When God created all things, particularly humans, the breath of God, known as the Spirit, made their spirituality alive. Human beings have been awakened by God’s spirit; even the evils have too. The Spirit of God pours into human beings. The question is why evil has a spirit too. God never knows that evil may betray God. God’s spirit is manifested in humans as well as in evil. Therefore, any act of disobedience against God is an act of betrayal, which evil does.
In this sense, God’s spirit guides humans to choose the right pathway in seeking the truth. Because when the truth is sought, we have spiritual freedom from the bonds of wrongdoing. So, we are strengthened with knowledge to liberate us from deception and unconsciousness (John 8:32).
Second, outcasting a demon is not religiously orthodox. It is a household practice in which the head of the household is the one who performs the outcasting of an unclean spirit. In fact, if a member of the household is never outcast from the evil spirit, he or she is declared unclean or has been removed from the household. This practice was noticed in ancient times. Later, it was the religious leader who performed the outcasting of demons from the members of the household.
When Jesus was questioned by the scribes about outcasting a demon, the pride of the religious leaders was also questioned, because only the religious leaders had the authority to do it. It seems Jesus is unauthorized to do it, and the religious leaders challenge Jesus about why he did it without asking permission from religious authority. Many of us rely on religious authority to cleanse the unclean spirits in our household. It is our duty to provide disciplinary guidelines so that every member of the household may have a clean spirit. A person with an unclean spirit lacks knowledge, arrogance, and ignorance and may be subject to expulsion from his or her household as well as from the community.
Further, a person with an unclean spirit is always advocating for division in the household as well as in the institution. Such a person has a personal interest in controlling the household and/or institution.
Division among households and/or institutions is the work of an unclean spirit, because such intentions are impure and personally motivated. That’s why most politicians have such characteristics: they want to control what they want to have. They want to control their constituents, their families, and the community around them. Their motive is unclean, so they may be considered an unclean spirit. No wonder that there is unity among the circle of politicians. If they have cleaned themselves of their motives, then the Spirit of God may work upon them.
A person with an unclean spirit is divisive and has no virtue of unity (Ephesians 6:12). Rather, he or she is uncontrollable. And whoever may challenge him or her, the consequences of death, expulsion, and isolation may deter us. This kind of person is unequalled with corresponding power and uses the resources of his or her constituents.
In this case, we need to pray to be able to strengthen our spirit against the motive or interest of such a person, which is our duty. It is our spiritual duty to unblend the motives and interests of the evil forces. We need to awaken our spirituality to fight those unclean spirits that are controlling us. Time is running out. And the Spirit of God pours upon us.
Prof. Ruel D. Garcia is a faculty member of La Consolacion College Manila as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Culture, History, and Religion (IJCHR.paschr.ph). (Prof. Ruel D. Garcia)
