Deliverance from Demons: Is it a Benefit for Christians?
Pastor James & Elizabeth Brandt
If you’re looking for chapter and verse for every spirit and situation that you could encounter, you will not find it. However, the concept and validity of casting out demons is found in the Word of God. I believe the four gospels hold much of the information that we are looking for on this subject. Should we ignore all of the facts because most are not found in Acts and after? I truly believe that we would be doing an injustice to the Word of God by doing that. We don’t ignore the facts in the four gospels about physical healing. Jesus cast out demons and commanded the 12, 70, and now the church to do it (Mark 16:15-18). If He expects us to do it, then He must have put enough information in the Word of God for us to get the job done. We as Christians also have the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth (John 16:13). I find it hard to believe that Jesus would leave the church in the dark about this issue; especially when we are expected to do it!
Jesus said in John 14:12, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” What were the works that Jesus did? In a nutshell, He preached and teached the gospel, healed the sick, and cast out demons. The Body of Christ has majored in preaching, teaching, and healing the sick, but has largely ignored casting out demons. So my question to you is: Who are we to cast them out of? Who is it a benefit for?
It is true that the people that Jesus ministered to before His death and resurrection were not born again, but the majority of the people were in covenant with God. There are a couple of exceptions which I will mention later.
In Mark 1:23-28 Jesus cast a demon out of a man in a synagogue. The synagogue was the place of worship for those in covenant with God (Jews). The majority of people that Jesus ministered to must have been those who were God’s covenant people because in another account He rebuked a Greek woman for wanting Him to deliver her demonized daughter. Jesus referred to deliverance from the demon as “the children’s bread” (Mark 7:25-30). Jesus was referring to those who were in covenant with God. Those outside the covenant are not referred to as children.
Another example of this is found in Luke 13 with a woman who had a spirit of infirmity. Jesus said in verse 16, “Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond…?” Again, this was an individual that was in covenant with God; a daughter of Abraham. Under the New Covenant, those who put their faith in Jesus Christ are in covenant with God. In addition, this event also took place in the synagogue. So it would be accurate to say that Jesus cast out demons at times in a church setting.
Mark 16:20 declares that God confirms His Word with accompanying signs. In Acts 8:5-8 the signs following Philip’s preaching were healing and casting out demons. Philip’s message to the people of Samaria must have included healing and deliverance from demonic spirits. Who did he cast demons out of? Those who repented and received Jesus as their Lord and Savior or unbelievers that didn’t want anything to do with Jesus? If they were the people who received Christ, this shows us that demons do not leave automatically at the point of salvation or otherwise Philip would not have had to cast any out.
If we believe that a sickness or a disease can be in a Christian, why is it so unthinkable that a Christian can have need of deliverance from a demon? In fact, Scripture indicates that some sicknesses, diseases, and infirmities are the result of a demonic spirit being present.
People are not automatically healed when they get born again, so why do many Christians assume that an evil spirit leaves automatically at the point of salvation? Scripture does not give that indication at all. Though the provision has been made through Jesus, Christians must appropriate the benefits that belong to them. The Word of God says that Christ died for the sins of the whole world, but the whole world is not saved. Why? Because they must have faith in who Jesus is and what He did to get saved. The same principle is true with healing and deliverance.
The reason that we are not seeing many people delivered from demonic spirits in our churches is because it is for the most part neglected and not preached from the pulpit as a benefit of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. With that being said, there is nothing for God to confirm until it is proclaimed. Also, if people aren’t aware that it is possible that a Christian can be demonized, they won’t even consider deliverance as a part of the healing that they may need. The result is that the enemy operates undetected. There are Scriptural accounts that say demonized individuals were brought to Jesus (Matthew 8:16; Mark 1:32). Obviously there were characteristics that the people recognized were demonic. Why do we not even question the possibility that someone’s bondage could be demonic along with the need to renew their mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2)?
Does Every Christian Need An Exorcism?
No, I do not believe that every Christian has a demon that needs to be cast out. However, I do believe that it is a bigger number than what most people think. My goal is to make it known to the body of Christ that deliverance from demons is simply a part or a branch of the healing ministry (See Below), and considering the possibility that an evil spirit(s) could be present should not be avoided. We must be led by the Holy Spirit in this area of ministry. All too often I have counseled people or prayed with people at an altar call, including those who I knew personally, that were in the Word on a daily basis and doing what they needed to do, but they still couldn’t overcome certain issues or bondages in their life. That is when we begin to seriously consider that an evil spirit(s) may be present. I have even had the opportunity to minister to full time pastors and their wives.
If Jesus spent much of His time casting out demons over 2000 years ago, how much more is this ministry needed today with the rise of the occult, sexual perversion, violence, and other factors in our culture? Many people that have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior have come from a background of these practices that opened the door to the demonic. And sad to say, many Christians are partaking of things that are giving place to the devil in their lives (Ephesians 4:27).
Scriptural Examples of Casting Demons Out of Unbelievers:
One Scriptural example of casting demons out of an unbeliever is when the person is totally out of their mind or insane. We must step in so that they can be put into their “right mind” (Mark 5:15). In Mark 5:1-18 we see this example with the demoniac of Gadarenes.
The other Scriptural example is when there is a demonic spirit motivating an individual to hinder the work of the ministry. In Acts 16:16-18 Paul deals with a woman who had a spirit of divination. The Apostle Paul waited “many days” before he cast the spirit out. The demon through that woman was trying to hinder Paul and his evangelistic efforts. Obviously, one needs the leading of the Holy Spirit in this type of circumstance.
The reason I stay away from ministering deliverance to an unbeliever in a counseling session is because whatever I cast out would return seven more worse than the first if they don’t make Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of their life (Matthew 12:43-45). What is going to keep the evil spirits from coming back if they are going to continue to reject Jesus and live a rebellious life?
Deliverance From Demonic Spirits Referred to as Healing
Scripture indicates that deliverance from an evil spirit is simply healing. Acts 10:38 says that Jesus went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. The oppression of the devil must have included sickness, disease, and demonization.
Scriptural Evidence:
-Luke 6:17-18, “And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.”
-Luke 8:2, “and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,”
-Luke 8:36, “They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.”
-Luke 9:42, “And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.”
-Acts 5:16, “Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
It appears to me that there is overwhelming evidence in Scripture that it was just as common for Jesus to minister deliverance or healing from demonic spirits as it was to minister physical healing to the sick and diseased. Therefore, scripturally speaking, a healing ministry will not be complete and effective as it could be if this avenue of healing is neglected.
The Holy Spirit and a Demon Dwelling In the Same Vessel?
Some people say that a demon cannot dwell in a believer because of 1 John 4:4, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Believing that a Christian can have a demon in no way violates that Scripture because the real “you” is your spirit man that a demon cannot dwell in. Some say that demons cannot dwell in a believer’s body either because the Bible calls your body the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), but we all know that a sickness and disease can dwell in a Christian’s body and it is also possible to join yourself to a harlot as a Christian and become one body with her (1 Corinthians 6:16). Sickness, disease and joining yourself to a harlot are all part of Satan’s kingdom and not from God.
So can a Christian be possessed? If you mean can a demon own you, as the word possessed implies, no. In the original Greek language, a more accurate word would be "demonized" or the best phrase would be “to have a demon(s)” rather than to be possessed. A demon cannot own a Christian, but they can dwell in their body and soul…not in their spirit. A practical example would be that of mice in your home. The mice can be in your home, but they don’t own your home.
I believe that there is enough evidence from the Word of God revealing that casting out demons is simply part of the healing ministry that Jesus equipped and commissioned the body of Christ to fulfill. Unfortunately, there are many people that are not walking in complete freedom because the Church as a whole has failed to recognize the need and have left many feeling hopeless and defeated. We as Christians ought not to stick our heads in the sand on this topic because of the controversy it brings, but we need to search the Scriptures and fervently pray that the Lord would give us further light on this subject. We owe it to the Lord Jesus Christ to carry on with the ministry that He started, and to those that are bound by the enemy.
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