Debunking the “Christians Can’t Have Demons” Theory

For Christians to claim Christians cannot have demons simply because they are Born Again is like saying their car cannot break down simply because they are Born Again, or even sillier, that they don’t have to fill their gas tank or change the oil or refill the oil if it is low because they are Born Again, or that they are free from the Law of Gravity because they are a Born Again Christian. (I wouldn’t recommend attempting to prove that one by jumping off the roof of a tall building any time soon, if you really believe that one!) That’s all mysticism, which is naturalizing the spiritual and/or spiritualizing the natural. In psychology parlance, such refusal to recognize and acknowledge reality is what is known as “being in denial.”

At first blush, such a theory may sound plausible and rational, and to the religious mind it certainly has the sound of being righteous and right, but it’s all carnal thinking from the carnal mind, not the Spirit. In other words, it’s a lie and a deception! It’s not spiritual at all; it CAN’T be, because it’s totally contrary to Scripture! It’s exactly what Satan wants you to believe! He’s got you totally deceived, if you believe that! I don’t care who you are, or who you THINK you are!

And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. (Mar 11:15-16)

Some people make a bit of a more specific claim that because they are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16), they can’t have demons, because God cannot dwell in the same temple with demons! Well, I could site many Scriptures that prove that claim totally false, but I’ll just site the most direct example in the New Testament, which involves Jesus Himself, that is the actual event when Jesus entered the Temple in Jerusalem and became enraged at the moneychangers in the Temple, overthrew their tables and seats and physically drove them out of the Temple.

Solomon’s Temple was an artifact of the Old Covenant, which consisted of types and shadows, of which God Himself was the Architect, who gave the design to Solomon along with strict and very specific instructions to build it EXACTLY per His design. The Temple consisted of three parts, each symbolizing and correlating to, among other things, the tripartite constitution of humans: spirit, soul, body (1 Thes. 5:23). The latter corresponded to the Temple Outer Court; the Holy Place to the soul (made up of mind, will, emotions); and, the Holy of Holies, where God’s Presence dwelt, to the human spirit. When a person is Born Again, he/she is Born Again because the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in that person’s human spirit (cf., Jn. 3:6). Time and space will not allow a more detailed explanation, but the fact is: when a person is Born Again, it is the human spirit ONLY that is Born Again, regenerated, redeemed, saved; NOT the soul (it begins at the moment of salvation undergoing a lifelong process of being saved, sanctified, made holy, i.e., sanctification, see Jas. 1:21), and NOT the physical body (which will be [future tense] “changed,” i.e., redeemed, saved, sanctified, at the “the last trump of God” [1 Cor. 15:52]).

In Solomon’s Temple God’s Spirit dwelt behind the curtain partitioning the Holy of Holies ONLY! The properly consecrated priests were only allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year. No one else could enter behind that veil lest they die! As stated, the Holy of Holies represented the human spirit. Certain oblations, performed by the priests, per God’s specific instructions, took place in the Holy Place, which correlates to the human soul. The Outer Court, symbolized the physical human body, where the people were allowed to draw near to God, which is where the moneychangers’ tables and seats were set up surrounding the Holy Place. An entire book could be written addressing the multiplicity of reasons this scene infuriated the Son of God when He physically entered the Temple and drove Him to upset the tables and seats of the moneychangers, releasing the doves they were selling, and DRIVE OUT the moneychangers from the Temple. But, the main point here is: the moneychangers were in the Outer Court, not the Holy Place, nor the Holy of Holies, where the Spirit of God was present, behind the veil, at the very moment Jesus entered the Temple that day. No human flesh was permitted to even enter the Holy of Holies, except, again, the properly consecrated priests once a year, lest they immediately die! But, humans WERE permitted to enter both the Holy Place (certain humans) and the Outer Court.

So, let’s draw out from this story some specific relative points.

Limited Holy habitation. While this edifice was the Temple built by Solomon under the direction of God, and God’s Spirit dwelt in the Temple, the specific part of the Temple in which God’s Spirit dwelt was in the smallest, most hidden, most restrictive, and holiest part of the entire edifice, i.e., the Holy of Holies. While the entire Temple was dedicated and consecrated to God, there was only one “room” in which occupancy was restricted (with the one exception noted) to the Spirit of God; no other–evil or defiled–spirit could enter or live there and survive! So, while the structure was indeed properly named, Solomon’s Temple, nevertheless, God’s Presence did not fill the entire Temple, but rather was confined to the Holy of Holies. His Presence was not in the Holy Place or the Outer Court. These facts correlate to the matter of the salvation/sanctification of the human soul (Holy Place) and the human body (Outer Place), neither of which, as explained previously, are infused with the Spirit of God when a person is Born Again.
Contemporaneous cohabitation. At the same time that the Spirit/Presence of God was inhabiting the Holy of Holies, the moneychangers, who symbolized evil spirits, were occupying the Outer Court of the Temple, demonstrating that evil spirits can occupy Buildings of God that are infused with and inhabited by the Spirit of God, which believers are–1 Cor. 3:9. In this case, evil did occupy the Temple at the same time that the Presence of God also inhabited the Temple. The spiritual truth represented here is that evil spirits CAN indeed dwell together simultaneously in the same human temple where the Presence of God also dwells, in different parts of it. Specifically, the evil spirits can be occupying or affecting the soul (mind, will, emotions) and the physical body (causing sickness, disease, infirmities) while the Holy Spirit is occupying the human spirit.
Holy does not preclude unholy. In Biblical context, only two entities exist: evil (wicked, profane, not good), or the unholy, and the holy (good, righteous, redeemed). These two are at continuous and constant odds. In the context we are addressing here, as already established, evil (in the form of the moneychangers) was indeed simultaneously cohabiting the Temple with the Spirit of Holiness (Rom. 1:4). This conclusively disproves and debunks the hypothesis that God’s Holiness and Presence intrinsically and automatically prevents, precludes, prohibits incursion or entrance and presence of evil or the unholy. And, thank God that God’s perfect design and Spiritual system, if you will, allows same, lest unholy, unredeemed, evil-defiled Mankind would never be able to “draw near” or come to God at all! Thank God that is not true that God’s Holiness and the presence of the Spirit of Holiness does not preclude the unholy, for if it was true, all of Mankind would be forever damned and wholly banished from fellowship and communion with God! The alternative is certainly in no wise beneficial to the person who would so foolishly believe such an hypothesis! This is the reason behind the matter that befuddles so many as to how it is that Born Again and Born Again, “Spirit-filled,” or “Spirit-baptized people are quite capable of doing wrong or evil, for while God lives in their Born Again human spirit, the sin nature has not yet been eradicated, and still operates in their soul and body, and they can still be affected by evil spirits in their soul and body.
Authority delegated to believers must be operated or applied to “drive out” evil spirits once they have gained entrance. Notice that once the moneychangers had gained entrance and “set up shop,” so to speak, they remained there (this was a custom that had been going on for centuries), until Jesus came bursting into the Temple that day when He with His disciples lagging behind Him had reached Jerusalem in His triumphant journey into the iconic Jewish capitol city where He would achieve the ultimate victories He was born to claim! The symbolism inherent in the exacting design of Solomon’s Temple conveyed or represented many Kingdom truths, none more important though than human salvation and sanctification as it occurs in the tripartite human essence. Jesus’ forceful incursion into the Outer Court of Solomon’s Temple that had been taken over by these wicked moneychangers in stark contradiction of all that the Outer Court was intended to symbolize, whose sole motivation was profit from selling the doves that were required for the annual sacrifice, vividly portrayed the righteous anger of the Lord when evil spirits invade, intrude, and inhabit people who are the apple of God’s eye, the brilliant diamond of His Creation. Demonic incursion into the physical bodies and souls of God’s humankind Creation infuriates Him, and that is what was driving Jesus when He entered into Solomon’s Temple and witnessed first hand how that these vile merchants had turned what was designed by God to be a House of Prayer into a den of thieves! In John 10:10, Jesus identified Satan as the chief thief, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy! Those three intents are the three tines of Satan’s trident! And when demon spirits enter into the human Temples, whether it be in their bodies or their soul, it infuriates the Creator (Jesus Himself; Jn. 1:3), and as He upset their tables and seats, and physically drove them out of the Temple that day, so also He wants believers to execute the authority He has delegated unto them to DRIVE OUT demons in His name–Mk. 16:17–just as His first followers drove out demons by exercising that authority He had relegated to them so to do (e.g., Mat. 10:1; Lk. 10:19).

This scenario of Jesus invading Solomon’s Temple vividly demonstrates conclusively that while demons cannot enter and occupy the redeemed, regenerated (Born Again) human SPIRIT, they certainly can enter and occupy the human soul and human body, which they indeed DO! Born Again Christians CAN be demonized in their soul (mind, will, emotions) and their physical body! And, the only way the Bible prescribes to rid people from demons that have entered and occupied them (soul and/or body) is to DRIVE (the literal meaning of the term “cast out” appearing multiple times in the N.T.) them out with the authority (exousia) that Jesus has delegated to EVERY Born Again believer (Mk. 16:17; et al.), per the example (type and shadow) Jesus provided believers in the scenario of His physically entering Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem that day!

So, this is just one explanation (among many) of why and how “Christians can have demons!” But, it’s also just one explanation of why and how Christians must be about the Father’s business and carrying on the ministry of Jesus, doing the works that He did, and even greater works, because He has gone to the Father! Hallelujah!

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;” (Mark 16:17)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (Jn. 14:12)

Don’t be deceived by the utterly false carnal rationalization that “Christians can’t have demons.” Christians can have whatever they want and are willing to tolerate! That’s the REAL TRUTH! Yet, sadly, thousands of Christians, for whom my heart grieves, at this moment are being psychologically or physically ravaged by evil spirits, who in their religious pride and stubbornness would rather stick to their totally unbiblical belief that because they wear the “Christian” label they are automatically impervious to demonic attack and incursion, and continue to bear the pain and consequences of the “works of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8) in their soul and/or body, than to be convinced and convicted by the testimony of the Spirit and Word, admit they have been wrong, and repent (and thereafter receive the healing they so desperately need). Unfortunately, these dear saints are doing exactly what the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul warned last-days believers against: “falling away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1).###

Here’s a related article I wrote on this topic: Is the Devil Really Defeated? Well, Yes and No!

For more on the topic of deliverance, check out my book, “Deliverance From Demonic Powers.”

If you or someone you know needs deliverance, check out the premier deliverance portal: DeliveranceNow.com
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The following YouTube video is an audio recording of a meeting in which the late Derek Prince was teaching on the subject of Christians being demonized and a demon suddenly began manifesting through a Christian woman sitting on the front row who minutes earlier had played the piano during the worship portion of the meeting. When this occurred, as he explains after the interruption prior to resuming his message, Brother Prince went down to the woman and began ministering deliverance to her, which continued for about five minutes or so, though the majority of it was edited out and an explanation by Brother Prince was dubbed in. The woman who manifested this demon was known by the Princes, the church, and the ministry team, to be a bona fide Born Again believer.