Unclean Spirits

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. (Luke 6:12-19)

We read: “…even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured…”  What follows is a useful definition of unclean spirits from “Got Questions.”

(begin) An unclean spirit is simply a New Testament synonym, a more descriptive Jewish term, for a demon. The terms unclean spirit and demon seem to be interchangeable in Scripture. There is no clear difference in their definitions. Some translations refer to them as “impure spirits.”

Throughout the New Testament, the term unclean spirits (akathartos in the Greek language) is mentioned over twenty times. Throughout those passages we read that unclean spirits can possess people and cause them sickness and harm (Matthew 10:1; 12:43; Mark 1:26; Luke 4:36; 6:18; Acts 5:16; 8:7), that they are searching for someone to possess if they are not currently possessing someone (Matthew 12:43), that some are more unclean or evil than others (Luke 11:26), that unclean spirits can interact with one another (Mark 5:1–20; Matthew 12:45), and that unclean spirits are under God’s authority and must submit to Him (Mark 1:27; 3:11; 5:8, 13).

An unclean spirit or demon is “unclean” in that it is wicked. Evil spirits are not only wicked themselves, but they delight in wickedness and promote wickedness in humans. They are spiritually polluted and impure, and they seek to contaminate all of God’s creation with their filth. Their foul, putrid nature is in direct contrast to the purity and incorruption of the Holy Spirit’s nature. When a person is defiled by an unclean spirit, he takes pleasure in corrupt thoughts and actions; when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, his thoughts and actions are heavenly. (end)

Are we tormented by unclean spirits such as prejudice and hate?  Most certainly! Do we take pleasure in corrupt thoughts and actions, or are we filled with the Holy Spirit, so our thoughts and actions are heavenly?  Can we answer this question honestly?  I know of some people who are possessed by demons.  Sometimes I am possessed that way as well, and driving out that or those demons can be difficult.  And, they tend to creep back in when I’m distracted.

Are these unclean spirits truly foul and putrid?  Without a doubt!  The Holy Spirit is to be our germicide washing us free of wickedness.  We who don’t want to be spiritually polluted and impure must vigorously apply the Holy Spirit until our souls are raw from our rubbing.  That’s what it will take to resist the temptation of evil in all its demonic forms. 

Deacon David Pierce