The simple answer is “Yes”. For four reasons: Christians can have the same conditions that the Bible reveals are caused by demons such as deafness, dumbness (mute), and epilepsy. Secondly, there is the story of the Gentile woman who pleaded with Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter, and Jesus told her that deliverance was the “children’s bread”. (Matt. 15:26) Next, experience in ministry has shown that some conditions, such as deafness, dumbness, epilepsy and cancer, can only be effectively treated with deliverance. And fourth, there is the reality that deliverance is actually risky for non-believers if they do not respond with saving faith, because they run the risk that the demon will return with even more of its kind. Matt. 12:43-45
When the gospel writers describe the ministry of Jesus, they distinguish between Jesus healing and Jesus casting out demons. Here are three examples:
”When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick”
Matt. 8:16
“At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.”
Mk. 1:32
“all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God!’ And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.”
Lk. 4:40-41
In all three of these passages, the gospel writers make a point of distinguishing between healing and deliverance. Matthew wrote that Jesus “cast out spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick”. Mark wrote that “they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed”. And Luke makes it even more clear by writing that Jesus “healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out” and that the demons spoke to the Lord. The writers want their readers to know that Jesus could do both. He could heal and He could cast out demons. Some illnesses require healing and some require deliverance. This was true then and it is still true now. This is true regardless of whether one is ministering to a believer or an unbeliever. If a believer is afflicted by any condition that is caused by a demon, then he needs deliverance, not theology.
Whenever we look at this question, some feel the need to draw a distinction between being demon possessed and simply having a demon or two. There are three instances in the New Testament where Jesus cast demons out of people whom the Bible describes as demon “possessed”. One is the Gadarene demoniac (Mk. 5:1-17, Lk. 8:26-39), who is described as “him who had been possessed with the legion of demons” (Mk. 5:15). And the others are a man described as “mute and demon-possessed” (Matt. 9:32-33) and a man who is described as “demon-possessed, blind and mute” (Matt. 12:22) In all these cases, Jesus cast out a demon or demons in order to cure them.
If Jesus cast out demons as a mean to cure some ailments, then that is the way to do it. In these cases, prayer will not work. Prayer will help us get us to the spiritual level necessary to deal with these evil powers, but when it comes to actually removing a demon from somebody, nothing will work but casting it out. No one can pray a demon out. It does not work. It does not matter how long and hard one prays, the demon will remain comfortable and happy in its host. This pointless process will only frustrate its victim and lead to ever increasing despair. But should someone command it to leave in Jesus’ name, then the demon shakes with fear, and if done properly, result in its removal, together with the ailment that it caused. The difference is of paramount importance for success in life and ministry. Just do what works, and don’t do what doesn’t work. Do what Jesus did.
Then there is the detailed account of the father who brought his son to Jesus. Using three different gospel accounts of the same event (Matt. 17:14-21, Mk. 9:17-29, Lk. 9:37-42), we can collectively see that the father described his son as “epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water” (Matt. 17:15), “has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid” (Mk. 9:17-19), and “a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him”. (Lk. 9:39) Jesus then “rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!’ Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.” (Mk. 9:25)
What is curious to me is that the symptoms are that of an epileptic. Even the boy’s father had diagnosed him as epileptic, describing how the spirit seizes him, convulses him, threw him down, and how his son foamed at the mouth, gnashed his teeth, cried out and became rigid and then mute. But Jesus commanded a deaf and dumb spirit to come out. Curious. I would have tried to cast out a spirit of epilepsy, and probably failed.
Given that there are three examples recorded of people who were deaf and mute and cured with deliverance, I think it is safe to say that the condition of being deaf and mute is caused by a demon. If it is, then a Christian can have a demon, because there are many fine Christians who are deaf and mute.
Then there is the occasion when Jesus ministered to a deaf and mute man in an unusual way. What unfolds before us in this story is one of the most dramatic and tender-hearted scenes in the Bible. Here is the biblical account.
“He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly… And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’” Mark 7:32-35
Imagine this scene with me. A group of people brought a man to Jesus and begged Jesus to put His hand on him, so severe was his condition. A deaf and mute man at that time and place was at the very bottom of society and undoubtedly without a job. If you cannot visualize such a man, go down to your local bus station and look around. I suspect that this man’s needs were far greater than just the repair of a body part. I picture a man whose needs were enormous. So, Jesus took him aside, away from his friends. Jesus wanted him to have some privacy. Then Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ears, spat on His hand and touched his tongue. Then He looked up to heaven, sighed and said, “Be opened”.
The account does not mention demons, but it does not sound like a normal case of healing. Jesus did not say, “Be healed”. Instead, He spat on his hand and touched the man’s tongue with His spittle, put His fingers in the man’s ears and said, “Be opened”.
The Greek word used here for “be opened” is dianoigw which means “to be opened thoroughly as a first-born child”. It is a word with a very broad scope. I think that is what Jesus did for this man. He gave him a new life.
In this scene, we see one of the most intimate gestures, if not the most intimate gesture, that our Lord ever displayed with another person. He put His own saliva into the mouth of another person. This man’s needs required an unusual release of power and the power that our Lord released with this action is beyond my feeble understanding. To the point that the crowd that saw this was “astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’” Such is our Redeemer’s intentional display of compassion for someone at the very bottom of life’s ladder.
On one occasion, Derek Prince was speaking about this particular demon and said that at one meeting in Pakistan, he and his wife cast this demon out of 14 deaf and mute people, whom they considered believers, and immediately after they did, the people spoke and heard. He clearly attributed the condition to a demon, treated it as such, and the success of his ministry confirmed it.
In my ministry, I have had occasion to minister to victims of cancer. I can tell you, they are not interested in theology, doctrine, or whether or not some theologian believes that a Christian cannot have a demon. They want to be cured and live. They do not want to die. I cast out the demon of cancer and they were healed and lived. I could have stopped and wrestled with theology or prayed for them for years and it would not have done any good. It is a demon. It needs to be commanded out. I have never had a victim of cancer come to me for ministry and stop me when I told him or her that it is a demon. They want to be healed and live. Worship-warfare is another way, but both techniques attack the cause, a demon.
Those in the difficult ministry of helping drug addicts rely heavily upon deliverance. Just ask “Teen Challenge” if a Christian can have a demon.
In addition, there are numerous passages that make no mention of demon “possession”, but simply refer to Jesus casting out demons, as distinguished from healing. (Mk. 7:26-30, Lk. 4:33-36) And we are to do the works that Jesus did. Jn. 14:12
On the other side of the debate are all the scriptures about the Holy Spirit in the heart of every believer. I do not question that. It is true. Every true believer has the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will never leave us or forsake us. That is because He never gives up on us. He will keep trying to get us to live right up to our dying breath. But just because one has come to faith in Christ does not mean that God does not need to clean him up. I have witnessed some born-again Christians do some horrible things. We have free will. Even born-again Christians have free will. Do you want to tell me that not a single born-again Christian on earth is capable of doing something that would invite in a demon? Oh please! He has free will. He can do whatever he wants, no matter how evil it may be.
Many ministers believe that they are comforting their audience when they teach that a Christian cannot have a demon. I disagree. I believe that this teaching just adds more frustration to those poor souls who have been struggling for years against some problem without success. They have prayed about it for years without success, so have all the frustration that comes with unanswered prayer. They have exerted all their willpower against it without success, so have all the frustration that comes with that personal failure. To all these frustrated souls, it comes as wonderful news that the reason that their problem remains is not because of their weak prayer life or weak human nature. It was a demon all along and they were simply using the wrong method to deal with it. Demons cannot be cast out with prayer or will power. They are cast out by the name of Jesus with the authority of the believer. There is no other way.
I attended a large Christian meeting in my current home city. The speaker was well known to have healings and miracles at his meetings, so the place was packed. Even the aisles and hallways were full. During the worship time, nearly everyone there had his arms raised, so I concluded that there was mainly Christians in attendance. When it came time for ministry, the speaker surprised me by saying this, “Everyone who wants a demon cast out of them, come up.” He did not offer prayer, but only deliverance. And you know what? Nearly the entire audience jumped up and rushed to get up front. It did not appear to me that those who needed help from God were held back by the notion that a Christian can have a demon. They simply wanted God to help them, by any means. That has been my experience too. People want help, not religion.
In order to learn about deliverance, it is better to listen to someone who has done it, rather than someone who has not. Derek Prince (1915-2003) had the world’s foremost deliverance ministry for 50 years and I heard him say, “I have never known a Christian who could not benefit from some deliverance”.
In practice, there are some other conditions that I treat as demonic, because they are unnatural addictions, such as alcoholism, pornography, gambling, gluttony and crippling fear. In general, if it is an unnatural compulsion or addiction or extreme emotion, then I suspect a demon.
As I look at the world before me, I see scores of alcoholics asleep on a bench, lining the street or begging. I see those addicted to drugs, gambling and gluttony. I basically see satan’s attack on mankind right before me. And I wonder, “What could possibly be the motivation behind those who oppose deliverance for these desperate souls who are bound by the enemy? Does he glibly judge every one of them as unsaved?” Why? Will not such a one be accountable to God for every member of his church who is deaf, or an alcoholic or dies of cancer, because he chose false religious piety over the chance to glorify Christ’s perfect and complete redemptive work, sacrificed for them. One must ask himself if he is merely a preacher teaching his flock from an ivory tower of is he a real minister ministering to the real needs of his flock as Jesus did?
When it really comes down to doing the right thing before God, what is more important; that someone be healed, or that some ivory-tower theologian can feel pious? Why don’t we ask the one who is dying of cancer, or is tormented by epilepsy, or whose life is crippled by being deaf and dumb?