James 4:1 ¶
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they
not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to
have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye
ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not
that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will
be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth
in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth
more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto
the humble. 7 Submit yourselves
therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your
hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your
joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves
in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Early Christianity was composed of mostly
ethnic Jews who believed on their Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Jewish culture
was in turmoil which would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans
in or about AD70 and another catastrophe in the early 100s. Whereas James
warned the Jewish Christians about strife and envy in the last chapter here he
goes on to discuss wars and contentions, although the use of wars may
have been a metaphor for their constant disputes between each other linking
this to the last chapter.
Wanting what the world wants and holding
valuable what the world holds valuable is the source of their constant disputes
with each other. For Jesus said;
Luke 16:15
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men;
but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God.
1John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world. 17 And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever.
Pride goes along with this heresy, fierce
pride in one’s own way. The implication here is that the Devil himself is
behind this impulse. The promise is that if we resist he will run away. It is
also said that we are to humble ourselves and mourn for our sinful ways and
thoughts and in doing so God will lift us up. These are notable memory verses
here in James that should always be rolling around in our heads.
Also see;
For verse 6;
Proverbs 3:34
Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
For verse 7;
Matthew 4:10
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold,
angels came and ministered unto him.
For verse 10;
1Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may
exalt you in due time:
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