Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of James 4:5

Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

5. the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? ] The words present a two-fold difficulty: (1) They are quoted as Scripture, and yet no such words are found either in the Canonical or even in the Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament. (2) It is by no means clear what they mean in themselves, or what is their relation to the context. If we can determine the latter point, it may, perhaps, help us in dealing with the former, ( a) The better MSS., it may be noted, to begin with, give a different reading of the first words: The Spirit which he planted (or made to dwell) in us. If we adopt this reading, it makes it all but absolutely certain that what is predicated of the Spirit must be good, and not, as the English version suggests, evil. ( b) The Greek word for “lusteth” conveys commonly a higher meaning than the English, and is rendered elsewhere by “longing after” (Rom 1:11; Php 1:8; Php 2:26; 2Co 9:14), or “earnestly desiring” (2Co 5:2), or “greatly desiring” (2Ti 1:4). New Testament usage is accordingly in favour of giving the word such a meaning here. The verb has no object, but it is natural to supply the pronoun “us.” Taking these data we get as the true meaning of the words, The Spirit which He implanted yearns tenderly over us. ( c) The words that remain, “to envy,” admit of being taken as with an adverbial force. “In a manner tending to envy,” enviously. The fact that “envy” is elsewhere in the New Testament and elsewhere condemned as simply evil, makes its use here somewhat startling. But the thought implied is that the strongest human affection shews itself in a jealousy which is scarcely distinguishable from “envy.” We grudge the transfer to another of the affection which we claim as ours. We envy the happiness of that other. In that sense St James says that the Spirit, implanted in us, yearns to make us wholly His and is satisfied with no divided allegiance. He simply treats the Greek word for “envy” as other writers treated the word “jealousy,” which though commonly viewed as evil, was yet treated at times as a parable of the purest spiritual affection (2Co 11:2; Gal 4:17-18). The root-idea of the passage is accordingly identical with that of the jealousy of God over Israel as His bride (Jer 3:1-11; Ezekiel 16, Hos 2:3), of His wrath when the bride proved faithless. Those who had been addressed as “adulteresses” (Jas 4:4), were forgetting this. All that they read of the love or jealousy of God was to them as an idle tale. For “in vain” read idly, emptily.

There remains the question, in what sense does St James give these words as a quotation from “the Scripture”? No words at all like them in form are found anywhere in the Old Testament, and we have to suppose either (1) that they were cited from some lost book that never found a place in the Hebrew Canon, a supposition, which, though not absolutely impossible, is yet in a very high degree unlikely; or, which seems the more probable explanation, that St James having in his mind the passages above referred to, and many others like them, and finding them too long for quotation, condensed them into one brief pregnant form, which gave the essence of their meaning. A like manner of quoting as Scripture what we do not find in any extant book, is found in Clement of Rome (c. 46), “It has been written, ‘Cleave to the saints, for they who cleave to them shall be sanctified.’ ” As points of detail it may be noted (1) that the Greek word for “yearning” or “longing” occurs in the LXX. version of Deu 32:11, and is followed in Jas 4:13-17 by an account of the manner in which the love so shewn had been turned to jealousy by the sins of Israel; and (2) that Gen 6:5, as in the LXX., “My spirit shall not abide for ever with men,” may have suggested the “indwelling” of which the first member of the sentence speaks.

I have given, what seems on the whole, the most tenable explanation of a passage which is admitted on all hands to be one of extreme difficulty. It does not seem desirable to discuss other interpretations at any length, but two or three may be very briefly noticed. (1) The words have been rendered “The Spirit (i. e. the Holy Spirit) that dwelleth in us lusteth against envy,” the contrast being assumed to be parallel to that between the works of the Spirit and those of the flesh in Gal 5:17. There is no sufficient authority, however, for giving this meaning to the preposition. (2) The “spirit” has been referred to man’s corrupt will, as “lusting to envy,” in its bad sense, but the description of the Spirit as “implanted” or “dwelling” in us, is against this view. (3) In concurrence with the last interpretation, the question “Do ye think that the Scripture speaks in vain?” has been referred to what precedes the statement, that the friendship of the world is enmity with God; but this is at variance with the usual way in which quotations from the Old Testament are introduced in the New.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain – Few passages of the New Testament have given expositors more perplexity than this. The difficulty has arisen from the fact that no such passage as that which seems here to be quoted is found in the Old Testament; and to meet this difficulty, expositors have resorted to various conjectures and solutions. Some have supposed that the passage is spurious, and that it was at first a gloss in the margin, placed there by some transcriber, and was then introduced into the text; some that the apostle quotes from an apocryphal book; some, that he quotes the general spirit of the Old Testament rather than any particular place; some regard it not as a quotation, but read the two members separately, supplying what is necessary to complete the sense, thus: Do you think that the Scripture speaks in vain, or without a good reason, when it condemns such a worldly temper? No; that you cannot suppose. Do you imagine that the Spirit of God, which dwelleth in us Christians, leads to covetousness, pride, envy? No. On the contrary, to such as follow his guidance and direction, he gives more abundant grace and favor. This is the solution proposed by Benson, and adopted by Bloomfield. But this solution is by no means satisfactory. Two things are clear in regard to the passage:

(1) That James meant to adduce something that was said somewhere, or which could be regarded as a quotation, or as authority in the case, for he uses the formula by which such quotations are made; and,

(2) That he meant to refer, not to an apocryphal book, but to the inspired and canonical Scriptures, for he uses a term he graphe – the Scripture) which is everywhere employed to denote the Old Testament, and which is nowhere applied to an apocryphal book, Mat 21:42; Mat 22:29; Mat 26:54, Mat 26:56; Joh 2:22; Joh 5:39; Joh 7:38, Joh 7:42; Joh 10:35, et al. The word is used more than fifty times in the New Testament, and is never applied to any books but those which were regarded by the Jews as inspired, and which constitute now the Old Testament, except in 2Pe 3:16, where it refers to the writings of Paul. The difficulty in the case arises from the fact that no such passage as the one here quoted is found in so many words in the Old Testament, nor any of which it can fairly be regarded as a quotation. The only solution of the difficulty which seems to me to be at all satisfactory, is to suppose that the apostle, in the remark made here in the form of a quotation, refers to the Old Testament, but that he had not his eye on any particular passage, and did not mean to quote the words literally, but meant to refer to what was the current teaching or general spirit of the Old Testament; or that he meant to say that this sentiment was found there, and designed himself to embody the sentiment in words, and to put it into a condensed form.

His eye was on envy as at the bottom of many of the contentions and strifes existing on earth, Jam 3:16, and of the spirit of the world which prevailed everywhere, Jam 4:4; and he refers to the general teaching of the Old Testament that the soul is by nature inclined to envy; or that this has a deep lodgement in the heart of man. That truth which was uttered every where in the Scriptures, was not taught in vain. The abundant facts which existed showing its developement and operation in contentions, and wars, and a worldly spirit, proved that it was deeply imbedded in the human soul. This general truth, that man is prone to envy, or that there is much in our nature which inclines us to it, is abundantly taught in the Old Testament. Ecc 4:4, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. Job 5:2, wrath killeth, and envy slayeth the silly one. Pro 14:30, envy is the rottenness of the bones. Pro 27:4, who is able to stand before envy? For particular instances of this, and the effects, see Gen 26:14; Gen 30:1; Gen 37:11; Psa 106:16; Psa 73:3. These passages prove that there is a strong propensity in human nature to envy, and it was in accordance with the design of the apostle to show this. The effects of envy to which be himself referred evinced the same thing, and demonstrated that the utterance given to this sentiment in the Old Testament was not in vain, or was not false, for the records in the Old Testament on the subject found a strong confirmation in the wars and strifes and worldliness of which he was speaking.

Saith in vain – Says falsely; that is, the testimony thus borne is true. The apostle means that what was said in the Old Testament on the subject found abundant confirmation in the facts which were continually occurring, and especially in those to which he was adverting.

The spirit that dwelleth in us – Many have supposed that the word spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit, or the Christian spirit; but in adopting this interpretation they are obliged to render the passage, the spirit that dwells in us lusteth against envy, or tends to check and suppress it. But this interpretation is forced and unnatural, and one which the Greek will not well bear. The more obvious interpretation is to refer it to our spirit or disposition as we are by nature, and it is equivalent to saying that we are naturally prone to envy.

Lusteth to envy – Strongly tends to envy. The margin is enviously, but the sense is the same. The idea is, that there is in man a strong inclination to look with dissatisfaction on the superior happiness and prosperity of others; to desire to make what they possess our own; or at any rate to deprive them of it by detraction, by fraud, or by robbery. It is this feeling which leads to calumny, to contentions, to wars, and to that strong worldly ambition which makes us anxious to surpass all others, and which is so hostile to the humble and contented spirit of religion. He who could trace all wars and contentions and worldly plans to their source – all the schemes and purposes of even professed Christians, that do so much to mar their religion and to make them worldly-minded, to their real origin – would be surprised to find how much is to be attributed to envy. We are pained that others are more prosperous than we are; we desire to possess what others have, though we have no right to it; and this leads to the various guilty methods which are pursued to lessen their enjoyment of it, or to obtain it ourselves, or to show that they do not possess as much as they are commonly supposed to. This purpose will be accomplished if we can obtain more than they have; or if we can diminish what they actually possess; or if by any statements to which we can give currency in society, the general impression shall be that they do not possess as much wealth, domestic peace, happiness, or honor, as is commonly supposed – for thus the spirit of envy in our bosoms will be gratified.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Jam 4:5

The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy

The Spirits jealousy

St.

James probably meant to give the sense of Scripture, and not to quote the exact words. Scripture teaches us the truth that the Spirit which dwelleth in us lusteth to envy, or rather, desireth enviously.

I. The class of passages to which St. James seems to refer would include those in which God speaks of Himself as a jealous God, and impresses upon the minds of the Israelites the undivided nature of the worship He demanded from them. In such passages God is described as requiring the entire affections of His people. His feeling at the withdrawal of these affections from Him in any degree is spoken of as jealousy. The meaning of the text will then be, Do you suppose that the Scriptures mean nothing when they speak of the Spirit of God dwelling in you as requiring absolute rule in your hearts, and longing eagerly after you, even to something like envy of any other influence which is gaining the mastery over your hearts? The word here translated lusteth is rendered long after, where St. Paul says to the Philippians, God is my record how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

II. This meaning of the text will be found, I think, to harmonise with the context. He asks, Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? and adds, whosoever, therefore, will be–lays himself out to be–the friend of the world is the enemy of God. You must choose between the two. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. Do you think that the Scriptures speak to no purpose when they tell you that God requires your heart in a way which can only be described by saying that His Spirit longeth after you with enviousness and jealousy?

III. This same view of religion is, as you know, continully brought before us in Scripture. Our Lord tells us that no man can serve two masters. With a view to testing this singleness of heart in those who desire to be His followers He gave to different persons different commands. He desired one who wished to be with Him to go home to his own house. He called upon the young man who had great possessions to abandon them and follow Him. This unreserved surrender of self to Him was the one thing needful. Different courses of conduct would test the willingness of different persons according as their circumstances or dispositions were different; but in all His disciples the same readiness was necessary in the days when tie walked this earth. In all His disciples the same disposition is necessary now. The design of the gospel is not to set us free on the earth to do as we please; but to place us in our true position as adopted children of God–to turn the heart wholly to Him so that we should not merely have His law written for us as something outside us and hostile to us–as a set of rules for slaves and bondsmen–but written by His Holy Spirit in the fleshy tables of our hearts, as the directions to which our renewed affections would turn with delight.

IV. Nor indeed would any other view of the claims and operation of the Holy Spirit be at all consistent with what we observe of all ruling influences in our minds. We all have some predominant desire or tendency which brings into subjection our other desires and tendencies, and to which they yield. This ruling principle exerts an influence upon everything we do; our other tendencies, as it were, group themselves around it, receive its instructions, and do its bidding. Everything is viewed through it as a medium. You all know what this is. And if any one of you has taken the trouble to ascertain what is, in your own case, the ruling tendency of your mind, you will know that it is a jealous tendency–that it lusteth or longeth after you enviously.

V. Now if the love of God–a looking to the things not seen–if holiness be our character, we must expect the Holy Spirit to exert such an influence over us as we know other powers to exert over those upon whose characters we decide by our knowledge of their ruling disposition. We must expect the indwelling Spirit to desire no rivalry–to be satisfied with nothing short of bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. But what is wonderful is, that persons coming to Church and receiving the Bible–persons who are shocked at open wickedness, and who fancy themselves shocked at it because it is spoken against in Gods Word–what is wonderful, I say, is that such persons can pass over as idle words these assertions of the nature of the Spirits claim on their whole heart, in the practical recognition of which consists that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Of course a view of religion so fundamentally wrong as to ignore this high notion of the yearning and jealous love of God for those in whom He vouchsafes to dwell would necessarily taint and nullify every supposed religious act of him who, in spite of Scripture, resolved to entertain it. But it is in the particular act of prayer that St. James in the passage before us asserts its ruinous tendency. Let us, then, in conclusion, see how it operates to render prayer ineffectual, and to make what ought to be our solemn service an abomination unto the Lord. Prayer may be viewed in either of two ways.

1. It is a means by which God has appointed that we shall receive that continual supply of grace and strength which is essential to the support of our spiritual life. It is thus a source of benefit and blessing for present use. Besides this, the act of prayer is–

2. In itself a training for that higher and more enduring communion with Him which we hope one day to enjoy in His Kingdom. No man prays to any purpose except he prays with a sincere wish–a wish far beyond all other wishes–that God would make him better; that God would do this–do it from the moment the prayer is uttered–and do it evermore unto the end. This must be the sincere and heartfelt longing of every one who hopes to receive anything of the Lord. This is precisely what, from the nature of the case, the man who is double-minded cannot have. (J. C.Coghlan, D. D.)

The yearning of the Divine Spirit over us

The better MSS. give a different reading of the first words: The Spirit which He planted [or made to dwell] in us. If we adopt this reading, it makes it all but certain that what is predicated of the Spirit must be good, and not evil. The Greek word for lusteth conveys commonly a higher meaning than the English, and is rendered elsewhere by longing after (Rom 1:11; Php 1:8; Php 2:26; 2Co 9:14), or earnestly desiring 2Co 5:2), or greatly desiring (2Ti 1:4). The verb has no object, but it is natural to supply us. Taking these data we get as the true meaning of the words: The Spirit which He implanted yearns tenderly over us. The words that remain, to envy, admit of being taken as with an adverbial force: in a manner tending to envy. The fact that envy is elsewhere condemned as simply evil, makes its use here somewhat startling. But the thought implied is that the strongest human affection shows itself in a jealousy which is scarcely distinguishable from envy. We grudge the transfer to another of the affections which we claim as ours. We envy the happiness of that other. In that sense St. James says that the Spirit, implanted in us, yearns to make us wholly His, and is satisfied with no divided allegiance. The root-idea of the passage is identical with that of the jealousy of God over Israel as His bride Jer 3:1-11; Eze 16:1-63; Hos 2:3), of His wrath when the bride proved faithless. (Dean Plumptre.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain? Greek, emptily, or vainly, i.e. to no purpose. This question hath the force of a negation, q.d. It doth not speak in vain.

Question. What is it which the Scripture doth not speak in vain?

Answer. Either those truths he had been speaking of before, particularly in the former verse, that the friendship of the world is enmity with God; or, that which follows in this verse, the spirit that dwelleth in us, & c.

The spirit that dwelleth in us; either the Spirit of God, who is said to dwell in believers, 1Co 3:16,17; or the spirit of men, viz. as defiled by sin, and acted by the devil, who works in men while children of disobedience; and then it is the same as corrupt nature.

Lusteth to envy; either is vehemently carried out to envy, or makes us lust, and carrieth us out to it; or lusteth against envy: so the Greek preposition is often used, as Luk 20:19; Eph 6:11; Heb 12:4. Under envy he comprehends all other fleshly lusts, but instanceth in this particularly, as having been speaking of it before, Jam 3:14,16; and because it hath so near a connection with other lusts, whereof it is the cause, or concomitant, and so is a principal member of the old man. This latter clause may either be read interrogatively or affirmatively; and then according as we take spirit, either for the Spirit of God, or the human spirit, the sense of the words may be either:

1. Doth the Spirit of God, that dwelleth in us, lust unto envy, i.e. incline and dispose us to so base an affection? The answer is understood: No, and confirmed by the next words, he giveth more grace, gives freely, liberally, and therefore doth not make us envy others any good they have. Nothing is more contrary to the Spirit of God, who abounds in his gifts to us, than to make us envy others theirs. Or:

2. We may understand it without any interrogation, taking the preposition to signify, against; and then the sense is: That good Spirit which is in us teacheth us better things than strife and envy, &c., for it lusteth against envy, i.e. makes us lust against it, carries out our hearts to hate and resist it. And this well agrees with what follows; The Spirit, &c., lusts against envy, but he gives more grace, viz. than to envy the good f others. Or:

3. If spirit here be understood of the spirit of man, corrupt nature, the sense is plain, as the words lie; mans spirit (especially by the instigation of the devil) lusts, or strongly inclines, to envy, and consequently to other wickednesses, but he (that is, God, Jam 4:4) gives more grace.

Question. Where is any such sentence to be found in the Scripture?

Answer. No where in so many words; but which soever of these ways we take the words, we find the sense in the Scripture. Joshuas envying Eldad and Medads prophesying, for Mosess sake, seems to be an instance of this lust, Num 11:29, (compared with Gen 6:5; 8:21, where the general inclination of mans heart by nature is said to be evil), and Mosess not envying them an instance of the two former.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

5. in vainNo word ofScripture can be so. The quotation here, as in Eph5:14, seems to be not so much from a particular passage as onegathered by James under inspiration from the general tenor of suchpassages in both the Old and New Testaments, as Num 14:29;Pro 21:20; Gal 5:17.

spirit that dwelleth inusOther manuscripts read, “that God hath made to dwell inus” (namely, at Pentecost). If so translated, “Does the(Holy) Spirit that God hath placed in us lust to (towards) envy”(namely, as ye do in your worldly “wars and fightings”)?Certainly not; ye are therefore walking in the flesh, not in theSpirit, while ye thus lust towards, that is, with envyagainst one another. The friendship of the world tends to breed envy;the Spirit produces very different fruit. ALFORDattributes the epithet “with envy,” in the unwarrantablesense of jealously, to the Holy Spirit: “The Spiritjealously desires us for His own.” In English Versionthe sense is, “the (natural) spirit that hath its dwelling in uslusts with (literally, ‘to,’ or ‘towards’) envy.” Ye lust, andbecause ye have not what ye lust after (Jas 4:1;Jas 4:2), ye envy your neighborwho has, and so the spirit of envy leads you on to “fight.”James also here refers to Jas 3:14;Jas 3:16.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain?…. Some think that the apostle refers to a particular passage of Scripture in the Old Testament, and that he took it from Ge 6:3 as some; or from Ex 20:5, as others; or from De 7:2 or from Job 5:6 or from Pr 21:10 others think he had in view some text in the New Testament; either Ro 12:2 or Ga 5:17 and some have imagined that he refers to a passage in the apocryphal book:

“For into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin.” (Wisdom 1:4)

and others have been of opinion that it is taken out of some book of Scripture then extant, but now lost, which by no means can be allowed of: the generality of interpreters, who suppose a particular text of Scripture is referred to, fetch it from Nu 11:29 but it seems best of all to conclude that the apostle has no regard to any one particular passage of Scripture, in which the following words are expressly had, since no such passage appears; but that his meaning is, the sense of the Scripture everywhere, where it speaks of this matter, is to this purpose: nor does it say this, or any thing else in vain; whatever is written there is to answer some end, as for learning, edification, and comfort, for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness; neither with respect to what is before suggested, that what is asked in a right manner, and for a right end, shall be given; and that the love of the world, and the love of God, are things incompatible; nor with respect to what follows:

the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? that is, the depraved spirit of man, the spirit of an unregenerate man; that as it is prone to every lust, and prompts to every sin, the imagination of the thought of man’s heart being evil, and that continually, so it instigates to envy the happiness of others; see Ge 6:5 or this may be put as a distinct question from the other, “does the spirit that dwelleth in us lust to envy?” that is, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the hearts of his people, as in his temple: the Ethiopic version reads, “the Holy Spirit”: and then the sense is, does he lust to envy? no; he lusts against the flesh and the works of it, and envy among the rest; see Ga 5:17 but he does not lust to it, or provoke to it, or put persons upon it; nor does he, as the Arabic version renders it, “desire that we should envy”; he is a spirit of grace; he bestows grace and favours upon men; and is so far from envying, or putting others upon envying any benefit enjoyed by men, that he increases them, adds to them, and enlarges them, as follows.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Scripture ( ). Personification as in Gal 3:8; Jas 2:23. But no O.T. passage is precisely like this, though it is “a poetical rendering” (Ropes) of Ex 20:5. The general thought occurs also in Gen 6:3-5; Isa 63:8-16, etc. Paul has the same idea also (Gal 5:17; Gal 5:21; Rom 8:6; Rom 8:8). It is possible that the reference is really to the quotation in verse 6 from Pr 3:34 and treating all before as a parenthesis. There is no way to decide positively.

In vain (). Old adverb (Aristotle) from (2:20), here alone in N.T. “Emptily,” not meaning what it says.

Made to dwell (). First aorist active of , old verb, to give a dwelling to, only here in N.T.

Long unto envying ( ). A difficult phrase. Some even take with rather than with , as it naturally does go, meaning “jealously.” But even so, with God presented as a jealous lover, does refer to the Holy Spirit as the subject of or to man’s spirit as the object of ? Probably the former and then means to yearn after in the good sense as in Php 1:8.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Do ye think [] . See on ch. Jas 1:26.

The scripture [ ] . See on Mr 12:10. Properly, a passage of scripture.

In vain [] . Only here in New Testament.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

Rhetorically, James asserts that the Spirit of God indwelling the believer, is to keep him from finding joy and union with worldliness (Gal 5:14; Rom 8:14; Gal 5:25; Eph 4:30-32).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

5 Do ye think. He seems to adduce from Scripture the next following sentence. Hence interpreters toil much, because none such, at least none exactly alike, is found in Scripture. But nothing hinders the reference to be made to what has been already said, that is, that the friendship of the world is adverse to God. Moreover; it has been rightly said, that this is a truth which occurs everywhere in Scripture. And that he has omitted the pronoun, which would have rendered the sentence clearer, is not to be wondered at, for, as it is evident, he is everywhere very concise.

The Spirit, or, Does the Spirit? Some think that the soul of man is meant, and therefore read the sentence affirmatively, and according to this meaning, — that the spirit of man, as it is malignant, is so infected with envy, that it has ever a mixture of it. They, however, think better who regard the Spirit of God as intended; for it is he that is given to dwell in us. (131) I then take the Spirit as that of God, and read the sentence as a question; for it was his object to prove, that because they envied they were not ruled by the Spirit of God; because he teaches the faithful otherwise; and this he confirms in the next verse, by adding that he giveth more grace

For it is an argument arising from what is contrary. Envy is a proof or sign of malignity; but the Spirit of God proves himself to be bountiful by the affluence of his blessings. There is then nothing more repugnant to his nature than envy. In short, James denies that the Spirit of God rules where depraved lusts prevail, which excite to mutual contention; because it is peculiarly the office of the Spirit to enrich men more and more continually with new gifts.

I will not stop to refute other explanations. Some give this meaning that the Spirit lusteth against envy; which is too harsh and forced. Then they say that God gives more grace to conquer and subdue lust. But the meaning I have given is more suitable and simple, — that he restores us by his bounty from the power of malignant emulation. The continuative particle δὲ is to be taken adversatively, for ἀλλὰ or ἀλλά γε; so have I rendered it quin , but.

(131) There are wagon-loads of interpretations, says Erasmus, on this passage. The one given by Calvin, and adopted by Whitby, Doddridge, Scholefield, and others, is the most satisfactory, and what alone enables us to see a meaning in the words, “more grace,” in the following verse. The Spirit dwells in God’s people, and he dwells there to give more or increasing grace, according to the tenor of what is said in Isa 57:15, where God is said to “dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit,” and for this purpose, “to revive the spirit of the humble,” etc.

 

5, 6 “Do ye think that the scripture speaketh thus in vain? Doth the Spirit who dwells in us lust to envy? nay, but he giveth more (or increasing) grace: he therefore saith, God sets himself in array against the insolent, but gives grace to the humble.”

The humble are those who are made so by grace; but God promises to give them more grace, to perfect that which had begun.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES

Jas. 4:5.The precise rendering is doubtful. There is no passage either in the Canonical or Apocryphal Scriptures that is here referred to. The Revised Version gives in the text, Doth the spirit which He made to dwell in us long unto envying? But He giveth more grace. And in the margin two renderings: The spirit which He made to dwell in us He yearneth for even unto jealousy; That spirit which He made to dwell in us yearneth for us even unto jealous envy. In Ellicotts Commentary Punchard gives two possible renderings: Suppose ye that the Scripture saith in vain, The [Holy] Spirit that dwelleth in us jealously regards us as His own? Suppose ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the Spirit, which took up His abode in you, lust to envy? Fausset suggests, Does the [Holy] Spirit that God hath placed in us lust to [towards] envy? (viz. as ye do in your worldly wars and fightings). Alford makes to envy mean jealously: The Spirit jealously desires us for His own. Plumptre suggests, The Spirit which He implanted yearns tenderly over us. Enviously may be used in a good sense. The strongest human affection shows itself in a jealousy which is scarcely distinguishable from envy. We grudge the transfer to another of the affection which we claim as ours.

Jas. 4:6. Giveth more grace.The ordered thought of this and the previous verse has been given thus: God loves us with a feeling analogous to the strongest form of jealousy, or even envy, but that jealousy does not lead Him, as it leads men, to be grudging in His gifts; rather does He bestow, as its result, a greater measure of His grace than before, or than He would do, were His attitude towards us one of strict unimpassioned justice. R.V. margin, greater, i.e. than if He did not desire us jealously.

Jas. 4:7. The devil.This is one of the texts used as proof of the personality of the devil. Illustrate by Mat. 4:1-11.

Jas. 4:10. Lift you up.Exalt (Isa. 57:15).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jas. 4:5-10

Self-humbling a Secret of Right Living.Self-assurance nourishes all sorts of evil in us, and gives its chance to every kind of temptation that assails us. Take off our allegiance from God, fix it on self, and in St. Jamess language we become spiritual adulterers and adulteresses. (The prophet Hosea uses similar figures: see chap. 2) Then if that over-magnifying of the self is the cause of wrong relations with God, and wrong relations with our fellow-men, clearly what is necessary, and what for ourselves may be the duty of the hour, is humbling the self, mortifying our members which are upon the earth; or as St. Peter puts it, Humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us in due time.

I. Humbling self may be our present duty.In a general sense it is the Christians duty at all times; but it also becomes a special duty at particular times and seasons, such as

(1) accession of power to our bodily passions;
(2) opportunity of self-aggrandisement;
(3) prevailing sentiments unduly exalting man;
(4) influence of public teachings that tend to nourish mans pride;
(5) circumstances specially exciting unworthy and perilous feelings. It is said that a mans self is his greatest enemy. He who has conquered himself need fear no other foe. But this humbling the self is precisely the duty which men shrink from recognising, and which, when they recognise, they fail to fulfil. Even those who call themselves Christians are often singularly weak in this respect. Getting the self to take and keep its right place has never come to them as a first demand made by Him whom they call Lord and Master.

II. In humbling self we have a most serious work to do.St. James gives us some idea of the things which it may involve, and so impresses its seriousness.

1. It may require a resolute mastery of our wills, a forcible compelling ourselves to yield to Gods ordering of life for us. That seems to be suggested by the expression, Be subject therefore unto God.
2. It may include determinedly putting aside self-interests in order to secure time for communion with God and soul-culture. This seems to be indicated in the counsel, Draw nigh to God.
3. It is almost certain to require some resolute dealing with our conduct in life. There may be self-seeking things in the actual doing which must at once be given up, or changed in their characters. This seems to be suggested by the strong demand, Cleanse your hands, ye sinners. And
4. It may very possibly be necessary to secure outward and bodily helps to self-humbling, self-mortification. Because men have gone to extremes of abusing themselves in misdirected efforts to secure self-abasement, we need not fear to look at the reasonable and practical demand of St. James. Through the body, and well-ordered discipline of the body, we can get at, and wisely influence, the self of passion and lust and temper and habit. If we are to purify our hearts from their self-trustings, it may greatly help us to be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; to let our laughter be turned to mourning, and our joy to heaviness.

III. In humbling self we have a great foe to resist.It is as if there was a spirit in this self. As if it was not ourself that we had to fight, but a separate and outward foe. Whatever view may be taken of the personality of the evil spirit, the evil self is personified, thought of as active, and as a foe to be resisted. Compare St. Pauls expression, the motions of sins in our members. The devil may also be taken as personifying all those conditions and relationships of life which appeal to, influence, and strengthen the self. Then St. Jamess advice, Resist the devil, will be seen to mean thisDo not mistake by assuming that the struggle with self is to be carried on only in the range of feeling and thought, the sphere of the inner life. There is also an outward sphere, a conflict with forces of evil that are ever at work strengthening the self. He then who would humble himself must fight against principalities and powers.

IV. In humbling self we have a great Helper to rely on.But He giveth more grace. He will draw nigh to you. He shall exalt you. The idea is thisYou are trying to exalt yourselves in your self-confidence. Better humble yourselves, and let God exalt you, make you stand, in the strength of His grace. He can. He does. He will. What you win in Gods exalting you is altogether better than anything you can win by exalting the self.

SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES

Jas. 4:5. Thinking Enviously.Doth the spirit which He made to dwell in us long unto envying? There is a remarkable difference in the rendering of this passage given in the R.V. marginThe spirit which He made to dwell in us He yearneth for even unto jealous envy. This rendering connects the passage with the previous reference to the marriage tie. The two ideas suggested by the different renderings are:

1. There is grave danger to the soul when it longs for worldly pleasures even unto envying those who are allowed to enjoy them.

2. God, regarding the soul of man as bound to Him with the closest ties, is profoundly jealous of the relationyearneth for us even unto jealous envy, lest any one, or anything, should take our love from Him. For the Old Testament figures, see Jer. 3:1-11; Ezekiel 16; Hos. 2:3. The spirit is the spirit in man, not the Holy Spirit.

Jas. 4:6. Grace unto Sufficiency.But He giveth more gracegreater grace. Dean Plumptre brings out effectively the point of this sentence: Following the explanation already given, the sequence of thought seems to run thus: God loves us with a feeling analogous to the strongest form of jealousy, or even envy, but that jealousy does not lead Him, as it leads men, to be grudging in His gifts; rather does He bestow, as its result, a greater measure of His grace than before, or than He would do, were His attitude towards us one of strict, impassioned justice. The term more grace suggests how inexhaustible the stores of grace are, so that we never can lack any good thing. There is always more available. And it further suggests that no limitations are put upon the supply of the grace by God. He never wearies of giving. He is always ready to bestow more; to make all grace abound unto all sufficiency.

Humility.

I. Humility has been well termed the cradle of all other graces.In humility they are born. All attainment has been achieved by the acknowledgment that we have not yet attained. The sense of need is the mother of discovery. Nothing is so barren as self-satisfaction. Our Lords teaching is full of the need of humility. In various terms He insists upon it, as the elementary stage in the life of Christian experience. God giveth grace to the humble, because the humble are a receptacle for His presence.

II. Some considerations which ought to excite humility.

1. The fact that we are Gods creatures, that all we possess is from Him, and held by us only for a time.Riches, intellect, bodily strength, social status, are Gods gifts. May be soon taken from us. Only benefit us if rightly used.

2. The fact that we are sinful. Whatsoever good qualities we may possess, by the bounty of God, are more than counterbalanced by the evil which is our own.

3. The exceeding foolishness of pride, and the serious consequences which may result from it. How often, because of some fancied slight, or severe remark, will people nurture in their hearts feelings which must eventually cut them off from intercourse with God.

III. The more prevalent forms of sin which are opposed to humility are

1. A refusal to accept a rebuke when we are perfectly conscious that we have deserved it. If honestly seeking to grow in grace, we ought to welcome rebuke if it has the effect of checking some fault of which we are guilty.

2. Exaggerated estimate of our own powers. This is seen in the scornful look, the contemptuous expression, the constant talking about oneself, in the apparent belief in the infallibility of ones own opinion. How does God view such pride?

3. A habit of judging the character and conduct of others. The secret motive of this habit is a craving after praise and flattery. It hinders spiritual progress.

IV. In cultivating humility beware of false humility and undue self-depreciation.It is not humility to profess not to be what we are, or not to possess that which we know that we do possess. Humility does not consist in refusing to acknowledge that we have talents, but in refusing to boast of such talents as if they were self-derived.

V. Consider the blessings which accompany humility.

1. Through humility comes exaltation, real and abidingexaltation by the mighty hand of God. In due time. The depth of our Lords humiliation was the measure of the height to which He was exalted.

2. It is through humility that we find strength in God. Casting all care upon Him.

3. If humility be the cradle of the graces, it is also their preservation. The more we grow in grace, the more humble we shall become, because the more we shall feel that all things are of God.

VI. As a practical lesson learn to be humble.Receive with cheerfulness and readiness, even if not with joy, the humiliations which come to you in every-day life. Cease to resent injuries, to stand upon your rights, to obtrude yourself. Let the cross unite you to the Crucified.Canon Vernon Hutton.

Jas. 4:7. The Foe, the Fight, and the Flight.Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The soul is a citadel which no enemy can storm, a stronghold which cannot be entered but by its own consent. Through the tremendous power of volition it can waive even incarnate Deity from its threshold, and spurn the salvation which He brings. Christian life is a contest, a fight.

I. The foe.The devil. My conception of the devil is a great, unconscienced intellect under the sway of a moral nature thoroughly unholy. He was once an archangel, but fell, and from the beginning has been the deadly foe of our race.

1. He is a personal foe. We must not allow the audacious cavillings of scepticism to neutralise the solemn asseverations of inspiration upon this point. The devil tempted Jesus Christ; the devil entered into Judas; the devil desired to have Peter; the devil hindered Paul. Not only Jesus Christ and His apostles, but all the noble and heroic spirits of the past, who have done most to elevate and bless the world, have been firm believers in the personality of the devil. And it is a singular fact that the Churches which most firmly believe and teach that doctrine are not only the most prosperous and aggressive, but the only ones that are doing anything worth speaking of for the evangelisation of the world. The fact is, you cannot run a gospel Church without a devil, and the bad place to which the old fellow belongs. Show me a man who does not believe in the devil, and I will show you a man who has but little knowledge of God so far as saving faith and the blessings of salvation are concerned.

2. He is a powerful foe. Indicated in Scripture:

(1) By his names. He is called Apollyon, Prince of this world, Beelzebub, Prince of the power of the air, God of this world.
(2) By the creatures used to represent him. The serpent, whose deadly fangs poison, and whose dreadful coil means death. The roaring lion, the terror and king of the forest. The old dragon, which, to the Oriental mind, was an incarnation of almost superhuman strength.

(3) By the works attributed to him. He early accomplished the moral ruin of the race, brought death into the world with all our woe, bound man helplessly to his degrading service, blotting out every ray of light and hope of self-recovery. He is the arch-rebel in Gods kingdomthe leader of the hosts of sin, in earth and hell.

(4) By the Divine intervention which was necessary to break his power and rescue man from his grasp, etc. His power is all the more dreadful and dangerous because of His vast experience. He is an old foe. He was here before man came, and here, perhaps, because he saw him coming. His malice and deception. He secretes the sorrow and fetters he carries for his victims under the winsome drapery of some pleasure or profit. He uses wiles, depths, darts, snares, all deceivableness of unrighteousness, frequently putting on the dissembling gloss of an angel of light.

II. The fight.Resist the devil. You may plead with man, you may reason with God, but you must resist the devil. Jesus Christ, our elder Brother, has fought and conquered this foe; and in clearing the way for our fight, Jesus tells him, Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther. No farther. That is, those that fight under My banner shall whip you too. But in order to triumph in this great conflict, we must fight according to the prize rules of our great Captain.

1. Negative. Quit the enemys service. The fight cannot even begin until you reach this point.

2. Positive. Enlist in Gods service. Gods veterans are all volunteers. No conscript ever drew blood on this foe; nor was any man ever scolded into this fight, or thrown into it on the horns of a dilemma. The pressure of consciousness and environment through Divine grace must make us willing.

3. Preparative. Put on the whole armour of God. Gods veterans not only enlist, they also get ready for battle. Spiritual cripples are never pitted against this foe. All who face him stand and dress for the fight. Put on. And having done all (that is, completely routed the foe, they are not even weary enough to sit down, but prefer), to stand. They are more than conquerors.

III. The flight.He will flee from you.

1. When will he flee? When he sees you ready for battle and full of fight. The devil laughs in his sleeve when he sees the livery of heaven on a coward, or on a person who professes to resist him, but who at heart is in sympathy with him and his work. But nothing so completely routs him as heroic resistance. He will flee from you. Attack a courageous foe, and he will flee at you, not from you. Herein is seen the devils cowardice. Only cowards run. Manly resistance routs the old deceiver so quickly that he is obliged to drop some of the fetters wherewith he had hoped to bind his victim, until finally in his approaches he will leave his fetters behind; and though he may still continue to annoy us, he will have little hope of bringing usinto serious bondage.

2. How often will he flee? Every time he is manfully resisted. He knows we are creatures of varying moods, and that his defeat to-day may end in ours to-morrow. The promise, He will flee, has two glorious meanings:

1. Temporary flight. He will flee, to return again, to annoy, vex, trouble. But in spite of his return the Christian may still retain the victory, and every time force him to flee.

2. Eternal flight. This takes place in the valley of the shadow of death, and, blessed be God! involves a double flight. The enemy will flee from the departing spirit as a hopeless case, and the emancipated soul shall soar and mount upward to the society of the redeemed and the mansions of the blessed, and so shall ever be with the Lord.Thomas Kelly, D.D.

Jas. 4:8. On the Reality of Mans Intercourse with his Maker.There is one sense in which God cannot draw more nigh to any man than He is already. The fact of the omnipresence of Deity lies at the foundation of all religion. It is impossible to express by language the closeness of the relation existing between the Creator and the creation. His power gives energy to every cause, to every force. Yet how remarkable is the unbroken silence in which God the Lord dwells among men. In the sphere of sense there is no personal revelationnot to the wicked, not even to the good. Neither in the world, nor in the sanctuary, nor in solitude is the silence ever broken to the suppliant. How then can we draw nigh to God, so that He will draw nigh to us?

I. In the study and belief of His revelation.

1. The condition of Gods spiritual action in the souls of men is honest attention to truth. The causes which render it difficult to attend earnestly to the study of the word of God are such as, earthly interests, the cares of business, love of pleasure, love of excitement, pleasures of the imagination, idle reading, moral repulsion. Much of Gods providence has for its object to produce the attention necessary for salvation.
2. To bring the mind into earnest contact with those writings which express His mind is to draw nigh to God. It is not, however, essential to master the whole breadth of the revelation in order to attain the assurance that in the Bible we are conversing with the living God.

II. In prayer and thanksgiving.God can communicate without words. A quiet secrecy marks Gods revelations to men. He diffuses over the soul a spiritual sense of His presence. There is no intercourse so real as that of mind with mind, and heart with heart.

III. In the practice of obedience.When the soul has received the blessing of acceptance with God in Christ, it also receives into itself the principle of a loving and healthful obedience which brings it into conscious union with the Most High.Edward White.

Jas. 4:10. Humility before God.The expression used here, and also in 1Pe. 5:6, is Humble yourselves, and not merely Be humble. It is in harmony with the passage that the meaning should beDeal resolutely with yourselves, so as to keep down all risings of pride and self-confidence. The suggestion isBe watchful and determined in all necessary self-discipline. But it is the resolute effort to keep ourselves in right attitudes before God, and right relations with Him, which secures a humility which is not humiliation, and which puts us into right relations with our fellow-men. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord. Two things may be illustrated and enforced:

1. The effect of an attitude of humility before God on our daily life. Humility before men too easily degenerates into weakness. It may became such humility as is caricatured in Uriah Heep. But humility before God is found to put a gracious tone upon the relationships of life. It prevents our manifesting the restlessness and self-assertion which so greatly disturb ordinary relations. It gives us a principle for life-guidance; it keeps near us the sense of a Presence; and it provides us with a consciousness of a strength and efficiency, which make us master of circumstances. The humble man before God is the strong, wise man before lifes duties and claims.

2. The influence of humility before God in securing Divine benedictions. He shall exalt you. It is not merely that God rewards the trustfulness of humility with actual blessings; it is also that to the humble soul God gives Himself, and the man is no longer mere man, but exalted to be, what Christ was (yet within human limitations), man and God with him.

Gods Ways with Humble Souls.God protects the humble and delivers him; He loves and consoles him; He inclines Himself towards the humble man, He bestows on him exceeding grace, and after his humiliation he lifts him up to glory; He reveals His secrets to the humble, and sweetly draws and leads him to Himself.Thomas Kempis.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4

Jas. 4:7. Temptation.When the devil tempts a man to commit any wickedness, he does, as it were, lay a long train of sins; and if the first temptation take, they give fire one to another. Let us, then, resist the beginning of sin; because then we have the most power, and sin hath the least.Tillotson.

Two Great Proverbs.There are two great proverbs, one among the Turks, and the other among the Spaniards, both of which contain much that is true. A busy man is troubled with but one devil; but the idle man with a thousand. Men are usually tempted by the devil; but the idle man positively tempts the devil. How much corrupting company, how many temptations to do wrong, how many seasons of danger to your character, and danger to the peace of your friends, may you escape by regarding the admonition, Resist the devil, and he shall flee from you.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

(5) Do ye think . . .?The tone of the Apostle is changed to one of appeal, which, perhaps (but see below), may be rendered thus: Suppose ye that the Scripture saith in vain, The (Holy) Spirit that dwelleth in us jealously regards us as His own? Our Authorised version does not allow of this apparent reference to the Spirit of God indwelling His human temples (1Co. 3:16; 1Co. 6:19, et seq.) for lusteth to envy, or enviously, would imply evil and not good. It were well that the unfaithful, addressed in Jas. 4:4, should bear the general sentiment of this verse in mind, and not fancy such warnings of holy writ were uttered emptily, in vain.

Many commentators have been puzzled to say whence the words came which are quoted as authoritative by St. James. Surely the substance was sufficient for him, as for other inspired writers, without a slavish adherence to the form: comp. Gen. 2:7 for the inbreathing of the Spirit, with any such chapter as Deuteronomy 32 for His jealous inquisition. It must, however, be noted that a slightly varied punctuation of the verse will give quite another sense to its questioning. (See Wordsworth.) Suppose ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the Spirit, which took up His abode in you, lust to envy? And defensible or not as this translation may be, at least it escapes some of the difficulties of the foregoing. (Exhaustive notes, with references to most authorities, are in Alford; or an easy summary of the matter may be read in Plumptres St. James.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

5. This second question suggests that (in accordance with all Scripture) the proud human spirit burns with envy, while God in his grace is on the side of the humble.

Saith Quotation of no particular passage, but a sentiment everywhere assumed or expressed by Scripture.

The spirit that dwelleth in us The unholy temper. But a reading preferred by good scholars is, The spirit that he (God) hath caused to dwell in us. Alford adopts this reading, and by it makes the spirit to be the divine spirit bestowed upon the Church. But from that he gets what we think a very perplexed meaning of the verse: “The spirit that he (God) has placed within us jealously desireth us (for its own.”) But he fails to find any Scripture which uses the Greek word for envy to designate the divine jealousy of God for his Church. And the supplying as object for the word lusteth (or, more properly, desireth) “us for his own” is arbitrary. By this new, and doubtless correct, reading, we understand our own spirit, not as a temper, but as the highest part of our nature, as body, soul, and spirit. Note, Jas 3:15. It is the high human spirit which lusteth, intensely desires, to (in the direction towards) envy; an envy of which pride is the element, desirous of attaining a superiority over all envied rivalry. It is an aggravation that this envy is the sin of the spirit which God has made to dwell within us, in order that we might be truly angel like.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Or do you think that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the spirit which he made to dwell in us go on enviously longing (or ‘longing until it envies )?’

The second part of this verse can be translated variously, and it can be either a question or a statement. To give but five examples:

o ‘Does the spirit which He has made to dwell within us long unto envying (or ‘go on yearning enviously’)?’ (RV).

o ‘The spirit which dwells within us lusts to envy’ (AV).

o ‘Does the Spirit Whom He has made to dwell within us yearn enviously?’ e.g. after the friendship of the world, expecting the answer ‘no’, or yearn jealously for us expecting the answer ‘yes’.

o ‘The Spirit which He made to dwell in us jealously yearns for the entire devotion of the heart”

o ‘He (God) yearns jealously over the spirit which He has made to dwell within us?’ (RSV)

In the first and second cases the idea could be that the spirit that God has put within man was never intended to have these envious longings which have been described in Jas 4:1-4, or there may be the hint of the danger that they are in because they are like the people in the days of Noah (see below). In the third case the idea is that the Holy Spirit Whom He has made to dwell within us would never yearn enviously like they have been doing (and it therefore raises the question as to whether they are indwelt by the Spirit). In the fourth case it refers to the fact of the Spirit’s yearning over us because of God’s love for us (which is why He can be ‘grieved’ – Eph 4:30). In the fifth case it is an expression of God’s love for us in that He yearns enviously after our spirit which He has put within us from the beginning (Gen 2:7 – i.e. made to dwell within us), His offer of friendship being over against that of the world as it was to Abraham (Jas 2:23).

But we then have to ask how these descriptions relate to Scripture, for while in a similar way to Mat 2:23 (note the plural ‘prophets’) James may be saying that it is the gist of these words that is in Scripture, the question still arises as to where that might be.

The main Scripture that may be in mind here is, ‘My spirit (Spirit) will not abide in man for ever’ (Gen 6:3 RSV). Here we have the thought either of ‘God’s spirit (breath) dwelling in man’ or of ‘God’s Spirit dwelling in man.’ If we take the first and second cases the idea is that God’s spirit abides in them because He had breathed into them ‘the breath (spirit) of life (Gen 2:7) and there may be a comparison with the people of Noah’s day who were desiring enviously (longing after ‘the sons of God’) and overflowing with sin. ‘Every imagination of the thoughts of his (man’s) heart was evil continually’ (Gen 6:5) being interpreted in the context of what James has been saying. (There may well in fact have been a Targum (Jewish commentary) of Genesis 6 which had this phrase as used by James in it, for some consider that there is a parallel to it in the Manual of Discipline from Qumran column 4 line 9 ff which would also be from the Targum). In the case of the third and fourth cases it is a reminder of God’s Spirit dwelling in man.

But if James is referring to the Spirit or to God, how can it be said that He ‘yearns jealously’? The answer to that lies in the references in the Old Testament which speak of God’s jealousy over those who He has chosen as His own (e.g. Exo 20:5; Exo 34:14; Zec 8:2). It is a jealousy of love. He will not give up His own to others, neither to other gods nor to the world. In the same way Deu 32:11 LXX likens God to an eagle ‘yearning (same Greek verb) over its young’.

So the ‘citation’ is either demonstrating how contrary friendship with the world is to the spirit God has put within us, or indicating the strength of God’s love for us.

Note On The Jealousy Of God.

Some find it difficult to understand how God can be described as jealous. And if we mean by that upset because others who are His equal are being treated better than He is we would be right. But that is the point. God has no equal but Himself. The Father is not jealous of the Son. The Son is not jealous of the Father, or the Spirit. The Spirit is not jealous of Father and Son. But when any other seeks to receive the worship and praise that is due to God alone then God has to be concerned, for it would shortly result in the bringing of instability into the Universe as happened in the Garden of Eden. The whole of existence can only be stable if God is in His rightful place as its Lord and Creator.

For while jealousy can be a bad thing when it eats into people and makes them behave wrongly in cases where it is unjustified, it can also be a good thing. When a man is jealous for his marriage he is jealous for what is good. He is jealous to maintain one of the props of the Universe. When a man is jealous over the Name of God lest it be brought into disrepute he is thinking rightly. We should all be jealous over maintaining the good Name of God. And when God is jealous over His Name and status He is equally right.

And when God is jealous over His people lest harm or snares come upon them we can only applaud. It is indeed His responsibility as the Creator and Redeemer to so act towards those who have accepted His offer of salvation. He is therefore right to set His heart against all that could cause them harm, and all who are His can only rejoice in the fact.

End of note.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jam 4:5-6. Do ye think, &c. Dr. Benson paraphrases the passage as follows: “Do you think that the scripture speaketh in vain, or without a very good reason, when it condemns such a worldly temper?No, that you cannot rationally suppose. Do you imagine that the Spirit of God, which dwells in us Christians, leadeth us to covetousness, pride, or envy? No, by no means. On the contrary, (Jam 4:6.) unto such as follow his guidance and direction, and excel in love, humility, and moderation as to the things of this world, he sheweth greater favour. Wherefore the scripture faith,God setteth himself, as it were, in battle-array, to oppose the proud and envious, but sheweth favour unto such as are humble and obedient, (see Pro 3:34.)” And this interpretation he would support in the following manner: The apostle had asked one question, Jam 4:4. Know ye not that the law of this world it enmity to God? To that question he himself gave no answer, but left it to them to supply the answer, as most plain and obvious: and in Jam 4:5 we suppose him to ask two questions,giving no express answer to either; but, as is very usual with poets and orators, leaving his readers to supply the answer themselves. In the first question there seems to be an ellipsis, which, if it was supplied, would run thus: “Do you think that the scripture speaketh in vain, or without reason, when it condemns this worldly temper?” The answer, if expressed, would have been , by no means. The second question is, “Doth the Spirit which dwelleth in us, lust to envy?” The answer, if expressed, would be the same again; by no means.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Jas 4:5-6 . The views of expositors differ widely in the interpretation of these verses. At first sight the words following appear to be a quotation from the O. T. which James has in view. That of the older and some of the more recent expositors assume this to be the case, although they differ from each other, some combining directly with , but others including it in the quotation Against this explanation, however, is the circumstance that the words supposed to be here quoted nowhere occur in the O. T. Such a passage has accordingly been sought for, where a similar thought is expressed, but almost every expositor has fixed upon a different passage. Many expositors seek to remove the difficulty by supposing that James does not here quote any single definite passage, but only a sentiment contained in the O. T. generally, or in several of its expressions. Opposed to this idea, however, is, first, the uncertainty whether James will confirm by it the statement contained in what precedes or in what follows; and secondly, the formula of quotation pointing to a definite passage, particularly as is not = . But, moreover, the clause is against the view here indicated, since these words cannot be reckoned as part of the quotation, because James only afterwards quotes the O. T. passage from which they are derived; but, also, they cannot be considered as a statement of James not belonging to the quotation, because closely connects them to what directly precedes.

REMARK.

The various O. T. passages which have been conjectured are as follows:

Gen 4:7 (Rauch); Gen 6:3 ; Gen 6:5 (Grotius); Gen 8:21 (Beza, Ernest Schmid); Num 11:29 (Witsius); Psa 37:1 ; Psa 73:3 (Lange); Psa 119:20 ff. (Clericus); Pro 21:10 (Michaelis); Son 8:6 (Coccejus); from the Apocrypha Wis 6:12 (Wetstein), and others. Benson supposes that James has in view the N. T. passage, Mat 6:24 ; Studlin, that he has in view that passage and also Gal 5:17 ; Storr, the latter passage only; and Bengel, 1Pe 2:1 ff. Semler thinks that the passage is here cited from the “Testimony of the Twelve Patriarchs;” and Gabler, that the words are borrowed from a lost prophetical book. In recent times, Engelhardt (Remarks on Jas 4:5-6 , in the Ztschr. f. d. Luth. Theol. , by Delitzsch and Guericke, 1869, Part II.) has expressed the opinion that Isa 63:8-11 , Psa 132:12-13 , and Hos 1:2 ; Hos 1:1-5 , form the groundwork of these words of James. Wolf, Heinsius, and Zachariae refer the words to the thoughts contained in what follows; Theile, de Wette, Brckner (also first edition of this commentary), to the thoughts contained in what precedes that the friendship of the world is enmity with God.

If the words . . . do not form the quotation belonging to , it is to be assumed that James here already had in view the scripture adduced after in Jas 4:6 , but that he did not yet state it, because the sentiment expressed in those words obtruded itself upon him in confirmation of (Wiesinger). cannot, as Gebser and others suppose, be united with ; for if one takes it to be equivalent to de invidia or contra invidia, there is this against it, that in what goes before there is no mention of envy; or if it is taken adverbially, then it appears as an appendage dragging after , which would be added the more unsuitably, because, as de Wette correctly remarks, it cannot be perceived what meaning can be attached to the assurance that the scripture does not speak enviously. Most expositors rightly refer it to , which, without the addition, would be too bare; it is added to this idea as an adverbial and more exact statement = in an envious, jealous manner , for the sake of strengthening it. It is linguistically incorrect to explain = , Gal 5:17 (thus Luther: “the spirit lusteth against envy;” Bengel, Stier; also Lange: “the spirit longeth over against and in opposition to envy”), since , although it may be used in a hostile relation (Luk 23:12 ; Act 6:1 ), yet does not in itself express a hostile reference. The explanation of many ancient and some recent expositors (Bede, Calvin, Beza, Grotius, Hottinger, Gabler, Bouman, and others), taking = ad invidiam , is also unsuitable; for, on the one hand, is not = proclivem esse, and, on the other hand, it is contradicted by the connection in which there is not the slightest allusion to envy. With the correct explanation of , ( ) is either subjective, “the Spirit of God,” or objective, “the spirit of man.” In the first case has no object. De Wette, Brckner (so also Schneckenburger and some of the other expositors) supply as the object. Engelhardt, on the contrary, will supply no object, thinking “the supposed translation of the verb is conclusive against an object;” but requires an object no less than , as it is, as well as the other, a relative (not an absolute) verb. By this interpretation is to be understood of Christians, in whom the Holy Spirit (according to Engelhardt: “by the covenant of baptism”) has taken up His abode. In the second case, the subject is not expressed. Wiesinger supplies . There is no difficulty in this completion, the less so as the preceding , which, in connection with , is personified (comp. Gal 3:8 , ), points to God, with whom it is, as it were, identified. This second explanation would deserve the preference before the first, as it is not apparent why James here, instead of simply God, should name the Holy Spirit, whom he has not elsewhere mentioned in his whole Epistle, and because the specification of an object belonging to , which is essentially required for the thought, can scarcely be wanting. Certainly, in this second interpretation, added to is difficult, not so much on account of the formation of the expression, as because this addition appears to be a very unimportant remark. But it is otherwise with the reading , as then the relative clause marks “the right of propriety as the ground of explanation of envious love” (Wiesinger). According to this view, the passage is to be explained: Or think you that the scripture says in vain (rather God) enviously desires the spirit which He has made to dwell in us, but He gives the greater grace wherefore it says, etc.

It is yet to be remarked that has the same meaning as in chap. Jas 1:26 ; , that is, without contents, corresponding to the truth; comp. , Eph 5:6 (Plato, Lach. 196b). The adverbial import of is justified by the usage of the Greek language; see Pape’s Wrterb.: the word ; Winer, p. 378 [E. T. 529]; Buttmann, p. 292 f. [E. T. 340]. The verb is also elsewhere in the N. T. construed with the accusative. The idea that God cherishes an “envious and loving longing” (Wiesinger) after the spirit of man, corresponds to the circle of ideas in the O. T., from which also the preceding is to be explained.

REMARK.

The principal objections of Engelhardt that the two members of the 5th and 6th verses are not in congruity, and that the scripture adduced in Jas 4:6 does not prove the thought expressed in Jas 4:4 are solved by the observation that the friendship of the world, in which man opposes himself to the will of God, is pride, and that those to whom God gives grace are none other than the humble, who disdain to be the arrogant friends of the world. It is erroneous when Engelhardt denies that an emphasis rests on , so that the grammatical construction forbids to make the idea . . . intervene as a contrast to ; the asyndeton form is, besides, wholly suitable to James’ mode of expression; moreover, Engelhardt on his part finds himself constrained to supply a transitionary thought before . That James does not quote the scripture intended by him directly after the first , but defers it because he wished to emphasize that it was not vain and empty, may well surprise us, but it is to be explained from the liveliness peculiar to James. Moreover, in Rom 11:2-4 , although not in the same, yet in a similar manner, the passage quoted is separated from the form of quotation: , and in such a manner that the formula itself is taken up again by an , referring to the intervening remark, before the intended passage. When Engelhardt thinks that the words in consideration are to be recognised as the quotation, because they are words which do not elsewhere occur in James, apart from this being anything but conclusive, it is, on the contrary, to be observed that understood of the human spirit already occurs in chap. Jas 2:26 , and that the words do not occur in the passages of the O. T. which James, according to Engelhardt’s opinion, had in view.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

Ver. 5. That the Scripture saith in vain ] No, it doth not only say, but do; not only convince us that an evil and an envious spirit possesseth us (such a spirit as lusteth to have other men’s abilities eclipsed, that so our candle might shine alone), but also it giveth more grace; it not only convinceth, but converteth the soul, Psa 19:7 . It causeth a man to rejoice heartily in the good parts of others; and this is more than to excel others in any excellence if this be wanting.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

5, 6 .] Testimony from Scripture to convince further those who might question what has just been stated.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

5 .] Or (ref. the formula puts a hypothetical alternative, the assumption of which negatives itself) do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that He (God) placed in us (viz. when the Spirit descended on the church. We have somewhat similarly used sch. Prom. 250, ) jealously ( , as and the like: see below) desireth (us for his own)? These words connect naturally with the foregoing. We are married to one, even God, who has implanted in us His Spirit: and He is a jealous God, who will not suffer us to be friends of His enemy and His friends at the same time. The only difficulty seems to be, to trace this latter saying in any part of Scripture. For that this is the quotation, and no other, must be maintained against very many Commentators (see below) on account of , which can hardly be otherwise used than at introducing the thing said. I will state the solution which seems to me the most probable, and then give an account of other methods of solving it. The emphasis of this clause lies on the : and, interpreting those words as above, we are naturally led to ask, is there any chapter or passage especially, where such a mind towards His people is ascribed to God? And this directs our thoughts at once to Deu 32 , where the love of Jehovah for Israel, and His jealousy over them is described. In that song of Moses we have this very word used of God, Deu 32:10 f., , : and Deu 32:19 , , , . . . So that here we have the elements of the sense of that which is cited, viz. the jealous desire of the Lord over His people. And for the rest, , the only solution seems to be, that the Apostle translates into the language of the Gospel the former declarations of the God of Israel, e. g. such as that Num 35:34 , , combining them with such prophecies as Eze 36:27 , . I own that such a solution does not seem to me wholly satisfactory: still there is nothing improbable in the idea that St. James may have combined the general sense of Scripture on the point of God’s jealousy over His people, and instead of the God who dwelt in Israel, may have placed the Holy Spirit who dwelleth in us. At all events it is better to understand it thus, than to make mean ‘speaks,’ or to force the words of the citation from their simple meaning. I now proceed to state other interpretations. And 1. of those who have recognized the fact that the words . . . are a citation . Of these, understanding the words variously (see below), Grotius believes them to refer to Gen 6:3 ; Gen 6:5 ; Beza, Erasm. Schmid, to Gen 8:21 ; Witsius, to Num 11:29 ; Schneckenb. to Deu 5:9 ff.: Le Clerc, to Psa 119:20 ff.: Michaelis, to Pro 21:10 ; Cocceius, to Son 8:6 ; Wetstein, to Wis 6:12 . Others have supposed the N. T. to be intended by . Thus Benson believes the reference to be to Mat 6:24 ; Storr, al., to Gal 5:17 ; Bengel, to 1Pe 2:1 ff.: and Semler again, to a passage in the apocryphal book called the Testament of the XII Patriarchs. Bewildered by these differences, many Commentators, among whom are c., Bede [11] , Calv., Est., Wolf, al., either deny the fact of a citation altogether, or refer the either on to the citation following in Jas 4:6 , or back to what went before, or, as I have done above, believe that the general sense of Scripture on the subject, and not any particular text, is adduced. Before passing from this part of my note, I may remark that Huther’s objection, that against the view here given, the formula citandi, , is decisive, is not valid: see Wolf’s Cur, vol. v. p. 66: and cf. Joh 7:38 ; Joh 7:42 , where though the formula is used, the general sense, and not the exact words, is given.

[11] Bede, the Venerable , 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. “E,” mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Jas 4:5 . : this attributing of personality to Scripture is paralleled, as Lightfoot points out (Gal 3:8 ), by the not uncommon Jewish formula of reference “Quid vidit”. According to Lightfoot the singular in the N.T. “always means a particular passage of Scripture; where the reference is clearly to the sacred writings as a whole, as in the expressions, ‘searching the Scriptures,’ ‘learned in the Scriptures,’ etc., the plural is universally found, e.g. , Act 17:11 ; Act 18:24 ; Act 18:28 . is most frequently used in introducing a particular quotation, and in the very few instances where the quotation is not actually given, it is for the most part easy to fix the passage referred to. The biblical usage is followed also by the earliest fathers. The transition from the ‘Scriptures’ to the ‘Scripture’ is analogous to the transition from to the ‘Bible’ ” ( ibid. , pp. 147 f.). In the present instance the “Scripture” is nowhere to be found in the O.T.; it is, however, reflected in some Pauline passages, Gal 5:17 ; Gal 5:21 , and cf. Rom 8:6 ; Rom 8:8 ; 1Co 3:16 : , (Gal 5:17 ); (1Co 3:16 ). It is difficult not to see a Pauline influence in our passage; and what is certainly noteworthy is the fact that the two Agrapha which the Epistle contains (Jas 1:12 and the one before us) are both closely connected with St. Paul, Jas 1:12 = 2Ti 4:8 ; 2Ti 4:5 = Gal 5:17 . But that which is conclusive against the “Scripture” here referring to the O.T. is the fact that the doctrine of the Spirit is not found there in the developed form in which it is represented here; the pronounced personality of the Spirit as here used is never found in the O.T. The reference here must be to the N.T., and this is one of the many indications which point to the late date of our Epistle, or parts of it. As early a document as the Epistle of Polycarp (110 A.D.) refers once to the N.T. quotations as “Scripture”; and in the Epistle of Barnabas (about 98 A.D. according to Lightfoot, but regarded as later by most scholars) a N.T. quotation is prefaced by the formula “It is written”. : on this very difficult text see, for a variety of interpretations, Mayor’s elaborate note; the best rendering seems to be that of the R.V. margin: “That Spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth for us even unto jealous envy”. The words witness to the truth that the third Person of the Holy Trinity abides in our hearts striving to acquire the same love for Him on our part which He bears for us. It is a most striking passage which tells of the love of the Holy Spirit, as (in one sense) distinct from that of the Father or that of the Son; in connection with it should be read Rom 8:26-28 ; Eph 4:30 ; 1Th 5:19 .

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Do ye = Greek.do ye.

in vain. Greek. kenos. Only here. The adjective occurs frequently.

spirit. App-101.

to. App-104. This can only refer to the general testimony of Scripture that the natural man is prone to selfish desires, leading to envy of others who possess the things desired Compare Gen 6:5; Gen 8:21.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

5, 6.] Testimony from Scripture to convince further those who might question what has just been stated.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Jam 4:5. ) in vain, without effect, so that it matters nothing to guilt or to salvation. Whatever things the Scripture says are serious. We ought to reverence every word.-, saith) not , speaks, saith the things which follow.- ) against envy. This noun () does not occur in the Septuagint, and it does not seem probable that James should have wished to make so great a change in this verse, and yet, in Jam 4:6, have made an exact quotation from another passage. We may infer from this, that the quotation here is from the Scriptures of the New Testament: for the writings of the New Testament, as well as the Old, are reckoned in the Scriptures; 2Pe 3:16. Some refer it to Gen 6:5; Gen 6:3; or to Num 11:29; or to Pro 21:10; or to some lost book. But the words of James are near enough to Gal 5:17, and following verses; where , envyings, are placed among the works of the flesh, and the spirit is said to have desires contrary to the flesh, and they who are led by this spirit are not under the law, but under grace. But this passage agrees especially with 1Pe 2:1-2; 1Pe 2:5. Laying aside-ENVYINGS, DESIRE the milk of the word-a SPIRITUAL HOUSE. And that which here follows. But He giveth more grace, agrees with that, the Lord is gracious, Jam 4:3. He who has this passage of St Peter well impressed upon his mind, will altogether recognise the reference of St James to it. Nor does the chronological order of the epistles stand in the way. Thus James not only concurs with St Peter, but also with St Paul.-) The friendship of the world necessarily produces envy: the Spirit, which has taken up His dwelling in us, does not bear envy.- ) The Spirit of grace and love.-) takes up His dwelling.- , in us) Sons, of the New Testament.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

the scripture: Joh 7:42, Joh 10:35, Joh 19:37, Rom 9:17, Gal 3:8

The spirit: Gen 4:5, Gen 4:6, Gen 6:5, Gen 8:21, Gen 26:14, Gen 30:1, Gen 37:11, Num 11:29, Psa 37:1, Psa 106:16, Pro 21:10, Ecc 4:4, Isa 11:13, Act 7:9, Rom 1:29, Tit 3:3

to envy: or, enviously

Reciprocal: Gen 38:9 – lest that Exo 1:9 – the people Deu 15:9 – Beware Jdg 8:1 – the men 1Sa 18:8 – the saying Psa 73:3 – I was Pro 13:10 – Only Pro 14:30 – envy Pro 24:1 – not Pro 27:4 – but Eze 31:9 – envied Jon 4:1 – General Mic 7:19 – subdue Mat 20:24 – they Mat 27:18 – he Mar 10:41 – they Mar 15:10 – for envy Luk 19:39 – rebuke Luk 22:24 – General Joh 3:26 – he that Act 5:17 – indignation Act 6:1 – there Act 13:45 – they Act 17:5 – moved Rom 4:3 – what Rom 7:17 – sin Rom 13:13 – strife 1Co 2:12 – not 1Co 13:4 – envieth Gal 4:30 – what Gal 5:17 – the flesh Phi 1:15 – even Phi 2:3 – nothing 1Ti 5:18 – the scripture 1Ti 6:4 – words 1Pe 2:1 – envies

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jas 4:5. Envy and jealousy have some phases of meaning in common and hence are used to show God’s great concern for the purity of His people. Exo 20:5 says He is a jealous God and Paul writes on behalf of the Lord and says he is jealous about his brethren (2Co 11:2). In Gen 6:3 the Spirit of God is said to be striving with man, that is the same Spirit that our verse says dwell-eth in us. James asked if they think that this concern of the Spirit is in vain or to no purpose. A negative answer is implied and means that the brethren should take the admonition seriously and not provoke the Lord too far.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Jas 4:5. The meaning of this verse is very difficult: it is one of the dark sayings of Scripture. This difficulty arises from two causes: from the fact that no such passage, as St James apparently quotes, is to be found in the Old Testament; and from the supposed quotation itself being obscure, and susceptible of different and even opposite meanings. Do you think that the Scripture saith in vain: that its declaration is made for no purpose. These words appear to introduce a scriptural quotation; but no passage can be found which expresses the subjoined sentiment. Various passages, both in the Old Testament and in the New, have been adduced, but not one which is identical with the supposed quotation. Some, indeed, think that the quotation cited is that contained in the Book of Proverbs, mentioned in the next verse, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble, and that all that intervenes is to be considered as a parenthesis;[1] but this is a forced method of removing the difficulty. It is best to suppose that St. James alludes, not to any particular quotation, but to the general scope of Scripture: Do you think that the scriptural declarations are made in vain? This may refer to the sentiment that follows: or, as we think is better, to what precedes, to the scriptural denunciations against worldliness, and the indulgence of hatred and envy.

[1] This is Huthers solution of the difficulty.

the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy. These words have given rise to a vast variety of interpretations. According to our version, the meaning is that the Scriptures declare that our depraved nature is given to envy. But to this it has been forcibly objected that the spirit that dwelleth in us is a spirit different from ourselves, and therefore cannot denote our depraved nature. Accordingly, some think that the spirit of evil, or Satan, is here meant. But, although such an expression as Satan dwelling within us may be admissible, yet this meaning is contradicted by the next verse: He giveth more grace, which would require God to be inserted as its subject. Others suppose that by the Spirit that dwelleth in us is meant the Holy Spirit, and they give to the words to envy an adverbial import: they think that the metaphor introduced by the words adulteresses is still carried on; and accordingly they give the following rendering to the words: The Spirit which dwelleth in us jealously desireth us for His own.[2] But to this it is objected that the word rendered envy is always used in Scripture in a bad sense, and that the words us for his own are inserted in the text. Some render the clause: The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth against envy; but this gives a false meaning to the preposition. Another translation is to understand by the spirit the human spirit, and to consider it not as the subject but as the object of the verb. Accordingly the following interpretation is given: God eagerly desires the spirit that dwelleth in us.[3] But here also an erroneous meaning is given to the words rendered in our version to envy; and the spirit that dwelleth in us is a strange circumlocution for the human spirit. It gives the best translation, and the one freest from difficulties, to refer the Spirit that dwelleth in us to the Holy Spirit, and to suppose that there are here two distinct questions:[4] Do you think that the Scripture speaks in vain? Are its declarations against worldliness, and strife, and envy, a mere empty sound? Does the Spirit that dwells in us lust to envy? Does He encourage such worldly affections? Are the fruits of the Spirit envy, and strife, and worldliness, and not rather love, joy, peace? Some, observes Calvin, think that the soul of man is meant, and read the sentence affirmatively, that the spirit of man as it is depraved is infected with envy. They, however, think better who regard the Spirit of God as intended: for it is He that is given to dwell in us. I then take the Spirit as that of God, and read the sentence as a question; for it was the apostles object to prove that because they envied they were not ruled by the Spirit of God. Another important, and perhaps better attested, reading of the Greek is caused to dwell, instead of dwelleth; but this is also in conformity with the interpretation given above: Does the Spirit which He caused to dwell in us lust to envy? If that be the correct reading, the interpretation given in our version is erroneous; for our depraved nature can never be described as the spirit which God caused to dwell in us.

[2] So Alford, Brckner, Basset, and Plumptre.

[3] So Erdmann and Dean Scott, who, however, understand by the spirit the Holy Spirit, which is tautological.

[4] So the Revised Version.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Some by the spirit here understand the holy Spirit of God, and make the words run in the form of an interrogation, thus, “The Spirit, that dwelleth in us Christians, lusteth he to envy as your’s doth? Nay, rather is he not the Spirit of love and goodness?” Others understand our own spirit; our corrupt nature is mightily carried forth this way, even to envy the good of others; it is usual in scripture to call the bent and propensions of the soul, either to good or evil, by the name of a Spirit.

Note hence, that God’s own people have much, too much, of a spirit of envy remaining in them, unmortified and unsubdued by them: The spirit that is in us lusteth to envy.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Strongly Wanting What Belongs To Another

The first four verses of Jas 4:1-17 deal with worldly desire that is contrary to God’s working. Verse 5 continues the thought by referring to a statement which is repeated in principle several times in the Old Testament. It is the plain teaching of scripture as a whole that man driven by fleshly desire covets with a selfish desire what others have ( Ecc 4:4 ; Pro 27:4 ). Of course, God is going to punish those exhibiting such an attitude ( Gen 6:5-7 ; Job 5:12-13 ).

Fleshly desires lead one in a direction contrary to God’s will, or spiritual desire. They will cause one to work those things which will result in eternal judgment ( Gal 5:16-21 ; Rom 8:4-8 ; Isa 63:8-16 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Jas 4:5. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain Without good ground, or that it speaks falsely. St. James seems to refer to many, not to one particular passage of Scripture. The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy That is, as many understand the words, our natural corruption, excited and influenced by Satan, strongly inclines us to unkind and envious dispositions toward our fellow-creatures. Some, however, suppose that the Spirit of God is intended by the apostle in this clause, and that the sense is, The Spirit of love, that dwelleth in all believers, lusteth against envy, (Gal 5:17,) is directly opposite to all those unloving tempers which necessarily flow from the friendship of the world. Nearly to the same purpose is Doddridges paraphrase of the verse: Do you think the Scripture speaks in vain in all the passages in which it guards us against such a temper as this, and leads the mind directly to God as the supreme good, teaching us to abandon every thing for him? Or does the Holy Spirit, that dwells in us Christians, lust to envy? Does it encourage these worldly affections, this strife and envying which we have reproved? Or can it be imagined that we, who appear to have so much of the Spirit, have any interested views in the cautions we give, and would persuade you from the pursuit of the world, because we should envy you the enjoyment of it?

No.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Verse 5

This passage, including the first clause of the James 4:5,6, is very obscure.The origin of the quotation is not to be found in the Old Testament, and none but conjectural explanations of the language, as it stands here, have been offered by commentators.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

Mr. D’s Notes on James

Jam 4:5-10

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

“The spirit” is in some question as to what or whom it is speaking of. Is it the Holy Spirit that indwells us or our own spirit that is within, that James is speaking about? We know our spirit is active in the area of lust and envy, but we also know that the Holy Spirit is not involved with either of the two. Some suggest that it is the Holy Spirit that envies the relationship we have to sin. This might be possible in some peoples minds, but it seems to detract from the character of the Spirit – to put Him on a plain with man in that swirl of envy that is so destructive and evil.

The Life Application Bible states that the Greek states “the Holy Spirit,” however there is no indication that “holy” is in the text. Others suggest that the “spirit” is not referring to the Holy Spirit due to the context, although the same term is used of both the Holy Spirit and other spirits as well.

Robertson suggests the same thought is expressed in Exo 20:5; Gen 6:3-5; Isa 63:8-16. He continues that Paul used the same thought in Gal 5:17; Gal 5:21 and Rom 8:6; Rom 8:8. He assumes that the passage speaks of the Holy Spirit but he also admits that there is no real way to be positive either way.

In my mind the passage is more fitting if it speaks to the spirit of man which is centered on pleasing the self side of man rather than the God side.

It just seems that to read the context with man’s spirit in view is much smoother than to interject the Holy Spirit into the discussion so abruptly. Barnes seems to follow this line of thought as well when he states: “The meaning may be thus expressed: “It is true that the natural spirit in man is one that tends to envy, and thus leads to all the sad consequences of envy.”

In relation to the “scripture saith” phrase, some suggest it is similar to some in the Old Testament, others suggest it may be from a Hebrew version of the Old Testament that we no longer have, or even others suggest it comes from the tenor of Scripture, rather than from a quote of it.

Actually you can read this as two questions as the American Standard Version translates it, and then there is no need to figure out what James meant by the following phrase because it no longer is a quote from Scripture. “Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?” The King James allows for this, but it just isn’t as plain as the ASV.

At any rate, the Scripture can never speak in vain, it is always true and it is always valid, and it will always be the message that God wants us to have for our Christian living.

It would be ridiculous to suggest that the Scripture speaks incorrectly, and thus any indication of the same, must be from the spirit of man misinterpreting the Scripture.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

4:5 {4} Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

(4) The taking away of an objection: in deed our minds run headlong into these vices, but we ought so much the more diligently take heed of them: whose care and study shall not be in vain, seeing that God resists the stubborn and gives the grace to the modest and humble that surmounts all those vices.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

In this verse James gave scriptural support for what he just asserted (Jas 4:4). However, he did not quote a particular verse but evidently summarized the scriptural teaching on God’s jealousy (cf. Exo 20:5; Exo 34:14; Psa 42:1; Psa 84:2; Zec 8:2) in a new statement. [Note: See Sophie S. Laws, "Does Scripture Speak in Vain? A Reconsideration of James IV. 5," New Testament Studies 20 (1973-74):210-15; and Stulac, pp. 146-47.]

It is very difficult to translate this statement, but the best rendering seems to be something such as the following. "God jealously longs for the spirit that He made to live in us." Another translations is, "the Spirit which he made to dwell in us jealously yearns for the entire devotion of the heart" (cf. Rom 8:11; 1Co 3:16; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:30; Joh 7:39; Joh 16:7). [Note: Mayor, p. 141.] Both translations fit the preceding context well. God’s people who love the world have committed spiritual adultery against Him (Jas 4:4), but God (or His Spirit) jealously longs for their love (Jas 4:5). Furthermore these translations accurately represent the Greek text. The phrase pros phthonon literally means "to envy," but it is also an adverbial idiom meaning "jealously." [Note: A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, s.v. "phthonon," p. 718. See also Ropes, p. 262.] The verb epipothei means "to long for" or "to yearn for" rather than "to tend toward." Another view is that the human spirit in us lusts enviously. [Note: See Sidebottom, p. 53.]

"Thus, in Jas 4:4 James has accused his readers of spiritual unfaithfulness. If they are not willing to accept this indictment, he asks in Jas 4:5 what they think about the OT passages dealing with God’s jealous longing for his people. This is the significance of the introductory conjunction ’or.’ Do they think Scripture speaks ’without reason’ or emptily? Of course they don’t think this. Consequently, it is necessary to believe that friendship with the world is enmity toward God, and thus it is spiritual unfaithfulness." [Note: Burdick, p. 194. Cf. Martin, p. 151.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)