The reason "heathens" and fleshly believers are demon-possessed is mainly due to sin. But the reason some consecrated believers are demon-possessed can be stated in one word, "passivity." The meaning of passivity is that the will no longer actively rules and directs a person's spirit, soul, body, or any part; consequently, he does not use his will to choose and decide everything that is related to himself. Being passive is the opposite of being active. There are two aspects to the passivity of the believers: (1) losing self-control—this means one cannot control his entire being or a part of it; (2) losing freedom—this means one cannot make decisions that would coincide with God's will. For a believer to be passive means that he does not use his various faculties, and that he allows his faculties to fall into a state of passivity. Though he has a mouth, he does not speak; rather, he wants the Holy Spirit to speak through his mouth. Though he has hands, he does not use them; rather, he wants God to use his hands. He is unwilling to move any part of his being; he wants God to move them. He thinks that he is totally consecrated to God and that he no longer needs to use any part of his being. In this way he falls into passivity and allows evil spirits to deceive him and attach themselves to the passive members of his body.
Many believers accept what we spoke about in the last chapter concerning the union with God's will. However, they are misled to think that such a union with God, such a comprehension of His heart's desire and such a denial of one's own intention require that they passively submit to God. They think that their will should be nullified and that they should become like robots. They assume that the meaning of submission to God is not using their own will anymore and not using any part of their bodies through their will. Such a person will no longer (1) choose, (2) decide, and (3) use his own will to act. Outwardly, there seems to be an indication of a great victory because he used to be stubborn in his will, but suddenly he has become very submissive and is as weak as water. He does not have an opinion in anything and is completely submissive in following orders. He does not use his mind or will, and he does not exercise the discernment of his conscience. Rather, he simply becomes a person of complete obedience—whenever God moves, he would move. But this is an inducement for demon-possession.
Since the believer has consecrated to God this way, he naturally falls into a passive state. He does not move at all. All day long he quietly waits for an external force to move him. When there is such an external force, he moves. Otherwise, he remains calm. When this condition continues for a long time, he finds that he cannot act at the times he should be acting because there is an absence of an external coercing force. Perhaps he even wants to move, but in the absence of an external urging force, he cannot move. As this drags on, the believer finds that without an external force, he is not able to move even one step. Even when the will wants to move, it seems as if it is suppressed by something. (He seems to have a kind of bondage around him, which restricts him from moving as he wishes.) He must wait until an external force urges him before he moves. In this circumstance, the believer thinks he is very submissive to God because he does not have any activity. But even if he desired to move, he could not do so.