Glad that we agree here.
You can resist the devil and be attacked. One has nothing to do with the other.
This is true.
When you are not resisting the devil, you are submitting to the devil. Therefore you would be resisting God. When you're submitted to God you are resisting the devil and when you are submitting to the devil you're resisting God.
This is not true. If I'm not resisting the devil I am not necessarily submitting to his ways.
Mark 9:38-41
Now John answered Him, saying, Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.
39 But Jesus said, Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
(Of course you have to juxtapose that with the likes of Matthew 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me" and stories like the Sons of Sceva.)
The same as when we get sick. Why do we? Well, we have ceased walking in the blessing, we've entered the curse. But does that mean that the devil brought the sickness (always!)? Did the devil necessarily talk us into embracing sickness? Whoever says 'Yes' gives the devil too much credit.
We are carnal and we will tend to follow our carnal nature -- with or without the devil's suggestions. We follow a righteous path because of the leading of the Holy Spirit AND because in our free choice we chose to listen. When the devil comes with thoughts, ideas and suggestions to lead us astray, it is ADDED influence to our carnal nature.
So I can submit to God and still be buffeted of the devil (Paul's situation). I must resist. I can submit to God and do nothing about the buffeting...I will hurt. It's free choice, and although I may not be walking in the full blessing, I am certainly submitted to God and not the devil. To say that in "choosing" to
not stand bold and resist the buffeting means that I am not submitting to God would be to say that to submit to God is giving up my free choice. These are not mutually exclusive.
Now in this I'm
not saying that because of free choice it is in any way a good thing to choose to "do nothing." We are to put on the armor of God, we are to wield the sword, we are to defend, we are to resist, we are to fight. To do this perfectly would be wonderful! But we are carnal creatures who have put on the new man, but who, according to Paul, strive to do what is right but don't always succeed. We get tired; we get selfish; we get inward. When we do things that are not perfectly righteous, it isn't always the devil who led us there: sometimes it is simply us.
But just like a two year old who will kick and scream when it is time to put away the toys and eat lunch or take a nap, we kick and scream too. But Daddy will take us in His arms and hug us and love us and help us to grow up to be the strongest that we can be.