Can a Christian Have a Demon?
This article is a response to some of the teaching that can be found in the Living Free CD series distributed by Life Today Ministries and featuring talks by James Robinson and Robert Morris of Gateway Church. I want to be very clear from the outset, that my critique of these specific ideas are not meant to be a ringing condemnation of these ministers. I have financially supported Life International at times and am encouraged by their well digging ministry.
However, someone can be very sound in certain doctrines and be misguided in other doctrines. Peter was a powerful apostle who needed a little correction by Paul to help him align him with God’s truth. I have attempted to contact Pastor Morris regarding some of the things he said, but I received no response. I don’t condemn him for this. He is pastor of a huge church and he probably gets a lot of email.
I want to offer a counter point to some of the things Pastor Morris taught in one of the seminar sessions on whether or not a Christian can have a demon. In essence, Pastor Morris was teaching that a Christian can be possessed by a demon. Without getting into all that can be said on this topic, I want to focus on some specific scriptures Pastor Morris used to defend his case. I’ve heard other pastors use these same verses to make a similar point –and it is my belief that the verses are used quite incorrectly.
Let’s get started:
1.) Mark 7:25-30. This is one of the primary verses I’ve heard quoted to support the notion that a Christian can be possessed by a demon. The story is of a Gentile woman who pleads with Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter. Jesus’ responds that it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. Pastor Morris used this verse to say “See – deliverance ministry and casting out demons is the children’s bread – it is intended for God’s children – for Christians.” What’s wrong with this interpretation? For starters, why does Pastor Morris use this account of the story rather than Matthew’s account. In Matthew 15:22-28, the same story unfolds, but in this scenario, Jesus precedes his comments about the children’s bread with this statement: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Now, if Pastor Morris wants to connect Jesus deliverance of the “children” to the deliverance of Christians, does he also want to connect the “lost sheep” to Christians? That is completely contrary to what a Christian is. A Christian is a found sheep. Therefore, we can see from this account that Jesus is not saying that deliverance from demons was intended for Christians (indeed, there weren’t any born again Christians at the time Jesus made these statements) – but instead Jesus is merely affirming that his ministry on earth was firstly a ministry to unbelieving Israel. The children’s “bread” included Jesus’ words as well as his works of deliverance. There is no reason to think Jesus meant for “bread” to be solely understood as casting out demons, nor that “children” is a reference to Christians. Clearly it is a reference to Israel – otherwise, Jesus was saying, “I was sent only to the lost Christians” – which is an absurd deduction based on what we know of Jesus’ life and ministry.
2.) Luke 13:10-17 and Galatians 3:29. Pastor Morris first affirmed Paul’s statement in Galatians that if you are in Christ then you are Abraham’s offspring and an heir of the promise. With this “definition” in hand he looked at the story in Luke of a woman who had a sickness caused by an evil spirit. Pastor Morris’ point was that the woman in the story was called a daughter of Abraham. Aha! She was a Christian and she had a demon! This is bad Bible interpretation at its worst. For one, there is no indication that the woman was possessed by a demon. Jesus never commands a spirit to leave her body. For all we know, the demon could have messed with something in her body eighteen years previous and left her to suffer. We need not think the demon had to be with her 24/7 to perpetuate the sickness. The question of whether or not a Christian can become sick at the hands of a demon is quite a different question than the question of demon possession of Christians. Second, there is no indication that she was a believer in Jesus. She did not go seeking after Jesus. Jesus pursued her. Even if she was a believer in Jesus, she would not have been born again with the Spirit of Christ dwelling inside her because Christ had not died yet and sent the Holy Spirit – which limits our ability to relate her experience to that of a born again Christian. Thirdly, it should seem very clear that when Jesus calls her a daughter of Abraham, he is not speaking through the philosophical lens of Paul. He is calling her a literal daughter of Abraham – a natural born Jew. Just because Paul calls Christians "Abraham’s children" in Galatians does not mean that every time we see the term “Abraham’s son or daughter” that we should substitute the word Christian. For example, in Romans 9, Paul uses the term Israel to refer to his natural born countrymen, but in the same chapter he says that not everybody who is naturally a Jew is actually an Israelite in the spiritual typological sense of being God’s people. In fact, Paul shows that a Gentile can be called an Israelite in this spiritual sense. Here we have Paul using the same term to refer to a physical people group and to a spiritual people. He does the same thing when he calls Christians the children of Abraham. The context of the verse determines his use of the term.
3.) Matthew 18:22-35 In this parable Jesus tells of a man who was forgiven much by his master but would not extend that grace to a fellow slave. As a result, the man was thrown in prison “to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.” Pastor Morris tries to make the point that the man represents a Christian because his debt of sin has been completely forgiven. I’m not sure this is the point Jesus is trying to make. The man could also represent the people of Israel who also received forgiveness many times through the sacrifices, but were not changed in their heart. The point of the story is about forgiving your neighbor. Beyond that, every detail of the story might not have any special significance. There are a couple things that limit the idea that this man represents a Christian. He is called a slave. We know that Christians are called sons and no longer slaves. This man would not show love and forgiveness to a fellow slave. I John is clear that the person who thinks he is walking in the light but hates his brother is really in darkness. The fruit that indicates who is really a Christian is love for our brothers. This slave certainly was not showing love. The point Pastor Morris tries to make with this passage is that if there is sin in our lives – particularly unforgiveness – that God will hand us Christians over to demons to “torture” us until we get right. The problem with this interpretation is that in the story, the slave is handed over to the torturers to suffer until he repays all he owes the master. If this is what happens to Christians, you would suffer at the hands of demons for eternity before being able to pay back one small portion of what you owe the eternal mercy of God. We can never pay back what we owe God – which is why there is eternal hell for unrepentant debtors. This part of the parable does not make sense if we are supposed to apply it as liberally to the Christian experience as Pastor Morris suggests we should.
4.) 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 At this point of his teaching, Pastor Morris wanted to give conclusive proof that a Christian can have a demon by using the most well known Christian as an example – Paul himself. In the passage it says that a thorn in the flesh was given to Paul to keep him from exalting himself. What was the thorn in the flesh? Pastor Morris interprets what the verse says: “a messenger of Satan to buffet me.” Since the word for messenger is the same one used to describe angels, Pastor Morris concludes that the thorn is a demon from Satan sent to Paul via God. Where is the demon? In his flesh! Yikes! Paul was demon possessed! Or was he… For one, there is no reason to immediately jump to the conclusion that the messenger in this case was a demon. A human under the dominion of Satan can also be called a messenger of Satan. False prophets were referred to as thorn bushes by Jesus in Matthew 7:15-16. There is plenty of room to understand this messenger as a human being under the influence of Satan. And just because he uses the metaphor of a thorn in the flesh doesn’t mean he literally meant the messenger was in his flesh. The phrase denotes how painfully annoying this messenger was – not its exact locale. It is revealing to listen to Paul’s response to this messenger. After God’s encouragement to Paul, he says he is well content with “insults, distresses, and persecutions.” While demons might be involved with these types of activities, it is well within proper view to see these as being carried out by an actual flesh and blood person, especially when you consider Paul’s journeys and see some of the opposition he faced from flesh and blood people. If this was a demon sent by God to inhabit Paul, this would be a great contradiction to the nature of God to send a demon to possess him knowing what Jesus said about a house divided against itself. In Jesus description of demon possession in Matthew 12:25-30 he refers to a person as a house, saying that a divided house will crumble. If a person could be indwelled by both a demon and the Holy Spirit, he would be a house that could not stand. I don’t think that was God’s intention for sending a messenger to buffet Paul.
This article is a response to some of the teaching that can be found in the Living Free CD series distributed by Life Today Ministries and featuring talks by James Robinson and Robert Morris of Gateway Church. I want to be very clear from the outset, that my critique of these specific ideas are not meant to be a ringing condemnation of these ministers. I have financially supported Life International at times and am encouraged by their well digging ministry.
However, someone can be very sound in certain doctrines and be misguided in other doctrines. Peter was a powerful apostle who needed a little correction by Paul to help him align him with God’s truth. I have attempted to contact Pastor Morris regarding some of the things he said, but I received no response. I don’t condemn him for this. He is pastor of a huge church and he probably gets a lot of email.
I want to offer a counter point to some of the things Pastor Morris taught in one of the seminar sessions on whether or not a Christian can have a demon. In essence, Pastor Morris was teaching that a Christian can be possessed by a demon. Without getting into all that can be said on this topic, I want to focus on some specific scriptures Pastor Morris used to defend his case. I’ve heard other pastors use these same verses to make a similar point –and it is my belief that the verses are used quite incorrectly.
Let’s get started:
1.) Mark 7:25-30. This is one of the primary verses I’ve heard quoted to support the notion that a Christian can be possessed by a demon. The story is of a Gentile woman who pleads with Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter. Jesus’ responds that it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. Pastor Morris used this verse to say “See – deliverance ministry and casting out demons is the children’s bread – it is intended for God’s children – for Christians.” What’s wrong with this interpretation? For starters, why does Pastor Morris use this account of the story rather than Matthew’s account. In Matthew 15:22-28, the same story unfolds, but in this scenario, Jesus precedes his comments about the children’s bread with this statement: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Now, if Pastor Morris wants to connect Jesus deliverance of the “children” to the deliverance of Christians, does he also want to connect the “lost sheep” to Christians? That is completely contrary to what a Christian is. A Christian is a found sheep. Therefore, we can see from this account that Jesus is not saying that deliverance from demons was intended for Christians (indeed, there weren’t any born again Christians at the time Jesus made these statements) – but instead Jesus is merely affirming that his ministry on earth was firstly a ministry to unbelieving Israel. The children’s “bread” included Jesus’ words as well as his works of deliverance. There is no reason to think Jesus meant for “bread” to be solely understood as casting out demons, nor that “children” is a reference to Christians. Clearly it is a reference to Israel – otherwise, Jesus was saying, “I was sent only to the lost Christians” – which is an absurd deduction based on what we know of Jesus’ life and ministry.
2.) Luke 13:10-17 and Galatians 3:29. Pastor Morris first affirmed Paul’s statement in Galatians that if you are in Christ then you are Abraham’s offspring and an heir of the promise. With this “definition” in hand he looked at the story in Luke of a woman who had a sickness caused by an evil spirit. Pastor Morris’ point was that the woman in the story was called a daughter of Abraham. Aha! She was a Christian and she had a demon! This is bad Bible interpretation at its worst. For one, there is no indication that the woman was possessed by a demon. Jesus never commands a spirit to leave her body. For all we know, the demon could have messed with something in her body eighteen years previous and left her to suffer. We need not think the demon had to be with her 24/7 to perpetuate the sickness. The question of whether or not a Christian can become sick at the hands of a demon is quite a different question than the question of demon possession of Christians. Second, there is no indication that she was a believer in Jesus. She did not go seeking after Jesus. Jesus pursued her. Even if she was a believer in Jesus, she would not have been born again with the Spirit of Christ dwelling inside her because Christ had not died yet and sent the Holy Spirit – which limits our ability to relate her experience to that of a born again Christian. Thirdly, it should seem very clear that when Jesus calls her a daughter of Abraham, he is not speaking through the philosophical lens of Paul. He is calling her a literal daughter of Abraham – a natural born Jew. Just because Paul calls Christians "Abraham’s children" in Galatians does not mean that every time we see the term “Abraham’s son or daughter” that we should substitute the word Christian. For example, in Romans 9, Paul uses the term Israel to refer to his natural born countrymen, but in the same chapter he says that not everybody who is naturally a Jew is actually an Israelite in the spiritual typological sense of being God’s people. In fact, Paul shows that a Gentile can be called an Israelite in this spiritual sense. Here we have Paul using the same term to refer to a physical people group and to a spiritual people. He does the same thing when he calls Christians the children of Abraham. The context of the verse determines his use of the term.
3.) Matthew 18:22-35 In this parable Jesus tells of a man who was forgiven much by his master but would not extend that grace to a fellow slave. As a result, the man was thrown in prison “to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.” Pastor Morris tries to make the point that the man represents a Christian because his debt of sin has been completely forgiven. I’m not sure this is the point Jesus is trying to make. The man could also represent the people of Israel who also received forgiveness many times through the sacrifices, but were not changed in their heart. The point of the story is about forgiving your neighbor. Beyond that, every detail of the story might not have any special significance. There are a couple things that limit the idea that this man represents a Christian. He is called a slave. We know that Christians are called sons and no longer slaves. This man would not show love and forgiveness to a fellow slave. I John is clear that the person who thinks he is walking in the light but hates his brother is really in darkness. The fruit that indicates who is really a Christian is love for our brothers. This slave certainly was not showing love. The point Pastor Morris tries to make with this passage is that if there is sin in our lives – particularly unforgiveness – that God will hand us Christians over to demons to “torture” us until we get right. The problem with this interpretation is that in the story, the slave is handed over to the torturers to suffer until he repays all he owes the master. If this is what happens to Christians, you would suffer at the hands of demons for eternity before being able to pay back one small portion of what you owe the eternal mercy of God. We can never pay back what we owe God – which is why there is eternal hell for unrepentant debtors. This part of the parable does not make sense if we are supposed to apply it as liberally to the Christian experience as Pastor Morris suggests we should.
4.) 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 At this point of his teaching, Pastor Morris wanted to give conclusive proof that a Christian can have a demon by using the most well known Christian as an example – Paul himself. In the passage it says that a thorn in the flesh was given to Paul to keep him from exalting himself. What was the thorn in the flesh? Pastor Morris interprets what the verse says: “a messenger of Satan to buffet me.” Since the word for messenger is the same one used to describe angels, Pastor Morris concludes that the thorn is a demon from Satan sent to Paul via God. Where is the demon? In his flesh! Yikes! Paul was demon possessed! Or was he… For one, there is no reason to immediately jump to the conclusion that the messenger in this case was a demon. A human under the dominion of Satan can also be called a messenger of Satan. False prophets were referred to as thorn bushes by Jesus in Matthew 7:15-16. There is plenty of room to understand this messenger as a human being under the influence of Satan. And just because he uses the metaphor of a thorn in the flesh doesn’t mean he literally meant the messenger was in his flesh. The phrase denotes how painfully annoying this messenger was – not its exact locale. It is revealing to listen to Paul’s response to this messenger. After God’s encouragement to Paul, he says he is well content with “insults, distresses, and persecutions.” While demons might be involved with these types of activities, it is well within proper view to see these as being carried out by an actual flesh and blood person, especially when you consider Paul’s journeys and see some of the opposition he faced from flesh and blood people. If this was a demon sent by God to inhabit Paul, this would be a great contradiction to the nature of God to send a demon to possess him knowing what Jesus said about a house divided against itself. In Jesus description of demon possession in Matthew 12:25-30 he refers to a person as a house, saying that a divided house will crumble. If a person could be indwelled by both a demon and the Holy Spirit, he would be a house that could not stand. I don’t think that was God’s intention for sending a messenger to buffet Paul.
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