The following paper was written by Mike
Jentes for Dr. Plaster (Theological Foundations 1) at Grace College, IN
inNovember 1993 with minor editing in July 2000 .
There are only two answers to the question
of "can believers be demon possessed?" Obviously, theanswers are
yes or no. Before a conclusion is drawn there are a variety of issues that
one must lookat dealing with this topic.
First of all, this author does not like the vocabulary that is used for
this topic. The word possession is not a New Testament word
(neither is oppression). These words were used as the Greek language
was translated into English. The word which we translate, as demon possessed
is daimonizomai in the Greek. The word daimonizomai means,
"to have, to be vexed with, or possesseby a demon" and also carries the idea of ownership
(Beals 2). In Vine's Dictionary it is defined as "to act
under the control of a demon." Instead of dealing with the
descriptions of the term in English(which invariably lead back to the
discussion of terminology), one needs to dig into the original
Greek word to see what the word itself
says. The verb daimonizomai is aorist, passive, punctilliar(from
Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich); which means that the action happened (aorist), the
action isbeing received by the object (ie The ball hit Bob, passive), and it
happened at a specific point intime (punctilliar). In other words, the demon (or demons) came into a person at
a point in time inthe past and that demon (or those demons) controls the
person.
The problem begins when one tries to convey this meaning in a word or
phrase. Why not letthe Scripture speak for itself? Just as
translators brought the word baptizo directly into English as baptize why isn't this done with daimonizomai and
the word demonized. Demonized could be used as the term to describe exactly what the
word daimonizomai does in Greek. Terms such as possession,
which is an explanation of the Greek term, could then be dropped from the
discussion and make things much clearer. The current discussion of this
topic often blurs terms such as possession, so each time one writes or speaks
on this topic he much define his terms. If all people could refer to one
set of terms using the biblical ideas, then this discussion would be much
clearer.
The use of the word daimonizomai is
limited to the gospels. Here
is a listing of where the seven appearances of this word are:
> Matthew 4:24; 8:16, 28, 33; 9:32;
12:22; 15:22.
> Mark 1:32; 5:15, 16, 18.
> Luke 8:36.
> John 10:21.
As Paul A. Beals examined the seven
passages of Scripture in which the word daimonizomai appears he drew four conclusions:
1.)
Usage
of the term is limited to unbelievers. Nowhere in Scripture is this term
used of regenerate
persons.
2.) The term indicates another personality
indwelling the person.
3.) The term demonstrates control by
another personality at the will of that personality.
4.) In each context where the term occurs,
without exception Christ delivered the victims. (2-3)
As Beals pointed out, the use of daimonizomai is
limited to unbelievers. Not once is this word used of believers. The argument has
been used that Christians cannot be demon possessed because they have the Holy Spirit in them and that
the Holy Spirit and demons cannot coexist in the same place. The first point (Christians are indwelled
with the Spirit) is true because of verses like Romans 8:9 and Galatians 4:6,
but the idea that the Holy Spirit and demons cannot dwell in the same body comes into question. Where is the
"clear, emphatic Scriptural support" (Murphy chap 53) for this?
Although logic may say that the Spirit and demons cannot both indwell a
person, as humans we are handicapped because we do not
understand the spiritual world. To impose our logic into a world that we know very little about is
very naive and probably will not give an accurate account to what is going on in that realm.
Believers can be influenced, but not demonized or controlled, by
demons. These influences are made through the "footholds"
which Christians leave for Satan and his demons through their sin. Paul uses this "foothold"
terminology. Paul never used the language of "demonization"
(often described as "demon possession") in his letters, which is so
common in the Gospels. The closest he came to "possession" language is
his concept of giving a "foothold to the devil" as found in Ephesians
4:27... Topos is the Greek word that the NIV translates as
"foothold." It could also be translated "opportunity"
(NASB, RSV) or "chance"(TEV) (Arnold 128).
Can demons influence believers? Why would Paul encourage believers
to put on the "full armor of God" (Eph. 6:10-17) if there was no way
the demons could touch Christians? The battle is against "spiritual forces"(Eph.
6:12). Believers fight against them and in the heat of the battle can be influenced by demons. The sin in
the believer's life is the way demons influence Christians. There are
degrees to which demons influence believers. Some influence is to a lesser
degree and some influence is very severe. In fact, the very severe
influencing by demons can look just like the person is demonized when this is
not the case. The demons have not gained control of the believer, but have
influenced him to such an extent that it appears as though he has been
demonized.
A lot of the ideas about believers being demonized and possessed come
from stories and experiences people have had. One must be careful of these
experiences changing one's theology "Shall one construct his theological
system on the basis of recorded experiences or on the foundation of clearly defined Biblical ideas?"
(Davis 12)
When it comes down to the base question of "can believers be demon
possessed?" we need a change of vocabulary and need to ask the
question "can believers be demonized?". Believers cannot be
demonized because 1) the
word was never connected to believers in the Scriptures and 2) being demonized means yielding control and
ownership to the demons. Can a believer be influenced by demons? Yes,
the Christian leaves the door open for demonic influences when there is sin in his life.
Bibliography
Arnold, Clinton E. Powers of
Darkness. Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL, 1992.
Beals, Paul A. The Believer's
Encounter With Satan: A New Testament Overview. April 12, 1986 presented to
Evangelical Theological Society.
Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Systematic
Theology Vol 2. Dallas Seminary Press: Dallas, 1947.
Davis, John J. Demons, Exorcism and
the Evangelical. BMH Books: Winona Lake, IN, 1977.
Dickason, C. Fred. The Christian and
Demon Possession.
Murphy, Ed. The Handbook for
Spiritual Warfare. Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville,1992.
Pentecost, J. Dwight. Your Adversary
the Devil. Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, MI, 1967
