James 4:7 - The devil will flee from you?
Does James 4:7 indicate a need for deliverance for those who have been believers in the past?
James 4:7: "Therefore, submit (to) God, but resist THE DEVIL and (HE) WILL-FLEE FROM YOU."
"Resist the devil and he will flee from you"?
James wrote to "brothers" (James 2:1) who were said to "be-holding the FAITH (of) our Lord Jesus Christ" (James 2:1): "SUBMIT (to) God, but RESIST THE DEVIL and (HE) WILL-FLEE FROM YOU" (James 4:7).
What would happen if they do not end up submitting to God and resisting the devil? Would the devil still flee from them? If not, what could the devil do next?
Judas:
It was written about Judas that at some point "THE DEVIL already having-put into the heart (of) Judas, (son of) Simon Iscariot, that (he) should-hand Him over" (John 13:2). Here the devil may have been around Judas. Later in the same chapter, after that Judas showed no sign of resisting the devil, it was written about "Judas" (John 13:26) that "at that time SATAN ENTERED into that (one)" (John 13:27).
The term "SATAN" can be used interchangeably with the term "THE DEVIL". For example, in one account it is written: "He was in the wilderness forty days being-tempted by SATAN" (Mark 1:13) and in the parallel account from another author it is written: "Jesus was-led-up into the wilderness by the Spirit to-be-tempted by THE DEVIL" (Matthew 4:1).
Could it be that the devil would have end up not fleeing from Judas here but instead end up entering Judas? If so, could the same happen to the people to whom James was writing to?
Jesus:
It is written that "Jesus was-led-up into the wilderness by the Spirit to-be-tempted by THE DEVIL" (Matthew 4:1). Jesus submitted to God and resisted the devil, as for example it is written that "THE DEVIL takes Him to (a) very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms (of) the world and their glory. And he-said (to) Him, “I-will-give all these (things to) You if, having-fallen(-down), You-give-worship (to) me”. Then Jesus says (to) him, “GO-AWAY, SATAN! For it-has-been-written: ‘YOU-SHALL-WORSHIP (the) Lord your GOD, and SERVE HIM ONLY’”" (Matthew 4:8-10). After Submitting to God and resisting the devil successfully, it is written in the parallel account in Luke that "THE DEVIL DEPARTED FROM HIM" (Luke 4:13). Here Jesus would have applied the following verse: "SUBMIT (to) God, but RESIST THE DEVIL and (HE) WILL-FLEE FROM YOU" (James 4:7).
Later, Jesus said: "the ruler (of) the world is-coming. And he-does not have anything IN ME" (John 14:30). Jesus may have talked about THE DEVIL here, not having anything in Him.
This was just before His arrest, in which Judas came with other people to arrest Jesus. One chapter earlier, THE DEVIL may have had something in Judas, as it is written that "THE DEVIL already having-put into the heart (of) Judas, (son of) Simon Iscariot, that (he) should-hand Him over" (John 13:2) and then "at that time SATAN ENTERED into that (one)" (John 13:27).
Could it be that because Jesus submitted to God and resisted the devil, the devil had nothing in Him? If so, if someone does not submit to God and resist the devil, could the devil end up having something in that person? If so, could the devil also end up entering such a person within some conditions?
"The devil will flee from you" in an ancient Jewish writing?
James wrote "(to) the twelve tribes" (James 1:1) who would have been Jewish in the past: "submit (to) God, but resist THE DEVIL and (HE) WILL-FLEE FROM YOU" (James 4:7).
A Jewish writing around the time of Christ used a very similar phrasing to that of James. Could it be that James would have known about it?
The Jewish writing read: "If you work that which is good, my children, Both men and angels shall bless you; And God shall be glorified among the Gentiles through you, and THE DEVIL WILL FLEE FROM YOU, And the wild beasts shall fear you". (Testament of Naphtali 8:4).
Now this Jewish writing also indicated what would happen on the contrary, as it continues: "But him that does not that which is good, Both angels and men shall curse, And God shall be dishonoured among the Gentiles through him, And THE DEVIL SHALL MAKE HIM AS HIS OWN PECULIAR INSTRUMENT, And every wild beast shall master him" (Testament of Naphtali 8:4).
This writing is to show that it was not impossible to believe that if THE DEVIL would not flee from a person, that person would be make as his own peculiar instrument. Judas certainly would have become a peculiar instrument after that the devil entered him so that the devil could arrest Jesus in order for Him to end up being murdered. Could that imply that THE DEVIL could successfully end up entering a person (within certain conditions) from whom he would not end up fleeing in order to make him as his own peculiar instrument? If so, could this be what James may have been warning his audience who were also Jewish in the past?
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