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James 4:7 Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James instructs us to submit to God. He then immediately moves on to another instruction.
"Resist the devil".
We have to look elsewhere for instructions to find out
HOW do we submit to God, and herein is the rub.
Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Until obedience is perfected, everyone who is called must submit to God by the means He provides, which comes via man. The issue becomes, is the church in submission to God if they aren't submitting to the leadership of their church and denomination? The Word of Truth is that unless one has spent time under the
"schoolmaster" of God's instructions, they have no claim to be in submission to God, even as we cannot claim to love God, and not engage in the love and fellowship of the saints. For if you cannot love the brethren who you can see, how can you love God who is not seen. 1 John 4:20
This sits at the core of being faithful to the commands of a loving Father, and His Son.
21 And this commandment we have from Him:
that he who loves God love his brother also.
To submit is to humble yourself, and only in humility
can the grace of God be an active part of the walk of faith.
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another,
and be clothed with humility, for
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
The mighty hand of God functions via a man exercising
authority. This is a covenant principle.
2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.
If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
15 But My mercy shall not depart from him...
The most noteworthy aspect of this that I am aware of by observation, is that most people are willing and even excited to serve a man that they admire, but if they want to be disobedient, they can always find some flaw in the members over them as an excuse. The Lord has chastised me on many occasions by someone that I held in very low esteem. He is not going to satisfy a man's inclination to want to please someone they admire and want to get
attention and approval.
2 Corinthians 10:18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
This even applies to people outside of the church,
if they hold a position of authority over you in society.
1 Peter 2:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of God.
It is vanity to seek the approval of man as a way of
commending ourselves. We must wait on the Lord, and
His approval will manifest itself.
Matthew 6:
3 But when thou do alms, let not thy left hand know
what thy right hand is doing:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father
which sees in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are:
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when you pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly.
All instructions from the Lord are vital, ones that are
repeated multiple times in His Word are essential as
as prerequisites to growth in Christ.
Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another
in the fear of God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James instructs us to submit to God. He then immediately moves on to another instruction.
"Resist the devil".
We have to look elsewhere for instructions to find out
HOW do we submit to God, and herein is the rub.
Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Until obedience is perfected, everyone who is called must submit to God by the means He provides, which comes via man. The issue becomes, is the church in submission to God if they aren't submitting to the leadership of their church and denomination? The Word of Truth is that unless one has spent time under the
"schoolmaster" of God's instructions, they have no claim to be in submission to God, even as we cannot claim to love God, and not engage in the love and fellowship of the saints. For if you cannot love the brethren who you can see, how can you love God who is not seen. 1 John 4:20
This sits at the core of being faithful to the commands of a loving Father, and His Son.
21 And this commandment we have from Him:
that he who loves God love his brother also.
To submit is to humble yourself, and only in humility
can the grace of God be an active part of the walk of faith.
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another,
and be clothed with humility, for
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
The mighty hand of God functions via a man exercising
authority. This is a covenant principle.
2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.
If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
15 But My mercy shall not depart from him...
The most noteworthy aspect of this that I am aware of by observation, is that most people are willing and even excited to serve a man that they admire, but if they want to be disobedient, they can always find some flaw in the members over them as an excuse. The Lord has chastised me on many occasions by someone that I held in very low esteem. He is not going to satisfy a man's inclination to want to please someone they admire and want to get
attention and approval.
2 Corinthians 10:18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
This even applies to people outside of the church,
if they hold a position of authority over you in society.
1 Peter 2:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of God.
It is vanity to seek the approval of man as a way of
commending ourselves. We must wait on the Lord, and
His approval will manifest itself.
Matthew 6:
3 But when thou do alms, let not thy left hand know
what thy right hand is doing:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father
which sees in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou pray, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are:
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when you pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly.
All instructions from the Lord are vital, ones that are
repeated multiple times in His Word are essential as
as prerequisites to growth in Christ.
Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another
in the fear of God.
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