What Should Christians Believe about the Causes of Demon Possession?

[Ben1445]

First Corinthians 10 seems to be a passage that likely points to one leading cause of demon possession, as follows.

Writing at least more than a decade after Jesus had been crucified, buried, raised, seen of many credible witnesses, and then had ascended to heaven, Paul instructed the believers in Corinth about what truly happens in idolatrous worship that involves the offering of sacrifices to an idol and then the subsequent consuming of those sacrifices in a worship context:

1 Corinthians 10:19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

The Spirit reveals here that people who in a worship context partake of things that have been offered to an idol in a worship context come into fellowship with demons.

Although I do not think that such fellowship with demons necessarily entails possession by demons, it certainly means that the sinful people who engage in such activity come into contact with demons in some manner that was not true of them prior to their idolatrous partaking of those things that had been offered to an idol.

It would seem that coming into fellowship with demons in this manner would put a person into a susceptible state that would be a natural precursor to his subsequently being possessed and could readily lead to possession.

Continuing in 1 Corinthians…


All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
-- If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.




Paul says that the consumption of meat offered to idols is not to be done if it be made known that the meat was offered to idols.

1. It is not inherently in the meat offered or Paul would not say eat it.
2. It is for conscience sake that we do not eat it. So once more, it has nothing to do with the meat itself.
3 the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. It still belongs to God.
4. The conscience that we are careful not to offend is not our own in this case. We are already aware that we thank the Lord for what we eat. We recognize that God has provided it. But Paul says that we are not abstaining from the meat for our own conscience and why should we? The earth is the Lord’s. The key is that the person who perceives that we participate in the idol worship will have an offended conscience.
But if we notice again the word fellowship, there is a communion referenced in that thought. It is a going back and forth in agreement. I’m still quite certain that there must be complicity to some extent. It may not be complete understanding of what complicity means, but I think it must still be there.

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.