1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise: 3“that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.”
4You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ, 6not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men, 8knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same good again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free.
9You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace, 16above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints. 19Pray for me, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21But that you also may know my affairs, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make known to you all things. 22I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our state and that he may comfort your hearts.
23Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. Amen.
Malevolent spirits are spoken of several times in the Bible. They are called "demons" in most Bible translations, and likely represent those beings mentioned in the New Testament who fell with Satan (Matt 25:41; Rev 12:7-9). The writings of the apostle Paul speak of such creatures, who live in the upper spiritual regions of the earth (Col 3:10), and who are our true enemies (Eph 6:12), over whom the Messiah Jesus triumphed in the cross (Col 2:15). Matthew 12:24 designates Satan as their head.
In the Old Testament, these spirits are called evil spirits, and their deeds are often used by God to accomplish His own purposes (I Kings 22:20-23), even their leader Satan (Job 1:6-12). Two instances are when God used an evil spirit to judge Abimelech for the murder of the sons of Gideon, and an evil spirit punished King Saul for his disobedience to God (1 Sam 16:14-15).
Another example of the activity of fallen angels is seen in the life and work of the prophet Daniel, as they opposed his prophetic work regarding the end time and his prophesying of it, which relates to the same time of activity at the end of the age before Messiah (Dan 10:12-14).
Rather than the term "evil spirit" the New Testament often used the term "demon," which was already used in the Greek word for a spirit who had interaction with humans. Socrates (469-399 B.C.) uses this Greek term, daimon (δαιμον) in his defense against the charge of atheism by the city fathers of Athens because he rejected the Olympian gods, claiming a personal (daimon) spirit that provided direction. This may be seen in the Apology (93, 101) and in his interaction with Euthyphro1
This Greek term for a "personal spirit" with Socrates is identified with the evil spirits in the writing of the New Testament and later literature. In the biblical texts, they control some humans to do their will, while at the same time inflict physical harm and sickness on others, as in Matthew 8:16.
During the earthly ministry of Jesus, demons were especially active. Jesus cast demons out of those who were possessed (Matt 8:16, 32; Mark 5:1-13). At times, as in Matthew 8:29-31, they acknowledged the identity of Jesus and were anticipating their future judgment. Those possessed were under the complete control of the demons, but they were subservient to the Son of God.
No evidence exists that demons were in control of the persons who were regenerated during the time of Jesus on earth or after the beginning of the church that is recorded in Acts 2. In the book of Acts, Paul encountered a servant girl who was possessed by a spirit relating to the god Apollo (Greek god of wisdom and knowledge) whose major shrine was at Delphi. After being annoyed by her for some time, the apostle cast the spirit out of her (Acts 16:16-18).
The Apostle gave teaching regarding the influence of demons (principalities and powers) and the work of Satan against Christians, but demon possession of Christians is not a subject broached by him or the other apostles. There is a discussion of the rise of demonic works in the Revelation of John that relates to the end of the present order and the coming of Christ, but not of believers being possessed by them.
What is especially important to understand is the demonic activity in the life and ministry of Jesus was in view of His coming sacrificial work on the cross, and that which is found in the revelation is in view of His coming in judgment. Though we should be wary of Satan's devices, and those of the fallen angels, we are protected by spiritual forces by the word of God, our faith, and the work of the Holy Spirit (Eph 6:10-18).
Harold North Fowler, Plato (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus), published by Harvard University Press, 1961. ↩︎