James 4:1-6 (NKJV) Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
V1 “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” The idea is there is a cause for ALL conflicts. The cause is ourselves. We want, so we work to obtain it regardless of how we get it. Verbal, physical, legal, illegal, criminal, destructive activities, money, bribery, etc. are all ways of accomplishing it. We see this especially in the lust for power, sex, slavery, financial gain, etc. Sinful desire is 1) forbidden (Exodus 20:17), 2) inflicts many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:9-10), 3) a characteristic of the last days (now days)(2 Peter 3:3), and 4) leads to bad attitudes and actions (Ephesians 2:3).
V2 “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” We are to pray, then God approves or disapproves. He grants our request or denies it. Remember this example: “But Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.” (Mark 15:9-11, NKJV) [Emphasis is added] The chief priests wanted Jesus killed because they were envious of His popularity, teaching, and abilities.
V3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” One reason for punishment is our motive is to fulfill our lust. Sometimes God will allow this, but it is a form of punishment. Psalm 106:15 NKJV – “And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.”
V4 “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. “ Wilbur Pickering PhD notes: “Some 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit ‘adulterers and’ (as in NIV, TEV, LB, NASB, etc.). (This is an easy case of ‘like-beginning’.)”
The Greek word for “friendship” is (G5373) φιλία philia, which means fondness for something. Thus, what is the greatest pleasure we are seeking, and what is the purpose? The world refers to the world’s lifestyle, rules, and worldview. It is mainly, “Me first.” If our fondness is for the world, then our heart is in the wrong. See 2 Timothy 4:10. Do we want God as our enemy? Do we really have that much pride to realize what that means? Many live that way. As a Christian, we must take care not to drift from our love of God and service to Him. See Hebrews 2:1 and Romans 11:22. It is interesting that humans will persevere to sin but have difficulty in persevering for God. See Luke 12:35-40. We are different, so we live differently with different attitudes and actions, for we follow the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). If the world sees no difference, their attitude might be “Why change?”
V5 “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?” God must be first in our lives. He is the one we believe, obey, trust, pray to, wait for deliverance, look to for teaching, guiding, providing, etc. He must be first, for Exodus 20:3 NKJV – “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Jesus said in John 14:24, if we love Him, we obey His words (the Bible). What is first in our lives is what/whom we obey. If we are first, we obey ourselves, etc. The danger is God’s judgment. See John 12:47. Also, see Romans 6:19.
V6 “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” The question arises, “How can I do this?” The answer is God’s assisting grace. But, if we are proud, He resists us. If we are humble, He gives His grace. See 2 Corinthians 12:9.
We learn:
- The dangers and consequences of pride
- Pride and selfishness lead to lawbreaking
- To make a choice between our ways or God’s
- God gives grace to the humble