1. Can a Christian be possessed by a demon?

When a person becomes "born again" he or she is possessed by the Lord Jesus Christ. A demon cannot possess a Christian but can oppress a Christian. Some confusion has arisen on this subject over the unfortunate translation in the KJV of "possessed by devils"(Matt 8:28). The Greek words for demon are daimon and daimonian (implying demons of greater and lesser power). The word used in Greek for one who was tormented by demons (not diablos meaning devil) is "daimonizomai" meaning literally "to be demonized". The word does not mean possession.


2.Why isn’t a person completely delivered when he or she is saved?

When the Holy Spirit first enters the believer, that believer may be immediately delivered from many demonic influences in his life. However when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in a believer, He goes about cleaning the believer and transforming him into His holy temple. Just as we would move into an old house cleaning and refurbishing it, the Holy Spirit does the same thing when He takes up residence. During the cleaning process in an old home we are bound to accumulate filth, trash and refuse that must be taken out. The Holy Spirit also does much the same thing within the believer. When it it time to "take out the trash", the believer may need help through deliverance prayer to do this.


3. What’s the difference between exorcism and deliverance?

Technically both terms mean the same thing. The term "exorcist" is used in Acts 19:13 to describe the unsuccessful sons of Sceva who attempted to cast out demons without being "born again" believers with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. The term exorcism focuses on casting the demon out while the term "deliverance" focuses on the believer who has been set free. Our focus and attention is not on the demons but rather on believers needing to be set free. The term "deliverance" is derived from the last part of the Lord’s Prayer "...but deliver us from evil." (Matt 6:13 ) That is why we prefer the term "deliverance".


4. If we have some people who are called to a deliverance ministry, why do we need to know about spiritual warfare?

When you become a "born again" believer in the Body of Christ, you are exhorted to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ to the lost (Acts 1:8). When you do this you can expect resistance from "the god of this world"