If someone is a drunk, does he have a spirit of alcoholism?
If someone has lust, does he have a spirit of lust?
If someone looses a foot, does he have a spirit of one-footedness?
Can you cast the demon of one-footedness out of someone with one foot and cure him that way?
I asked that question about one-footedness of a friend who considered every sickness to be a demon. He said he didn't think the guy had a spirit of one-footnedness, but there was a demon in the factory who knocked something over on his foot.
I suppose people mean different things when they use the word 'spirit' in this context. But a lot of people mean specific demons. I just don't think we can, based on scripture, assume that there is a specific demon for every ailment, social problem, or philosophy. I do see 'spirit of' something or other used occasionally in the Bible, but it irks me to see how widespread its usage is in some churches nowadays.
Also, there seems to be the idea that casting out demons is a cure-all. I was in Asia in the 1990's in a church where Wagoner's 'spiritual warfare' was popular. Certain Christians referred to rebuking demons as 'spiritual warfare prayer'-- something that I found disturbing since they were calling talking to demons 'prayer.'
I can find a lot of specific teachings in the Bible that give us great promises about praying to God in faith. But I can't find promises that rebuking demons will give us what we need. Even if you could cast a 'spirit of one-footedness' out of a man with one foot, he'd still need God to create him a new foot in order for him to be healed. In prayer times, I believe a lot of energy and effort can be wasted by rebuking demons we don't even know exist-- ones people invent based on a list of symptoms-- instead of actually praying to God, who can help us.
There is also a danger here. Jude and II Peter 2 warn about false teachers who speak evil of dignitaries. The examples Jude gives, of speaking evil of a dignitary taken together with II Peter, is an example of Michael not giving a harsh rebuke to Satan. Apparently, Satan is one of these 'dignitary' types of beings. The false teachers erred by the way they railed against dignitaries. Does it make sense that Christians should single out principalities in the heavenlies and yell at them? I don't see Jesus doing this. I don't see him casting down the spirit of unbelief over a city before he preached. The Bible doesn't show the apostles doing such things. Paul did spiritual warfare by preaching the Gospel, accompanied by prayer. He did signs, wonders, and miracles. The Bible does show him naming all the problems in a city 'spirits' and casting them out.
We don't know that every murderer has a demon. (We do know that every man who sins does so when he is led away of HIS OWN LUST and enticed-- it aint just demons.) But lets suppose murderers do each have a 'spirit of murder' in them. And someone casts all the spirits of murder out of a city. Jesus told a parable about an unclean spirit cast out of a man. It goes and gets 7 other spirits more wicked than itself and returns. If you cast all the demons out of a city, and you don't win all the people to Christ and get them filled with something else, won't the state of the city be worse?
I remember talking to a young church planter in Indonesia. He told me that he had dreams where he fought with demons and he could feel demons beating him up. There were no bruises when he woke up (unlike the testimony of one person I knew who was into 'spiritual warfare prayer.') So I asked him if he did the 'spiritual warfare prayer' stuff. I showed him the verses in Jude, pointed out the dangers of it. I explained that Christ rebuked demons that obviously manifested or that he discerned. The apostles did the same thing. He accepted what I said and decided to stop wildly rebuking demons, coming against them, etc.
We shouldn't 'invent' evil spirits. If you can't sense an evil spirit by spiritual means, or don't know they exist by scripture, don't make one up. Rebuking spirits of of people who don't have them can make the person you pray with unnecessarily fearful or weirded out. (He thinks, "Oh no, I have a demon!") Don't rebuke all the spirits of this or that out of a city, unless the Lord specifically tells you do. You don't want the city to get seven times worse (assuming what you do works.) And remember, that we have a God who answers prayers prayed in faith in Jesus' name. He hasn't promised to fix our problems based on our yelling at demons. While there is a place for rebuking evil spirits, lets follow the example of Christ and the apostles and the teaching of the Bible on the matter.
If someone has lust, does he have a spirit of lust?
If someone looses a foot, does he have a spirit of one-footedness?
Can you cast the demon of one-footedness out of someone with one foot and cure him that way?
I asked that question about one-footedness of a friend who considered every sickness to be a demon. He said he didn't think the guy had a spirit of one-footnedness, but there was a demon in the factory who knocked something over on his foot.
I suppose people mean different things when they use the word 'spirit' in this context. But a lot of people mean specific demons. I just don't think we can, based on scripture, assume that there is a specific demon for every ailment, social problem, or philosophy. I do see 'spirit of' something or other used occasionally in the Bible, but it irks me to see how widespread its usage is in some churches nowadays.
Also, there seems to be the idea that casting out demons is a cure-all. I was in Asia in the 1990's in a church where Wagoner's 'spiritual warfare' was popular. Certain Christians referred to rebuking demons as 'spiritual warfare prayer'-- something that I found disturbing since they were calling talking to demons 'prayer.'
I can find a lot of specific teachings in the Bible that give us great promises about praying to God in faith. But I can't find promises that rebuking demons will give us what we need. Even if you could cast a 'spirit of one-footedness' out of a man with one foot, he'd still need God to create him a new foot in order for him to be healed. In prayer times, I believe a lot of energy and effort can be wasted by rebuking demons we don't even know exist-- ones people invent based on a list of symptoms-- instead of actually praying to God, who can help us.
There is also a danger here. Jude and II Peter 2 warn about false teachers who speak evil of dignitaries. The examples Jude gives, of speaking evil of a dignitary taken together with II Peter, is an example of Michael not giving a harsh rebuke to Satan. Apparently, Satan is one of these 'dignitary' types of beings. The false teachers erred by the way they railed against dignitaries. Does it make sense that Christians should single out principalities in the heavenlies and yell at them? I don't see Jesus doing this. I don't see him casting down the spirit of unbelief over a city before he preached. The Bible doesn't show the apostles doing such things. Paul did spiritual warfare by preaching the Gospel, accompanied by prayer. He did signs, wonders, and miracles. The Bible does show him naming all the problems in a city 'spirits' and casting them out.
We don't know that every murderer has a demon. (We do know that every man who sins does so when he is led away of HIS OWN LUST and enticed-- it aint just demons.) But lets suppose murderers do each have a 'spirit of murder' in them. And someone casts all the spirits of murder out of a city. Jesus told a parable about an unclean spirit cast out of a man. It goes and gets 7 other spirits more wicked than itself and returns. If you cast all the demons out of a city, and you don't win all the people to Christ and get them filled with something else, won't the state of the city be worse?
I remember talking to a young church planter in Indonesia. He told me that he had dreams where he fought with demons and he could feel demons beating him up. There were no bruises when he woke up (unlike the testimony of one person I knew who was into 'spiritual warfare prayer.') So I asked him if he did the 'spiritual warfare prayer' stuff. I showed him the verses in Jude, pointed out the dangers of it. I explained that Christ rebuked demons that obviously manifested or that he discerned. The apostles did the same thing. He accepted what I said and decided to stop wildly rebuking demons, coming against them, etc.
We shouldn't 'invent' evil spirits. If you can't sense an evil spirit by spiritual means, or don't know they exist by scripture, don't make one up. Rebuking spirits of of people who don't have them can make the person you pray with unnecessarily fearful or weirded out. (He thinks, "Oh no, I have a demon!") Don't rebuke all the spirits of this or that out of a city, unless the Lord specifically tells you do. You don't want the city to get seven times worse (assuming what you do works.) And remember, that we have a God who answers prayers prayed in faith in Jesus' name. He hasn't promised to fix our problems based on our yelling at demons. While there is a place for rebuking evil spirits, lets follow the example of Christ and the apostles and the teaching of the Bible on the matter.