What We Know about Demons
The word demon to most people is a scary word and to experience one is terrifying. I understand. The first time I had one expose itself to me, I was terrified and frozen. What I have learned over time, is they are only creatures. Creatures that God created. They just chose to disobey Him. Jesus has given His followers spiritual authority over them. Satan and these creatures chose to rebel against God. We see Jesus describing in Luke 10 how Satan fell from heaven. Then we see a more thorough description in Isaiah 14 how Satan's pride caused him to be thrown out of heaven.
18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven
Luke 10:18 ESV
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. 16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, 17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’ 18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; 19 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot. 20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!
Isaiah 14:12-20
We see here that Satan is a being. Satan tried to exalt himself above God and take God's throne, but instead he was thrown down out of heaven. We see in Revelation 12 that Satan and his angels are thrown down to earth.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Revelation 12:9 ESV
Satan is called by many names, such as the great dragon, the ancient serpent, devil, and Satan. We need to be aware of all these names because we see them used different places throughout the scriptures. Revelations 12:9 shows us that he is the deceiver of the whole world and that he has his disobedient angels under his command.
Jesus gives us more understanding of Satan’s character in John 8.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
John 8:44-45 ESV
Now we see other creatures in scripture. Revelation chapters 16 and 18 give us more insight on these other creatures. These other creatures are also under the command of Satan.
13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
Revelation 16:13-14 ESV
2 And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
Revelation 18:2 ESV
At this time, we don’t have a clear understanding of the differences between each of these creatures John describes. He lists different kinds of creatures such as demons, unclean spirits, unclean birds, unclean and detestable beasts, and spirits that look like frogs. We see in these scriptures that these creatures are just that, only creatures. God created everything, He created these creatures, the difference between them and other creatures is they have chosen to disobey Him. They chose to rebel against Him. Knowing that they are creatures that God made, helps us to understand we don’t need to be scared of them. We do need to be informed of them. The same as we are informed about how to keep roaches out of our house, but we don’t need to be scared of them.
Authority Over Demons
16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Colossians 1:16-18 ESV
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Colossians 2:15 ESV
Jesus introduced a new teaching to people. Up to this point in scripture we don’t see anything about having authority over Satan and his angels. Jesus declared His authority over the demons and then He went and gave others authority over those same demons.
During His ministry, Jesus goes about kicking demons and unclean spirits out of people that want freedom. He shows people that they do not have to live with demons anymore. Jesus doesn’t want these demons to live inside of people anymore either. He came to give people spiritual freedom. His teachings display authority over demons and unclean spirits. People were shocked to learn that demons, have to obey Jesus. Even today, many are surprised to learn that they have inherited this same authority over these same demons.
23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
Mark 1:23-27 ESV
In Mark 7:29 we see a few things I want to point out. In this story, we see the words unclean spirit and demon used in the same story. They seem to be interchangeable words. We see that Jesus told this demon to leave this little girl and He was not with her. This shows us that demons can hear Him and must obey His authority wherever they are.
25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
Mark 7:5-30 ESV
The next two verses Jesus tells demons to be silent. We see this over and over in Jesus’ ministry.
34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Mark 1:34 ESV
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
Luke 4:35 ESV
Now let’s look at Jesus handing over His spiritual authority to others.
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
Matthew 10:1 ESV
WE have power over ALL demons.
9 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
Luke 9:1 ESV
Then we see in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-20 Jesus tells his disciples to go out and make disciples of all nations. He tells them specifically that He has been given all power and authority in heaven and on earth. Then he tells them to go out and make disciples. He wants the disciples to teach others what he has taught them.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Mark 16:15-20 ESV
Therefore, we know we are supposed to do the same things. Here is where we see clear directions of what the disciples were to teach and what we as disciples are to teach. We are to continue this work as Jesus followers. Jesus gives us specific instructions though not to rejoice in the fact that he has given us authority but that our names are written in the book of life.
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:17-20 ESV
How Demons Live Among Us
Now that we know what they are and our authority over them, let's look at what they do. We see in Job 1:6-7, Satan talking to God about what he does.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
Job 1:6-7 ESV
Then we see in 1 Peter 5:8 that the devil walks about looking for someone to devour.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:8 ESV
In Revelation 12:10 we see that Satan accuses the brothers day and night before God.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
Revelation 12:10 ESV
Here we see that the accuser has been thrown down. This tells us we don’t need to have any fear of Satan. As we go through the scriptures we will see through practicing obedience we don’t have to fear Satan and his angels.
Now let's look at what demons and unclean spirits do.
8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
Mark 5:8-13 ESV
We can see many things about these creatures through this story. We see that unclean spirits live inside of people. The unclean spirits talk through people. We see they don’t like to be sent away from specific areas when they beg Jesus not to send them out of the country. This tells us they like specific geographical areas. Their desire to live inside a living being is so strong, they actually beg Jesus to be permitted live in the pigs. We see something else interesting, Jesus let them go into the pigs. Unclean spirits don’t care if you are a man, women or child or animal they just want a home. Here are more scriptures to show us that these spirits don’t care the age of the person they just want a home.
9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
Mark 16:9 ESV
25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.
Mark 7:25 ESV
42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Luke 9:42 ESV
Mark 5:15 shows us they don’t mind sharing their home with other demons. A person may host more than a few demons, in fact, there can be legion! A legion is a vast number of people or things, in the ancient Roman army it was a unit of 3,000–6,000 men.
15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
Mark 5:15 ESV
In Matthew 12:43 when an unclean spirits goes out of a person it pass through waterless places seeking rest.
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.
Matthew 12:43 ESV
These scriptures show us that Satan is constantly roaming around looking for someone to devour and constantly accusing God's children before God. Then we see the unclean spirits roaming around trying to find rest after they are kicked out of a person.
Let’s Look at The Nature of Demons
Something we must acknowledge even though a person says they believe in One God, we need to remember the demons believe that also. A person who says they believe in One God, doesn’t mean that person has the spirit of God within them, nor does it mean they are following Jesus. You have to look at the fruit they produce to determine who they really serve.
We know demons are creatures that live in a hierarchy. We know Satan is the leader and he has angels.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 ESV
From this description we see there are rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers are over this present darkness. Then we see there are also spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. This shows they have different positions and jobs that they do. Just like any other creature.
Now let's look at their character.
We see in 2 Timothy there is the spirit of fear. It is very obvious that this is a tactic they like to use against humans. It is a very common tactic used. These creatures have learned how to use fear against humans.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
In Genesis we see the serpent in the garden is crafty. The word crafty means clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods. People who walk with God aren’t going to willingly follow Satan’s advice. He has to come up with something that sounds and look good to us.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
Genesis 3:1 ESV
1 Kings 22 tells us that these beasts and evil spirits are liars. We see that a lying spirit came forward and stood before the Lord. He gave a suggestion how to tempt Ahab. This was a test for Ahab.
19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 23 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”
1 Kings 22:19-23 ESV
When we examine these scriptures we see that Satan and his angels, these unclean spirits, are subject to God. We see that they are not all powerful creatures like they want us to think. In Luke 22:31-32 Jesus talks about how Satan demanded to have Peter that he might sift him like wheat, but Jesus prays for Peter that his faith will not fail. Jesus does not say he prayed that Peter would not be sifted, Jesus prayed that Peter's faith will not fail.
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22:31-32 ESV
It is clear that Satan does not get to do whatever he wants to do. He begs, makes demands, and has fits of rage, but he doesn’t get to do whatever he wants. We see this again with the body of Moses in Jude 1:9.
9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”
Jude 1:9 ESV
Jude 1:9 tells us that all these creatures must submit to the authority of God. So while they chose to rebel, they ultimately must submit to God. Thru Jesus, in His name, we have inherited authority over these creatures.
Ways Demons Affect People
Now we need to look at the affects demons have on people. We see in the following verses what it looks like when a person is oppressed or possessed by a demon. The word oppress means to keep (someone) in subservience and hardship, especially by the unjust exercise of authority. The word possessed means (of a demon or spirit, especially an evil one) to have complete power over (someone) and be manifested through their speech or actions.
23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
Mark 1:23-26 ESV
42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Luke 9:42 ESV
27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
Luke 8:27-29 ESV
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.
Matthew 17:18 ESV
36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
Luke 8:36 ESV
24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.
Matthew 4:24 ESV
16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Acts 5:16 ESV
18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
Luke 6:18 ESV
We see that demons can actually cause people to be mute, deaf and blind.
25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
Mark 9:25-27 ESV
22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.
Matthew 12:22 ESV
We see demons can speak through people, throw a possessed person to the ground and convulse, drive them to go places, and make them take off their clothes. They also cause sickness, diseases, and mental anguish. We see people being afflicted and troubled with unclean spirits. The word afflicted by definition means (of a problem or illness) cause pain or suffering to; affect or trouble. Troubled, means showing distress or anxiety.
Be Aware
We do not need to be scared of demons just like we don’t need to be scared of any other creature. We do need to be aware of how they can hurt us or cause us to hurt our loved ones, if we allow them into our lives. We see from scripture that they want to find rest. Just like wild animal or a bug we need to be aware of them coming into our dwelling place, not our house that we live in but our mind and body. We need to be aware of demons and what they are doing in this world.
We see in scripture that after a demon leaves a person it goes around looking for a place to rest. It is looking for a person. When it is unable to find a new home, that is a new person, the demon says, ‘I will go back where I came from.’ And if it finds the place empty, swept and put in order, it will return to that person bringing 7 of its friends. We don’t want to be empty, empty of the Holy Spirit. We do this by asking Holy Spirit to live inside of us and doing what he says. We do not want to be an empty vessel when they come looking for a new home.
43 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. 45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45 NLT
It is very interesting that demons want a human home because we know from scripture that God wants to put His Holy Spirit inside of humans. We know that He wants humans to be the temple for his Holy Spirit.
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT
So if a demon can’t live inside of God’s child that is filled with His Holy Spirit, the next best thing would be to oppress God’s child. Remember the word oppress means keep (someone) in subservience and hardship, especially by the unjust exercise of authority This shows us that these demons are fighting over human real-estate and if they can’t have us then they will try to unjustly exercise authority over us. Demons are similar to other creatures that want to live off humans. Ticks and mosquitos want to drink the blood out of its host. Demons aren’t much different, they don’t want your blood though, they want your mind and your body. They want you to agree with them so they can live with you.
We see different things they do to humans physically when they live with them. Demons trouble and afflict people by bring all kinds of physical and mental sickness. So, we fight this by kicking the demons out of our lives. We rebuke them in the name of Jesus. Then after we kick them out, we must continue to resist the temptations that bring to us. If we resist the sin they try to dangle in our faces, eyes, and ears, they will have no place in our lives. If we choose to partake of the sin they tempt us with, instead of the word of God, then we give them access into our lives. We see this in the life of King Saul in 1 Samuel 16:14-16.
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.”
1 Samuel 16:14-16
After experiencing God in his life, King Saul refused to obey God. He broke down and took the temptation of fear into his life. When he accepted this temptation of fear, he rejected God’s word and chose sin. This left him open to a tormenting spirit. The same thing can happen to us if we refuse to do the will of the Father.
We need to be aware that there are many things God strictly forbids us to take part in. Some of these are very clear in scripture, but some the Holy Spirit has to show us. As we learn scripture, He will show us what spirit is behind the cultural practice that is evil.
In later times, some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teaching of demons.
In 1 Timothy 4:1, Paul is talking to Timothy about two kinds of teaching of that day. Today there are many more. There are many teachings today that encourage us to love our life and that God wants us to have an easy good life. Jesus actually says we must hate our lives and pick up our cross and follow him.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
1 Timothy 4:1 ESV
These scriptures, John 12:35, Luke 9:23, Matthew 7:14, 2 Corinthians 1:5, and Romans 5:3, show us that we can’t love our lives, and that we have to die to ourselves, and that few will find this way of life because it is hard.
25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:25 ESV
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:23 ESV
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Matthew 7:14 ESV
5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
2 Corinthians 1:5 ESV
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Romans 5:3 ESV
Another teaching is all religions are the same and there is one God for all religions. We know there is one God, but we see in scripture that not everyone who believes in one God knows God.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
James 2:19 ESV
We need to be determined to stick with scripture in every situation. We are not to associate with people who call themselves believers yet continue to engage in sinful activities.
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 ESV
Associating with people living in these sins and calling it unity is unbiblical. We are actually in sin if we do.
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
1 Timothy 5:22 ESV
Now let's look at sacrificing. Paul talks about sacrificing to demons he says pagans do this.
20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
1 Corinthians 10:20 ESV
If we are sacrificing, but it isn’t sacrificing to serve God and follow His commands, then we are not making a sacrifice to God, but to demons. We must examine everything we are doing in our lives to ensure that we are not sacrificing to demons. We must take everything to God, ask him to search our hearts. We must be willing to stop sacrificing to demons and follow him. If not, we are allowing demons into our lives to live with us.
The Lords supper is another area we need to look at closely. This is something Jesus commanded us to do but it is very important that we do it the right way. If we do not do it in the right way then people are opening themselves up to demons.
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34 ESV
1 John 3:7-10 is very clear in stating Gods children will not practice sin. We must learn to resist the devil. This is not an option for Jesus followers.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:7-10 ESV
A Jesus Follower’s Responsibility
Jesus came to preach and set the captives free.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19 NIV
We have been giving the responsibility to set the captives free, and to teach and train others to do the same.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Mark 16:15-18 ESV
There are people who need freedom from demons and freedom from lies. The way we do this is to teach the scripture to them, proclaim there is freedom in Jesus, and kick out the demons. We can’t hide behind our busy lives or insecurities if we want to be pleasing to Jesus. We must pick up our cross and follow him.
1We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Romans 15:1-3 ESV
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:23 ESV
To Sum it up…
Satan, demons, and unclean spirits are all creatures. Satan is an angel that rebelled against God and he has angels that followed him. These creatures do not have all power and control over God's people, unless he sends them to us for testing or we choose to sin. We see that Satan roams around looking for someone to destroy. These demons want a home and if they can't possess us, they will try to oppress us. We conquer them by resisting the sin they offer. We see they are crafty and they are liars. We as believers have been given power and authority to kick them out of our lives. We have learned that we abide in God by not practicing sin and that is how we stay safe. We also have a responsibility to teach others, proclaim the gospel, and kick out the demons.