This morning we’re going to look at two verses…[v 4,5 of Ch 4]…but especially at verse 5 which Bible scholars assess to be one of the most difficult verses to translate in all the New Testament…this is reflected in the many different ways this verse is translated.
4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that in vain the Scripture says,
here’s the verse assessed to be one of the most difficult verses to translate in all the New Testament:
He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us.
On the surface this doesn’t seem to me to be all that confusing…the issue is not over the words themselves…but how it should be translated into English.
I think most of you have gone to this church long enough to know that I’m going to tell you the truth…I’m not going to hold back…I’m going to tell it like it is.
I’m reminded of something a preacher once said regarding preaching… ‘I’m not called to give my opinion…I don’t get to say what I think…I only get to say what the Bible says.’
I don’t preach to make anyone feel bad…or make you feel less about yourself … nor to make you feel uncomfortable…I preach because I want you to know what the Bible says.
Last week’s sermon is an example…mentioned that some people pray as if God hears them regardless of what their relationship is to Him…even as Christians we have the mistaken idea that we can just go to God anytime we want in prayer with no thoughts about how we’re living our lives…and He hears us…No He doesn’t.
God has stated that there are times He will not listen to your prayers…you can go on our web page and hear that sermon.
In addition…in last week’s text James referred to Christians as murderers…then this week he’s referring to them as adulteresses…so what gives?
If you were writing a letter to a church and referred to the members as murderers and adulteresses…your letter would probably be thrown in the trash.
So exactly what does James mean in using less than acceptable language… referring to people in that manner?
In verses 4 and 5 of chapter 4 James is about to bring the hammer down.
In referring to them as murderers James is probably echoing what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount regarding when a person has unrighteous anger in their heart toward someone…it’s as if they are committing murder [Matt. 5:21].
James may have known about such an incident in the church…so obviously he is not indicating they’ve been physically killing someone.
Using the word murder heightens how truly devious our hearts become when we’re obsessed with selfish desires.
When sinful attitudes and actions are done against someone, they can cause damaging consequences to us and the person we’re talking to.
When James makes reference to those in the church as adulteresses he is using a term that was applied to the ancient Israelites…he is extending that term to any person who worships anything other than the one true God.
Scripture depicts God’s relationship with the Jewish people as one of husband and wife (Isaiah 54:5; 2 Corinthians 11:2)…and because they were likened to a marriage when the people lapsed into idolatry the common biblical metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness with God was that they were said to have committed adultery Jeremiah 3:20; Ezekiel 16).
So…along this same line of thinking James is saying that when we are friends with the world, we are just like the ancient Jews who left God for other idols…we are in essence committing spiritual adultery against God.
To be a friend of the world while claiming to be a Christian is not only self-deceiving — but hypocrisy.
We must be careful not to deceive ourselves into thinking that we can live in close fellowship with God and at the same time set our hearts on the things of the world.
Again…this goes back to last week’s message regarding prayer… A sinful, disobedient heart, though it be the heart of a child of God, does not arouse God’s interest in what we have to say.
When you are a friend of the world you are basically living your life as though God does not exist.
Remember James has already accused them of…fighting…quarrelling…and coveting…which are the result of being envious and jealous…because of the rampant worldliness in the lives of those in the church.
If anything or anyone takes a more important place in our lives than our relationship with God and His Son Jesus, we have entered into fellowship with the world and become an enemy with God.
Then in verse 5 James writes what some scholars believe is the most difficult verse in the entire New Testament.
5 Or do you think that in vain the Scripture says, “He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us.”
Let me just say at times I think theologians and those who write commentaries need to get a full time job somewhere…there are in fact some difficulties in this verse and I want to look at them but this verse in no way contradicts anything written in the Bible regarding how God deals with us as individuals.
First of all…what Scripture is James referring to?
Secondly…is the phrase ‘jealously desires’ in a good or bad sense?
Thirdly…is spirit capitalized or not?
…12 translations render spirit with a capital “S” suggesting God’s Spirit…the Spirit which God has caused to live in us.
…14 translations render spirit with a small “S” suggesting the spirit of man…and renders it as…the (human) spirit that God caused to dwell in us.
This is a big deal…determining if it is God’s Spirit or man’s spirit, because that is key in identifying if the human spirit is the object of the main verb…or if the divine Spirit is the object of the verb.
Fourthly…is James making a statement or asking a question?
…24 translations render this a question.
…5 translations render this a statement.
I’ve told you before it’s not my intent to turn Sunday sermons into a classroom but I want you to see at times Scripture is difficult to understand…even the Apostle Peter said that Paul wrote stuff that was difficult to understand [2 Pet 3:16]
I want us to look at this verse because it is so powerful…it defines how God looks at us as Christians…we see just how intense God’s love for us is.
So let’s dissect this verse…when looking at verse 5 the question is…what Scripture is James referring to?… we can assume James is not citing a particular passage since there’s not a specific verse with the exact quote…“He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us.”
When we think of Scripture we usually are thinking of the New Testament… remember…when James wrote this letter there was no New Testament…it was in the process of being written…all the early Church teachers had was what we call the Old Testament.
So which part of the Old Testament is he referring to because there is no verse in the Old Testament that says “He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”?
We must assume he is summarizing the truth expressed in several Old Testament passages (Hiebert).
In regard to the phrase ‘jealously desires’ it needs some defining…too often when referring to God as being jealous we think in human terms.
Of someone who has something we don’t have and we’re envious of them and want it as well…or want what they have.
God is not jealous or envious because someone has something He wants or needs…it cannot refer to or imply anything sinful in God…God is never sinfully jealous.
God becomes jealous when we give what rightly belongs to Him to someone or something else…i.e. the worship that belongs to Him alone.
James is agreeing with the many Old Testament passages that tell us God is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 32:16 / 32:21; Exodus 20:5 / 34:14; Zechariah 8:2)…
The simple fact is that we serve a jealous God who will not be shared…at the very core of God’s being…in the center of His personality is an immeasurable quality called jealousy.
God loves us with such a passion that He cannot bear any other love within our hearts for anything other than Himself.
Scripture even declares God’s name as ‘Jealous’ [Ex. 34:14].
In fact…God’s jealousy is so intense that it borders on hate…when He has to share us with anything else.
SIDE BAR…I just want to comment on this because some suggest one of the attributes of God is that He is tolerant.
God is not tolerant…tolerance reflects an attitude of open-mindedness… an acceptance of behavior…beliefs…and values of others…God does none of that.
If God were tolerant…He would just accept our sins as being human…and Jesus would not have needed to die on the cross for our sins.
That’s why God is said to be patient…meaning He does not tolerate our sin but He will wait for us to confess them and change.
When we as Christians continue to live according to the world’s ideas…God takes that choice very personally…He is jealous for us…He won’t easily allow us to continue to lead lives separated and apart from the Spirit He has placed in us.
This is where the word ‘yearns’ comes in…in the Greek it’s a strong term meaning to long for or to greatly desire something…God greatly desires you… His indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in you has a jealous yearning for our friendship with God.
So…what is the meaning of [5] and what is the application to me…that’s the importance of the word ‘dwell’ which means to cause or put within…it’s the Holy Spirit’s dwelling in us (Ro 8.11; 1Co3.16) and His yearning or immense desire for fellowship with our human spirit that causes Him to be jealous.
As Christians we are indwelt by God’s Spirit and that Spirit longs for the undivided loyalty and love of God’s people.
This very difficult to translate statement seems to suggest the following:
God jealously longs for the spirit that He made to live in us.
Another translation could be:
the Spirit which he made to dwell in us jealously yearns for the
entire devotion of our heart…(Ro 8:11; 1Co 3:16; Gal. 4:6; Ep 4:30; Jn 7:39; 16:7).
God’s jealousy points to the fatherly love He has for us and for our lives…there is great comfort in knowing God is jealous…we know we are wanted…we know God’s desire is to be with us…we know God has a purpose and a plan for us…we know that we have the assurance of eternal life with Him.