Submit To God; Resist the Devil

August 24th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

James 4:7-8a Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

If God gives to His people all that He requires of them—“greater grace” (v. 6), then all we need to do is “submit” (Gr. hupotassō) to Him—to subordinate our lowly selves to God by putting ourselves under Christ’s lordship. We know we need this when we finally realize that we have begun to befriend the world—being lured by its pictures, the fantasies created on social media, the illusion that the rich and famous have it all, that the key to happiness is found anywhere in this universe outside of Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus Christ is everything! There is no lasting joy outside of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, failure to submit to Him is the essence of unbelief (cf. Rom. 8:7; 10:3). And when we repent of worldly ways, this is the first step in the list of urgent imperatives James uses in 4:7-10.

The first action that naturally follows submission to God is resisting the devil, for one cannot submit to God without first resisting Satan’s temptations. To “resist” (Gr. anthistēmi) is to “stand firm” against an opponent. That opponent here is the “devil” (Gr. diabolos; Heb. Satan, or accuser). James’ teaching suggests that since it is the devil who opposes Christians, he will “flee” (Gr. pheugō) when Christians resist him. He will literally move away quickly from those he tempts, removing his wicked influence from them. We can thus conclude that one of the graces God has given to believers is the ability to resist the devil when he tempts us to sin with the added grace that he will remove his evil influence from us when we do.

When an imperative like “resist the devil” appears in Scripture, spiritual warfare is in view. Truly, James 3:13–4:10 is part of a larger dialog regarding spiritual warfare in the Bible (cf. Gen. 3; Job 1-2; Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 11:14-26; John 8:42-47; Acts 13:6-12; Eph. 6:10-20; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; 1 John 4:1-6). James 3:15, for instance, referring to “earthly, unspiritual, and demonic” wisdom, references three interwoven forms of evil that taunt Christians: the world, the flesh, and Satan—seen throughout Scripture and in our own lives. In James 4:7 Christians are assured that they have the power to actually “resist” Satan (cf. Eph. 6:13; 1 Pet. 5:9). How? As Jesus was revealed for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), His followers can resist him.

A second action that flows from one’s submission to God is the ability to “draw near” (Gr. eggizō) to Him. In the OT this entails worship (Lev. 21:3, 21, 23; Isa. 29:13; 58:2; 65:5; Ez. 40:46), for worship is “drawing near” to God. Though the author of Hebrews uses a different term in 4:16, the meaning is the same: “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (italics mine).

Although “draw near to God” in Hebrews 7:19 uses the same Greek term as James 4:7 (eggizō), this does not seem to fit James’ context since he follows with God also drawing near to believers. Thus, given the context of many in the church being steeped in spiritual adultery and needing to repent (4:1-6), James likely has reconciliation with God in mind (cf. Hosea 12:6). Certainly James’ audience needed restoration of fellowship with God, and as was evident in the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), God is eager to reconcile with those who have gone astray. All spiritual adulterers and murderers need to do is repent: submit to God; resist the devil.

Food For Thought
If the Bible tells Christians to “submit to God,” it is clear that even Christians need to repent, especially of our friendship with the world. And when it tells us to “resist the devil,” it means that the devil, or at least his evil angelic host, is able to tempt us to sin. What do you need to repent of today? Restore your fellowship with God by submitting to Him, by resisting the devil.