James 4

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

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

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →

James 4:7

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

Study Summary

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you — the dual imperatives establish that submission to God and resistance to the devil are two sides of the same reality. The Greek hyptassō (submit) places believers under God's authority and rule. Resistance (anthistēmi) to the devil comes as consequence of such submission. The promise that the devil will flee (pheugō) suggests that the devil flees when confronted by those aligned with God's authority.

Community Reflections

Aisha Mbeki (Test User)7h ago

God's sovereignty revealed — James 4

I love how this passage doesn't shy away from the difficulty of obedience. The promise here is not conditional on our strength but on His character.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. What a reminder that God's ways are not our ways. The early church would have heard this very differently than we do today. The Hebrew word used here carries a richness that English can't fully capture. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. His timing, His methods, His purposes — all beyond our comprehension, yet perfectly good.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is…

Read the note →