Answer:
Ok, first, the bad news: the Bible teaches that EVERYONE can be acted on by demons. We have tended to view demon activity in black and white terms, because of Hollywood. And the church has perpetuated the idea because we like black and white thinking. Namely, we think that a person is either totally safe from demon activity or totally demon possessed. However, the word we use: “possessed”, is not really a great translation of the Greek word. The two phrases used in the Greek were, “he HAS a demon” IE. a possessive thing, like it’s associated with the person… and the other word is a verb form of the noun “DEMON”… so kind of like “demonized”. Anyone can be demonized – Christian or non Christian.
Now, it seems from scripture that when a person had given the enemy complete sway and invited that control into their life, they may “get” a demon and become what we would classically think of as “possessed” – in a take control of your body kind of way. Some naturalists would argue this is not possible, that mental illness would explain all such occurrences, but I disagree. I had a man I counseled who would be fine and then fall asleep when I opened up the Scriptures – while he was well rested… and no history of narcolepsy. Jesus certainly acted as if this type of demonic body control was possible (Luke 4:33, Matt 17:15).
But despite those rare situations, the Bible puts the whole world, more or less under the control of the Enemy (Rev 12:9). Which means that “regular” or “common” demonic activity is less about horror movie blood and guts and screaming in terror, or total body ‘take over’ and more about the subtle and often unnoticed moments in our day when we pick cowardice instead of boldness, unbelief instead of faith, hate instead of love and a convenient lie, instead of the inconvenient truth.
In those moments, we all can be (even followers of Jesus) “demonized”. That is, acted on by a demon. Spoken to, lied to, influenced. For example, Peter said to Ananias and Sapphira (two believers): Acts 5:3: “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…?”
So the bad news is, we’re all swimming in a spiritual battlefield all the time.
But the good news: Jesus spends his ministry going around and loosing people from the grip of spiritual forces of evil. Of course they have to agree with his work or else there’s nothing he can do permanently. Jesus could loose a person from a demon, but if that person didn’t agree with God’s work in their life, that demon could just return (Matt 12:43-45). Many cases are where the demon was invited implicitly or explicitly by an individual and their fate is of their own choosing. But that’s not to say that if a person doesn’t go “looking for it” that they are automatically safe. Sometimes, the Bible says a person is physically sick and it is said to be the fault of a demon (Matt 9:32-33). Here the muteness is said to have a demonic origin. And in this case, when Jesus casts out the muteness, he is said to cast out the demon.
So if the enemy can (at times) get us without our consent, that means the devil is like any human free will – he can act unilaterally on you or me in different ways. He doesn’t have to get permission from God first. He just acts to harm and kill and destroy. Just like when the Green River killer started to kill, he didn’t wait to get “invited” by the girls he killed, nor did God stop him because his intent was evil. Demons are like that, free to operate and sometimes they just do evil stuff without our will or consent.
But again the good news is that Jesus is at WAR with them, able to drive them back, cast them out, and pillage their “gains” (humans) by stealing them back. He has total authority over them. So when Jesus gets invited into a person’s life, then God by his Holy Spirit takes up residence in them and I believe it is impossible for God and the Devil to share that space. That believer is free of demonic control as much as they desire. Jesus came to set the captives free… Those who access it, the power is there for freedom. Jesus showed it every day of his ministry and in a final way on the cross as he triumphed over those Forces of evil (Col 2:15). You invite the Victor in, you have been freed from HAVING to succumb to the enemy. People without the Spirit of God have no choice but to succumb to demonic influence: “Anyone who sins is a slave to sin,” Jesus said. “But, if the Son sets you free, you will be free INDEED.”
That’s the good news.
However, the truth remains: there is no place, this side of heaven, that Satan can’t hurt you. He can still hurt you. If you believe the Scripture you have to accept the fact that he can throw illness at you, lie to you, tempt you to sin, he can even manipulate nature to get at you. But if Jesus sets your heart free, then the prize the enemy is after is forever lost to him. All he can do is scratch your skin, he can never stab at your heart – to speak metaphorically. However we can now go along with God’s program of freedom from Satan’s tyranny by our cooperation with the Spirit inside.
So the battle is not over, even if I become a Christian and get free of Satan’s hold on my soul. Every day we are in a war against the Enemy who is still allowed to act in “our members” (Rom 7:22-23), to tempt us and draw us away from full devotion and effectiveness for God (see 2 Peter 1:8-9). So Satan cannot physically LIVE in a body filled with the Holy Spirit, but he can still use our human weakness because we are not yet FULLY made new. Which means this IS warfare. But every day we can choose to win in this fight because as John said, “Greater is he that is IN you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 Keep those spatial prepositions in mind: Satan, for a believer, is OUT THERE. The Holy Spirit is IN HERE, in us. To the extent that Satan can never have your soul which was freed by Christ – you cannot be touched. Not your INSIDES where it matters. But your outsides, CAN be touched. Even your nasty dreams may very well have been him “touching” you. BUT, he can only scratch the surface. Think of the very first prophecy about Christ. It came to Satan in the Garden. God said, “you (Satan) will wound his heel, but he (the Seed of Eve, IE, Christ) will crush your head.” Gen 3:15 That’s a reality every follower of Christ lives out – we get wounded in the battle, but we get ultimate victory!
If you have a scary dream again, pray in the powerful name of Jesus out of a devoted heart to Him who alone is our victory. You are claiming his power as your own. This power is real and the promises of God’s Word will get active in your experience. Promises like this: James 4:7-8 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
And this:
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” Expect warfare. Every Christian will be resisted, persecuted, tempted, troubled by the Enemy. There’s no getting around it in this life. You will be wounded. But you will not die. You have nothing to fear. If you soul is safe, then YOU are safe, no matter what happens to your body. This is our battle cry as Christians: “Don’t give in to evil, resist evil with good.” Rom 12:21. Don’t be afraid, you have a Victor who is in your corner ALWAYS. He’s left you in the battlefield for a little while longer. He left you here because he knows you cannot be killed – not eternally. And he has work for you to do in this often scary place. But someday, you’ll leave this bloody battlefield behind and your heart and your body will be aligned in immortality, untouchable, and on that day we will be “fully saved”.
Until that day, take your sword… start swinging – and I’ve got your back!
