During the late 1960’s there began a teaching within the church that is now known as ‘Deliverance Ministry (DM).’ It is believed by a majority of DM proponents that when a person becomes Born-Again, light comes into their spirit, and they become brand new, but their body will not be made new until Jesus returns and they receive their glorified body. It is also believed that the ‘soul’ (thinking, emotions, will, etc.) is not regenerated as well.
The teaching of DM states that any ’infirmity’ (cancer, epilepsy, arthritis, and any disease for that matter) could be caused by a demonic spirit that has entered their body and soul through an open door of personal sin, as well as from their ancestral bloodline of curses caused by their fathers’ sin being passed down to them, which will control, influence, vex, or oppress those areas with mental illness, fear, self-hatred, anger, unforgiveness, trauma, abandonment, rejection, suicide, witchcraft, pornography, drug addiction, sickness, and disease, and therefore, they must be regularly cast out. Within DM, there are lists and lists of thousands of names of evil spirits.
They also believe that sanctification is setting a person apart from sin and works of darkness. Therefore, DM is part of the sanctification process because most demons come generationally and from sin patterns before a person becoming a Christian.
The numerous cartoonish ramblings of 'deliverance ministers' are used as a validation to deny or write off those who are/have been the legitimate victims of occultic abuse, or that it even exists. However, just because there are many wolves in sheep's clothing within the church, does not negate the very real reality that some of them sincerely believe they are doing the work of satan at his direct request.
I was raised in the occult and am acutely aware of the abuse associated with it and the darkness that envelopes it. Legitimate victims who are radically set free from its grasp by becoming Born-Again, are terrified to speak up, not from the fear of reprisal by those they escaped from, or the demons that tortured and harassed them, but by fellow Born-Again Christians who mock and ridicule them if they ever speak out, and then accuse them of being a liar, or having some sort of mental illness, or that they are just vying for attention by perpetuating "satanic panic."
The facts reveal that there are active occult crime investigators in all areas of Law Enforcement because the ritualistic crimes committed are often so heinous that it is too hard to believe, understand, or comprehend, especially when children are involved.
Even today, there are those who deny the Holocaust that took the lives of over 10 million people, including 6 million+ Jews, because they do not believe it could have been conceived by those who had deep and active roots in the occult, and specifically satanism (For more info, see Julian Strube’s book, “Vril: Eine okkulte Urkraft in Theosophie und esoterischem Neonazismus” or Goodrick Clarke's, “The Occult Roots of Nazism”).
A person may not believe in the 'devil' but he believes in them and wants them dead, or at the very least, impotent, ineffective, and ignorant of his ways as a denier of his power and grasp upon those who are lost.
The 'deliverance' industry is filled with people who bring undue fear to the body of Christ as they vomit out lies and untruths about the security of the Born-Again Christian by either just making 'stuff' up that has no support in the Bible, or twisting it into a pretzel to perpetuate 'satanic panic' so they can make a living and a name for themselves fleecing the flock by doing so.
The bottom line is that DM teaching cuts at the heart of God’s sovereign authority.
'He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son' (Col 1:13 ESV).
The historical facts are that there has been no mention of anything remotely like modern ‘Deliverance Ministry’ over the last 2,000 years. Nor is there any historical writing by a Church leader that states directly, or indirectly, that a Born-Again Christian can have a demon.
The Bible gives no instructions or commands to cast a demon out of a Born-Again Christian. Instead, it instructs them, to:
1. “Be self-controlled and alert”
2. “Stand firm in the faith”
3. “Submit” themselves “to God”
4. “RESIST the devil and he will FLEE from” them
(James 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8-9 – emphasis mine).
Explicit Vs. Implicit
Even though there are zero accounts in Scripture of a Born-Again Christian having demons cast out of them the primary proof DM ministers offer is their personal sensory experience, and adamantly state that “a person with an experience is never at the mercy of a person with an opinion” (aka - biblical theology) because there are no explicit Scriptures verses that say specifically, word for word, that a demon cannot possess a Born-Again Christian. They believe that it is experience that primarily shapes the interpretation of God’s Word rather than the Bible shaping their experiential theology.
Just as there is no single explicit verse that says a Born-Again Christian cannot have a demon within them, the Bible also does not explicitly state that God is triune, yet it implicitly says in numerous places that God, the Father; God, the Son, Jesus; and God, the Holy Spirit are one God, yet three distinctly different persons which are called the Trinity.
There are, however, 100's of implicit verses that are deductively valid because they clearly show how, and why, a Born-Again Christian could never be possessed or indwelt by a demon. The Bible is full of messages, instructions, commandments, charges, directions, and requirements that were not recorded in some instances because they were implicit to the situations.
The Bible is a mix of explicit commandments and instructions, together with explicit and implicit teachings. What is essential for the student of the Bible is to know and understand what is genuinely implicit without adding in their ideas to twist the Scriptures to say something that they don't say. They must keep in mind the principle that the explicit, direct teaching passages of the Bible, must be considered in their grammatical and historical context, along within the context of the whole Bible to come to an interpretation that conveys their teaching less directly and more implicitly.
A word in the Bible means what it meant in the context of its original grammatical and historical usage. The person who originally used it gave it an exact intended meaning in the context of what they were saying. You can't take a word from the original Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic and try to give it an exact meaning from a modern dictionary that is in a different language.
Power over the Enemy
Jesus gave His Disciples power over the devil. Christians have already overcome the enemy. Jesus destroyed the works of the enemy and lives IN every Born-Again Christian. The physical body, which includes the flesh and not just the spirit/soul, is His dwelling place and is now His Temple - the Holy of Holies (See Luke 9:1-2; 1 John 2:13-14, 3:8, 4:4).
There are two words in the New Testament that are translated “Temple,” “naos” and “hieron.” The word used to describe the body as a “Temple” of the Holy Spirit is the word “naos.” This word is also used metaphorically to describe the physical body of Jesus: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19-22 NIV).
The other word for “Temple” in the New Testament is “hieron,” which signifies the entire building, or the outer courts, where all the people had access. This is the area in Solomon’s Temple where Jesus taught His lessons.
Every person has a spirit that will leave the flesh one day. Within the Christian, the spirit dwells in the body, and the Holy Spirit dwells in the spirit.
The word “soul,” which is often used interchangeably with “spirit,” actually means the mind, will, and emotions. Every Christian has the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16 NIV). The body - every cell, tissue, and organ - is the very shrine, or Holy of Holies, where God dwells. Christians are “the temple of the living God” (2 Cor 6:14-16 NIV). The most holy and beautiful Creator God of the Universe, lives/dwells IN every Born-Again Christian, and they live/dwell IN Him. Jesus “is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:1-5 NIV). It is because of that profound truth that every Born-Again Christian has power over the power of the devil.
Christians have been “crucified with Christ,” and He now lives in them. The life they live in their physical “body” is “by faith in the Son of God” because Jesus loves them and gave Himself for them (Gal 2:20-21 NIV). Only the high priest, clothed in garments of repentance, surrounded by a cloud of incense, with the blood of sacrifice having been offered, could lawfully enter in the Holy of Holies (Lev 16; Heb 9:7). Born-Again Christians are a physical, as well as a spiritual part of Jesus: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” (1 Cor 6:16 NIV).
That is why the Bible says not to have sexual relations with a non-Believer because the Born-Again Christian would be uniting the body of Jesus with one who is considered a prostitute. As physical union causes two people to become "one flesh," the spiritual union with Jesus causes the Born-Again Christian to be one in spirit.
When Jesus was dealing with the religious leaders, He said they belonged to their father “the devil,” and they did not “belong to God” (John 8:42-47 NIV). The Bible says that "He who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning" (1 John 3:8 NIV).
The Bible proclaims to the Christian: “you were dead in your transgressions and sins when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph. 2:1-9 NIV).
Born-Again Believers do not live among those who are disobedient - those IN who the devil is actively at work. Those found in the kingdom of the Son are not under the rule or authority of demons because God “has rescued” them “from the dominion of darkness” (Col. 1:13 NIV).
Jesus taught that "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall” (Luke 11:17-18 NIV). The physical, emotional, and spiritual body cannot hold both God’s eternal light and the eternal darkness of hell because there is NO darkness in God’s Holy Temple. No matter how many anecdotal stories a Christian has heard, or personal experience(s) with demonic spirits they have had, the Word of God is the only source that can be trusted for truth.
Humans are a Whole Person and Living Soul
The Hebrew way of thinking is that humans are viewed as a whole. Different words are used to express various facets of mankind. The Hebrew word "basar," translated as flesh, refers to human weaknesses and limitations, especially towards the almighty and infinite God. The Hebrew word "nephesh," translated as soul, refers to the human life force, their emotionality, will, and mental abilities. It is synonymous with mankind, and it is affected by death just like flesh is affected. It represents humans with respect to other human beings, but the Hebrew word "'ruach" which is often translated as "spirit," represents humans with respect to God. 'Ruach' means "air in motion" and is often used to refer to God, His power in the world, power which sustains life. The human 'ruach' comes from God's 'ruach,' and contains emotional and willful elements, so it has several concepts in common with 'nephesh.' Neither 'nephesh' nor 'ruach' has the ability to survive death.
The NT concept of the Greeks words 'pneuma' and 'psyche' agree with the OT concept; i.e., that 'pneuma' represents the whole human in relation to God, and 'psyche' represents the entire person without relation to God. This is why the Word of God is powerful and can judge the thoughts and intents of the heart so that the Born Again Christian can live a life that is dominated by God's 'pneuma' and to His glory.
God breathed into humankind just one principle, the living "soul" (Gen 2:7). In Job 27:3, "life" and "spirit" are used interchangeably (Job 33:18).
"Spirit," as well as "soul," is ascribed to animal creation (Eccl 3:21; Rev 16:3). The ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ in beasts is irrational and mortal; in humankind, it is rational and immortal.
"Soul" is ascribed to the Lord (Isa 42:1; Heb 10:38).
The highest place in religion is ascribed to the soul (Mark 12:30; Luke 1:46-47; Heb 6:19; James 1:21).
Body and soul (or spirit) are spoken of as constituting the whole of a human (Mt 10:28; 1 Cor 5:3; 3 John 2), and to lose the soul is to lose all (Mt 16:26; Mark 8:36).
Consciousness testifies that there are two elements in a human being that can be distinguished; a material part and an immaterial part, but the consciousness of no one can discriminate between soul and spirit
God first created a human being. Then, into the nostrils of that body, He breathed the breath (spirit) of life, and the human became a living soul (Gen. 2:7). Humans did not first come to be a living soul or to possess a soul, and then receive the spirit also. It was the reception of the spirit that made them a living soul.
Jesus said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART and with all your SOUL and with all your STRENGTH and with all your MIND, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27; also Deut. 6:5, Mark 12:30 - emphasis mine). Using logic, this indicates that there is a four-fold division of human nature.
Jesus also said: "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the SOUL: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both SOUL and BODY in hell" (Matt 10:28). The body and soul are distinct elements.
The Bible says that physical death is the departing of the soul from the body, and a coming to life again is spoken of as the soul’s coming again into the body. Sometimes, the Hebrew word for "soul" (nephesh) means merely life (Gen. 35:18; 1 Kings 17:22).
The Bible also says that the body is just an earthly house and that the Born-Again Christian will have another house (spiritual body) after the dissolution of their physical body (2 Cor. 5:1-4). The inner person or soul will move out of this house and into another one. The physical body is the soul’s earthly dwelling-place.
As pointed out, humans have an immaterial element (called “soul” or “spirit” in Scripture), in addition to their bodies. Jesus taught that they are “body and soul” (Mt 10:28), and in Matthew 26:41, He contrasts “flesh and spirit.” The terms are used interchangeably.
A “spirit” is immaterial (Lk 24:39); it is “within us” (1 Cor 2:11), and sanctification is spoken of as purifying ourselves from “everything that contaminates body and spirit” (1 Cor 7:1). The Bible says that a body without a spirit is “dead” (2:26), and at death, the spirit leaves the body (Mt 27:50; Lk 23:46; Joh 19:30 and Acts 7:59). The term ‘soul’ is used in various ways throughout Scripture as referring to “life constituted in the body” (Mt 6:25; 10:39; 16:25-26; 20:28; Lk 14:26; Jn 10:11-18; Acts 15:26; 20:10; Phil 2:30; 1 Joh:16).
The Soul is synonymous with spirit, in addition to serving as a synonym for the person themselves (Mt 12:18; Lk 12:19; Acts 2:27, 41, 43, 3:23; Rom 2:9; 3:11; Heb 10:38; Jas 1:21; 5:20; 1 Pet 1:9; 2:25).
There is only one place in Scripture where spirit, soul, and body are used together in such a manner (see 1 Thess 5:23). It is an expression that emphasizes the entire makeup of a human being should be preserved. It is not a definition, nor is it a theological dissertation, or a tenet of faith about the nature of humanity.
The House of God
The physical body, which includes the flesh and not just the spirit or soul, is His dwelling place and is now His Temple - the Holy of Holies (See Luke 9:1-2; 1 John 2:13-14, 3:8, 4:4). There is no basement, attic, hidden room, or unguarded area where God does not dwell. There can be no squatters or tenants sharing the residence with Him. The Bible makes it clear that no unclean spirit can live and reside in the same place as the Holy Spirit.
The enemy was thrown out of Heaven a long time ago. It is no longer his home. He may visit the outer courts occasionally to accuse a Born-Again Christian before God, but he cannot stay, dwell in, or inhabit, Heaven. More importantly, the enemy cannot remain, live, dwell in, or inhabit them because their spirit, mind, and body is the Holy of Holies - the dwelling place of God.
Jesus never cast out evil spirits of lust, gluttony, nicotine, hatred, jealousy, the orphan spirit, etc. All the demons that He cast out caused physical or mental illness and were not ‘spirits’ or sins of the flesh.
There is no biblical or historical record of the Apostles, or anyone else, casting evil spirits out of Born-Again Christians, nor is there any teaching on doing this. The belief that a Born-Again Christian can have a demon is a superstitious folk religion that emanated from the bowels of hell.
The mature Born-Again Christian should never let their experience, no matter how profound it may be, to dictate their interpretation of Bible doctrine, but they should interpret their experiences in the authority of the Bible. When the Scriptures are interpreted by sensory experience, the experience will become the higher authority. God’s Word is the only reliable source of truth about the enemy, not experience
Customized Curses
Within the ranks of DM, there is a common belief that the enemy can prevail against a Christian through the casting of curses. This has resulted in the need to specialize in breaking “word” and “generational” curses that come against Christians because they are generally blamed for various problems one might encounter.
A foundational truth of Christianity is that no weapon, including a curse (or hex), can “prevail” against a Born-Again Christian. There is no evidence in the Bible that a Christian can be tormented by a demonic curse. Every tongue “that accuses you” (Isa 54:17) and brings condemnation and judgment is invalid because Christians have been justified and made righteous. They are now positionally in Christ Jesus. He is their advocate and vindicator.
The Definition of a “Curse”
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word "curse” as a “prayer or invocation for harm or injury to come upon one, something that is cursed or accursed, evil or misfortune that comes as if in response to imprecation or as retribution, a cause of great harm or misfortune."
The word “curse” is used in the Old Testament to express doom, misfortune, revenge, harm, injury, passion, or impatience (See Gen 3:14-17, 4:11). Sometimes the word was used as a prayer and was believed to possess the power to bring the evil prayed for. Some curses pronounced in Scripture are actually predictions (See Gen 9:25; 27:29, 49:7; Deut 27:15; Josh 6:26, Numbers 22-24, 1 Sam 17:43).
In the New Testament, the Greek word for “curse” means to declare something, or someone, to be hateful or detestable; to belittle, vilify, condemn, or doom. It is a pronunciation of judgment. The Bible says “If anyone does not love the Lord” or “those that preach another gospel are cursed.” (1 Cor 16:22; Gal 1:8-9 NIV). Jesus commanded His disciples to, "Bless them that curse you" (Luke 6:28).
The Curse of the Law
In the New Testament, the Old Testament Law is considered a curse because it pronounces a curse upon everyone "who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them" (Gal 3:10 NIV). The sinner’s doom had been declared and escape is impossible.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, death came. Adam’s sin opened the way for the curse, which opened the door to sickness, disease, war, famine, death, and poverty.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” (Rom 5:12-13 NIV)
The Bible says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal 3:10, 13 NIV). On the Cross Jesus redeemed every Born-Again Christian from the curse of the Law, having become a curse so that the blessings of Abraham might come upon them, and they would receive the promise of Holy Spirit through Trusting-Faith.
The Sins of the Father
Every man and women born is cursed by the ancestral sin of Adam! (See 1 Cor 15:22). However, if they become a Born-Again Christian, the curse of sin is removed. The old nature, which was positionally inherited from their father Adam, died when they made Jesus their Lord and Savior. Now, all things are new, and they are not under any kind of bondage to their former life.
The Ten Commandments teach that children would be affected by their father's sin. All sin is sin and all people sin. Through Adam, the sin nature was passed on. Parents are the most significant role model for their children. Their sinful behavior is most often mirrored and practiced by the children. Each child is individually responsible for their sin and suffers the same consequences as do the parents because of their own behavior. This cycle can be broken at any time by repenting and doing what is right.
If a Christian’s parents, or their ancestors, committed all kinds of hideous sin, they don’t have to worry about living under any kind of curse if they are Born-Again because Jesus has “qualified” them “to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” They have been “rescued…from the dominion of darkness and brought… into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom” they “have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:12-14 NIV).
Christians don’t have to spend years searching the "roots" of their past in “endless genealogies” (1 Tim 1:4) because they have just one spiritual ancestor – God! He is their true Father! God is not under any kind of curse so they can’t inherit a curse from Him.
The sins that are often seen running through families, such as divorce, anger, alcoholism, drug addiction, obesity, and so on, are most often handed down from one generation to another through bad role models and training. As an example, if alcoholism runs in a family, then a person shouldn’t drink alcohol! That way it won’t ever be a problem for them. The choice to reap the consequences of a father’s sin is theirs alone.
Every human being is born under the curse of sin. They are all individually responsible for their own actions. People are not victims of curses placed on them through no fault of their own, or by the wrong actions of previous generations. The simple truth is that their sins are their own responsibility, not anyone else's!
The Born-Again Christian is no longer responsible for - or subject to - the sins of their father’s or the generational consequences of their family blood-line because:
“there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:1-2 NIV)
The blood of Jesus has already broken every curse from a Christian’s life, or that may be in their bloodline. Because they are righteous in standing before God, they are redeemed from the "curse of the Law” (Gal 3:13-14 NIV).
If a person under the Old Covenant Law, that was comprised of hundreds of laws, did not keep one aspect of the Law, they were put under a curse as a hater of God. Jesus said that He came “to fulfill” the Law and that all the laws of the Old Testament “hang on”…”two commandments ”; 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and 'Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 5:17, 22:37-40 NIV).
Jesus also said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command”…”He who does not love me will not obey my teaching” (John 14:15, 24 NIV). If a person is Born-Again they are now numbered among the “upright”, “those who love” Him and their “children…will be blessed”. (Psalm 112:2 NIV). When they sin (and they will because that is what “sinners” do!) they will come under His correction and not His curse.
Jesus spoke to the Church and said, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” (Rev 3:19 NIV). So, when a Christian sins they are to “obey the voice of the Lord” (Deut 28:45), admit their failure, acknowledge responsibility, and be passionately diligent to “repent.” That is what breaks sin’s curse. The enemy cannot use the sins in a person’s family tree against the Born-Again Christian because they are no longer under a curse.
The Ineffectual Curse
Curses can’t come to rest and have effect on a Christian who walks in holiness and humility. Balaam couldn’t curse the people that God had blessed (See Deut 23:5). David wasn’t hurt by Shimei's curse (See 2 Sam 16:5-12), but was instead blessed by God with good (See Ps 109:28).
“Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest (Prov 26:2 NIV).
The curse that is pronounced against the humble Christian will, instead, fall on the one who spoke the curse because the Born-Again Christian has been pronounced innocent, and their sins have been washed away, by the shed blood of Jesus.
Dangerous Delusions
DM causes a dangerous preoccupation with the demonic. The teaching that a Born-Again Christian can have a demon living inside them would require the Holy Spirit sharing the same temple along with demons, creating a house divided, and comes dangerously close to blaspheming Christ, who indwells the Born-Again Christian (2 Cor 6:14-16).
DM is misguided at the very least and a biblically unsupported experiential supposition that is based upon a 'salvation is by works and not by grace lest God should boast' mindset. The enemy uses this despicable teaching to disarm, intimidate, and emasculate the Born-Again Christian, keeping them satisfied on Pablum preaching, and not the meat of God’s Word, as they focus on demon chasing rather than on the Creator of all things and living in the mature authority they have been given by being in Jesus and He in them (Heb 6:1-3).
I am led to conclude that the constant barrage of biblical misinformation about the authority, rights, possessions, privileges, and power the Born-Again Christian was given at the moment of salvation as they became God’s dwelling place, found in the DM teaching is beyond simple ignorance and naiveté. It has all the signs of the enemy's primary modus operandi of deflection and subtle subterfuge to misdirect the bride of Christ ('did God really say?') from focusing on the One who broke all curses and defeated the enemy, once and for all, on the Cross, and instead, causing them to focus on their own sinfulness (or of others), which keeps them defeated ('the devil made me do it mentality'), and biblically illiterate which renders them ineffective to fulfill the Great Commandment by chasing after defeated demons who have absolutely ZERO authority in the life of the Born-Again Christian.
The bottom line is that this teaching borders on blasphemy because it infers that the enemy is greater than He who is IN the Born-Again Christian and paid for their deliverance once and for all. Jesus commanded them to live by trusting faith in Him and not by their sensory experiences (Matt 4:4, 6:34; John 20:29).
A person can chose to remain an infant in Christ and allow themselves to be tossed around by every whim of emotional experience and forever remain addicted to Pablum rather than becoming mature by the eating the meat of His written Word, which reveals that a Born-Again Christian cannot be possessed by a demon (Eph 4:14).
The Born-Again Christian must not succumb to the ignorance of illusion and experience over the written Word of God because that is a perilous place to be. They must not define their beliefs by “I know it's true because I feel it in my heart' sensory experience because it is an illogical and invalid inductive argument that is without merit and not supported anywhere in the Bible. A mature, intelligent Christian should never interpret the Bible in the light of their experiences, no matter how profound they are, but instead, they should interpret their experiences in the authority of the Bible.
The death of Jesus on the Cross is sufficient to deliver anyone from the bondage of sin and the devil who humbly cries out to Him for salvation. Further deliverance is not necessary. To teach otherwise gives the impression that the work of Jesus is incomplete and His prayers for us are impotent.
Jesus, the Creator Lord of the Universe, asked the Father to "protect them from the evil one" (John 17:15 ESV). That is an effectual and fervent prayer that no human or demon can ever negate. Remember this - Jesus is your "defender and protector" and He is your God; in Him alone you can place your trust" (Ps 91:2 ESV).
