What Demons Want to Do to You

Halloween is when people all over the country will dress up in all types of costumes. Some children will dress up as their favorite Disney characters, and adults will put on masks resembling their least favorite politicians. In my previous church, there was a boy who dressed up every year in a blue suit, a red tie, and with an accordion strapped to his chest. No one had to wonder who he was!

But a few people will dress up in a red suit, horns, and a tail, while others will dress up as Satan’s fiendish assistants or demons. Far from being insulted by such caricatures, the devil delights in them. He knows that if he can get us to laugh at himself and his demons, then we are less likely to fear them and be on guard against them.

But as one writer says, “Demons or neither funny or phony.” Last time we began looking at the reality of demons, fallen angels, who assist Satan in carrying out his plan to build a kingdom to rival and overthrow the kingdom of God. Like Satan, demons attack unbelievers by blinding them to the gospel message.

But they also have a plan for believers.   

Remember Satan’s three-fold strategy against us:  

• Discourage you from worshiping God. 
• Distract you from serving God. 
• Deceive you into disobeying God. 

Since Satan cannot be in more than one place at a time, he has delegated much of his work to demons who discourage, distract, and deceive us through a variety of means. 

1. Five Ways Demons Exercise Their Power

• Through Nature (Ephesians 2:2; Job 1:19)
• Through Illness (Mark 1:32, 34)
• Through Mental Disorders (Philippians 4:6-7; Luke 8:35-36)
• Through Suicide (Mark 9:22; John 8:44)
• Through Other People (Revelation 18:2, 24)

2. Can Christians Be Demon-Possessed?

• The Term “Demonize” (Luke 8:27)

I imagine this raised a question in your mind. “Robert, are you saying that Christians can be demon-possessed?” Although we use the phrase “demon-possessed” regularly to refer to people who seem to be under Satan’s influence, there is no such phrase found anywhere in the Bible. Never does the Bible refer to someone as being demon-possessed. Instead, the New Testament writers used the term “demonized” to describe someone who is under the influence of evil (this is the meaning of the Greek word used in Luke 8 to describe the man whom most English translations describe as being “possessed with many demons”).

Can a Christian be “possessed” or “owned” by Satan and his demons? Absolutely not.  

• The “Possessor” of Christians (Ephesians 1:13-14)

In Ephesians 1, Paul declares that believers are “God’s own possession,” and His identifying mark of ownership on our lives is the Holy Spirit. 

The moment you trust in Christ as your Savior, God permanently marks you as His property by giving you His Spirit. Since God has never been One to believe in joint ownership, if you belong to Him, you cannot be “possessed” by anyone else.

• Demon Possession Versus Demonic Influence (Matthew 16:23; Acts 5:3; Ephesians 5:18)

But the real question is not “can Christians be possessed by demons,” but “can Christians be influenced by demons?” Absolutely!  

For example, consider an exchange between Jesus and the Apostle Peter. After the Lord revealed to His disciples His impending crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, Peter attempted to persuade Jesus that such suffering was unnecessary. But Jesus immediately recognized the origin of this temptation to bypass the Cross and circumvent God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. Peter was simply acting as a mouthpiece for someone else.

Jesus was not implying that Peter was possessed or owned by Satan, but he certainly was being influenced by Satan. Some theological types reading this might argue, but that happened before the Day of Pentecost when God sent the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell believers.  Today, Christians cannot be influenced by Satan like Peter was. Really? Consider the experience of two Christians who were controlled by Satan (or his demons) after Pentecost. 

Ananias and his wife Saphira were members of the church in Jerusalem. As such, there is no reason to suspect that they were not genuine believers. However, in an attempt to receive the same kind of adulation that was heaped on another church member named Barnabas, who sold some property and gave all the proceeds to the church, this couple also made a generous gift.  “We, too, have sold some property, and we are giving all the money to God’s work,” they announced to the church. 

However, they lied and kept a portion of the sale price for themselves. The Apostle Peter, understanding from personal experience how Satan can influence Christians, confronted Ananias (Acts 5:3). 

Although Ananias was a believer who was indwelt by the Holy Spirit (remember, this event occurred after the coming of the Holy Spirit to every believer at Pentecost), Ananias’ heart was “filled,” which means controlled by Satan.  

How can someone be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and also be filled with Satan at the same time? There is a difference between what the New Testament calls the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the filling by the Holy Spirit.

Every person who trusts in Christ is immediately “baptized” with the Holy Spirit. The “baptism with the Holy Spirit” is the one-time act of God by which a Christian is joined together with Jesus Christ and is permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is not some kind of spiritual upgrade that is available only for those who want a first-class experience in their relationship with God.

While every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not every believer is empowered by the Holy Spirit. The biblical term for being controlled by God’s Spirit is “filled.” 

While Christians are never commanded to be “baptized with the Spirit” (that’s God’s responsibility), we are commanded to be “filled with the Spirit (that’s our responsibility). Not being directed by the Holy Spirit is available to be controlled by demonic influences. 

The key to resisting demonic influences in our lives is to make sure that every area of our lives is filled or controlled by God.

Can Christians be possessed by demons? Absolutely not.

Can you and I be influenced by demons? Without a doubt. 

Full Passage: Luke 8:26-39