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Key Verse
"But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Luke 11:20, NKJV)
Learning Objectives
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
1. Explain the biblical teaching on Satan and demons, and why believers need not live in fear.
2. Describe how Jesus, the apostles and the early church practiced deliverance, and how simple their practice was.
3. State the main views on whether a believer can be demonized, and the conservative Pentecostal position.
4. Identify superstitious and fear-based practices that must be avoided, including violence, fees, and blaming demons for everything.
5. Lead a safe and biblical deliverance ministry, with medical referral, accountability and follow-up discipleship.
The Voice of This Unit
This unit is written from inside the classical Pentecostal tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and Trinitarian. We believe that Satan and demons are real, that Jesus has defeated them, and that believers have authority in His name. We also believe that much that has been done in the name of "deliverance" is not found in the Bible, and that some of it does harm. Our aim is to teach the biblical practice, which is plain, calm and centered on Christ, and to warn against fear. Unit 6 taught that pastors must not refuse medical care. The same care applies here.
Two Errors
There are two opposite mistakes. The first is to deny the spirit world. Some churches treat demons as a primitive idea that modern people have outgrown. But the Gospels present Jesus as casting out demons as a central part of His work.
The second mistake is obsession. Some churches see a demon behind every headache, every quarrel, every poor harvest. Their members live in fear of curses, objects, dreams and places. This also departs from Scripture. The New Testament speaks of demons with sobriety, and it speaks far more about Christ's victory and our holy living than about demons themselves.
A Pentecostal pastor stands between these errors. He takes the spirit world seriously, and he is not afraid of it.
What Scripture Teaches About Satan and Demons
Scripture presents Satan as a real, personal enemy. He is a tempter, accuser and deceiver. Peter warns, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Demons are evil spirits who serve him. Paul writes, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
But the Bible is clear that Satan is a defeated enemy, with limits.
• He is a created being and not equal to God.
• Christ came to destroy his works: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).
• At the cross Christ disarmed the principalities and powers and triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15).
• Believers have the Spirit within them: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
Our response is therefore not terror but resistance in faith: "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
Deliverance in the Ministry of Jesus
The Gospels record many occasions of deliverance. In the synagogue at Capernaum a man with an unclean spirit cried out, and Jesus spoke a short command and the spirit left (Mark 1:21-28). The man in the country of the Gerasenes, who lived among the tombs, was set free and sat clothed and in his right mind (Mark 5:1-20).
Notice four things.
First, Jesus acted by authority and not by ritual. He used no special formula, no objects, no long ceremony, no loud shouting. He spoke, and the spirits obeyed.
Second, deliverance was a sign of the kingdom. In the key verse, Jesus says that casting out demons by the finger of God shows that the kingdom of God has come. Deliverance announces the rule of Christ. It is not a special trade for experts.
Third, Jesus showed compassion. The person was a suffering human being, not a spectacle.
Fourth, Jesus distinguished between kinds of affliction. Matthew 4:24 lists those who were demon-possessed along with epileptics and the paralyzed, and Jesus healed all. The Gospels do not treat every illness as a demon, and neither should we.
Deliverance in Acts and the Epistles
Jesus gave this authority to His disciples (Luke 9:1; 10:17-20). In Acts Philip's ministry in Samaria included the casting out of unclean spirits (Acts 8:7). In Philippi, Paul turned and spoke to the spirit in a girl, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her" (Acts 16:18). The method is again short and simple.
Acts 19 gives an important warning. Seven sons of Sceva tried to use "the Jesus whom Paul preaches" as a formula, and the evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" and the man overpowered them (Acts 19:13-16). The name of Jesus is not a magic word. It works because the believer belongs to Jesus. Afterward, many who had practiced magic burned their books publicly (Acts 19:19). This shows the right response to the occult: renounce it, and remove its tools, and turn to Christ.
The letters of the New Testament give surprisingly little instruction on how to cast out demons. Instead they teach believers how to stand: put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6), watch and pray, resist the devil, know the truth, forgive quickly, and keep from giving a foothold. "Nor give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27). The apostles teach the churches mainly about holy living, not about hunting for demons.
Can a Believer Be Demonized?
This question divides Christians, including Pentecostals, and a teacher should state the views fairly.
The Greek word often translated "demon-possessed" is a form of daimonizomai, which means to be under the influence of a demon. It does not tell us how strong that influence is. Because of this, many prefer the words "demonized" or "under demonic oppression."
View 1: A believer cannot be possessed. The Holy Spirit lives in the believer, and the body is His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Light and darkness do not share a dwelling. Believers belong to Christ and cannot be owned by Satan.
View 2: A believer can be demonized to some degree. Some teachers argue that a believer may be seriously influenced or bound in some area of life, through sin, trauma or the occult, even though he is saved.
View 3: A believer can be attacked from outside but not indwelt. This is the view of many conservative Pentecostals. A believer may be tempted, accused, oppressed and led astray, and may give the enemy a foothold through unrepented sin, but he is not owned and indwelt by a demon as an unbeliever may be.
We hold the third view as the most faithful to Scripture, while recognizing that sincere Pentecostal pastors differ. Whatever the view, the practice is the same: help the person repent, renounce what is evil, walk in the truth of the gospel, and receive prayer in the name of Jesus. No one should build a large system on a single word or a few experiences.
The Debates About Deliverance Today
Cessationism. Some evangelicals teach that exorcism, like other signs, belonged to the apostolic age (see Warfield's Counterfeit Miracles). Our answer: Jesus' commission to the church was not limited to the Twelve (Mark 16:17 speaks of those who believe), and Christian writers such as Justin Martyr in the second century speak of exorcism in the church's life. Mark 16:9-20 is questioned by many scholars, as Unit 5 noted, so we do not rest on it alone. The kingdom of God still advances against the kingdom of darkness.
Rationalism. Many modern people say that what the Bible calls demons was only illness. Our answer: We accept that some who were thought to be possessed in ancient and modern times were physically or mentally ill, and the Gospels themselves distinguish illness from possession. But Jesus spoke to the spirits, and they replied. We take Him at His word. In Africa, Latin America and Asia, the spirit world has never been doubted, and Allan Anderson has shown that this worldview is part of why Pentecostalism speaks to the majority world.
Territorial spirits. In recent decades, some leaders, including C. Peter Wagner, have taught "strategic-level spiritual warfare," in which believers identify and confront powerful spirits said to rule over cities or nations. Proponents point to Daniel 10 and to the "principalities and powers" in the New Testament. Many evangelicals and Pentecostals object. Our answer: the New Testament never commands believers to name, address or bind territorial spirits. Jude 9 shows that even the archangel Michael did not bring a railing accusation against the devil. The apostolic method was to preach the gospel, pray, and cast out spirits from individuals. We follow that pattern.
Generational curses. Some teach that a family may suffer from a curse passed down from ancestors that must be broken by a special prayer. Exodus 20:5 speaks of the consequences of sin passing to later generations, but Ezekiel 18 teaches that each person answers for his own sin. And Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). Our answer: we recognize that families pass down harmful patterns and sometimes occult ties. The remedy is repentance, forgiveness, discipleship and prayer in the name of Jesus. It is not a ritual list of ancestors' names.
What Superstition Looks Like
Superstition is fear of unseen powers apart from Christ. It enters the church in many forms. The following practices should be rejected.
1. Violence. Hitting, choking, shouting in a person's face, holding a person down, or withholding food or water. Jesus never did this. It is abuse.
2. Fees and fundraising. Charging for deliverance, or linking freedom to a gift to the minister. The Bible condemns selling spiritual things (Acts 8:18-23).
3. Fear of objects and places. Treating a doll, a stone, a house or a dream as having power to harm a believer. "An idol is nothing in the world" (1 Corinthians 8:4).
4. Blaming demons for everything. Sin, laziness, poverty, illness, a bad temper and a failed business are not all demons. James teaches that each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires (James 1:14). To blame a demon for what a person must repent of is to deny responsibility.
5. Formulas and magic words. Using the name of Jesus like a charm, or special oils, salt or water as if they hold power. See the sons of Sceva.
6. Spectacle and interrogation. Making the person perform before the church, or questioning demons for names, ranks and secrets. Jesus silenced the demons and did not collect information from them.
7. Dependence on one gifted person. Teaching that only a certain minister can free people. In the New Testament, authority is for all who belong to Christ, exercised in the church with oversight.
8. Refusing medical help. Telling a person that a mental or physical illness is only demonic and that medicine should be stopped. This causes great harm, and Unit 6 forbids it.
9. Threatening. Telling a person that he will be attacked if he leaves the church.
Safe and Biblical Practice
Deliverance should be as simple and orderly as the Gospels show.
• Begin with the gospel. Lead the person to repent, trust Christ, and renounce any link with the occult.
• Seek discernment. Ask what is spiritual, what is medical and what is emotional. Ask about sleep, health, drugs, grief and trauma. Refer to a doctor when the person shows signs of mental illness, epilepsy, self-harm or violence.
• Work in a team. At least two or three mature believers, with a person of the same sex where possible, and with the knowledge of the pastor.
• Obtain consent. The person must want help. Never force a person or a child.
• Pray simply. Use Scripture and the name of Jesus. A calm and clear command is enough. There is no need to shout.
• Never touch roughly. The person is a human being made in God's image.
• Follow up. Freedom is kept by discipleship: Scripture, prayer, fellowship, a changed life and filling with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Jesus warned of the empty house in Matthew 12:43-45.
• Report to oversight. The pastor or elders should know of any serious case.
Ministry in Our Own Setting
Pastors in Mexico, Cuba and across Latin America and Africa live among people who have often practiced folk religion, spiritism, or ties with healers and fortune-tellers, and who fear curses. We must meet these people with understanding. The pastor should listen with respect, teach the full victory of Christ, invite the person to renounce what was practiced, remove objects used in occult practice as the Ephesian believers did, and bring the person into the life of the church. The aim is not to produce a new kind of fear, but to replace fear with trust in Christ.
Pastoral Application
Rosa, a mother in your church, comes to you frightened. She found a small bundle of objects at her door after a quarrel with a neighbor who is known as a healer, and she is sure that she has been cursed. She has not slept for several nights and feels anxious and weak.
A wise pastor first stays calm and listens. He reads with her 1 John 4:4 and Luke 11:20 and reminds her that a believer who belongs to Christ is under His protection. He prays with her in the name of Jesus, simply and quietly, with another leader present. He asks gently about her health, her sleep and what is troubling her family, and he encourages her to see a doctor, since sleeplessness and anxiety need care. He helps her to remove the bundle calmly, without ritual, and to forgive the neighbor and pray for her. He does not blame a demon for everything, asks for no payment, and promises no result. He keeps visiting and invites Rosa to a small group for prayer and the Word. In this way her fear is replaced by confidence in Christ.
Summary
Scripture teaches that Satan and demons are real but defeated, and that believers have authority in the name of Jesus. Jesus, the apostles and the early church cast out evil spirits with short commands, without ritual, violence or fees. The sons of Sceva show that the name of Jesus is not a formula. Pentecostals differ on whether a believer can be demonized; the conservative view is that believers can be oppressed and tempted but not owned. Pentecostals answer cessationists and rationalists from Scripture, and they caution against strategic-level warfare, territorial-spirit practices and generational-curse rituals that Scripture does not teach. Superstition, violence, spectacle, blaming demons for everything and refusing medical care must be rejected. Safe practice uses a team, consent, discernment, medical referral, oversight and discipleship, so that fear gives way to trust in Christ.
Further Reading
• Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence (1994).
• Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (1996).
• Wayne Grudem, ed., Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views (1996).
• Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (1993).
• B. B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (1918), a cessationist argument.
• Jonathan Edwards, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741), a primary source.
• Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism (2nd ed., 2014).
Unit 7 Exam
Certificate track: the 20 multiple-choice questions. Associate track: add the 10 fill-in-the-blank questions. Master’s tracks: add the 10 short-answer questions.