I have not read the other posts, so please ignore and forgive me if I'm regurgitating what others have said.
James mentions two very important things
before he talks about resisting the devil:
1. Humble yourself.
2. Submit yourself then to the Lord.
These are the means unto and the empowerment of resisting the devil. We're not called to "stomp on the devil," or "rebuke the devil." Rather, we are to fix our eyes upon Christ, being dressed in the Armor of God (Eph. 6), and be dependant upon Christ alone.
Even the angel Michael did not talk to the devil in an authoritative way other than pointing to the ULTIMATE Authority, saying, "The Lord rebuke you!" We, on the other hand, are to weild only one offensive weapon, the Sword of the Spirit. Consider Jesus' example in Matthew 4. Such is exemplary.
So, then, we are not to trust in our position in Christ, or our "authority over the devil," but directly in Christ alone. As William Gurnall so sweetly says:
Quote:
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Be careful not trust in the armour of God, but in the God of the armour.
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A great book you may want to invest in, Miss Edmond, is William Gurnalls
The Christian in Complete Armour. Excellent, pastoral, and insightful thoughts and exhortations.
Just my
