Our warfare may be hard and fierce, "Commentary on James 4:7". 15:28) and to Christ (LXX Psa. Let us next observe that our text bears a second meaning, namely, that of submission to the divine will: that of course would strike you in the wording of the verse—"Submit yourselves therefore to God." Hence the compounds apopheugo, katapheugo, ekpheugo, or propheugo may be added to the participle pheugon in a sentence to denote the escape itself. Is it possible to make a deal with the devil? Then we only got a broad overview of the flow of thought. You cannot have peace unless you are! the response of humility to the conviction of God. Do not fear being deserted; when you are in Satan’s hands, Satan is in God’s hands. Mark 16:8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Are you safe and protected from the devil's accusations "in Christ Jesus" dear reader? But we can"t resist the devil on our own (Romans 3:23). And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser (kategor) of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses (kategoreo - present tense = describes the devil's continual activity) them before our God day and night. Why, then, should a man contend against his Master? The concept of self-denial is at the heart of Paul's teaching on submission to God: We have died with Christ and must sacrifice our lives for Him. Deep guile and great might God is not mocked, so if we do not humbly submit to God, we should not be surprised that the devil and his minions can and will launch successful attacks on our mind (this is the battlefield and the attacks are always fiery missiles in the form of lies meant to counter God's truth, cp the devil's basic nature Jn 8:44). If people give in to temptations and commit sins without remorse, it is no wonder they are so cold and dead in religion or that they have such dim and doubtful evidence of heaven; they never tried the truth and power of grace. e. Sincerity. (But) resist the devil.—The hardest advice of all, to a man reliant on himself, is submission to any, more especially to the Unknown. (James). 4:1-11 // Luke 4:2-13; Matt. What this "whelming" is differs between people, but is usually described as sudden outpouring of the Spirit which they can barely stand. How else can one truly, from the heart, submit to another? It is always self who gets irritable and envious and resentful and critical and worried. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels." And so like a commanding general, James issues a series of curt military like commands which call for incisive action. "Commentary on James 4:7". Boasting comes to the door, it knocks, it pleads for admission, but it is excluded. Jam 4:8. He exhorts us to meekness and purity, spirituality and sincerity and warns against envy and strife, boasting and deceit.. and James gives us various steps to achieving a spiritual walk.. including submission to God; drawing near to our heavenly Father; humbling ourselves before the mighty hand of God and not giving Satan a foothold in our life. (Ps. Common sense teaches that rebellion against Omnipotence is both insanity and blasphemy. To the Lord’s glory, not our own ends. The photographer's plates are rendered sensitive by a peculiar process: you shall take another sheet of glass and your friend shall stand before it as long as ever he likes, and there will be no impression produced, at least none which will be visible to the eye; but the sensitive plate will reveal every little wrinkle of the face and perpetuate every hair of the head. Our willingness to yield our "rights" is a reflection of the genuine humility James had just advocated in Jas 4:6. Our Lord tells us to be holy, for He is holy! His power will assuredly crush all opposition and it is idle to raise it. The foundation of victory in the Christian life lies at submitting to the ultimate authority of God over our lives. 1Timothy 6:11 But flee (present imperative = command to make this your continual practice) from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.