The 3 Stages of Spiritual Freedom: Deliverance, Discipleship and Dominion

Pastor Vlad Savchuk says deliverance is biblical and necessary, but it should never become the center of our Christian lives.

During a recent interview with evangelist Daniel Kolenda, Savchuk explained that we must distinguish between demonic bondage, the desires of the flesh and external spiritual warfare. Treating every struggle as a demon, he warned, prevents us from developing discipline and exercising our God-given authority.

“When you are demonized, the solution is to get the demon out,” Savchuk said. But freedom from demonic oppression only begins the process of spiritual growth.

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From Freedom to Spiritual Authority

Savchuk compared deliverance to Israel’s escape from Egypt. The Israelites were freed from slavery, but they still had to journey through the wilderness, learn obedience and prepare to possess the Promised Land.

“When you get the demon out, your problems are not over,” he said. “They only are beginning.”

Deliverance removes spiritual bondage, but discipleship teaches us to deny ourselves, resist temptation and become more like Jesus. We cannot cast out the flesh. We must crucify it through repentance, prayer, fasting, accountability and obedience to God’s Word.

Savchuk also distinguished demonic bondage from spiritual warfare. When we face attacks from the enemy, we should not continually return to a deliverance line seeking another rescue. We must put on the armor of God, stand firm and exercise our authority in Jesus Christ.

“In spiritual warfare, you don’t get delivered. You exercise dominion,” Savchuk said. “As a Christian, you are a soldier who needs to step on those things, fight back, put on the armor of God.”

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Savchuk encouraged us to keep moving forward in our walk with Christ: “We don’t go from deliverance to deliverance. We go from deliverance through discipleship into dominion.”

Jesus sets captives free, but that freedom has a purpose. We were not delivered to remain spiritually dependent. We were delivered to mature, overcome the enemy and walk in the authority Christ gave us.

James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact media@.