April 14, 2025 - James 4:7 - Victory in Christ

James 4:7

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

What a powerful and liberating command is given here—not as a weighty law to burden the child of God, but as a Gospel exhortation rooted in the grace of God through the LORD Jesus Christ. James is not calling for mere outward conformity, but for the inward submission to the LORD Jesus in the face of every temptation of the flesh or opposition of the devil. Of ourselves, we could never resist the devil. He felled Adam in his best state—who are we to think that now, as fallen creatures, we can somehow resist him who is not only the archenemy of the LORD Jesus, but also of His children?

Note then the two specific commands that are given to us as God's elect, redeemed, and justified children. The instructions are exact, and the order is essential. First is to submit to God. The second is to resist the devil in the power of the LORD Jesus and His finished work on the cross, whereby the devil has already been defeated and cast out on behalf of those for whom Christ died. Colossians 2:15 states that Christ, "having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." To whom does this phrase refer? The combination of “principalities and powers” appears elsewhere in Paul’s writings regarding human authorities (Titus 3:1), but more often it applies to spiritual powers (Ephesians 3:10; 6:12). When we compare Colossians with Ephesians (its parallel epistle), we see that “thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities” are spiritual entities, whether angels or demons (Ephesians 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12). We can safely conclude that the enemies Christ triumphed over in Colossians 2:15 are the spiritual beings who were at war against Him.

In light of the victory of Christ by His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, how then are we who are God's children to continue to live?

"Submit yourselves therefore to God." This is not the trembling submission of a slave under threat, but the joyful yielding of a soul conquered by the love of God in Christ. The sinner, justified freely by the blood of Christ, submits not to earn favor, but because he has the favor of God already in Christ. Submission is the fruit, not the root, of God's grace (1 Peter 5:5). It is the laying down of all self-righteousness, self-will, and self-reliance at the feet of the Sovereign Savior Who has already accomplished all that is needed for our salvation. To submit to God is to bow before His throne and declare, "Thou art worthy, O Lord" (Revelation 4:11).

This submission is born of the knowledge that God is not our enemy, but our Father—our Redeemer—Who "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1:11), and Who "worketh all things together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We submit not to avoid wrath, but because Christ has already borne that wrath in full (Romans 5:9–11). We submit because the Grace of God has taught us that His will is perfect, His purpose sure, and His promises unbreakable in Christ (Titus 1:2).

"Resist the devil"—not in our strength, for we have none—but in the strength of the One wWo has already "through death... destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14–15). We resist, not to earn victory, but because victory is already ours in Christ. The child of God, clothed in the righteousness of Christ and sealed with the Spirit, stands not as a fearful victim but as a soldier who fights under a banner already stained with the blood of triumph. Satan has no rightful claim over the justified soul. His accusations fall flat at the foot of the cross, where every sin was judged and every charge dismissed for the elect sinner. We resist him by clinging to Christ, by trusting in the efficacy of His blood, and by wielding the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We "stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" (Galatians 5:1).

"And he will flee from you," not because of who we are, but because of Who Christ is. Satan trembles at the name of Jesus, flees from the light of the Gospel, and cannot withstand the Power of the Truth that Christ has once and for all triumphed over him. The believer is not left vulnerable or exposed; he is "hid with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). The enemy may roar, but he cannot devour what Christ has purchased with His blood (1 Peter 5:8).

Let us then continue to wholly look to the Lord who bought us, and in so doing resist the devil with the confidence of those justified and accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). Let us rejoice in the blessed assurance that he will flee—not because of our might, but because Christ has already won the war. We continue to thank the LORD as the Sovereign Redeemer, for having come and conquered sin, death, the world, and the devil for wretched sinners such as we are. May He ever cause us to look to the LORD Jesus Christ alone, as our Advocate, to answer every temptation, accusation, and opposition.