Bible Study James 4: 1-17

 

A Commentary of the Book of James

By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins

Text Used: Legacy Standard Bible

Bible Study James 4: 1-17

Text:

Draw Near to God

4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have, so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask [c]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [d]on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “[e]He [f]jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

11 Do not slander one another, brothers. He who slanders a brother or judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you who judge your neighbor?

Life Is a Vapor

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [g]Yet you do not know [h]what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 [i]Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [j]arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows to do the [k]right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Verse by verse commentary:

Verse 1: “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?”

James points out the root cause of divisions among the saints. They are caused by evil desires within the quarreling members. Envy is still in view as an evil desire that is destructive to unity and the overall effectiveness of the local church.

Verse 2: “You lust and do not have, so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”

The final result of frustrated desires is actual murder according to James, and the list of sins (hate, anger, bitterness) leading up to it. The picture is of unbelievers so driven by their uncontrollable evil desires that they will fight to the death to satisfy them. True joy, peace, happiness, meaning, hope, and fulfillment in life come only from God. However, you need to ask Him. Unbelievers are unwilling to ask for them on His terms; they refuse to obey God or confess their dependence on Him.

Verse 3: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

God will not grant our prayer requests when they proceed from evil desires. The word translated “wrong” is literally the word “wicked". To pray from wrong motives is not to pray in faith.

Verse 4: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God.”

James is referring to spiritual adultery. The Greek word for “friendship” describes love in the sense of a strong emotional attachment and affection. Those with a deep and intimate passion for the things of the world give evidence that they are not born again.

Verse 5: “Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us’?”

This phrase is best understood by seeing the “spirit” as a reference not to the Holy Spirit, but to the human spirit, and translating the phrase “jealously desires” to “lusts to envy.” James’ point is that an unbelieving person’s spirit (inner person) is bent on evil. We are born with original sin that unless God changes us by giving us a new heart that seeks Him, we will never repent and follow Him as Lord. The latter phrase could have been translated as “The spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy.” I believe the alternate translation makes it very clear that contained within our carnal hearts is a spirit of envy and lust. Romans 3 is a description of an unsaved person.

Verse 6: “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” 

I have heard repentance defined as taking responsibility for what you have done. The proud heart will not submit to an outside authority. The proud heart believes that the world revolves around it. Only those who humble themselves and surrender before a holy God and take responsibility for their actions will receive grace. God will give no grace to the proud, only the humble.

Verse 7: “Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

You have two commands in this verse: (1) submit yourselves to God; and (2) resist the devil. Notice you are not called to fight the devil. Why? Because he is already defeated. Submitting to God is not just surrender to His will, but make His will your will. That is walking on the “highway of holiness.”

Verse 8: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

To “draw near to God” is to pursue an intimate love relationship with Him. The Old Testament priests ceremonially washed their hands before approaching God, and sinners who would approach God must recognize and confess their sin and repent. They must take responsibility for their sins. The cleansing comes from the Holy Spirit, but placing yourself in a position to be cleansed is the individual’s responsibility. Those that are “double-minded” must “choose this day whom they will serve.” The cure for double-mindedness” from a human perspective is to surrender your past, present and future to the One Who holds the future. Trust Him and follow Him. 

Verse 9: “Be miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”

This is a call to genuine repentance by which we mourn for our sins. To be truly sorry for your sins requires you to see those sins as the reason the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and was crucified. You need to see and understand your role in the crucifixion. You are the reason He died. He died for you. That should bring a degree of misery and sadness.

Verse 10: “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

This final instruction is the summation of the preceding nine commands, which identify the truly humble person. “Humble” comes from a word meaning “to make oneself low.” Those conscious of being in the presence of a Holy God are humble. John “fell at His feet as dead” when he was in the presence of Christ. Isaiah proclaimed. “Woe is me” in His presence. Don’t fall for the heretical teaching that teaches that you are to “soak” in His presence. These people are in the presence of Satan, not the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 11: “Do not slander one another, brothers. He who slanders a brother or judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.”

Sinful speech, such as slander, flows out of a heart filled with envy and reflects the work of the person’s father, i.e. Satan. The Greek word for “devil” means “slanderer.” Slandering other Christians destroys unity, fellowship and breaks the royal law of love. When we speak falsely against a fellow Christian, we speak not only against the person but against the law of God. The slanderer sets himself above the law. That is not a place to be at.

Verse 12: “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you who judge your neighbor?”

God is the only Lawgiver and Judge. He alone has the authority to save those who repent and have faith in His Name from its penalty, and destroy those who refuse to repent. God will have mercy on Whom He will have mercy and hate Whom He wants to hate. The unsaved religionist will fight this truth with all their might. The saved believer knows its truth and in deep humility says, “Thank you, Lord.”

Verse 13: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’”

James does not condemn prudent business planning, but rather planning that leaves out God. In essence, the people by their actions have become practical atheists, living their lives and making their plans as if God was not Sovereign. Such conduct is inconsistent with genuine saving faith, which submits everything to God.

Verse 14: “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

This is a rebuke. James rebukes the person who lives life and makes future plans without any regard for the Providence of God. Such a person lives without regard for Divine Sovereignty. Sovereignty is God being in charge of everything that occurs. Providence is how He moves people, events and circumstances to bring about what He has Sovereignly decreed. We are never to forget this truth.

Verse 15: “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’”

The word “if” refers to future events that are conditional. The main point is that all planning should remember the Sovereignty of God.

Verse 16: “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

Boasting of one’s own power and accomplishments is considered evil. Why? Because it deifies man and humanizes God. The Christian is to boast only of the Lord. Regrettably, there are many in the charismatic churches that deny the Sovereignty of God and believe that they have the power through their words to create their perfect reality. It is similar to the demonic “Law of Attraction.” God is the Absolute Sovereign Lord, not man.

Verse 17: “Therefore, to one who knows to do the right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

The sins of neglect and of omission are the focus here.This verse personalizes sin. Not everyone has the same understanding of the Scriptures. Not everyone has been blessed with intelligence or had the opportunity and means to study God’s Word. However, those that have and know what to do, should always be obedient to the Word of God and their conscience.