession mentioned in the Book of Acts, chapter 19: the Greek word echō, which means “has”. It has broad meaning and is thus less precise but can mean “possessed”. But given the man’s behavior in verse 16, it is clear to me that it’s the same thing as daimonizomai.

Then the man who was possessed (echō) by the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them all into submission. He prevailed against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded.

Acts 19:16

In the previous post, I also mentioned another word used that is unique to Satan, a fallen angelic being. The word translated “entered into” (eiserchomai) in John 13:37 is a different word than daimonizomai. One aspect of the Strongs definition of eiserchomai does mean “Satan taking possession of the body of a person”. So I have to conclude that Satan, a fallen “son of God” (vene haʾelohim), has that ability.

If the Holy Spirit used different words to describe Satanic possession verses demon possession, there is a reason. I would suggest that the distinction in the word eiserchomai (used to describe Satan entering Judas) from daimonizomai (used to describe demonic possession in all other cases in the gospels) is evidence that Satan is indeed not a demon, otherwise, daimonizomai would apply since it is a very specific term for demons.

I’ve already addressed the behavior of a person who is demon possessed. Go read the previous post.

In summary:

• Demon possession means demon(s) are present within the body of a human (or animal) host.
• A demon is in full control of the possessed person.
• With this analysis, it could be deduced that there are actually three classes or types or ranks of spiritual entities identified in the New Testament. Satan as a fallen vene haʾelohim. Demons are the Rephaim – the spirits of the Nephilim destroyed in the flood, and angels (fallen or not fallen).
• Since the word for Satan “entering into Judas “ has the same result but does not refer to a demon, it’s reasonable to conclude Satan is not a demon. Further, the Bible indicates Satan is a fallen angelic being, specifically a fallen “son of God”, likely different from angels by type and/or rank.
• The behavior and proclivities of demons is quite different than that of angels.
• There is no evidence that angels, fallen or otherwise, have any capability or interest in possessing a human host. It’s just not their thing.

Can a Born Again Christian be Demon Possessed?

So here we are finally. I’ll answer this in two ways:

1. There is no evidence in the Bible whatsoever of a Christian possessed by a demon.

• There is not a single instance anywhere in the New Testament that indicates a born again Christian is possessed (as defined in the analysis above) by a demon.
• It’s not correct to identify possessed people in the gospels as “born again Christians”. Jesus had not yet died on the cross, rose from the dead and ascended to the Father. The Holy Spirit had not yet come. There were no born again Christians prior to Pentecost.
• People afflicted with demons were delivered by the Lord often without knowing who He was (Mat 8:16, Mat 9:32-33, Luke 4:33-35, et al). If they did not know him yet, they could have not yet been believers. So the argument cannot be made that these people were believers possessed by demons.
• The only instance of demon possession outside of the gospels is in Acts 19. This clearly is demon possession of an unbeliever. From that point on, in the epistles, there is no teaching that indicates a demon can possess a Christian. In fact, the word for “demon possessed” used in the gospels is not used at all in the epistles.

2. While the bible does not explicitly say a Christian cannot be demon possessed, it is reasonable to deduce that a Christian cannot be demon possessed by other clear statements in the Bible that support this viewpoint. The primary argument is based on clear statements in scripture that a born again Christian has the Holy Spirit within them. It is not logical or reasonable to believe that a demon and the Holy Spirit occupy the same “temple”.

Consider the following verses that demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is present within believers and also that the body of a believer is the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.

Romans 8:9

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

1 John 4:4

A key teaching in the epistles is the believer’s position in Christ, which crushes any possibility of demon possession. A casual reading of Romans chapter 8 should put to rest any concern about demon possession of a true, born again believer. Here is part of Romans 8:

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

The epistles are written to believers. Demon possession is a big deal, so if it was a possibility for Christians, then it would be addressed, in my opinion. It’s not there. There is not a ministry procedure in any of the Epistles that describes deliverance of a believer from demon possession. The Epistles were written to those who had come to faith in Jesus Christ. At that moment of true faith and repentance, demon possession is no longer an issue because the believer belongs to Christ – we who believe are bought and paid for; we are not our own but belong to Him.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Why This Is Important

While this is a secondary issue, its important. What you believe about the demonic possession of a Christian will shape your approach to ministry in this area. If you believe it is possible for a Christian to be possessed and you are incorrect, then you are opening the door for major problems in your church and ministry. On one hand, you won’t be doing the demon possessed person any favors because of the following verse:

When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but not finding any. Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first.

Luke 11:24-26

In other words, if you believe the person is a Christian and in fact, they are not, then this verse says their condition will be far worse than before because the house swept clean through deliverance of the demon is still vacant. The Holy Spirit has not taken up residence in the “house” because of the assumption that the person is saved when they are actually not saved.

You also won’t be doing the church any favors because if a person whom you consider a brother or sister is attending your church and their condition spiritually is now in line with Luke 11:24-26, then you run a great risk for permitting a demonic presence in your midst. This will bring in evil and deception because of a bad understanding of who is vulnerable to demon possession.

Remember that observation of exterior behaviors can be highly deceptive. Deception is what demons do. A bad assumption about demonic possession gives room for the enemy to operate inside your church when we do not subordinate our observations and assumptions to the Word of God. Look for people in your congregation who have the gift of spiritual discernment. Train them up in the Word. Equip them for their work of service to the church. They can help in this area if you let them. Pastors often do not tap into the greatest resource they have sitting right in front of them every Sunday morning. Pastors often think they are the only ones who can do ministry and the only ones with spiritual gifts. Trust in the Lord to distribute the giftings in accordance with His will, not yours. Your congregation has those gifts. Equip them to do the ministry heavy lifting. THAT is a pastors job.

We are in a time in which we need all hands on deck. We cannot afford to have incorrect understanding of the Word and to be dismissive of secondary doctrines as if they are of no importance. Dig in. Pray for understanding. You’ll get it if you come to Jesus and ask Him as the disciples did.

Final Thoughts

The primary reason I wrote this series of posts is because I was exposed to a teaching in a church that stated that a Christian could be possessed by a demon. The teaching was stated emphatically and the pastor went on to say that the teaching to the contrary was “wrong teaching”. In over 30 years as a believer, I had never heard this particular teaching before. In fact, the scholars I trust all teach the opposite – that Christians cannot be possessed by a demon.

Churches unfortunately do not spend time on this kind of subject matter, but it’s necessary to address it because we are in a spiritual battle to the end. I wish the church would spend a little more time and effort on it because it’s important and becoming more important. Many people in the Body of Christ are being deceived about what demons are and how they operate because they don’t know their Bible. We have to know our enemy and how to engage biblically and in the power of the Holy Spirit because souls and our churches are at stake.

I have tried to make a strong biblical case that Christians cannot be demon possessed. It’s extremely important that believers know they are immune to a demon taking residence in their temple, in their body.

In making a case here, I have been very clear in these posts about terms and definitions. I clearly defined in this post what the scriptures teach about what it means to be possessed. I also clearly defined what it means to be a born again believer. With clearly defined terms as a backdrop, I hope I provided solid scriptural evidence as well as sound logic to reach the right conclusions.

I quoted a verse from Romans 8 above. Go read it again. Could any demon get past that? Would the Father in Heaven or his Son in whom you have placed your trust for salvation allow one of his children to be possessed by an unclean spirit? No.

You may struggle and you may be a sinner but if you believe, if you trust the Lord Jesus, if you are saved, you are his and you are holy. God’s Temple is holy and that is what believers are as it says above. That which is holy cannot be occupied by that which in unclean, and demons are unclean spirits.

Can believers be influenced by demons? Yes. But that is a different matter than possession as I’ve defined it in this post. That topic is another post for another day.

The final conclusion is this: Unbelievers are vulnerable to demon possession, believers are not.