If you have embraced spiritual warfare then one of your favorite verses has to be, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Ja. 4:7). Sometimes, it really helps to break down verses that are very familiar to us and re-examine them in some depth. So…lets do that with this particular verse.
The Greek word anthisteme is translated resist. It really is a stronger word than that. It means to be hostile toward something or someone, to withstand, and to set yourself against. Resist implies pushing back but this word is more of a mindset of determined hostility that we are to maintain against the enemy. John’s phrase that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil has that flavor. We are to be just as determined.
Too many believers have a casual or compromising attitude toward Satan and toward sin. Too many try to live with one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world. But as soldiers of Christ, compromise with the enemy is unacceptable. James might read, “Maintain a hostile attitude toward Satan and constantly set yourself against him and he will flee.
Satan is not so much a proper noun as a description. The word translated as Satan is diabalos and literally means slanderer, accuser, or the one who opposes you. One way we resist the devil is to reject his slander and accusations that he brings against us and against others. That happens first in our own minds when he brings accusation and condemnation to our minds in an attempt to create insecurity in our relationship with the Father. He accuses us of being such miserable individuals that even God can’t love us and constantly works to draw us back under the enslaving idea that we must always earn God’s love and favor rather than joyfully living by grace. We also set ourselves against the slanderer when we refuse to be his instruments of accusation and slander against others. Gossip is a serious sin in scripture because it makes us one of Satan’s great tools to spread his slander, accusation, and condemnation against others. Rarely are we more aligned with Satan than when we gossip.
The Greek word pheugo is the word translated as flee. It means to run away, disappear quickly, vanish, or avoid. I like the idea that when I fully understand that Satan is my enemy, maintain a hostile attitude toward him, and when I refuse to place the accusation game then he or his representatives will quickly disappear. In fact, after a while they will avoid you because you torment them instead of them tormenting you.
I need to add that in the context of James 4, a very important phrase precedes this directive to resist the devil. James says first, “Submit yourselves, then, to God” (Ja.4:7). Submit (hypotasso) carries the meaning of willing subjection and submission. It means to submit control, yield to the authority of another, to stand in the ranks, or to be aligned with someone or something. It is the same concept as “taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
In both the Old and New Testament, a consistent theme is found that declares that God raises up those who humble themselves before him and opposes those who are proud. Submitting ourselves to God is humbling ourselves before him. God promotes those who are humble before him because the humble will use the gifts, power and authority he gives them as he directs rather than for their own purposes. Satan flees from those who have authority in the Kingdom and the humble are given authority. Being humble is not being timid or weak. It is simply being submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. The more submitted we are in every part of our lives, the more standing we have in the kingdom and the more authority we are granted in the spiritual realm. Then when we maintain a hostile attitude toward the enemy and stand against him he will certainly flee and will often avoid us altogether.
James bookends his statement about resisting Satan with the phrase, “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (Ja.4:8). The progression, then, is to submit to God, resist the devil, and draw near. When we are doing God’s work, which is destroying the works of the devil just as Jesus did, then God will certainly draw near. When God draws near, Satan disappears. The more time we spend in the presence of God, the less often the enemy will come around. No demon wants to be in the presence of the Most High and Holy God.
Today…remember that the devil is not your friend. He is a sworn enemy of God bent on destroying God’s children. Maintain a hostile mindset toward this enemy and everything he represents. Do nothing that brings you into agreement with him. Submit every part of your day to Jesus and every part of who you are. Draw near to God throughout your day and then watch the devil run. Be blessed.
