“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
Resist him
The “him” here is the devil (v.8).
“Resist” means withstand (James 4:7). This word comes from two Greek words: against and to stand, carrying the idea to stand against. The Christian is to stand against the assault of the devil. This is a term of defense, not offense. The Christian must build fortifications against the devil. The Christian is at war; he cannot leave himself open to spiritual attack. Believers should build bulwarks of faith against the enemy.
We resist by obeying the commands of verse eight. We would do well to remember that we cannot fight the devil in ourselves.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
People who believe that the devil is red believe in a religious fairy tale. James chapter 4 makes it plain that he is yellow!! “He will flee from you.” The devil is not afraid of us but of our faith. By depending on the Lord, the weakest Christian can not only check the devil, but he can vanquish him against any assault on his faith.
PRINCIPLE:
The Christian must set for himself a fortress of his faith against the devil.
APPLICATION:
It is noteworthy that God gave Christians the power to resist the most extraordinary creature ever made–Lucifer turned devil. Lucifer was the most powerful and wise creature God ever created.
The devil is not omnipresent. His well-trained troops (demons) disperse throughout the world, seeking to sway people for his cause. His power is through the dispersion of these troops across the globe. Therefore, his power is very pervasive but not boundless or unlimited. The devil is mighty but not invincible. Some people act as if the devil is almighty. There is no dualism in the universe whereby God and Satan are equal forces against each other. This equalization is a sad mistake because it defers to the devil too much power.
Why does the devil have Christians on the run? We should have him on the run by our faith. He says “Boo” to some believers, and they collapse right on the spot. The Christian cannot take the offense against the devil, but he can stand his ground in the faith. In the face of satanic attack, he can appropriate God’s Word to the situation.
Thank you for your commentary. Very helpful, direct and the application was insightful. Thank you and much appreciation.
Appreciate your comment Pat.
Please explain to me the last part of verse 9. Does it mean that someone else out in the world is experiencing the same hardship as I am at this very moment?
Vanessa, did you continue to advance through the remaining studies (through 5:9e)?
I have the same question as Vanessa.
What’s 9e?
I’m new to Christ and need things explained in simple ways.
Denise, since I have a number of studies on this one verse I call them 5:9, 5:9b, 5:9c and etc. Just go to the right side of the page and click the next study which is 5:9b. This will advance you through all the studies on this verse to 5:9e.