What does James 4:5 mean?

Answer:

"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"? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you" (James 4:4-10 NASB95).

Some translations render James 4:5 a bit differently: "Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'?" (NKJV).

For a short verse, James 4:5 has caused many headaches for translators. The first problem is the quote. There is no verse in the Old Testament that is worded this way. Thus, many Bible students believe that James is summarizing a principle taught in the Scriptures. Another strong possibility is that James is not making a quote at all. The Greek text doesn't have punctuation. Quote marks were not used. The reason it is placed in quotes is that the phrase "the Scripture speaks" (he graphe legei) is assumed to be a lead into a quote. However, it is not necessarily true, and a few major translations don't render it as a quote. The translators of the NIV chose to render the verse: "Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?" The ASV worded it this way: "Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" The HSCB says: "Or do you think it’s without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously?"

The second problem concerns the word "spirit." Is James referring to the Holy Spirit or our spirit? The Greek doesn't use a different word, and the word you choose will strongly influence how the rest of the verse is translated. The translations have chosen:

• That God longs for the human spirit He has given each of us, and so He jealously works to bring us to Him.
• That the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and jealousy works to bring us to God.
• That the Holy Spirit dwells in us and causes us to jealously long for God
• That the human spirit in us, which God made, lusts after jealousy
• That God desires the Holy Spirit that He has made to dwell in us.

In the context, the question leading into this section is: "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?" (James 4:1). James' answer is that it comes from our preference for pleasures. "Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?" (James 4:1). The result is: "You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:2-3).

Thus, James charges the pleasure seekers with adultery. Instead of being in a covenant relationship with God, the pleasure seeker is flirting with the world. "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" (James 4:4).

James 4:5 is either seen as a continuation of the charge that we tend to go off into jealousy, or as stating that, despite our sins, God still strongly wants us. To me, the latter makes more sense. Whether James is saying that God longs for us directly or through the Holy Spirit doesn't change the understanding of the text all that much.

Moyer:

God doesn’t give up easily on us. Even when we seek our own pleasures, God reaches out with opportunities to draw near to Him. The Spirit, dwelling in His people, is zealous for us. God reaches out with “greater grace,” offering reconciliation with those who would humble themselves before Him (James 4:5-7). Humility is key. Worldly wisdom opposes God because it is grounded in pride. We somehow think that we know how to order our lives -- in a disorderly way, ironically (see James 3:16 again). We couldn’t be further from the truth.

Tant:

the Holy Spirit is given to dwell within us even as Christ dwells in us. There are various passages that speak of this idea of “dwelling in us.”

Ephesians 3:17 – “…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love…”

Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you…”

James 4:5 – “Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us’"?

How, then, does Christ dwell in us, or the Holy Spirit? It is not a personal indwelling, but they dwell in us through the Word, by faith. Notice the language: “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” And again, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell in you.”

How do we obtain faith? Does God just zap us and plant faith in our minds? Paul informs us in Romans 10:17 that “… faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Thus, as we read and study God’s word, and take it into our hearts, that’s how these spiritual beings come to dwell in our hearts.