Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It
Is To Men As They Are
"Preach The Word"
Chapter 35
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ABOUT DEMON POSSESSION?
John 13:21-38
During the 1970’s a number of books came out dealing with the subject of demonology. This could have been a period of time when the theologians let this subject over occupy their thinking. There is a danger in this. During this time it was suggested that demons possess the lost and influence the saved. Surely much debate will continue as we attempt to define our terminology.
I personally have wrestled with the concept of possession verses influence. The next statement that I make may seem heretical, but allow me to qualify and explain my position, keeping in mind that I may be wrong in the way I address this complicated subject. This is the reason that I said that I wrestle with the concept of possession verse influence. I believe that Satan may possess both the believer and the unbeliever. Please carefully follow my explanation.
The first thing that must be said, if a saved person can be possessed by Satan, he certainly does NOT lose his salvation. I take the position that I do showing the severity of allowing anything satanic to enter into ones mind. We must remember that when God saved you that He did nothing for your flesh. The flesh is not your skin; it is your natural drive that came as a result of Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden. Through that part of you is not now saved it will be one day. For that reason, though I am saved I still am capable of thinking awful things. I am able to imagine awful things, but one day “praise God” I will not.
To explain what I have suggested, think of man as being a three part being. Man has a soul, body, and a spirit. Remember a tree only has a body, a recognizable form. An animal has a soul and body (a recognizable form and also the animal has will, intellect, and emotions). A human being is a body, a soul (comprises will, intellect, and emotions), and a spirit. The spirit gives man a God consciousness.
Before I say more, Satan cannot possess the spirit of a saved man. He is protected and saved by the Holy Spirit of God. You then may ask how can Satan possess the believer? He does this by entering the soul or the mind of man. When a saved person for example begins to view internet pornography he is no different than the lost person in the sense that the wicked pornography gets into the mind just as it would the loss person. Satan uses such to enter into the mind (soul) of a saved person, though he cannot access the “saved spirit” of man. Realizing God has done nothing yet to our flesh, we must be on guard lest we let Satan “possess” our thoughts. The fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6) can enter immediately into our minds lest we put on the shield of faith. We commonly say that we are under the “influence” of Satan. When we allow such to happen; it is much more serious than that. A saved person that throws his shield away and becomes negligent in his Bible study and prayer becomes vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. Those attacks can be in the form of demon possession (see I Corinthians 5). Think about the man who had “his father’s wife” (I Corinthians 5:1). In this study, we are told that the church at Corinth was instructed to “deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (I Corinthians 5:5). Have you ever thought how much more vulnerable you would be to Satan if God chose to remove the hedge and turn Satan loose on you? Remember, when Satan tested Job he had to do it with permission. A person would be no match for Satan if God did not offer divine protection.
When a person drifts away from the Lord in complacently, and begins entertaining his flesh with worldly and satanic devises, he is subjecting himself to many dangers.
If you find difficulty with the influence verses possession concept,
please just consider it as food for thought as we consider the subject of
demon possession. May we consider how, I. Satan caused a Disturbance (vv.
21-26); II. Satan caused a Departure (vv. 27-30); and III. Satan caused a
Denial (v. 30).
I. SATAN CAUSED A DISTURBANCE vv. 21-26
Jesus predicted that one would betray Him (v. 21). Satan is the author of confusion, the deceiver, the murderer, and the liar, etc. Satan’s effect on Judas caused Jesus to be troubled in Spirit. Some would have you to believe that Jesus is either uncaring or has no feelings if He is truly God. Could it be rather that His feelings are much more pronounced because HE IS GOD? Surely this is so. He above all others is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. He is very hurt at knowing what Judas’ intentions are. Though God knew Judas’ actions, He still is giving every benefit to Judas for the purpose of him repenting. On the Day of Judgment, Judas will have to account for any effort on the part of Jesus to get him to turn. Likewise, every person is accountable in the way that they respond to the compassion of Jesus.
Once again the God of omniscience makes a statement concerning what will happen. It would happen just as surely as He predicted the destruction of the temple by Emperor Titus in 70 AD. There are those who say that the writers of the gospels wrote after the destruction of Jerusalem, thus discounting the predictions of Jesus. The liberals and modernists will always be around, or at least they will be until the Lord returns for His own, to discredit the authenticity of the Scriptures.
The disciples did not at all question the validity or the truthfulness of what Jesus spoke; they only wondered of whom He was speaking. Verse 22 says, “Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.”
Jesus pointed out who would betray Him (vv. 23-26). The tension certainly was mounting as the disciples were wondering who would betray the Lord. This gives indication to just how clever and cunning Judas was in his hypocrisy. Judas was not even suspected. Wonder how many people populate our churches, which like Judas had his fellow disciples fooled. Even if Judas had his fellow disciples fooled he did not have the Lord fooled. Even if he himself was fooled, the Lord absolutely was not.
Judas may have convinced himself by being associated with the disciples and the Lord that he was one of the believers. After all, he was the treasurer of the group of disciples. If there was any possibility of Judas being convinced that he was a believer, the Word of the Lord should have brought immediate conviction. The Lord also did not publicly emboss him. The Lord was giving him an opportunity to repent.
During this time that Jesus had issued the warning that one would betray Him, until Jesus identified Judas by giving him the sop, he has opportunity to repent. Notice verse 26, “Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the Son of Simon.”
The sop that was given to Judas was “the morsel.” At Eastern meals it was customary for the host to offer one of the guests a morsel of bread as a gesture of special friendship. By this Jesus was showing His love for Judas, the betrayer (Ryrie)
II. SATAN CAUSED A DEPARTURE vv. 27-30
Judas was exposed (vv. 27-29). “And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly” (v. 27). This was a very sobering and serious statement made by Jesus. Judas has now willfully sealed his own fate. God has abandoned him and Satan enters into him for the purpose of carrying out his diabolical scheme. It is also the time that the prophets had predicted, as Isaiah did in Isaiah 53:7 says, “… he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
When the Lord Jesus said, “That thou doest, do quickly” (v. 27), He was submitting to the purposes for which He came. He is turning Himself over to become a victim of Satan’s diabolical scheme to fulfill the higher purposes of God. How loudly Jesus spoke this, we are not sure; He may have whispered. Either way, whether He spoke loud or soft, the disciples at the table knew not for what intent he spake unto Judas. “For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor” (v. 29).
Judas did exit (v. 30). From time to time I have had different ones to ask me why Judas was allowed to continue for over three years, with Jesus as one of His disciples. Perhaps one way of answering this would be to say that the Lord permitted Judas to serve for the purpose of delivering Jesus up for His crucifixion and allowing Judas and the rest of the disciples to be a prototype of the New Testament church that will be composed of both wheat and tares. This means that there will be those who are saved as well as lost in our churches. This should certainly warn us to make our call and election sure.
Judas is now completely under the control of Satan. Perhaps, before going further, we should remind ourselves as to whom Satan is. Revelation 12:9 uses the name Satan in this manner, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Satan’s purpose has always been to take as much power and worship of the universe as possible (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-17). He attempts this in three ways: (1) He opposes and disturbs God’s work in the world (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-17; Job 1:6; Matthew 4:10; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:8; Revelation 12:7-9). (2) He discourages believers through various strategies (Luke 22:31; Ephesians 10:12). (3) He arouses God’s justice against people by leading people to sin and to deny and rebel against God. And when they do, God’s justice has to act and judge people to the fate of their choice: that of living with Satan eternally (Matthew 12:25-26; John 13:31-32). (Practical Word Studies in the New Testament)
Satan has done the work against God, causing Jesus Christ to recognize and remove Judas to do what his heart has purposed.
III. SATAN CAUSED A DENIAL vv. 31-38
Peter intended to do right (vv. 31-37) This chapter’s theme could very will be entitled “Loves’ Posture.” As mentioned this chapter began by the writer telling us that Jesus “loved them unto the end.” He is seen washing the disciples’ feet showing the true posture of love. He gives this as an example for the disciples to follow (v. 15) and new the Lord is giving the disciples a new commandment. It was new in the sense that the Lord now, after having given the disciples an object lesson concerning the posture of love, is going to command them to begin practicing the love of God as He did. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (vv. 34-35).
Peter is still thinking about the Lord Jesus announcing His departure. He thinks in his mind that he can go with the Lord. His intentions are excellent but his strength is small. Peter has not matured for the stage that he is able to do what he thinks and what he boasts that he can do. Are we not also like that? We are either guilty of overacting our abilities or either underrating our abilities. Peter’s desire to do right was so strong that he thought that he would even die if necessary for Jesus. Yet he proved as he attempted to cut Malchus’ ear off after Jesus put the ear back on that he was not strong enough to face each developing event. He would handle what he premeditated to do, but was unable to accept Jesus’ rebuke. He still was having difficulty dealing with the pride issue that was in his life. When studying the different gospels we find that Peter began to follow afar off, warm himself by the enemies’ fire, and denying his association with Jesus.
Peter influenced to do wrong (v. 38). Whether or not Peter was influenced or possessed may be debated, but it was certainly obvious that Satan desired to have him for the purpose of controlling him. As intense as the drama was during this time of Peter’s denial, the Lord still predicted his recovery, and told Peter that once he was converted he was to “strengthen the brethren.”
May we realize that when we face temptations and succumb to them that we should be challenged to overcome our failures and go forward for Christ!
Study By Max Alderman, Ph.D
