Evil spirits are spirit beings that, through disobedience to God, were cast out of God’s favor and light and into darkness. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as “fallen angels.” The first of these beings to disobey God was Lucifer. The scriptures describe him as allowing pride to corrupt his character (Isaiah 14:12-15). Other spirit beings disobeyed God by leaving their spiritual state of being and interacting with humans, particular women (Genesis 6:2, Jude 1:6).
The scriptures record two distinct ways that these beings can have negative impacts on people. The first way is through attempted influence and temptation to disobey God. The first account of this happening is very early in the Bible. In Genesis chapter 3, Lucifer, in the form of a serpent, convinces Adam and Eve to disobey God by telling them a lie (Genesis 3:4). Luke 22:3 describes Lucifer, or Satan as he is also known, as “entering” into Judas Iscariot. The precise definition of this “entering” is not specified, but a reasonable interpretation is that Satan took advantage of a weakness in Judas’s character and influenced him, perhaps through temptation, to betray Jesus. Satan unsuccessfully tried to tempt Jesus himself into displeasing God in Matthew 4:1-11.
The scriptures also describe a second way these beings interact with people. In some instances, and in ways not fully explained or understood, these beings have been recorded to “inhabit” or “take up residence” within a person. Matthew 8:28-34 describes Jesus’s encounter with a man who was “possessed with two devils” (Matthew 8:28). Jesus commands the devils, or evil spirits, to leave the man, which they do. Other examples of this type of “possession” of people by evil spirits are in Mark 1:23-26 and Mark 7:25-30. In all cases, the person suffers as a result of the possession.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Apostle Paul describes those who have consecrated their lives to God and who follow Jesus as “new creatures.” However, our old human natures are still part of us, and we are still subject to temptation and sin (Romans 7:15-20). As such, Christians are at risk from the influences of evil spirits as well. As an example of this risk, consider Jesus’s warning to Peter, one of his most faithful apostles, that Satan sought him (Luke 22:37).
However, faithful Christians have both God and Jesus on their side. In order to take advantage of this protection, we must work at being faithful to God and to eliminate from our lives as much temptation and influences that we recognize as contrary to God’s ways as possible. Consider how Jesus instructed his followers to pray in Matthew 6:13. We are to pray for God’s help in resisting temptation and evil. More than that, we are to take action (James 2:17-18). On our own, we cannot hope to stand against such powerful forces, but with God’s assistance, we can be successful. Standing firm requires the action of spending our time in God’s service, and in study, thought and faith. The Apostle Paul refers to this process as “putting on the full armor of God” in Ephesians 6:10-18, and the different pieces of this “armor” are valuable characteristics for God’s followers to reflect upon and develop.
Jesus described himself as “the good shepherd” (John 10:11). He also described those who consecrate their lives to follow him in service to God as his “little flock” (Luke 12:32). On their own, sheep are unable to defend themselves against the predators who would devour them (1 Peter 5:8). If they stray too far from their shepherd, the sheep put themselves at risk. However, by staying close to their shepherd and ignoring the temptation to stray, they live and grow in the peace and safety of the shepherd’s watchful care. The best course for any Christian is to keep one’s mind, heart and actions centered on following Jesus’s teachings and by ignoring the temptations, lies and deceptions of the world, remain standing on the firm foundation of God’s word.
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1305: “How Do Satanic Demons Influence Our World?
Establishing the origin, power and methods of dark spiritual beings
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