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I just read a devotion that can be like a good smack upside the head:

It stated that religion is dangerous and would rather debate an issue than do something about it.  They said we shouldn't get you sidetracked into a religious debate or get all hung up on theological questions.  That the difference between religion and the love of God is that religion argues while love acts.

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Seek,

It's highly possible that the physical effects of demons and the consequences of having had them within before the christian received new birth, spiritually, might remain and God might choose not to instantly heal the person, yet, cure them of demon possession, cleansing the vessel inside and then depositing Holy Spirit within the person. I don't understand why anyone would want to believe that God will allow demonic possession in His child after new birth has been given. Why would God allow us to be passed back and forth between belonging to Satan and then being delivered and belonging to God and then going back to being possessed by Satan, and on and on? If that's the case, then all of us are at risk at any moment and anytime, especially if it's sin based, because no one is yet perfectly sinless. Can it happen for one sin, if the sin is bad enough? What would be bad enough? Murder? Hating someone? Committing adultery? Lust?

It's true that we all battle the flesh. It's true that the flesh is not regenerated. If demons can infiltrate the flesh and cause illness and disease, then that still falls under oppression. 

By definition Possession is:
1
a :  the act of having or taking into control
b :  control or occupancy of property without regard to ownership
c :  ownership
d :  control of the ball or puck; also :  an instance of having such control (as in football)
2
:  something owned, occupied, or controlled :  property
3
a :  domination by something (as an evil spirit, a passion, or an idea)
b :  a psychological state in which an individual's normal personality is replaced by another
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/possession

Since God is Sovereign, we trust that if God is allowing oppression of christians, then God is doing what is just and right with regard to the person because God's motives are never wrong. 

Holy Spirit enables the believer to do God's will, and it's possible that the healing of mental, physical, emotional, and even spiritual (wrong beliefs and bad attitudes and unhealthy patterns of behavior) problems in one's body that still remain and were caused by demons, could be healed by following the command found in James 5:14.

Laying on of hands is a term that is found in several places in the bible and for different reasons, one in the old testament was right before they stoned someone. It's important to look at the context where it is mentioned. For instance, if two children are in a fist fight, then an adult will grab each one and pull them apart, laying hands on them to do so. 

http://www.openbible.info/topics/laying_on_of_hands
Man is a three-part being according to 1 Thessalonians 5:23

We are spirit, soul and body. The Holy Spirit resides in our spirit. So where's that leave body and soul? We have the Spirit/mind of Christ. But we still live in sinful flesh.

Being we know so much less than we can possibly believe we do, we see us as a single being. It's difficult to grasp the Trinity of God and also to understand our own parts. Paul said he didn't understand why he did what he did. That with his mind he served Christ but in his flesh dwelt nothing good.

Maybe this is where the subject of possession breaks down. Rather than ask can a born again believer be possessed it might make more sense to ask can a born again believers spirit be possessed?
We belong to God in body, spirit, and soul. There are three phases of salvation but only one salvation and redemption. Satan can't possess what Jesus has bought. We have been bought for a price and are not our own, neither does any part of us belong to Satan. Romans 8:9 says, "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." ESV

To whom do you belong? That is the question.

9However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.…
Cross References
John 14:17
the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

John 14:23
Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Acts 16:7
When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

Romans 7:5
For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.

Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?

1 Corinthians 6:17
But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Galatians 4:6
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."

Ephesians 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

Philippians 1:19
for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.

2 Timothy 1:14
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

1 John 3:24
The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

1 John 4:13
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.
http://biblehub.com/romans/8-9.htm
You're guided by the Spirit yet can succumb to temptation and give the devil a foothold. So by the Spirit you bring your body into alignment yet the flesh is still sinful. We have bad thoughts, selfish desires, etc. Through the Spirit we don't give into them but they're still there.
It's a big leap to go from being tempted and sinning to being possessed. We are to subdue the flesh, bring it under control. It means we are able to control it through the power of God. It doesn't mean Satan controls it, owns it, possesses it, etceteras.

I posted this in another discussion, but I'll repost it here:

We have a spirit, a soul, and a body. Salvation is occurring in three phases. The once dead spirit is replaced with a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26) that is alive and a new heart that isn't stone (hard) anymore but is one made of flesh (soft) and then we receive the indwelling of Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:27). 

Our spirits are justifed and regenerated; our souls (mind, will, emotions, intellect) are being renewed; our bodies await their resurrection. 

There's nothing we can do to change the flesh (as far as I know.) It is what it is. We can't reform it or teach it or change it in anyway. We can only, through the power of Holy Spirit, subdue it, bring it under control, or what some call "die to it" meaning, to me, don't walk in it. Walk in the spirit. We already live by the Spirit. We must seek to walk in it. Galatians 5:25. 
Is it perhaps the belief that possession means Linda Blair rather than perhaps possession means a demon either within the flesh causing illness that has nothing to do with their uprightness or possession of thoughts of firey darts...those bad thoughts we must take captive or bondages which must be broken off that cause such disputes in the idea of whether or not a Christian can be possessed?
The Word of God doesn't teach that born again believers can become possessed in anyway, either in body, spirit, or soul. To build such a doctrine, a person must begin with a wrong idea and then cause any truth from Scripture to be twisted into that lie. Oppression of chrisians is taught in Scripture. There's a difference between oppression and possession. Is it that you don't want to let go of some of the teachers to whom you enjoy listening and you're trying to find proof and reason to continue hearing them and believing them? This isn't a freedom in Christ issue that is supported by Romans 14, either. It's a clear twisting of the truth and turning it into a lie. Period. I marvel that you aren't able to see it.

Amanda,

Good word.

…19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Cor 6
If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should. But if you obey the Spirit, the Law of Moses has no control over you. People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom. God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. God's Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. But don't be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are. ( Galatians 5 : 16-26 CEVUS06)
This is becoming circular, Seek.

LETS COME TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES FROM TRUTH AND NOT FROM GENERAL IDEAS.

  • Ok, from Scripture prove that there is a thing called "spirit of cancer" instead of it simply being a popular concept (general idea).
  • Can you show from Scripture that one child of God was every demon possessed?

 THE BIBLE SAYS WE SHOULD BE WISE AS SERPENTS ./ WISE HERE MEANS WE SHOULD BE STRICT TO RECOGNIZE DEMONIC INFLUENCES.

  • Again, from Scripture can you prove that "wise" here means we should be "strict" to recognize demonic influences.

Again, there is a difference between possession and oppression.

Lord Bless,

LT

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