Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to Be a friend of the world makes him an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? (James 4:4-5)
In this passage, James has a general subject – the problem of
conflict among those in the Christian family. Here, he seems to
point to the root cause of these conflicts, and he does it strongly, confronting his readers with this accusation: "Adulterers and
adulteresses!" This is a rebuke presented in the Old Testament
vocabulary. God spoke this way in the Old Testament when His
people were attracted to some form of idolatry
(Jeremiah 3:8-9, Ezekiel 6:9, Hosea 3:1).
As James saw it here, their covetousness was idolatry (Colossians 3:5) and "friendship with the world."
According to many scholars, better ancient Greek manuscripts only
say "You adulteresses." The addition of "adulterers" was probably
made by an early scribe who thought James was speaking about
literal sexual adultery and didn't want men to be excluded from the
rebuke. But in the picture James used, "you adulteresses" fits well,
because according to the picture, God is the "husband" and we are
His "wife" (as in Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah 3:20, and Exodus 34:15-16).
Now having more of his readers' attention, James explained: "Do
you do not know that friendship with the world is enmity with
God?" James recognized that we cannot both be friends of this
world system in rebellion against God, and friends of God at the
same time (Matthew 6:24).
Even the desire to be a friend of the world ("wants to be a friend") makes that one an enemy of God.
The strong statements James made here remind us that all was not
beautiful in the early church. They had plenty of carnality and
worldliness to deal with. While the New Testament church is a clear
pattern for us, we should not over-romanticize the spiritual
character of early Christians.
Despite their problems, James was confident that God was at work
in his readers: "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously."
The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit has a jealous yearning
for our friendship with God. The Christian who lives in compromise
will be convicted by the Spirit of their lifestyle.
James agreed with the many passages in the Old Testament that
tell us God is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 32:16, Exodus 20:5,
Zechariah 8:2). When we say God is jealous, we mean that He
loves us so deeply that He cannot approve of a competing love.
Think of the inner pain and torture inside the person who is
betrayed by an unfaithful spouse; who must reckon with the truth, "I
am faithful to them, but they are not faithful to me." This is what the
Spirit of God feels regarding our world-loving hearts.
F.B. Meyer understood the idea of James in this passage: "He went so far as to speak of them as adulterers and adulteresses; and then adopting a gentler, pleading tone, he says, 'You are grieving the Holy Spirit who has come to dwell within you, who yearns with a jealous envy to possess your entire nature for Himself.'"
Do you feel the jealousy of God in your life? The sense that He
disapproves of the idols we make and cling to, whatever form they
may take? If so, please remember that this is a good thing. It shows
the depth of God's love for you and points you to the kind of
relationship with Him you were created to have. Learn to appreciate
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