SERMON: “Love for the World and for Grace” (James 4:4–6)
“Love
for the World and for Grace”
(James 4:4–6)
Series: “James: True Faith Works” #18 Text: James 4:4–6
By: Shaun Marksbury Date:
February
23, 2025
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion:
PM Service
I.
Introduction
The prophet Hosea received
one of the most heartbreaking callings in Scripture. God commanded him to marry Gomer, a woman who
proved unfaithful to him. Time and
again, she abandoned him, running after other lovers, yet God told Hosea to
take her back.
This was a vivid illustration
of Israel’s spiritual adultery. Through
their painful marriage, God shows His people that pursuit of the world is no
different than a wife betraying her faithful husband. They claimed to belong to the Lord, but they
gave their hearts to idols and worldly desires.
James picks up this
same imagery in our passage today. He
even calls his readers adulteresses because their divided hearts betray
their love for God. The good news,
however, is that just as God pursued wayward Israel and as Hosea pursued Gomer,
He gives greater grace to those who turn back to Him in humility.
Even as Christians,
we can have an adulterous problem of the heart.
But, there’s good news, if we’ll have it. In this passage, we’ll note that we desire
worldliness in spirit (vv. 4–5), but we receive grace through humility (v.
6). Let’s consider the first point.
II.
We Desire Worldliness in Spirit (vv. 4–5)
You adulteresses, do you not know that
friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God. Or
do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the
Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
James just talked
about how there are wars and fights within the Christian community, challenging
them to see that the problem is inside them.
His language grows harsher here, as he calls them adulteresses. He will show them definitively that they have
created their own issue.
Now, the Greek manuscript
underlying the King James added words and made this more inclusive, so the KJV
reads, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses.” Yet, it appears James only used the feminine
form, perhaps to give added sting to this condemnation. That’s why most of your versions only say
“adulteresses.”
It’s a strong term, and the question is whether he
is calling them adulteresses in the literal or the figurative sense. It is possible, of course, that there were
sexually immoral people among these professed believers. Paul applies the term “adulteress” to a woman
who joins to another man while her husband lives (Rom. 7:3), and he had to deal
with immorality among believers (cf. Eph. 5:3–5). Yet, the context here doesn’t seem to
indicate that James is condemning them all as adulterous people.
These Jewish converts may have already had a
strong sense of sexual fidelity, but it seems many lacked a deeper sense of spiritual
fidelity. Often, Scripture
applies the term adultery to spiritual unfaithfulness (cf. Ezek.
16:32). These Jewish believers would
have been familiar with the language of harlotry being applied to Israel. James brings that concept from the Old
Testament and applies it to them.
Why? These were the people we considered last time
who were having fights because of what they wanted first, and they were not
seeking God in prayer. Those who did
resort to prayer did so without care about what God willed; they only wanted
fulfilled desires. As such, James says
here that they are proud, and calls them to submit to God in v. 7 and humble
themselves before Him in v. 10. After
all, they’ve been speaking against one another and, as we’ll see in vv. 13–17,
they don’t make plans considering God’s will at all.
They do all of this
because they seek friendship with the world.
The term here is philia (as in Philadelphia, “brotherly
love”). They were forming bonds with the
world that we might translate friendship, going past surface-level likes and
dislikes to “deep and intimate longing.”[1]
James warns that
such a position is hostility or “enmity” (LSB) with God. It is as though Christians were gearing up
with unbelievers to battle the Almighty!
This hostility exists because worldliness is a love of the flesh (Rom
8:7), indicating that the love of God isn’t present (1 John 2:15). Christians never consider this as they slip
into worldliness, but it is absolutely the case.
So, we read a
“therefore” here — “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes
himself an enemy of God.” Understand,
this is not an accidental relationship; the language indicates a will or
purpose.[2] The
truth is that we can’t serve two masters (Matt 6:24). Christ said the world will hate His disciples
(John 15:19), and we should expect no less.
Paul also describes the course of this world as
following “the prince of the power of the air” (i.e., the devil), “the
spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). To become a friend of the world, then, we set
ourselves up as enemies of God and His ways, wittingly or unwittingly.
That brings us to
an explanation in v. 5. James starts
with another question. This is rhetorical,
expecting a negative answer; the Scripture does not speak with no
purpose. To put this positively,
Scripture speaks with purpose.
Yet, this verse of
Scripture is very difficult to interpret! For instance, James seems to be quoting a
verse of Scripture, but it does not seem to be a direct citation. Some have suggested near matches, such as
Psalm 42:1 — “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You,
O God.” However, that isn’t quite what
James says here, and it doesn’t seem to match the context, either.
It’s helpful to
step back and remember that we don’t always cite verses word-for-word, and
neither do the biblical writers. James’s
concept is certainly in Scripture, but it appears to be more of a summation of
biblical thoughts on a subject. Now, it sometimes
bothers Christians when we try to systematize doctrine from various places in
the Bible, but it shouldn’t. This verse gives
us justification for saying “Scripture says” when summarizing a biblical truth.
Yet, because
there’s debate about what this verse means, there’s also debate as to the
biblical truth James is presenting us. So,
we need to consider the text before us and see if we can come up with a meaning
that matches what the rest of Scripture says.
Particularly, we need to focus on the identity of “the spirit” and the desire
of this verse. Translations differ as to
whether it should be capitalized or lowercase
(keep in mind that such capitalization rules were absent from the original
languages). Because of how word-order
works in Greek, there’s also a debate as to whether the “spirit” here is
the object of the yearning or the one who has a jealous desire. Such a discuss requires us to get into the
weeds a bit, but this exercise is a good way for you to see how pastors and
Bible teachers work through difficult verses.
It’s also worth considering the various views because they do have
parallel Bible truths for us to consider in our sanctification; none are
necessarily heretical or heterodox.
The first major
view is that James is referring to God’s jealousy for His people. The Old Testament describes God as a
jealous God (Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24), and that is an interpretation consistent
with the surrounding context. After all,
James rebukes his audience for spiritual adultery. If this interpretation is correct, then the
verse highlights God’s desire for the full devotion of His people, reinforcing
the incompatibility of friendship with the world and loyalty to God. However, while the concept of God’s jealousy
is clearly biblical, the specific wording of this verse hints to another
meaning.
So, the second view
takes the spirit in this verse as a reference to the Holy Spirit. This is why many translations, including this
one, capitalize “Spirit” here. Of
course, the Bible speaks of the Spirit dwelling within believers (1 Cor. 6:19;
2 Cor. 6:16), and this would fit well with James’s broader call to holiness.
Yet, this reading
presents several challenges. This would
be the only direct reference to the Holy Spirit in James, which lacks any
broader exposition on the Spirit’s work. Second, the phrase “yearns jealously” is simply
an unusual way of describing God the Father’s relationship with the Holy Spirit
within us, and it would be equally unusual to make the Spirit the one who
jealously desires within us. The
stronger argument, then, is that the spirit in this verse refers to something
within humanity rather than the Holy Spirit.
A third and more
plausible interpretation is that James is referring to the human spirit and its
natural inclination toward envy and sinful desire. This view aligns with what the Bible says
about the creation of the life-giving spirit within man (Gen. 2:7) and human
depravity (Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Jer. 17:9).
This also fits well with the immediate context of James 4, where the
discussion centers on worldly desires and internal strife. Moreover, the New
Testament never uses the Greek word for envy (φθόνος) positively, making it
unlikely that this verse speaks of a righteous jealousy from God or the Holy
Spirit.[3] Instead,
it describes the fallen human condition—the innate tendency of the spirit
within us to covet and strive after sinful pleasures.
Given the
linguistic, theological, and contextual considerations, the best reading of
James 4:5 is that it refers to the human spirit, which naturally desires sin. This requires us to translate the verse very
differently. As MacArthur notes in his
commentary,
One
cannot be dogmatic, but, in context, it seems that the Authorized (King James)
rendering is preferable: “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy.” James would therefore be saying, in effect, “Don’t
you know that you yourselves are living proof of the veracity of Scripture,
which clearly teaches that the natural man has a spirit of envy?” That interpretation is clearly consistent
with James’s emphasis in the larger passage.”[4]
This interpretation
best explains the surrounding rebuke against worldliness and the contrast
between selfish, worldly desires and the grace of God given in the next verse. James is making a sobering statement about the
reality of human nature: left to itself, the spirit within man is bent toward
envy, reinforcing the need for divine grace and humility before God.
And that brings us
to the final verse as well as the final point:
III.
We Receive Grace Through Humility (v. 6)
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the
proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
James concludes by
stating that some good news for believers.
However, this bit of gospel won’t be received by everyone. So, it’s important to see the qualification
he gives.
We already know
that it’s impossible to come to the Lord without His grace. Man chooses sin every time, and his will is
bent away from the God of life. Romans
3:10–12 says, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who
understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together
they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” The bad news of our human condition requires
God to give us grace to do the impossible: turn to Him in repentance and faith.
This need never
changes, even after salvation. We still
need God to give us grace. We still have
indwelling sin, and we can suffer from bouts of pride and arrogance. We can still be tempted by the world, and we
may even give it our love in thoughtless or weak moments.
This is why we need
more grace; as one commentary put it, “God’s grace is greater than the
human inclination to sin.”[5] So,
James continues, “Therefore, it says.” This
is possibly a reference to Scripture (v. 5), but the third-person could also be
a reference to the God who gives greater grace; in that case, we could
translate this, “Therefore, He says.”
Either way, God’s Word communicates a simple truth for us.
This truth comes
from a couple of places, like before. We
could consider Proverbs 3:34, “Though He scoffs at the scoffers, yet He gives
grace to the afflicted.” Similarly, Psalm
138:6 says, “For though the Lord is exalted, yet He regards the lowly, but the
haughty He knows from afar.” As James
puts it here, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” This
is a warning to those who would remain haughty, but it’s good news for the
weary.
IV.
Conclusion
This section gives
us a strong warning against our personal sinfulness and the draw of the world
in our hearts. We have personal lust and
we desire the love of the world. This is
contrary to God’s good desire for us.
Yet, the good news
is that He gives us greater grace. This
grace is greater than our desire for personal fulfilment or for worldly
allurements. God’s grace is greater than
all our sin!
[1] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1932.
[2] A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jas
4:4.
[3] Peter H. Davids, The
Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek
Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982), 163.
[4] John F. MacArthur Jr., James, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press,
1998), 198.
[5] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael
S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R.
Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study
Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Jas 4:6.
