Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary James 4:5

"Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" — James 4:5 (ASV)

This verse is one of the most difficult in the letter. Various translations have been suggested, but there is good reason to believe that the first translation given in the NIV footnote for the last part of the verse is correct and fits the context better: “God jealously longs for the spirit that he made to live in us.” Verse 4 indicates that believers who are friends of the world are guilty of spiritual adultery. Although their love and devotion belong to God, they have fallen in love with the world. It is natural, therefore, to expect v.5 (closely tied to v.4 by “or”) to speak of God’s jealous longing for his people’s love, not the people’s own envious spirit (cf. Exodus 20:5; 34:14, which refer to God as jealously desiring the devotion of his people).

A second reason for preferring the NIV footnote rendering is that it more accurately represents the Greek text. The Greek words representing “envies” form an idiom meaning “jealously.” Together with GK 2160 (translated “intensely”), it means “longs jealously for.” In v.4 James has accused his readers of spiritual unfaithfulness. If they are not willing to accept this indictment, he asks in v.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”? 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.