James Expounds on Faith Volume 42

 The Warning Against Worldliness Part 4

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

When we become enamored with the world 🗺 and its insidious way of operation upon the earth 🌎 realm, we are yielding part of ourselves to the control of our most deceitful, dark, and dangerous enemy of all and that would be the devil 👿. It was therefore, the aim of the Apostle James to inform those early Jewish believers in our Lord Jesus Christ back then and to inform those of us today and of every era and generation who are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, that when we allow ourselves to become foolishly fond of the world 🗺 and all the things here in it that are surely passing away (1 John 2:17) we then have not submitted all of ourselves to God but instead to our 🎯 arch enemy, so the Apostle declared these words of wisdom to them and to all of us now, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) (KJV). The English word 'submit' that begins this verse 7 is translated by the Greek word hupotassō meaning to subordinate; reflexively to obey: - be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto; the aorist verb tense has the note of urgency in the imperative. Aorist is a verb tense used in Greek that is expressing action (especially past action) without indicating its completion or continuation. In other words, the Apostle James declares that it is urgent and requiring our immediate action to place ourselves under the obedience of God the Father and that is done only by being obedient to His Holy Word, for when we do so we are obeying Christ and at the same time surrendering to the Holy Spirit (John 1:1-5 & John 1:14), let us remember these words from our Lord Jesus Christ also, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:12-15) (NKJV). This is why submitting to God is so important and not grieving the Holy Spirit is so important because He tells us things to come and takes that of our Lord Jesus Christ and declares it unto us. We cannot walk in darkness and have fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ, the two things are like oil 🛢 and water 💦 they do not mix, this is what the Apostle John said with these words, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." (1 John 1:6) (NKJV).

The English word 'resist' in James 4:7 is translated by the Greek word anthistēmi meaning to stand against, that is, oppose: - resist, withstand. In other words, we are to actively stand against and oppose the devil 👿 in every form or shape that he takes here upon the earth 🌎 realm. To do this effectively, we must stand firm for the truth of the Word of God and never turn away from it to the left hand 🖐 (liberalism) or to the right hand 🖐 (legalism), but instead to do as King Josiah, as it is written of him, "Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem." (2 Chronicles 34:1-5) (NKJV). The wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images represented false gods or demons that the people of Israel had allowed into their Nation and into their lives taking them away from the ONE TRUE GOD YAHWEH, so must we take away all false gods/idols we have let come into our lives taking us away from our first love (Revelations 2:4) 😍 our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-4). Note: 'King Josiah was only 16 years old when he began to resist or stand against the devil 👿 not only for himself, but for all the people of Israel. God is no respecter of persons nor of age, for He will work out His will through any willing (emphasis on willingness) human vessel that turns to Him and obeys His Word, as it is written by the Prophet Isaiah, "Thus says the LORD: 'Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,' Says the LORD. 'But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.'" (Isaiah 66:1-2) (NKJV)."

Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of James 4:7, "We are taught to submit ourselves entirely to God: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, James 4:7. Christians should forsake the friendship of the world, and watch against that envy and pride which they see prevailing in natural men, and should by grace learn to glory in their submissions to God. 'Submit yourselves to Him as subjects to their prince, in duty, and as one friend to another, in love and interest. Submit your understandings to the truths of God; submit your wills to the will of God, the will of His precept, the will of His providence.' We are subjects, and as such must be submissive; not only through fear, but through love; not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. 'Submit yourselves to God, as considering how many ways you are bound to this, and as considering what advantage you will gain by it; for God will not hurt you by His dominion over you, but will do you good.' Now, as this subjection and submission to God are what the devil most industriously strives to hinder, so we ought with great care and steadiness to resist his suggestions. If he would represent a tame yielding to the will and providence of God as what will bring calamities, and expose to contempt and misery, we must resist these suggestions of fear. If he would represent submission to God as a hindrance to our outward ease, or worldly preferments, we must resist these suggestions of pride and sloth. If he would tempt us to lay any of our miseries, and crosses, and afflictions, to the charge of Providence, so that we might avoid them by following his directions instead of God's, we must resist these provocations to anger, not fretting ourselves in any wise to do evil. 'Let not the devil, in these or the like attempts, prevail upon you; but resist him and he will flee from you.' If we basely yield to temptations, the devil will continually follow us; but if we put on the whole armour of God, and stand it out against him, he will be gone from us. Resolution shuts and bolts the door against temptation."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…