Loading...
Commentary

The Danger of Disloyalty: Disloyalty Ignores God’s Word

Scriptures: James 4:5
by Jacob Abshire on July 30, 2025

It never gets any less eerie. I’m stopped at a four-way intersection with two other cars beside me. The light turns green, and no one accelerates. I give it some gas, but only gently. “Why are the other cars not going? Do they see something I don’t? Have I imagined a green light that isn’t really there? Am I about to experience a serious collision?” I can’t relax until someone accelerates with me.

James 4:5 is like a four-way intersection where no one accelerates, at least not without hesitation. “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?’” (Ja. 4:5). This verse is notably one of the most challenging verses in all the New Testament. It is difficult to translate and interpret. So, let’s accelerate with caution.

Unlike English, the meaning of a Greek passage is not dependent upon word order. Furthermore, the earliest manuscripts didn’t contain capital letters, verse numbers, punctuation marks, nor quotations. A wooden translation of the verse might yield something like this: “or ya’ll presume that vainly the scripture is saying to envy is desiring the spirit which dwelled in us.” (Pardon me, I’m Texan.) You can imagine how challenging this can be.

Most translations identify two main clauses. Are the clauses questions or statements? If either is a question, is it a rhetorical question? Who is the subject of the second clause? Who is the object? Is the second clause a quotation from the Bible? If so, where did it come from? Bible translators answer these questions in a variety of ways. Here are a few:

  • New King James Version: Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
  • New International Version: Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?
  • The Message Bible: And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.”
  • Good News Bible: Don’t think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.”
  • God’s Word Translation: Do you think this passage means nothing? It says, “The Spirit that lives in us wants us to be his own.”
  • New Living Translation: Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.
  • New American Standard Bible: Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
  • American Standard Bible: Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?
  • The Darby Translation: Think ye that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the Spirit which has taken his abode in us desire enviously?
  • Holman Contemporary Standard Bible: Or do you think it’s without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit He has caused to live in us yearns jealously?
  • Common English Bible: Or do you suppose that scripture is meaningless? Doesn’t God long for our faithfulness in the life he has given to us?

This is not an exercise in discrediting any translation or setting one above another. Each has its own unique value. But, as you can see, there are significant differences in the way this verse is translated. Also, its ambiguity shouldn’t cause you to distrust our translations. Although they are quite different, they nuance the same point in the end. It is really just a matter of how you get there.

The point is simply that God’s Word doesn’t teach us to think that God is the giver of worldly lusts. “For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (Ja. 1:13). Rather, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (Ja. 1:17). Follow the logic. God gives good things. Worldliness is not good. God didn’t give you this affectionate attachment to the world. “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (Ja. 1:14, emphasis mine), which conceives and “gives birth to sin” (Ja. 1:15), particularly the sin of conflict (Ja. 4:1-3). Now, with the end in mind, here are a few useful ways to get there.

Your Worldly Affections Are Stirring Up the Jealousy of God

Some scholars believe the second clause is a paraphrase of the Scripture’s teaching on God’s jealousy. They might read it this way: “God yearns jealously over the spirit that he caused to dwell in us.” They would further argue over the word “spirit” suggesting that it implies the human spirit to some and the Holy Spirit to others. Either way, both spirits can be said to have been made to dwell in us. 

The emphasis in this persuasion is the jealousy of God. God’s jealousy is a prominent theme in all of Scripture. For example, God told the Hebrews, “You shall not bow down to [other gods] or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God” (Ex. 20:5). Later in the same book, God repeats this warning to them: “Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land” because these pagan inhabitants will “become a snare” and lead them away into false worship, “for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex. 34:12-14).

The jealousy of God is unlike the jealousy of man. We desire to have what does not belong to us. God desires to have what rightfully belongs to Him. He desires that we worship Him, not other things. Our jealousy for things turns into worship of those things, not God. Therefore, it is false worship. God’s desire is pure in that He longs for us to worship Him. For this is both beneficial to us and glorifying to Him. It satisfies our greatest desire and gives Him the greatest glory. On the other hand, a desire for earthly things that results in our worship of those things brings about no benefit for anyone.

Nevertheless, there are some problems with this method of interpreting the passage. For instance, the context of James 4:1-10 describes jealousy in a negative way. It may seem out of sorts to think of it in a positive way right in the middle of it all. Also, the phrase “yearns jealously” is never used in connection with God in the Old or New Testaments. However, it is a biblically correct truth. So, this view would suggest to us that our worldly affections are stirring up the jealousy of God.

Your Worldly Affections Are a Result of Your Sin Nature

An alternative view sees the quotation (as the English Standard Version translates) is best viewed as a rhetorical question. Both clauses might be rhetorically begging a negative response. This is consistent with James’ use of teaching, not just in his epistle as a whole, but especially in the immediate context. It might be understood this way: “Does the spirit that God caused to dwell in us long enviously for the world?” No, of course it doesn’t.

James used the word “spirit” earlier in his letter about the human spirit (Ja. 2:26). This, by no means, requires us to think that he is doing it again, but he likely is. And, if the spirit is the subject of the verb “yearns jealously,” then it is consistent with the contextual mood of jealousy. It is worldly and wrong. 

Scripture teaches repeatedly as well. “The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes” (Prov. 21:10). “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9). Even Jesus taught this. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts,” which include “coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy,” and more (Mk. 7:21-22). Do the Scriptures teach this in vain? Of course not.

Scholars refer to this as a “queclarative,” the joining of a rhetorical question to make a declarative statement. In his linguistic commentary on James, William Varner suggests this view fits far better than any other. James “does away with any justification for the human conduct he is condemning and states that God offers not only an alternative to prideful self-seeking, but also the grace to enable the humble ones to choose Him as their friend.” In other words, this view not only flows well with the context; it reinforces the overarching message.

Does the Scripture teach vainly that the human spirit is fallen and needs grace? Is the truth of affectionate attachment to the world a false truth? No, it is very much real, and this is why “he gives more grace” (Ja. 4:6).

No matter how you enter the intersection of this most difficult passage, you leave with the same principle: God desires your total allegiance, and your disloyalty to God proves you ignore God’s Word.

A Discipleship Resource

Creative Content for Christian Men

Instead of comments, I accept and encourage letters to the editor. If you want to write a letter to the editor, you can do so here.