^“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7

This verse has been in my head all month.  Interesting that it is the first half that the Lord has been talking to me about.   Most of us are great at resisting the devil… but the first bit is absolutely essential, and without it, we will never get the result promised.   We must submit our everything to God and believe Him utterly.  At the very end of this post I have included a more practical hands on example of how to see this victory established.

For example, if God has promised that He has done something and that we are to wait on Him to deliver it (Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and the birth of Ishmael are a perfect example) and we take it into our own hands to accomplish, are we submitted to God and His promise?  How often do our words, actions, choices reflect a rebellion against God’s Word and God instead of a submission?

In order to begin to make sense of all this we must consider the different voices, witnesses so to speak, that are contributing to our views and thoughts, and shaping the present state of our soul.

Let us look at the witness of the Word of God, what He says about who we are and are state of wellbeing. Here are some scriptures to consider regarding the state of our spirit , soul and body.   May the Holy Spirit bring to your thoughts other verses as you consider just this sampling that will hopefully serve as a springboard in to a more in-depth revelation of our true state of being.

Regarding the state of our spirit:

Colossians 1:20-22 (please see the whole context of Colossians 1) “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.   ²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:”

Ephesians 2:1-8 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

N.B.  the “Now” of this verse, this is not a later statement, this divine exchange happened when we believed and were baptized.  We are the righteousness of God right now.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Temple in this verse actually means Holy of Holies…   If you look up references in the Old Testament you will realized how few had access to this place, how much ritual was involved for man to enter and how precise the instructions were to be in there.. But now we are this marvelous residence, the abiding place of the Holy Spirt… AWESOME!!!

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

Colossians 1:12-16 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:¹⁵ Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:¹⁶ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

We are citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Regarding the state of our mind:

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”Proverbs 14:12

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Proverbs 16:25

Our mind and reasoning can most definitely mislead us even into death.   I believe that this played a large part in the original sin.   Adam and Eve were encouraged by the serpent to consider/evaluate what God meant by what He said.   The story, as we know, ended with spiritual death and separation from God.   This little truth can be dressed up in so many ways.   “I have considered but what the Bible says but….”   “If you translate it just so and consider these verses over here and consider the nature of God overall…”   Brothers and sisters, ask yourself if you are approaching the Bible with the literal mindset of a child or if you are looking at it through established filters and expectations that are encouraging you to evaluate it instead of just taking it at face value.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” See also 2 Peter 1:19-21

James 3:8-10 “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.⁹ Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

Matthew 13:22 “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Note the condition of this verse which is a lovely way to highlight the battle over the soul as long as we are still on the earth in our physical bodies…  Our soul is in a tug of war between the flesh, carnal self and the Spirit.   This promise is for those who choose the Spirit.  James 5:12 goes on to mention that we can in reality as born again believers fall into condemnation.

Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Our soul is the place where we ultimately must choose to be spiritually minded and to obey the Word of God continually, or to be carnally/fleshly minded and to satisfy the demands of the flesh and the world

Regarding the health of our physical bodies:

1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Psalm 91:7-12 (see the whole Psalm) ” A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.⁸ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.⁹ Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;¹⁰ There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.¹¹ For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.¹² They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone”

Luke 9:1-2 “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.² And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.”

Psalm 34:19-22  (KJV) “¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.²⁰ He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.  ²² The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.”

Isaiah 53:3-6 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Proverbs 4:20-22 “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.²¹ Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.²² For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”

1 Timothy 2:3-5 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;⁴ Who will have all men to be saved (sozo= made whole spirit, soul and body), and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

It is important to see that the decision of what we live and experience has been set before us.   In both the Old and the New Testament we see that we have 2 options before us… to be carnally minded which is death or to be spiritually minded which is life and peace..   The Lord, though He is sovereign has given us dominion over this choice and we are ultimately responsible for what we choose.   The fruit of our lives is the tell-tale evidence of how we are minded.   Notice how verse 11 reflects Proverbs 4:20-22… if we are spiritually minded our physical bodies will be quickened and full of health.  Friends, it is impossible to know and understand God’s Word and not walk in radiant health.   We must be humble and willing to take an honest account of the health of our

and thinking.

Romans 8:1-11 (see all of Romans 8 context)  “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.³ For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:⁴ That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.⁵ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.¹⁰ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.¹¹ But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Again reflected in the Old Testament

Deuteronomy 30 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;¹⁶ In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.¹⁷ But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;¹⁸ I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:²⁰ That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

We must also consider the source of what we are fighting against.     We must never forget who our battle is with:

 Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Let us now consider a specific example and a specific promise of God. The healing of our physical bodies…

1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

 

How to be spiritually minded/submit to God/worship God in spirit and truth.  Some verses to consider:

 Romans 6:12-14 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  ¹³ Neither yield ye your members (body parts)as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members (body parts) as instruments of righteousness unto God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Romans 10:2-4 “² For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.³ For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

James 4:6-8 “⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded

Deuteronomy 5:1 “Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, “Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn them and obey them!”

John 3:12 “But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?”

 

An honest question to ask yourself, can you be truly single-minded, and say that you trust that God has healed you when in the back of your mind you are thinking “if this doesn’t work, then I will…”  For me that is the very definition of double minded.   While my own experience means virtually nothing, I can say when the only one I sought was God, radical miracles have happened, when I had the thought of maybe I should go to the doctors and I did not cast them down, I end up in the doctor’s office.    Doubt and unbelief that God will do what He has promised induces a state of mind that is detrimental to the prayer of the believer.

James 1  “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.⁴ But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.⁷ For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.⁸ A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; ”

Philipians 4 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.⁹ Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

Matthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”

Let us look at the reliability of all the witnesses involved.   First, we must decide if the Word is a true witness.   I believe that this is the only option for a believer and to cast doubt on the Word is call God a liar. My own conviction but also the perspective from which I am sharing.   If the Word is true, then every witness that would contradict the Word is a lying witness and their testimony must be dismissed.

How reliable is our flesh?

Things that science can tell us:  false labor, phantom pain in people with amputated arms and legs, hot flashes (produced entirely by chemicals within our body without any source of eternal heat), allergic reaction brought on by mention of allergens with no allergens present.  Through science we can attach a bunch of wires etc to a person’s brain and stimulate all sorts of interesting things like smelling burnt toast…   our bodies can and do lie to us.    If the Bible tells us a symptom is impossible, than we must believe the Word and must call the symptom what it is, a lie, and one of the Devil that must be resisted and cast out….

How reliable are people?

Romans 3:4 “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”

John 2:23-25 “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.²⁴ But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,²⁵ And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”

Also consider the fickle response of the crowd in Mark 10:46-49.   One minute they are trying to silence blind Bartimaeus, the next they are comforting him.   This is even more prominent in the final week before the resurrection when the crowd welcomed Jesus as Hosanna and later that week cried out for Him to be crucified.  Also consider how constantly your mind is bombarded with the thoughts and ideas of others. The media in all of its diverse forms, conversation with people, books, billboards, advice, the grumblings (oft disguised as requests for prayer) etc that we are exposed to daily.   These can be hidden in godly seeming formats, things like theology college, christian and public education, sermons, prayer meetings…

2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

 

How reliable is our own understanding?

Proverbs 3:5-6 “5Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.…”

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Another hard question, are you really acknowledging God’s Word and promise if He says that He is going to do something for you but then you go out and try to make it happen for yourself.    This is the story of Abraham, Sarah and Ishmael…   God’s promise was always sure, but in their own understanding they rationalized out their own solution… Today we have the whole Islamic community as a result.  Don’t underestimate the impact of applying your own solution to a God promised provision.

 

Practical Application:   Great, I can sort of follow what you are saying but what does this look like when you are living it and breathing it and fighting for life and health.

For me there are 5 main parts:

1st “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Matthew 6:33

We must know in our hearts “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him..” (Hebrews 11:6) and that it is “the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).   For me this is a simple prayer like “Daddy, I know that your love for me is beyond my wildest imagination, but I am blind and try as I might, I know I don’t know.   Praise you that have come to give sight to those who know they are blind.   Papa, I am struggling, reveal the fullness of your love for me, the reality of your Kingdom to me and all that you have accomplished in and through Jesus Christ that all this fear and doubt that I am struggling with will be utterly defeated.  I long to know you more intimately and to understand your will and your ways.  Thank you Papa, in Jesus Christ name”

2^nd establish by the study of the Word what is TRUE spiritually and according to the Word.   I have started this process for you above in describing what the spiritual reality of your spirit soul and body are according to God’s Word

3rd.  Take authority/dominion over your thoughts.    YES EVERY single thought.    If you have a thought that contradicts the Word, rebuke it verbally, I say something like “You vain and lying thought, a reject you in Jesus Christ name, you are a false witness and I refuse to acknowledge your testimony.  The Bible says …..”  Always give the Word and the true witness the final word for your own self.   It the thought is coming from another person, it is equally important to reject  words verbally, when necessary I will slip out of the room and reject the words and speak the truth   over myself.   If you are with an authority figure, for example a Doctor or a parent, you can honor them but still speak the truth in love”  Brother, I respect your view point, but I have to believe and act on the Word of God which tells me….”  When this battle is on in my life, I might be literally coming against these thoughts and opinions 100s of times a day, every 2-3 minutes at times….  Establishing victory over our thought life is essential to establishing the victory that Christ has established for every believer.   It is core to the sanctification of the mind and soul…  And it is a direct command of the Lord’s for us to do.

4th Take authority over/cast out/ speak to every mountain and every lying symptom that tries to establish a foothold for sickness in your body.   “You lying symptom of pain/soreness/stiffness/achiness /confusion/brain fog/ whatever affliction would come against your physical body. I reject you and command you to get out of my body and off my property.   By Jesus stripes I was healed, by His blood I am the righteousness of God, right now.”   Some other verses I often refer to. “Satan and all you things associated with him, you are publicly defeated, shamed and disarmed (Colossians 2:15), look again on your defeat, relive that day of terrible loss… Look at my Lord, see His wounds, see the utter ruin of your plan to infect me and afflict me with sickness, pain, weakness and infirmity… See His blood, look at it, stare at it, and know that I know what was accomplished by its spilling. He took all you intended for me into Himself and then took it to the cross. You are done, defeated, have lost all power and authority over me and my household.   You are trespassing on blood bought property now get off of my family and off of my property. I banish you permanently in Jesus Christ’s name” This quickens my own faith and reminds me to of what Christ has done and the precious price He paid for me to be free. I also want any attacker to leave our home seriously unmotivated to ever come back.   We never want to get bogged down here though… we want to quickly pull out the biggest sword of all…..

5th Praise God for what He is done, for what is true. Cover every tiny word of warfare or resistance with a mountain of Praise towards God and Jesus. Consider Psalm 149:6 “Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands—“ and Psalm 69:30“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.”