In order to fulfill the Great Commission, disciples need to be competent to share the gospel and possess ministry skills. Disciple making churches believe that the five-fold (or ascension gift) ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher (Ephesians 4:11-12) exist to equip and launch the rest of the church into ministry, which includes competency in sharing the gospel, healing the sick, and casting out demons.
Jesus gave his followers authority to set people free from demonic oppression.
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:7–8 (NKJV)
The Lord taught that casting out demons is one of the signs of the coming of God’s kingdom on earth.
But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. Matthew 12:28 (NLT)
Although the Bible does not give us conclusive information on the origin and identity of demons, it makes it abundantly clear that they exist and pose a very real danger.
Any serious Bible-believing disciple must acknowledge that demons exist and come to terms with his or her responsibility to help people be released from their oppression.
Materialists usually dismiss the supernatural out of hand. Even those who profess to believe the Bible may find it “difficult to swallow” that people have demons. In Jesus’ day their were no asylums for those suffering various forms of insanity and torment. They had to be cared for by family or were simply abandoned, as in the case of the Gadarene demoniac. (Mark 5:1-20) Today we usually hide and medicate the most severely demonized. The less severely affected probably don’t even know what their problem is.
Demon oppression is misunderstood, thanks to how it is presented in the movies, lack of proper teaching, and our general fear and avoidance of the supernatural. Many conceive of demon oppression as “possession,” which is unfortunately how some versions of the Bible translate the Greek word daimonizomai.
To be biblically accurate, we should say that people are “demonized,” not possessed.
Possession infers ownership; whereas, demonization communicates the idea of being oppressed, which can take place at various levels.
Using the false notion of “possession,” some argue that it is not possible for a Christian to have a demon, since we are owned or “possessed” by God’s Spirit. When we properly translate the word as demonized, we see that believers can be demon oppressed, and, in fact, many are. (If you wish to read more about how people become demonized, click here.)
Once we believe that individuals can be and are demon oppressed, if we are to be effective at setting people free from them, it is important for us to be able to discern the presence of demons when we encounter them.
We should not assume that demons are behind almost every sin, sickness, and bondage issue, as some do. I think the Bible makes it clear that our main problem is our “flesh,” that part of us that is still connected to the Adamic body. The “flesh” cannot be saved or reformed. It only wants to oppose God.
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:1–8 (NASB95)
This will be the case until we are raised from the dead and receive new spiritual bodies. Nevertheless, we are not in bondage to the “flesh.” We have the ability to “walk in the Spirit” and experience freedom. Many who profess Christ, however, still struggle mightily with the fleshly side of their being. Until they learn to walk in the Spirit, that will be their exprerience. If we try to cast out the “flesh,” we will fail, since that is an impossibility. If people think their “flesh” is a demon, they will be greatly discouraged to find that it did not leave when told to do so. That is why we need spiritual discernment to distinguish between the “flesh” and a demon. Demons must always obey our commands to leave. I never assume that demonization is the problem, unless it is blatantly obvious.
Unconfessed sin is another primary source of oppression, especially when it is bitterness or past involvement in the occult.
Jesus warned us that people who refuse to forgive will be turned over by God to “tormentors.” (Matthew 18:33-35) These are likely evil spirits. The quick way to be set free from them is to repent of holding offenses. (You can read more about this by clicking here. To learn more about how occult involvement opens doors to demon oppression, click here.)
Another source of oppression and bondage is what some people call generational sins or “curses.” These are sins that one can see being passed down family lines. One generation after another gets impacted by the consequences of sins committed by family members who lived before them. This is especially true when the successive generations involve themselves in the same sins, perpetuating the cycle. Although, demonization can be associated with generational devastation, the problem should first be addressed as its own issue. I have written extensively on this subject in my series on “Biblical Healing and Deliverance.” If you are interested in learning more, click here. Two other frequent sources of bondage are lies people believe and unhealed traumatic pain. Once again, you can read what I have written about this in the aforementioned series.
After we address these potential roots of oppression, we sometimes find that demons have attached themselves in areas where we have practiced sin, held on to bitterness, been involved in the occult, believed lies, experienced traumatic pain, or been victims of generational devastation handed down to us.
Thankfully, one of the gifts of the Spirit is discerning of spirits, which enables us to detect the presence of demonic spirits.
Diagnosing the presence of demons is the most challenging part of liberating people from them.
The Holy Spirit will help us in this area.
Once we detect a demon, I believe it is important to address how and why it gained entrance into the person’s life.
Demons cannot simply “hitch a ride” whenever they want. We generally have to open a “door” to give them entrance. Once a person repents and renounces whatever opened the door, it becomes a simple matter to cast out the evil spirit.
The authority of the risen Christ is the key to casting out demons.
When Jesus rose again, he completely defeated Satan and all demonic powers. He has given us his authority to speak in his name. When we command demons to leave, they must obey. The Holy Spirit will enforce our words. He is the power behind Christ’s authority. You can read more about the details of casting out demons, by clicking here.
Of all the ways people get into bondage, probably the easiest to deal with is demonization, IF we first deal with what opened the door to oppression.
This is why I advocate for a broad spectrum approach to setting people free from bondage in my Biblical Healing and Deliverance series. If we fail to shut the door to oppression by first dealing with unconfessed sin, bitterness, past occult involvement, unhealed traumatic pain, lies people believe, and generational devastation, we may cast demons out the front door, only to see them reenter through the back entrance. (Matthew 12:45) If we handle things properly, our simple command in Christ’s name will require demons to leave.
To properly train disciples to be effective in this ministry, it is important to teach them what is contained in this article and to demonstrate the ministry in their presence. Once they understand their authority in Christ and the other principles in this article, they are ready to operate in this ministry. I suggest having an experienced person be present to give counsel and feedback until the disciple becomes competent and confident to operate alone.
