The Truth About Demon Possession

[Jesus] turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

–Matthew 16:23

Is it possible for Christians to be demon-possessed? Non-Christians are demon-possessed–or, more accurately, possessed by Satan. The Bible teaches that we are born into this world as Satan’s prisoners. It is only when we trust in Christ as Savior that God rescues us from the kingdom of darkness and places us in the kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13). When we become children of God, He seals us with the Holy Spirit, marking us as His possession (Ephesians 1:13). Believers can’t be owned by Satan because we are owned by God. And God is very stingy about His possessions–He doesn’t share them with anyone. So if by possessed you mean owned, then it’s impossible for Christians to be possessed by demons.

But it is possible for Christians to be influenced by demons. Let me give you two examples from Scripture. In Matthew 16, Jesus outlined God’s plan for Him to the disciples: He must go to Jerusalem, suffer at the hands of the religious leaders, be crucified, and be raised on the third day. Peter said, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You” (v. 22). Jesus responded fast and furiously. He said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (v. 23). That’s pretty harsh! Was Jesus saying Peter was satanically possessed? No, but Peter was being influenced by Satan. By putting his own interests above God’s interests, Peter was being a mouthpiece for Satan.

We see the same thing in Acts 5. Ananias and Sapphira lied about the amount of money they were giving to the church. So Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?” (v. 3). Ananias and Sapphira were believers. But in that moment of weakness, they were not being controlled by the Holy Spirit; they were being controlled by Satan. That’s why Paul said in Ephesians 5:18, “Be filled with the Spirit.” The word translated as “filled” means controlled.

If you’re a Christian, you cannot be owned by Satan, but you can be influenced by him. There is no such thing as a spiritual vacuum–any part of your life that you haven’t surrendered to God and His will is open to Satan’s control.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “What Every Christian Should Know About Angels and Demons, Part 2” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2022.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.