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NASB | Luke 4:33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 4:33 There was a man in the synagogue who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud and terrible voice, |
Bible Question:
Friends and fellows, Is it possible for a believer to be possessed by a demon? In Christ Jesus, charis |
Bible Answer: Dear charis, this is a question that many have struggled to understand! What most people thlnk of when they hear the word 'possession' is the idea of ownership- I own some kind of property and thereby have the right to use it as I choose. To be possessed by the devil is to be owned by the devil and to be totally under his control. I am in total agreement with JVH, that a Christian cannot be owned and controlled by a demon. What many people do not realize, however, is that the word 'possession' never even appears in the Bible in the passages where Jesus or the apostles cast evil spirits out of an individual. The expression 'demon-possessed' or 'demon possession' does occur in some English translations of the Greek text, but there is never a Greek word for "possession" that stands behind it. "Demon possession" is always the translation of a single Greek word, daimonizomai. Words for ownership or possession (e.g., huparcho, echo, katecho, ktaomai, or peripoieo) are absent in the original text. The idea of possession is the interpretation of the Greek term by Bible translators. This translation of the word became standard because the most popular English Bible translation for over three centuries- the KJV- used 'demon possession' or 'possessed with the devil' to render the Greek. Today, most popular English translations continue to use "demon possession", as seen in Matt. 8:16 (for example) in the KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT. Some Bible translations, those of a more dynamic translation philosophy, varied from the fixed rendering, 'demon possession' to 'with a demon' or 'demon-afflicted' (CEV, GNB or TEV, and Message).. For a Christian, the issue of ownership is settled once and for all when a person turns to Christ. At that time, satan loses any legal claim to ownership on the basis of the blood of Christ shed on the cross. We are legally acquitted by God from our guilt due to sin (Rom. 5:1) and transferred from the domain of satan into the kingdom of God (Col. 1:13). In his recent book, "Possessed by God", David Peterson says, "By his saving work in Christ, God takes possession of us and renews us through the operation of his word and his Spirit." Jesus told a brief parable about people who were possessed, or owned, by satan: "How can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house" (Matt. 12:29, Mark 3:27, Luke 11:21). The 'strong man' in this parable represents satan, and those who have not experienced God's redemptive activity are satan's 'possessions' (ta skeue in Matt. and Mark; ta huparchonta in Luke). But the result of Christ's defeat of satan by the cross is that people can be set free from this evil overlord and brought into a relationship with a loving master. They are no longer the possessions of satan, but the property of Christ; satan is no longer their master, but they belong to the one Lord-Jesus Christ.It is therefore inappropriate to speak of a Christian's coming under the ownership of satan. Demons cannot come and take away a person's new identity as a child of God and a saint. Believers are now "in Christ" in a relational solidarity that cannot be shattered. Christians properly are owned by God. The Father views us as his own precious inheritance (Eph. 1:18).When a person becomes a Christian, he or she is sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). The Spirit indwells our lives and is God's mark on us, indicating that we belong to him. The Spirit brings us into the family of God, bestowing on us the irrevocable status of being "children of God" (Rom. 8:16-17). Try as he may, there is nothing satan can do to change any of this. Paul celebrates this fact at the end of the 8th chapter of Romans: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life neither angles nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (vv. 38-39)..Note: I left the proper noun 'satan' uncapitalized on purpose.. :)Sources: NASB Study Bible, Greek NT, Vine's Expository Dictionary, Matthew Henry's Unabridged Commentary, "3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare" by Clinton E. Arnold, Nave's Topical Bible, the American Standard Version of the Bible, and "Spiritual Warfare"- a paper written by Nolan Keck on 9-4-1994. |