Exercising Power Without Exorcising Demons

The other night, I was flipping through the television channels and landed on a movie I had never seen before—and on purpose. It was a “forbidden movie” that I had stayed away from for decades. But I must confess to you that my curiosity got the best of me, and I watched a portion of it. 

The movie was one that came out when I was in high school called “The Exorcist.” I recall that when the movie was first released, preachers railed against it. Books and tracts were passed out in churches, urging members not to see it. We were warned that seeing that movie was just one step away from Satan worship.

But knowing this message was coming up, I couldn’t help but watch some of it. Frankly, it was so boring that I turned it off and went to bed. The movie is worth noticing because it began a tidal wave of films and national discussion about Satan, demons, and the supernatural that continues nearly 40 years later.

Perhaps you have never had an up close encounter with “exorcism”—the freeing of an individual from an evil spirit. Nevertheless, movies like “The Exorcist,” television documentaries, or news accounts of Christians using prayers and religious incantations to rid an individual of demonic control have made you wonder what role exorcisms should play in spiritual warfare. 

Over these last months, we have seen that Satan and his demons are realities. Though invisible, they are formidable adversaries who are trying to destroy us. We have looked at Ephesians 6 and discovered six strategies—pieces of spiritual armor—that God has given us to defeat Satan’s plan to destroy us.

But are there extreme cases of demonic influence that require extreme practices like exorcism?  Do individuals possess the power to free other Christians from satanic control? Given the biblical accounts of exorcism, why don’t we utilize this practice more today? Is there a more effective way than exorcism to free an individual from demonic control?

1. The First Exorcist (Luke 4:31-35)

Whenever you are studying a particular subject in the Bible, the principle of “first mention” is very helpful. The first occurrence of an exorcism in the Bible is found in Luke 4 during the early days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. I recall a comment by a British pastor who lamented, “When the apostle Paul preached, the people rioted. After I preach, my people have tea!” When Jesus preached, He not only excited the people, but He also incited the demons, as Luke records.

Demons are more than crude first-century attempts to explain the existence of evil or the reality of mental illness. If demons are not real beings, and yet Jesus conversed with them, then Jesus must have been delusional.  

Demons have intelligence. This particular demon recognized Jesus as the Son of God. They have emotion. This spirit feared what Jesus would do to him and his cohorts. They also have a will. This minion of Satan chose to submit to Jesus’ authority and Jesus rebuked him.

Isn’t it interesting that even demons recognize Christ’s authority over them? Of all the occupants of God’s vast creation—the angels, the saints in heaven, the unbelievers in Hades, the demons on earth and under the earth, and even Satan himself—the only creatures who do not recognize the complete authority of Jesus Christ are those human beings who have not yet surrendered to Him.  

Jesus simply said, “be quiet” (literally, “be muzzled,” or as we might say today, “put a lid on it!”) and come out of him. No pleading, no arguing about who is in charge, no rituals. Just a simple command. And the demon complied. How different than some of the theatrics you see today with those who supposedly exorcise demons. This is the first exorcism in the Bible.

2. The Power Delegated (Matthew 10:1-4)

Jesus also delegated to His twelve apostles the power to cast out demons of possessed individuals, as well as heal every kind of sickness.

The apostles’ ability to perform these miraculous feats would authenticate them as true messengers of God, as well as their message that Jesus Christ was the long-awaited Messiah.  But this supernatural power to heal the diseased and exorcise the demon-possessed was clearly limited to the apostles. Matthew emphasizes that point by listing the names of the twelve who were given this unique power. 

Here is the real question. Has this power to exorcise demons been extended to Christians today? Do we have the same ability to cast out demons that Jesus and the apostles possessed? Could it be that one reason we are not enjoying more success in our struggle against Satan is our failure to utilize this important weapon against the kingdom of darkness?

3. The Limits of Exorcism

I want to suggest three reasons why exorcism—as practiced in the New Testament—is neither a relevant nor even an effective tool for believers today in spiritual warfare. 

• The Specificity of the Gift (Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 16:17-18)
• The Infrequent Mention of the Gift (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 6:10-18)
• The Limitations of the Gift (Luke 11:24-26)

While there is no longer a need to authenticate Jesus’ or the apostles’ authority and message, there is a need for believers to continually lead lives that are free of satanic influence.  

As Neil Anderson writes, “The responsibility for living free in Christ has shifted from the specially endowed agent of authority to the individual believer.”

How can we live a life that is free from Satanic or demonic control? We will answer that question next time as we conclude our series on spiritual warfare.