James 4

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

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James 4:1

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?”

Study Summary

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? — the opening questions (ti ... pōthen) establish the source of conflict not in external circumstances but in the internal warfare of disordered desires (hēdonē, pleasures/lusts). The 'desires that battle within you' (strateuontai en tois melesin hymōn) use military language to describe the internal conflict between competing drives. James traces social discord back to individual spiritual pathology.

Community Reflections

Mary Patel (test user)1d ago

Rivers of living water — James 4

God is faithful in every circumstance.. Following God is costly, but the reward is eternal.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The contrast between human weakness and divine strength is so vivid in this passage. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. When we read this alongside the surrounding chapters, the narrative arc becomes clear: God is always working redemption, even in the darkest moments.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. I notice the repetition here is deliberate — the author wants us to feel the emphasis, to let the truth sink deep into our hearts.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The contrast between human weakness and divine strength is so vivid in this passage. God is faithful…

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