You cannot be owned or “possessed” by demons except by your permission. By rights, you belong to God. First of all, you are God’s idea and God’s creation. The Bible says,
“O Lord our God, you deserve to receive glory and honor and power, because you created all things; because of your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11
Your existence is not by your choice but by God’s. No other being in the cosmos has a hand in your existence. You are God’s idea and design from before time. The only being that can claim ownership over you is God.
God, in His love and generosity, gave you authority over yourself. Though He made your existence and designed your being, God gave you the ability to do what you will. You don't have to obey God. But not reflecting God’s nature has natural consequences.
As Bob Dylan said, “You gotta serve somebody.” There is no such thing as freedom to do whatever we please without consequence. The only real “freedom” in the world is the fulfillment that comes from being exactly what we are designed to be: God’s image bearers.
Freedom comes from choosing the right master. Humans are mirrors of divinity by God’s design. We reflect the god we worship and become like that which we behold. Freedom comes from choosing the right image to reflect. The Apostle Paul said the problem with humans is that “they swapped the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of the image of mortal humans—and of birds, animals, and reptiles.” Romans 1:23
Demons enter into our lives when we or our ancestors swap the image of the glory of God (Jesus) for an idol. We lose our freedom when we choose the wrong god to reflect. The sovereignty God grants us over ourselves is true and effectual. If we choose a false master, we will reflect a false image.
Addiction is a sure sign of the presence of a demon because it is idolatry. Addiction is an animalistic pursuit of an appetite without feeling, wisdom, or conscience. Addiction is a base nature acting on instinct, but it is not our nature or appetite; it is the appetite of the idol that we traded for the glory of God. The way out of addiction or any habitual sin is through demolishing the idol and evicting the ungodly presence the idol brought into our being. It is not enough simply to change our behavior. The injury our bad behavior produced has to be dealt with.
Every act has consequences, and when we do evil, a chain reaction of evil starts; as the old saying goes, “Hurt people, hurt people.” Demons do not leave simply because we try to change our behavior. Demons have claims on us because of the sins they persuaded us to commit in our idolatry. Therefore, to be free, somebody has to undo the damage we caused.
All the effects of every sin in humanity were laid upon the back of Jesus when He carried the cross up the hill of Golgotha. It has been said that everyone who is hung on a tree (executed) is cursed (Deuteronomy 21:22-23, Galatians 3:13). So, Jesus bore the curse of our rebellion when He hung on the cross. And now we twice belong to God through the suffering of Jesus, as the Apostle Paul also said.
“You have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:20
So, if you gave the devil permission to inhabit and dominate areas of your life, the only way to reclaim those areas is to swap the lie of satan for the glory of Christ. Jesus hung on the cross is the glory of God because, on the cross, the true image and nature of God to love us, even in our rebellion, is revealed.
If the fruit of your life is less than righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, you need to swap your idols for the glory of God. The most practical way to do this is to confess your sin to Jesus, renounce the idol, command any spirit connected to that idol to leave in Jesus’ name, and begin to thank and praise Jesus for His great mercy to you.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
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