James 4:7-Resist the devil

This passage of Scripture was written by James, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ. This first part of the chapter begins with James expressing the importance of refraining from pride and in fact makes the statement in James 4:6 “…God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” The Lord frowns upon a person that has a proud spirit because they don’t feel like they need Him for anything which is so far from the truth.

Then James begins to describe the attributes that the Lord is looking for in a woman or man of God. One of the main characteristics that He is expecting from us is a spirit of humility. A lot of Christians forget to thank the Lord for even the smallest things like having breath in our bodies.

The Lord cannot work with a proud and arrogant person that thinks they have it all figured out. In fact John makes it clear to us in Revelation 3:17 when he states, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—.”

We have to come to the realization that we need the Lord for everything including fighting against the spiritual forces of evil that we face daily. The fact remains that in your own strength you cannot overcome Satan’s demonic kingdom. You need the power of the Holy Spirit and when you understand that you cannot fight this battle alone, the grace of God is displayed in your life.

James is making this very clear in the passage James 4:7 as he explains the power of submitting to God. The only way that you are going to be able to fully surrender to the will of God for your life is if you know what His will is and that is found in His Word. We have to become a doer of the law found in the Holy Bible and not just hearers only because that is where deception can creep in and corrupt your thought process, James 1:22.

The reason why it is so significant to abide by the stipulations laid out in the Word of God is because when you don’t you can open the door to the enemy to come into your life. Trust and believe if you give the devil legal access to you he will take full advantage including intensifying every sinful desire that you may have. He knows that if he can get you to break the law of God by doing the wrong thing, he can create chaos all around you.

Unfortunately, one of the greatest misconceptions out there today is the belief that an enemy doesn’t exist. That is so far from the truth in fact 1 Peter 5:8 explains him perfectly when Peter states, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Your enemy doesn’t want to just ensnare you with his schemes; his goal is to completely devour every one of us. By remaining submissive to God’s authority, God’s Word, and the direction of the Holy Spirit, you are less likely to fall for Satan’s traps. Temptation will still come but you will be provided with the strength of the Lord God and His protection.

For instance, God gives us His full armor which consists of: the Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit. I have several articles that break down each piece of armor: The Armor of God-The Breastplate of Righteousness, The Armor of God-The Belt of Truth, The Armor of God-The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, The Armor of God-The Shield of Faith, The Armor of God-The Helmet of Salvation, and The Armor of G0d-The Sword of the Spirit. 

Once you get into the Lord’s Word you will begin to understand why we need protection in the first place. We are not wrestling flesh and blood but we are fighting against Satan’s demonic kingdom, Ephesians 6:12. We are not to be ignorant to the devil’s devices, 2 Corinthians 2:11.

That is why James mentions that we are to resist the devil and he will flee from you, James 4:7. So what does that actually look like? The perfect passage of Scripture that discloses what this means is found in 1 John 2:16 and it details, “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

Here we can see a clear indication that a child of God should have no association with any of these descriptions and in fact they are of the world. Who is the god of this world? The god lowercase “g” of this world is the devil whom is also considered the prince of the power of the air, Ephesians 2:2. In order to resist the devil you have to know his character traits and refrain from anything that resembles them.

God expects His children to have clean hands and a pure heart to the best of our abilities. 1 Peter 1:16 gives the perfect advice to maintain God’s command Peter discloses, “Because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” The best way to remain consecrated is to renew your mind in the Word of God daily. The sharpness of the two-edged Sword will discern your thoughts and the intents of your heart and expose them, Hebrews 4:12.

The only way that you are going to know how to live for God is if you read and study to show yourself approved so that you can rightly divide the Scriptures, 2 Timothy 2:15.  It is our manual on how to live upright in the eyes of the Lord. God has provided us with His rules and stipulations but it is up to us to know what they are.

Now let’s take a closer look at some of the key words found in the primary passage of Scripture that I am highlighting.