Recently I came across someone teaching that Christians need to be casting demons out of other Christians. Before I address this I want to make it clear that I am not a novice in this area. I know the playbook of deliverance ministries quite well, and here is what you need to know about those who teach such things.
Generally speaking those who go around teaching that Christians can have demons that need to be cast out do not have a good understanding of the scriptures. Often they will downplay real knowledge of scripture to elevate their claims of spiritual experience, and when they do cite scripture they often spin the texts to validate their claims.
For instance, one minister cited three texts to justify his claims that demons were cast out of Christians in the Bible. He referenced Mark 1:39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils. He then made this statement regarding the text: “Remember these were religious people Jesus was delivering and these people, and I want to tell you this, had a much higher standard than you and I. They had a much higher living standard than you and I…”
It is remarkable the extend people will go to to make the scripture say what they want it to say. They do this because there is no truth in what they claim to be so. There is absolutely nothing in the text or the whole counsel of scripture that supports the notion that Jesus went around casting out devils from righteous, God fearing Jews who were living holy before God.
Rather than speaking as a responsible minister and handling the Word of God with the utmost integrity, he was careless and dangerous with his interpretation of scripture because rather than building up vulnerable Christians in the word of truth, he is actually confusing people with destructive doctrine.
Christians need to have faith in God! They need to be rooted and build up in the truth of Christ. As Christians we are not to be seeking deliverance from demons, but to live as crucified with Christ, putting off the old man with the affections and lusts. Faith in Jesus is victory over the devil and the world!
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. ~ 1 John 4:4
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? ~ 1 John 5:4-5
When Jesus died and rose again, he spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15). The believer’s victory over Satan and demons is in the power of the cross, through the blood of Jesus, and because this so, the least member of the body of Christ has as much authority over the devil as anyone else. You do not need another Christian to cast the devil out of you if you are a Christian. You simply need to stand in faith against the wiles of the devil. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Making Christians dependent and on other Christians for deliverance from demons is not Biblical. It is spiritual manipulation, actually its a form of witchcraft. When the New Testament is surveyed, there is much instruction given regarding Christian interaction, but casting out demons is not one of them. We are instructed to care for one another, love one another, pray for one another, help one another and so on, but we are never instructed to cast the devil out of one another.
The minister mentioned above proceeded to give two more examples to support his claims that Christians should cast out demons from other Christians. He referenced Peter being rebuked by Jesus, and he referenced Judas.
First, when Peter spoke errantly in his zeal telling Jesus he would not have to die on the cross, Jesus did not turn around and cast the devil out of Peter. Instead, Jesus rebuked Peter for speaking and voicing the will of the devil, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. ~ Matthew 16:23
If we were truthful, we’d all admit that we have yielded to the devil at one time or another and said things that were contrary to God’s will. Does this mean we need the devil cast out of us? Certainly not! Instead, we needed correction or rebuke, coupled with repentance.
Secondly, Judas was not a Christian. Judas was the son of perdition and Jesus knew ahead of time that Judas would betray him. In fact Judas betraying Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament. Judas was not a Christians and never had a faithful heart towards Jesus. Judas was set to betray Jesus from the beginning.
Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. John 6:70-71
Dear Christian, you have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. The Spirit of the Living God is in you and God is your Father. Trust in the truth of God and not the fallacies of man. Deliverance ministries and ministers come and go but the truth of God’s word stands forever, and it is God’s Word that will establish your faith in truth!
Rooted and Grounded In Christ 
According to my search and readings, Christians are protected against demons penetrating their spirit but demons can invade the body and soul of Christians. This is the reason so many Christians have illnesses, pain, etc.
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Where does the Bible teach that the believer’s spirit is protected but his soul and body are vulnerable to demons?
According to the scriptures, our bodies are members of Christ (1 Co 6:15), and our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Co 6:19), and our bodies belong to God (1 Co 6:20). Thus we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable to God as our reasonable service or worship (Ro 12:1). In his first letter to the Thessalonians Paul says, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ v. 23
With regards to illness, If you had to make the case from scripture alone that born again followers of Christ could have demons in their bodies causing them to have illness and pain, could you do it?
In his letter to the Philippians Paul mentions his beloved friend Epaphroditus, who had become very sick and almost died. Paul says, “ “Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death” (Philippians 2:25-30). Paul says “but God had mercy on him and not on him only, but me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. ”
In James we read, Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ~ James 5:14-16
According to scripture, illness can be the result of sin in the life of a believer as James indicates, and this truth is witnessed to from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where Paul tells them that some of them are weak and sickly and some have even died because of their lack of reverence in discerning the Lord’s body (1 Co 11:30).
However this is not always the cause. People can become ill while doing the will of God just as Paul’s friend Epaphroditus had become deathly ill in his work for the Lord. We also read where Paul tells Timothy to drink a little wine and no longer water for his stomach’s sake and the often infirmities Timothy was dealing with (1 Timothy 5:23).
This is why it is in error to teach that all sickness is the result of demonic oppression as some teach. I acknowledge this is not you claim in your comment, but it is a prevalent teaching that many have embraced. The moment someone gets sick folks want to rebuke the devil and cast him out, but there is not a single place that I can find in all of scripture that teaches that sickness or disease in the life of a believer comes from demonic spirits. It’s just not there, but I do know that view point very well having once ascribed to it.
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The only people who say that a Christian cant have a demon is someone who has never tried to do deliverance on anyone let alone a Christian. What is the worst thing that can happen when asking the Lord for help? Nothing. And the best? Everything. I ONLY cast demons out of Christians. For non believers have no protection from the demon comming back 7x worse
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Luke, with all due respect, there is not a single text in the New Testament that supports the claim that a Christian should ever need a demon cast out of them.
You are implying that I am one of those people who don’t know what I am talking about. I know more about what I am talking about than you might think. I have been a Christian for more than 42 years. I was heavy into the “casting demons out of Christians” belief many years ago. I attended a Bible College (my first year there was in 1989) in which the founder was one of the leading ministers in the United States with such a deliverance ministry.
I have participated in the “casting out demons” from Christians many times, and I am telling you it’s more of a flesh display than anything else. When a person is Biblically taught the truth of scripture, and God’s Word enlightens them, true deliverance comes, because the warfare that Christians deal with is with their carnal nature. Christians are to subdue the flesh by the crucified life through the power of the Holy Spirit and obedience to God’s Word.
For this reason there is not only a single scripture where a demon was cast out of a Christian in practice, nor is there a single text that supports such a practice.
Your believe is not coming from the Word of God. Its coming from the doctrines of men.
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I have found this very helpful and very much agree with you. Thankyou.
Do you have any writings/teachings or verses that you recommend on generational sin and the jezebel spirit.
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Yes.
Generational Curses
Generational Curses (Part Two)
Jezebel
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I too, 39 years in the Lord, was from the very beginning saved within a climate of deliverance teaching. Very common part of my faith walk for MANY years. Ida Mae and Frank were central figures and regular guests back then, however, many years later…
The church entertained a stint with “supposed” angelic visits, providing “teaching” to the church, and the “appointment” of a “prophet”… and an “apostle”, etc. (this was all during and after the time of the “Toronto blessing”, and the Brownsville “revival”… in that same era) Well. I can tell you, after 2-3 years of this, things unraveled in a very destructive way. Within a sudden swoop one Sunday morning, it was revealed that all of the angelic stuff turned out to be a hoax. Previously, the pastor fed into the error in a major way. We had lots of weird and interesting “miraculous” things happen in the process. Well, the Scriptures teach us that the angel of light can produce wonders.
Needless to say, we had to separate ourselves from the mess. It took a long time to unravel years of indoctrination, and deliverance ministry was just one issue.
As I began to reacquaint myself with the New Testament scriptures from within its own light, many truths started to break through the fog, and… as it related to “deliverance ministry”, it occurred to me back then – all the very same understandings shared in this article. There is not one shred of evidence from any of the epistles nor gospels which teach we should be casting demons out of believers. It is simply not there…
I am only now finally beginning to seek an explanation as to what I experienced all those years ago, even within my own life, and it never occurred to me: “more of a flesh display”. Duhhh. Man that was so simple it slapped me right in the head. There is so more to this conversation, but that really spoke to me!
Man! I could’ve had a V-8…
Although, there was one particular occasion where I really believe(d) I was set free from a particular terrorization over an incident… And I’m trying to remember who was there ministering at the time; I can’t remember if it was Ed Corley, or the Hammonds.. 🤔. But I do remember there was a special deliverance ministry visit taking place for a few days during this particular unsettling incident in my life, and I WAS definitely set free from something. (Yes, it WAS the Hammonds. Because it was a deliverance specific session. It was probably one of the last times they ministered before passing on.) Tho, as I think on it, I am realizing it may not have been anything to do with demon “deliverance” per se, as much as it was a warfare defeating an external attack “against” my sanity! I do believe Howard Pittman brought back much truth from his experience on the other side. But he never inferred that we should be casting demons out. He only inferred that the enemy uses tactics of “Cataloging” our weaknesses, and then sending tempters during those times…
🤔
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