We must remember, first of all, that God’s
Word is our only reliable source of truth
about Satan and demons.
Princeton theologian and scholar Dr. Charles
Hodge rightly warned:
No amount of
learning, no superiority of talent, nor even
the pretension to inspiration, can justify a
departure from the . . . truths taught by men
to whose inspiration God has borne witness.
All teachers must be brought to this standard;
and even if an angel from heaven should
teach anything contrary to the Scriptures, he
should be regarded as anathema, Gal. 1:8. It
is a matter of constant gratitude that we have
such a standard whereby to try the spirits
whether they be of God (Commentary on the
Epistle to the Romans [Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1972], p. 395).
What does God’s Word, the touchstone of
truth, say? Can demons inhabit or spatially
indwell a true believer? Can they walk
through an open door and become a squatter?
Proponents of today’s spiritual warfare
movement say yes, but they base their
answer on subjective experience, not on
God’s Word. The Bible makes it clear that
such a claim has no justifiable basis.
There is no clear example in the Bible where
a demon ever inhabited or invaded a true
believer. Never in the New Testament
epistles are believers warned about the
possibility of being inhabited by demons.
Neither do we see anyone rebuking, binding,
or casting demons out of a true believer. The
epistles never instruct believers to cast out
demons, whether from a believer or
unbeliever. Christ and the apostles were the
only ones who cast out demons, and in every
instance the demon-possessed people were
unbelievers.
The collective teaching of Scripture is that
demons can never spatially indwell a true
believer. A clear implication of 2 Corinthians
6, for example, is that the indwelling Holy
Spirit could never cohabit with demons:
What harmony has Christ with Belial, or
what has a believer in common with an
unbeliever? Or what agreement has the
temple of God with idols? For we are the
temple of the living God; just as God said, ?I
will dwell in them and walk among them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be My
people? (vv. 15–16).
In Colossians 1:13, Paul says God ?delivered
us from the domain of darkness, and
transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved
Son.? Salvation brings true deliverance and
protection from Satan. In Romans 8:37, Paul
says we overwhelmingly conquer through
Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:57, he says God
gives us the victory. In 2 Corinthians 2:14, he
says God always leads us in triumph. In 1
John 2:13, John says we have overcome the
evil one. And, in 4:4, he says the indwelling
Holy Spirit is greater than Satan. How could
anyone affirm those glorious truths, yet
believe demons can indwell genuine
believers?
DEMON POSSESSION AND
TRUE CONVERSION
Many of the leading voices in today’s
spiritual warfare movement are too quick to
hail every profession of faith in Christ as
proof of salvation. That reflects the easybelievism that has swept this generation.
A thorough biblical understanding of the
doctrine of conversion makes it clear that
demons could never indwell or possess a
believer. Jonathan Edwards wrote about true
conversion:
Scripture describes conversion in terms
which imply or signify a change of nature:
being born again, becoming new creatures,
rising from the dead, being renewed in the