4:6-10 – Draw near to God (Resist the Devil) 4:11-12 – Judging 4:13-17 – Planning the future |
1 Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you.
2 You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it.
3 And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures.
4 Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? If you want to be the world's friend, you make yourself God's enemy.
5 Don't think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.” (GNB)
This section deals with life together as a church.
***V. 1 - “Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you.” -
The root cause of strife within the church comes from the strife that is going on within you - it is personal, internal, and it spills out into the church body. Compare this to 1 Cor 3:3 - “for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”
“They come from your desires for pleasure“ - These cravings for pleasures within you are the problem, not the body of believers. It shows up as conflict between church members as they attempt to get their own way. The word ‘pleasure’ is the Greek word 'hedone', from which we get “hedonism”. See: “The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.” (Ecc 7:4 ) And see: “I said of laughter, ‘It is madness,’ and of pleasure, ‘What does it accomplish?’” (Ecc 2:2) Also: “The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.” (Pro 11:6) And then from the New Testament we have more admonitions about greed and seeking pleasure, see: Luk 12:15; Rom 1:29; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5.
“which are constantly fighting within you.” - Personal pleasure is not wrong, but the desire for continual gratification is sin. The ‘within you’ is internal, not with other church members. It is a struggle between your self (your spirit) and the Holy Spirit. Your self/spirit is not listening to the Holy Spirit and His leading, but to the hedonistic desires. This is an ongoing battle - one that will last until you stand face-to-face with the Lord in heaven. Then you will be free, free indeed. The fights and quarrels, the constant fighting, is a general discord that is not part of God’s design.
V. 2 - “You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it.
“You want things… strongly desire things,” - Strongly worded, this is not ”Oh, I wish I had…”; this is a desire that commands your every waking moment, your attention. You feel you can’t ‘live without it’. And when don't get what you want, it leads to frustration.
“Ready to kill” - You are so frustrated you are willing to do anything to satisfy those desires. In most instances this desire is 'metaphysical', an emotional escalation in which your mind cannot drop the issue. Look at Jesus’ teaching from his sermon “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool! ’ will be subject to hellfire.” (Mt 5:21,22)
It isn’t just the physical act of killing someone that demonstrates your basic sin nature. Your anger, your insults and denigrating people by calling them names shows that your spirit is not in the control of the Holy Spirit.
“so you quarrel and fight” - The result of letting your desires control your life is hostile actions against others. You trample on others - physically and emotionally. You show disregard for anyone but yourself. James repeats the idea that there is a war going on within you, a fight is being waged for control of your thoughts and actions.
“You do not ask” - You spend all of your efforts and time wishing, hoping, longing, and wanting. There is frustration. James says it is due lack of asking.
“You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it.” - This is a strong and condemning statement.
V. 3 - “And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures. ” -
Simple. Per verse 2, all you have to do is ask God for what you want.
But wait, there’s more…
“And when you ask, you do not receive it” - That doesn’t seem right, or fair. You don’t have because you don’t ask God for it, and then when you ask He says, “No.” What’s up with that? But someone will say, "But I did ask." This is an instance that shows an inappropriate use of the expression 'in the name of Jesus' - implying (because of the phrase) that we are submissive to God; or we are using the name of Jesus as a magic talisman. Where did this ‘fake critic’ go wrong? Their aim was wrong because they were asking with wrong motives.
Motivation is the key. Prayer is not magic: i.e., You ask, therefore, you get. James is teaching us that the focus of our prayers is to be on Christ and what He has planned for us. When we are attuned to His plans, our prayers will be asked according to His will, not our selfish desires. He is not saying personal prayers are wrong, just personal prayers for self pleasure, wealth, revenge, etc.
Pray for healing of a friend or family member. Pray for peace in our nation, state, or city. Pray for family and friends to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. These will all bring you joy. They are not for the collection and accumulation of stuff. The focus of these prayers are on Christ working in the lives of family, friends, neighbors and community. By these Jesus will be glorified. No one is glorified when you pray for a new car, new golf clubs, a diamond necklace - the motivation is wrong.
V. 4 - “Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? If you want to be the world's friend, you make yourself God's enemy.” -
The central truth of this paragraph is “do not love the world...” (1 John 2:15-17) The ‘world’ is not only about the physical universe, but the spiritual, man-centered, Satan directed world. This where the enemies of God reside.
“Unfaithful people” - The concept here is “Adulterers”! The Jewish readers would quickly recognize this reference. They, too, were called unfaithful. See (Hos 9:1) “Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots’ earnings on every threshing floor.”
- This is human history, starting in Eden - we want to do what we want to do, whether God likes it or not. God tells Israel that their sin of rejecting Him was because they had received the necessary informationThis is to be expected from those who have not accepted Jesus or God as Lord of their lives. It is a tragedy when believers prefer to behave like unbelievers.
“World's friend” - This indicates a strong emotional attachment. This is not a hungry child asking for a scrap, but a greedy child demanding the best piece, or a spoiled child demanding his way. James is emphasizing the stark reality there are only two choices. There is no ‘homogenizing’ - a lot of God mixed in with a little Satan, stir well… No. This is a choice that must be made - black or white, light or dark, God or not-God.
Now, for those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord being the world’s friend means we have turned our back to the Lord. We choose to go in a direction we should not. See Rom 8:5-11 where we see that people have set their minds to seek the world, the flesh instead of God.
For believers, does this mean we lose our salvation? I do not think so. Christ has said that He will never let us go, we cannot be taken from His hand. He declares that we are his and he gave His life for us - who can give more than that? Answer: No One! We lose the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, so we will struggle. We will live frustrated lives, knowing there is a better way, God will urge us and prompt us to repent and return to Him. We can repent and confess and be renewed as a ‘friend of God’.
“God’s enemy” - We cannot be God’s friend and God’s enemy at the same time. “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Cor 2:14) The ‘natural man’ does not have the Holy Spirit, who is given to every person who believes and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But the believer who listens to the world, who decides to sin in lieu following the leading of the Holy Spirit loses the guiding of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in present but is not being followed because of sin and stubbornness. Confession, repentance and submitting our spirit to God’s spirit will restore the Holy Spirit’s effectiveness in our lives.
Enmity with God means that we will subjected to His justice. (see Deut 32:41-43) God will have justice for those who are his enemies.
V. 5 - “Don't think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, ‘The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.’ ” -
This verse is one of those that can have more than one implication. You might think, “What does this verse have to do with verse 4?” How does being God’s friend or God’s enemy fit with a ‘spirit with fierce desires’? Let’s see if we can work this out…
Using the ‘Blue Letter Bible’ app, I could find no place where this sentence, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires” is used. However, Paul does refer to each of us believers receiving the Holy Spirit from the Lord when we believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord. See: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor 6:19) It is promised: We have the Holy Spirit in us. This is God’s own spirit.
Paul also notes: “For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.’ ” (2 Cor 6:16) God lives within us! This is incredible information - The God of the universe, who created all things, who is all-powerful and all-knowing loves us and comes to live within us. This is astounding, mind-blowing!
If we look back into the OT, we see that God describes Himself as a ‘jealous’ God. See: “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,” (Exo 20:5) Or: “for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exo 34:14) This means that God will not share worship of Him with any other god or being. Worship God and Him alone. (See also: Num 23:19; Deut 4:24; Nah 1:2)
An additional viewpoint is that the spirit (that’s “small s” spirit) God has placed in each human is stubborn and seeks what it wants in spite of what God desires. The human spirit, which 'yearns' to lust and envy. Our spirit is so bent on evil, and to think otherwise is to defy the scriptural teaching. It started in Eden, and has not abated in the centuries since.
So, our spirit is always fighting with God’s Spirit. The Holy Spirit wrestles with our spirit to draw us to God. We want what we want - we jealously strive to meet our desires. At the same time, the Holy Spirit, who is a jealous God, wrestles with our spirit. Note that God does not overwhelm and defeat our spirit. God desires that we make the right decision. He does not make it for us. He does not force it upon us. He works to help us see that the decision to follow the Holy Spirit is the decision that will benefit us in eternity.
We can freely decide to reject His leading. But when we do so, we must understand that the consequences may be dire. We can do what we want, even if it violates God’s commandments, and must realize that there will be a price to pay. You may wish that God will use your choice of penalties, but it doesn’t work that way. See what Job understood, “For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne chastisement; I will not offend anymore; Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will not do it again’? Shall He recompense on your terms, because you have rejected it? For you must choose, and not I; Therefore declare what you know.” (Job 34:31-33) In other words: I have sinned and you have punished me. I have learned from that and will no do that again. Help me to see what I am doing offends You, O Lord.
Job asks: should God give you the punishment you think is fair even though you have violated His laws. God continually wrestles with us to guide us into His way. It is highly probable that we will not choose God’s way on our own without guidance from God’s Spirit. Christians have a distinct advantage over unbelievers, because we have God’s Spirit living within us. He can communicate directly with our spirit. The Holy Spirit brings our spirit to conviction, (He speaks with our spirit), and we confess that we have sinned, and then we repent of that sin.
There are no hints and allegations, but straightforward teaching and leading our spirit by His Spirit.
And this takes us into verse 6, which tells us God will drive Satan away from us when we submit to Him. Praise the Lord.
***The following are verses and notes not used in this study… As I read them, it struck me that God is no namby-pamby, with slippery and malleable standards. I couldn’t see how to fit them in the study cleanly, but felt they were powerful, such as: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num 23:19)
See, also: “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Deut 4:24)
“A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; The LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.” (Nah 1:2) Does that sound like someone you want to mock and belittle because you think you can succeed defending your actions?
Paul emphasized that the object of his teaching, those instructions that went beyond preaching salavation through Christ alone, was to help them live pure Christian lives knowing that we all will face the Lord Jesus Christ one day. “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.” (2 Cor 11:2)
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