Wow, did I just walk into one of the most perplexing things I've ever hit in the Bible this morning! If you have studied the Bible for years, you may know of it- it is James 4:5. I'm going to assume you don't- as I didn't- and together we'll try to map out what's going on.
So I was reading in the ESV, as I normally do, and it is where I first come across the verse:
Jas 4:5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?
And of course, my first reaction was, "From where was James quoting?" And though this is a problem that none of the experts seem to agree on, I quickly found that it wasn't even the BIG problem here. From the way it is written above, you get the sense of God yearning to jealously protect our soul from sin- and several verses in both testaments will go along with that, although not directly in the sense of a quote. And that's okay, as Jesus Himself on several occasions gave us the principal of combining quotes to draw out God's full meaning. BUT, when I started looking at other versions, a totally new way to look at it emerged:
Jas 4:5 Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, The spirit that dwells in us yearns to envy? (MKJV)
So here you get the sense that there is a spirit in man that desires things to the point of envy, which certainly fits with the beginning of James 4:
Jas 4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
Jas 4:2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
Jas 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Jas 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
And if you go through all the versions on my e-Sword program, you get more or less an even split on which way it goes! In researching this, I found that the experts agree on but one thing- it depends on which point you think James is trying to make. Both make valid points, and both have Scriptural back-up to an extent. And honestly, some translations make the whole thing even more confusing. So, let's step over to the version from Young's Literal Translation:
Do ye think that emptily the Writing saith, `To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,'
Yep, that was a lot of help. But you know, there is a way to dope this out. Let's invoke the Kalko Rule and look at the context. I've already shown you what comes before, let me bring in the ESV of the second half:
Jas 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Let's note right off the top how he is talking to his readers. At the beginning, he names them an "adulterous people" (v4); at the end, he names them 'double minded'- in other words, his audience was playing both ends against the middle, blaming their sin on the desire for things that they either weren't bothering or were to ashamed to ask from God.
Immediately after that, James tells them first 'you can't go after these things and be a friend of God', and last, 'He WILL give you grace to turn away from these things.' Inside this, he gives us another quotation, which appears more than once in Proverbs (Keep telling y'all, James is the NT Proverbs!)
So then, which version is it supposed to mean? Well, which end of the spectrum are you at? Are you at a point where you are open to the reason (remember last week) that God LOVES you, and His Holy Spirit yearns for you to be obedient? Or are you at the point where YOUR spirit is concentrated on 'what everyone else has/is doing', to the point of envying those who have them, and leaving you out of God's friendship?
Every church at every time period has people of both types. God needs to prick the hearts of those who have been saved but aren't quite at a point where they "consider His yearning" before they act; He needs to turn the hearts of those who are driven by their lusts and haven't yet seen the NEED of Him. I'm figuring James had some of both in the church he was addressing, or he wouldn't be at this point. See this, is why the Bible is a LIVING Word- it contains what EVERY reader needs, no matter where they are!
Oh, and as for the quotes? The best suggestions to me were:
For the first side:
Gen 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
And the second:
Gal 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Because remember, Peter told us that the writings of Paul were already considered as having the weight of Scripture.
Very interresting
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