John Calvin 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)

Do you think. He seems to cite the following sentence from Scripture. Consequently, interpreters labor greatly, because no such passage, or at least none exactly like it, is found in Scripture.

But nothing prevents the reference from being made to what has already been said—namely, that the friendship of the world is hostile to God. Moreover, it has been rightly said that this is a truth which occurs everywhere in Scripture. And it is not surprising that he has omitted the pronoun that would have made the sentence clearer, for, as is evident, he is consistently very concise.

The Spirit, or, Does the Spirit? Some think that the human soul is meant and therefore read the sentence affirmatively. According to this meaning, the human spirit, being malignant, is so infected with envy that it always has a mixture of it. However, those who regard the Spirit of God as intended have a better interpretation, for it is He who is given to dwell in us. I therefore take the Spirit to be that of God and read the sentence as a question. For his objective was to prove that because they envied, they were not ruled by the Spirit of God, because He teaches the faithful otherwise. And this he confirms in the next verse by adding that he giveth more grace.

For it is an argument arising from the contrary. Envy is a proof or sign of malignity; but the Spirit of God proves Himself to be bountiful by the abundance of His blessings. Therefore, nothing is more repugnant to His nature than envy. In short, James denies that the Spirit of God rules where depraved lusts prevail, which incite mutual contention, because it is uniquely the office of the Spirit to enrich people continually more and more with new gifts.

I will not stop to refute other explanations. Some offer this meaning: that the Spirit strives against envy, which is too harsh and forced. Then they say that God gives more grace to conquer and subdue lust. But the meaning I have provided is more suitable and simple—namely, that He restores us by His bounty from the power of malignant emulation. The continuative particle δὲ should be understood adversatively, as equivalent to ἀλλὰ or ἀλλά γε; thus, I have rendered it quin, meaning 'but'.