True Ownership: Who Really Owns You?Many people are confused about who owns them before salvation in Jesus Christ. After salvation, they understand they belong to Jesus and are children of God. But before that, some mistakenly think they are owned by Satan the devil.This misunderstanding often comes from not fully grasping what Jesus meant when He said, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). Jesus used that phrase to describe the spiritual likeness and behavior of some people, not literal ownership. It means their actions reflect the devil’s nature—lying, killing, and opposing truth—not that Satan legally owns them.
There is no scripture that says Satan owns anyone. Instead, God alone owns all creation: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who dwell in it.” (Psalm 24:1)
“Behold, to the Lord your God belong the heavens and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.” (Deuteronomy 10:14)Remember how Satan attacked Job but could not go beyond what God allowed (Job 1:12). This shows God’s ultimate ownership. But not control, because He has given us a free will.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (KJV):“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Meaning: Paul is reminding believers that once they have received Jesus Christ, their lives no longer belong to themselves — they were bought (redeemed) by the blood of Jesus Because He has paid for the penalty of our sins. Therefore, they should honor God with their bodies and lives. The enemy Satan has caused a lot of problems and sickness etc and sadly some people blame God, but God is not the cause.
Satan is a thief and liar (John 10:10) who deceives people into believing he has legal rights over them. This can prevent them from receiving deliverance by focusing on supposed legal rights instead of the authority Jesus gives them. I have seen many set free through faith in Jesus’ Name without addressing demon legal rights. Some deliverances include canceling rights, but many struggle because they get stuck trying to find these supposed rights. Knowing that Satan has no legal rights helps believers focus on faith in Jesus’ finished work. This faith brings freedom. Satan can connect to people through sin, weakness in self control, or even though dreams, but connection does not equal ownership or legal right. I remember a deliverance where the demon claimed, “I have legal right to be here,” but I continued boldly in Jesus’ Name without responding to the claim, and the demon was cast out.
Consider when Paul cast the spirit of Python out of a slave girl (Acts 16:16-18). She hadn’t sought deliverance and was working with the demon, yet the spirit was still overcome by God’s power and was cast out in Jesus Name.
Summary
Satan influences people but does not have legal ownership. Jesus’ words about being “of your father the devil” describe spiritual likeness, not possession. God alone owns everything in heaven and earth. Believers can receive deliverance through faith in Jesus, not by focusing on demon legal rights.