“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” — 1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV
God’s Promises
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we get new hearts and right spirits (Psalm 51:10 NKJV), and our minds are renewed to be like Christ (Romans 12:2 NKJV).
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” — 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
God’s presence indwells our beings and it is no longer us who live, but Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20 NKJV) and “we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16 NKJV).
What incredible, powerful, and beautiful promises we have! But our ancient enemy doesn’t want us to experience this renewal. He wants to control our minds, infect our hearts, and dominate our spirits.
The Science Behind Demon Possession
As a Christian psychiatrist, one of the questions I am often asked is, “What is demon possession?”
Demon possession is not the intracellular occupation of a human body. In other words, another being does not occupy the same space inside a human being’s physical body. Instead, demon possession is about taking control of one’s mind—influencing, directing, or overriding one’s faculties. It’s hacking into one’s mental computer and taking control.
Modern science gives some insights into what is likely happening in cases of demon possession (and I am speaking of genuine demon possession, not mental illnesses which manifest with hallucinations and delusions).
Our brains are amazing quantum computers. They are composed of 100 billion neurons and more than one trillion supporting cells. Each neuron can have up to 10,000 connections to other neurons. That’s over 40 quadrillion interconnections!
These 40 quadrillion interconnections in our brains are comprised primarily of dendrites. Within each neuron, there are 10 million microtubules, and each microtubule is made up of billions of tubulin molecules, which in turn are composed of 445 amino acids, which are made of various atoms, many of which share electrons.
Within these quadrillions of dendrites, with their millions of microtubules made of billions of tubulin molecules, the atoms form shared electron clouds. These clouds exist in positions of uncertainty until you think about something and form a conclusion, a belief, or accept a truth—or a lie. Your act of choosing to believe something will cause the electron clouds, in various places within the dendrites, to collapse. This causes conformation change within the microtubule structure and solidifies the memory or belief into the brain.
Your beliefs and memories are stored within the brain tubulin structure until something happens that causes you to reexamine or reevaluate the belief or memory and come to a different conclusion.
The Law of Worship
This gives insight into the law of worship, which says that by beholding, we become changed. In psychiatry, this is known as “modeling.” We neurobiologically and characterologically change to become like what we admire, worship, think about, choose, and act on.
If we spend time watching vulgar, exploitive, debasing, cruel, selfish, deceitful, or otherwise ungodly things, we will be changed by it. Our neural networks will rewire, our quantum matrix will realign, to come into harmony with what is selfish and evil—that is, what is demonic. And as we come more into harmony with the demonic, our minds become more tuned, more sensitive, more capable of resonating, responding, and being influenced by the demonic. If we persist in going down such thinking patterns, over time we may become so tuned into the demonic that our minds begin to operate on the same quantum frequency as the fallen angels—giving them greater influence in our minds, ranging from mere temptation to demonic harassment and all the way to overriding our own thinking, which is demonic possession. Consider it like two radio stations broadcasting on the same frequency: One has a weak 25,000-watt signal and the other is a 100,000-watt station. The more powerful station will overpower the weaker signal.
This is likely what is happening in demonic possession. Is there any evidence that minds can come into harmony like this?
The Power of the Mind
Two individuals were placed inside a Faraday cage—a wire mesh that prevents any electromagnetic (EM) waves (radio waves, microwaves, etc.) from passing through to the other side—and asked to meditate together. After meditating together for a period of time, these two individuals were separated into different rooms and were then placed inside their own Faraday cages.
Researchers put EEG (electroencephalogram) leads on each person so they could monitor their brainwaves. Then the researchers shined a light at random intervals into the eyes of one participant while monitoring the brainwaves of both. Every time they shined the light into the eyes of one participant, the brainwaves of the other participant activated in the same way, measured by the EEG, as the person who had the light shined into their eyes. No EEG changes were seen in a control group. These changes were not due to any known EM fields or other causes, such as mirror neurons.
This research supports the idea that our minds can indeed harmonize with other minds. It gives greater importance to the Biblical exhortation to “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV) and to focus upon “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV). It gives insight into how the Holy Spirit can indwell a person’s mind to bring healing and restoration.
The Power of the Truth
Truth sets free (John 8:32 NIV); truth heals because truth changes conformation and the configuration of our brains. Truth realigns us with the Source of truth, such that we become more sensitive to the Spirit of truth—and as we choose the truth, focusing upon, meditating, and worshiping the God of truth, we experience the alignment of our minds with the mind of God. We become “indwelled” by the Holy Spirit.
Consider this like your computer being “indwelled” by antivirus software. That software doesn’t overrule your decisions or actions, but rather, in the background, it’s constantly monitoring for malicious code, alerting you to what is harmful, and working with you to remove it. But you remain free to ignore or override the antivirus software. However, if you do, the malicious code may eventually defeat the antivirus software on your device and take control of your computer.
God wants to heal your mind. I invite you to be purposeful in choosing what you watch, view, focus upon, and believe. Choose to become a lover of truth—to invite the Spirit of truth into your mind. As you do this, your quantum matrix will change and you will come into greater harmony with Him; His presence will resonate more fully in your entire being, and you will become a shining light of heavenly truth in a dark and dying world.
For even more from Dr. Tim Jennings check out his book The God-Shaped Brain,
What you believe about God actually changes your brain.
Brain research in neuroscience has found that our thoughts and beliefs affect our physical, mental, and spiritual health. Mind and body are interrelated, and we are designed for healthy relationships of love and trust. When we understand God as good and loving, we flourish.
Unfortunately, many of us have distorted images of God and mostly think of him in fearful, punitive ways. This leads us into unhealthy patterns of self-defeating behaviors and toxic relationships. But our lives can change when God renews our minds with a truer picture of him.
