twitches of the dead
In facing opposition from our enemy, the devil and his demonic hosts, we are told not to fear and, in fact, to resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). As we act together on this promise (note that most references to "you" in the Scripture should be read "y'all), we need to take care to note the context in which it is given. James brackets this promise with several commands: submit yourselves to God...Come near to God, He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8). It's only as we allow God to cleanse us of sinful self-sufficiency that we can be fully possessed of The One Who alone is sufficient to slay and stay our enemy with whom we are in conflict. Otherwise, we may well end up like the sons of Sceva, possessed of human hubris alone, of whom an evil spirit asked, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" before overpowering them, leaving them naked and bleeding (Acts 19:15-16).
In "The Shepherd of Hermas", an early 2nd-century Christian teaching that almost made it into the canon of the New Testament, we have an apt illustration of this necessary filling. The devil is described as having no ability to molest those who are filled with God, just as a full vessel of wine has little opportunity to go sour. It's the half-full vessels that are the most vulnerable to material and spiritual corruption.
But as we are filled with The Presence of God, the result is exactly the opposite. In dealing with darkness, this is not a yin-yang match, or a force-darkside battle. There is no contest here: Jesus has won, right from the beginning. The serpent is told, fresh from what he may have thought was an eternal victory over humanity, in the Garden, that the Offspring of the woman would crush his head, even though the serpent would strike his heel (Genesis 3:15).
The Shepherd of Hermas has another illustration of this victory over evil. It compares the works of the enemy and his minions to the twitches of a dead man: "be not afraid in the least of his threatenings, for they are without force, as the nerves of a dead man". Particularly after a violent death, such as a head-crushing, there can be significant movement of the dead from the residual electrical activity in the nerves. Our enemy, though he seems alive and is indeed prowling, looking for the half-full to devour, is in fact dead, crushed at the cross and the empty tomb, though residually thrashing until his inevitable end.
This Lent, as we pray for others and for ourselves, let's resolve to walk in God's fullness and watch our dead enemy twitch.