James 4:1-6
~18 min read
💭 Consider this: What are you personally prone to “desire to have”, which might lead you to fight against other believers?
TRANSCRIPT
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are preaching through the Book of James, and we have come to this portion in James 4:1-6. The title of our message is ‘Dealing with Conflict in the Church’.
Yesterday, we had the holy matrimony worship service in our church, and there were many visitors. I met up with several pastors who attended the wedding. One of the pastors said to me that things are well with his church: people are getting more and more united. It is a good thing to hear that. There are times when the church would enjoy peace, harmony, and unity, but sadly, there will also be times when the church will experience conflict. It is inevitable because the local church, like Bethel B-P Church, is made up of believers and unbelievers.
Here in this passage, James was dealing with conflict in the church. Although he was writing to the church, he was referring to the unbelievers because, in verse 4, he said they are the enemies of God. When someone says, ‘You are my enemy,’ that is a terrible thing, but what if God says, ‘You are my enemy’? That would be the worst thing that a person could ever hear because it comes from the Almighty God. An enemy of God is an unbeliever. As Romans 5:10 tells us that ‘while we were yet enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son’. The unbeliever and enemy of God will be eternally separated from Him and will be sent to the eternal lake of fire.
Since the local church is made up of believers and unbelievers, it is possible for someone to be in the church, to worship for many years, to grow up in the Sunday school, to be a baptised member, to serve in a certain capacity, and yet still be an unbeliever—an enemy of God. And when these enemies of God are in the church, what will they do? They will bring conflict and strife. This is what we want to learn from this passage about dealing with conflict in the church.
I. The External Trouble
Firstly, we need to understand the external trouble. Look at the first part of verse 1, James chapter 4: "From whence come wars and fightings among you?" The word "wars" means quarrels or prolonged disputes, and "fightings" means conflicts. In other words, there were quarrels and conflicts within the church, and James was asking the people, ‘Where do these quarrels and conflicts come from within you, in the church?’
In our responsive reading, Jesus prayed for the believers in John 17:21, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us". The fact that our Lord Jesus prayed that the believers would be united as one is because He knew that the church would soon be plagued with quarrel and conflicts. True enough, later on, the churches were plagued with many troubles. We see that happening in the church at Corinth, in the church at Philippi, and in the other New Testament churches as well. Throughout history, churches have experienced all kinds of conflicts, and our church is not spared. We have our own problems.
But why do people fight in the church?
- Firstly, there are believers who are disobedient, and they allow themselves to be influenced by the world and by their own sinful desires and passions, which then lead them to be jealous, angry, bitter, and so forth.
- Secondly, there will always be unbelievers in the church, and since they are the enemies of God, they are also the enemies of God's people. So naturally, they will fight against the true believers.
Do you remember Jesus taught us about the parables of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24–30), the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31–46)? The servants of the farmer said, (the enemy has planted the tares amongst the wheat) ‘Do you want us to go out there and gather the tares?’ The farmer said, ‘No, don't do that, because while you are gathering up the tares, you may accidentally gather the wheat as well. Let both of them grow together, and when the time of harvest comes, then I will tell the reapers to first gather the tares to be burned, and then the wheat to be gathered into my barns.’ (Matthew 13:27–30)
Jesus was speaking about the local church like Bethel B-P Church. The enemy was the Devil, and he had planted unbelievers in the church. Jesus said, let both the believers and unbelievers continue in the church, but when the harvest time comes—that is the time when He returns—then there will be the separation of the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats. Therefore, there will always be this mixture of believers and unbelievers in the congregation. There will always be this constant struggle. The unbelievers will bring their worldly practices, attitudes, and behaviours into the church, and inevitably, there will be troubles. There will be quarrels and conflicts. That is the sad reality.
II. The Internal Trouble
Our next point is ‘The Internal Trouble’. Look at the second part of James 4:1, "come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" This means, ‘Did they not come from your own desires that war from within your members?’ Here, the phrase "your members" is not a reference to the church but rather the members of this physical body. In other words, it comes from within your own selves.
Lust is the uncontrolled personal desire to satisfy oneself. God has given to men, both believers and unbelievers, the conscience. Man is aware of what is right and wrong, and when he sins, he cannot escape the feeling of guilt. That is why there is this war within him—this war within his heart and conscience. So James was saying, ‘Look at all the external troubles; look at all the quarrels and fights. Did they not come from within yourselves? Is the source not your own sinful desires?’
Take a moment and consider all the problems in society—drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, child abuse, crime, etc. Are they not a result of emotional disorders and a deeper issue from within? Most of us here are drivers. Consider how some drivers would use threatening and sometimes obscene gestures to vent their unhappiness to other drivers. Some would even fight on the road, on the highway. Is it not because of the impatience, frustration, and anger from within? Most certainly.
Once, a church member told me how she went to the grocery shop, and all of a sudden, a woman came over and purposely elbowed her on the shoulder and almost knocked her over. She was shocked, and she asked the woman, ‘Why? Why did you do that?’ The woman said, ‘Because just now, when you walked past in front of me, you did not say 'excuse me'.’ Where did that come from? From within—the anger in her heart, and then it manifested through her actions. It is always from within.
That is why Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep thy heart”—or guard thy heart—”with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." You and I must protect our hearts, guard our hearts, keep it pure and righteous, because out of it our actions, our words will then also be pure and righteous. The opposite is also true—if our hearts are ungodly, full of anger, full of strife, our words, our actions will also be angry and full of strife.
James 4:2, "Ye lust, and have not”. When you have a strong desire to have something—something to satisfy you—and you do not have it, what happens? "Ye kill". Kill does not only mean murder; it includes all kinds of murderous, hatred and extremely destructive behaviours. When people lust after reputation, prestige, money, and power, and they do not have what they want, what do they do? They are willing to turn to crime. When people lust after sexual gratifications or the affections of another person, and they do not obtain what they want, what do they do? They are willing to do everything they can, including murder.
Even King David was willing to commit murder to have Bathsheba as his wife.(2 Samuel 11) Later on, his son Absalom was so obsessed with being the king of Israel that he was willing to kill his own father, David. (2 Samuel 15–18) You lust, and have not, but you will resort to everything you can, including murder, to have what you want. James went on to say (in James 4:2), when you “desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war.” The original word for "desire" is from where we get the English word for zealous, sometimes translated as jealous. When people are jealous of what others have, that is when they fight and quarrel.
How we wish this kind of behaviour would not occur in the church, but sadly, it does. When people want to be leaders, they want to serve in certain ministries or fellowship groups, and they do not get what they want, they turn to quarrels and fights and start to find fault with every little thing. Isn't it true how some people will always oppose your services? No matter what you do, no matter how well you do, they will find fault with the way you sing, with the way you play the piano, with the way you lead and chair the meeting, with the way you serve, even with the way you pray—they will find fault. Why? Because they desire to have what you have, and when they cannot obtain it, the Bible says they fight and war.
Remember, James was speaking about the worldly unbelievers in the church, and he says, "Yet ye have not, because ye ask not." The unbelievers will find no reason at all to ask anything from God. God is never in the picture because they consider themselves self-sufficient, capable of taking care of themselves. They do not believe that everything they have comes from God, so it does not occur to them to ask anything from God.
Verse 3: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." Even if they ask, James says, they ask with the wrong motives so that they can satisfy their own sinful desires. The word "consume" is very interesting; it is the word ‘spend’—spend it on their own desires.
This reminds us of the prodigal son who asked his father for his inheritance. For what purpose? To spend it, to consume it, for his own personal enjoyment. (Luke 15:11-32) That is the idea. Dear friend, what lessons can we learn from here? Why do we pray? Obviously, we do pray, but have you ever paused to consider your prayer items? Why do you pray for those things? What have those things got to do with God? Do you just pray for those things because you want to have them for only one purpose—for your own personal enjoyment, for your own personal satisfaction—and it has nothing to do with God nor His glory?
It could be praying for our careers, our marriages, our families, our children's education, our houses, our health and strength. We want to be delivered from our sicknesses. We want many more years to live. For what purpose? Why do we want many more years? Is it just because we want to have all these remaining years to enjoy the fruit of our labours, our retirement, our accomplishments? Is that all life is all about?
There's nothing wrong with praying for these items; we ought to pray. But as believers bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we need to ask ourselves: How can my career be used to glorify God? How can my marriage, my family, my work, my house be used to glorify God? Do not be like the unbelievers who do not pray, but even when they pray, they pray with the wrong motives. It is only for their own personal enjoyment, for their own personal satisfaction, that they may consume it upon their lust. Believers must never do that. We must always consider God when we pray.
III. The Result Of The Trouble
Finally, James turns to ‘The Result Of The Trouble’. Verse 4: "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." An adulterer or adulteress is someone who is married and is unfaithful to the spouse and has another relationship. Here, it is about spiritual adultery, like the nation of Israel, who on one hand claimed to believe in Jehovah God and then turned to pagan gods and idols. Jesus Himself also described the unbelieving Israelites as an evil and adulterous generation.
The original Greek word for "world" is kosmos, and it can mean different things depending on the context.
- It can mean this physical world we live in.
- It can also mean humanity, like in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That is the world of humanity—God loves humankind.
- It can also mean the evil system of this world, whereby Satan is the prince. As Ephesians 2:2 tells us, before our conversions, in times past, we were walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air—that is, Satan.
Here, James was referring to the evil system of this world. It is a system that is controlled and influenced by Satan, like the entertainment, the philosophies, the humanistic ideas, the value systems, and all the movements—LGBT, feminist, ecumenical, and other movements. Their goal is always self-glory, self-fulfilment, self-indulgence, and self-satisfaction. It is the opposite of what God wants for you and me. It is extremely hostile towards God—that is the meaning of enmity.
To be a friend of the world is to have a deep affection, a close relationship. It is to agree with and to love the evil system of this world. A person either belongs to God, or he belongs to the world—there is no middle ground. Just like a person cannot legally be married to two spouses, he can only be either spiritually belonging to God, or he will belong to the world.
You see, when Christ died on the cross, He died to save us. And by His death and the shedding of His precious blood, we are delivered from sin, Satan, and the world. As believers, we are not only separated from the world, but we are dead to the world. The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:14, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” In other words, Paul says, ‘Because of my Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for me on the cross of Calvary, by His death and the shedding of His precious blood, the world is now dead to me, and I am considered dead to the world.’
Dear friend, let's say one day your children come home from school and say to you, ‘Daddy, Mummy, my classmates are mocking me for being a Christian. They do not like me. They think I'm boring, I'm plain, I'm not interesting. I do not dress the way they dress, I do not talk the way they talk. I do not understand them, and they do not understand me. They do not want to be my friend.’ Are you sad and troubled? Well, you should say, ‘Praise the Lord that the world finds my child dead and unattractive.’ If the world finds your child alive, active, and attractive, then that should trouble you. We all ought to be dead to the world, not a friend of the world.
Again, James was not talking about those believers who fell into sin in a moment of weakness and were attracted to the things of this world. He was referring to the unbelievers who willingly and continuously love this world. How do we know? Because a believer will never be called an enemy of God. A believer is called a friend of Jesus Christ. There are many people who claim to be Christians—they may attach themselves to the church, they may sing, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus,’ but they do not have a saving relationship with Him, nor do they love Him or His Word. They are in love with the world. They are like Demas, of whom Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:10: "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica”. He loved this world so much that he was willing to forsake the believers; he left the church.
Dear friend, through the years, we have seen many professing believers who walked into the gates of our church. They attended our services for a while; some were even baptised, served for a couple of years, and then disappeared into the world. It is so sad. How do we know if we are a friend of God or a friend of the world? Do we find ourselves loving the things of God more and more, or the things of the world more and more? Do we love the worship of God? Do we love prayers? Do we love to read the Bible? Do we love to fellowship with other believers? Do we love to hear gospel reports about the mission fields? Do we love to hear souls being saved? If you find yourself loving these things, then you will know that you are a friend of God.
Our Lord Jesus said, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:14) And He went on to say, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19). As believers, we live in this world as long as we are alive, but we do not belong to this world. We do not love this world. There are many things in this world that we do not agree with. We are sad and troubled by the sin, atrocities, and evil happening around us. We know that this world is not our home; we are just a-passing through. And as we mature in our faith, as we grow older and older, the things of this world will fade in their glamour. They will lose their grip on us, and the things of heaven will become clearer and clearer to us, and we will want to go home.
James 4:5, "Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" Most theologians agree that this is the most difficult verse to interpret in the Book of James because,
- Firstly, there’s no indication throughout the entire Bible that this verse was quoted from there. (I.e., the second part of James 4:5 is not found in other part of the Bible.)
- Secondly, it is the word "spirit"—whether it is the human spirit or the Holy Spirit.
Some modern Bible versions purposely add the capital ‘S’ to the word "spirit" to refer it to the Holy Spirit, and they will interpret this verse as the Holy Spirit being jealous of us when we fall in love with the world. It sounds quite logical, but if you read this verse in its entire context, and if you remember James was referring to the unbelievers, then he must be referring to the human spirit because the unbelievers do not have the Holy Spirit.
In other words, he was saying to them, ‘Do you think the Scripture will say anything without purpose or meaning?’—Most certainly not! The Scripture says whatever is accurate and true.—’You are the living proof because the natural man, the unbeliever, has a spirit of envy.’ And he included himself by using the word "us": before his conversion, that was what he was; he knew that. And the Bible also teaches us in many other places, like Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked”.
Another reason why we believe that he was referring to the unbelievers as in the human spirit is because, in the next verse, he began with the word "but," which means in contrast to the unbelievers, God giveth more grace to the believers. Look at James 4:6, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." Contrary to the unbelievers, who seek to fight and quarrel, bringing conflict into the church and dividing it, believers seek to bring peace, harmony, and unity into the church.
And it is extremely difficult for the believers to do that, but God promised not only to give them the grace to do so, but He promised more grace. God not only will not give His grace to the proud, to those who bring afflictions into the church, but He will resist them. In other words, He will fight against them and oppose them. And all of us know that no one can stand against God. Those who bring conflict into the church, which belongs to Him, He will be the one who will resist them.
Dear friend, soon we will be celebrating our 38th anniversary. 38 years have come and gone, and God has been with us all these years. There may be times we have experienced peace, harmony, and unity, but we know that there are also conflicts, and there will also be conflicts in the future because the local church is not perfect. It is a mixture of believers and unbelievers—the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats. Even the believers are not perfect, and sometimes they do succumb to sin, and they themselves are the ones who bring conflict into the church. But as true believers, we must never behave like that.
We must know that the Bible gives us a very strong warning: anyone who strives and brings conflicts into the Church of Jesus Christ is not doing the work of God; he is not a friend of God, but he is an enemy of God. So as believers, we do not want to do that, and we know that we want our God to be glorified, and He will be glorified when the believers are united. And so we seek to bring peace, harmony, and unity into the church.
We understand that the source of conflict comes from within our hearts—our sinful desires and passions. That is why we fight and quarrel; that is why we bring conflict. So we must guard our hearts with all diligence. If we find ourselves having those sinful thoughts, those thoughts that think evil of others and cause divisions, what must we do? We must ask the Lord to help us to remove those thoughts, perish those thoughts.
There will be conflict; there will be troubles. In such times, it is not our business to fight with the troublemakers, but it is our business to pray because we cannot overcome the troublemakers. Only God alone can, and He will give us the grace—more grace—to keep the church united. And He promised us that He will be the one to deal with those who bring conflict. He will resist them and fight against them.
So what should we do? Pray. Ask the Lord to help so that you and I will have the grace—and more grace—to press on, do that which is right for His glory, and let the rest be left for God to deal with. May the Lord help us and grant us more years to serve Him—not for ourselves, but for His glory. Let us pray.
Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider this portion of Scripture and how Thou hast taught us through James about the conflict in the church. Indeed, there were quarrels and conflicts within the church during the time of James, even so now, especially when our Lord Jesus Himself prayed for the believers that they would be united as one, knowing that there would be troubles in the church. The devil is one who will plant unbelievers, professing believers who do not have a saving relationship with Thee, and who are opposed to Thee. They are Thine enemies and also the enemies of Thy people, so naturally, they will fight, quarrel, and bring conflict.
Oh Lord, we cannot keep the church united; we cannot create peace and harmony—only Thou alone can. But we can do that which is right, and Thou wilt give us grace and more grace to do that which is right, to press on and persevere, to serve together as a body of believers for Thy glory, and we let Thee deal with the rest. Thou hast said Thou wilt resist the proud, those who bring afflictions into the church. They cannot escape Thine eyes; they will be dealt with by Thee, and this is what we believe in. So we ask of Thee to preserve our church for as long as our Lord Jesus will tarry in His return. May this church be pure; may this church be godly and righteous; may this church be united as one to do Thy work, that Thy name may be glorified. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF JAMESFacing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]James 1:1-4
Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]James 1:1-4
The Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialThe Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialJames 1:5-8
Trial Is No Respecter Of PersonsTrial Is No Respecter Of PersonsJames 1:9-12
How To Deal With TemptationHow To Deal With TemptationJames 1:13-15
Remember Who God Is And Who We AreRemember Who God Is And Who We AreJames 1:16-18
Be Receptive To The Word Of GodBe Receptive To The Word Of GodJames 1:19-21
Doers of the WordDoers of the WordJames 1:21-25
Be Responsive To The Word Of GodBe Responsive To The Word Of GodJames 1:22-25
Are You Transformed By The Word?Are You Transformed By The Word?James 1:26-27
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]James 2:1-4
The Sin of PartialityThe Sin of PartialityJames 2:1-13
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]James 2:5-13
Show Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineShow Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineJames 2:14-20
Faith In ActionFaith In ActionJames 2:21-26
A Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherA Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherJames 3:1-2
Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)James 3:1-13
The Power Of The TongueThe Power Of The TongueJames 3:3-6
The Taming Of The TongueThe Taming Of The TongueJames 3:7-12
The Danger Of False WisdomThe Danger Of False WisdomJames 3:13-16
The Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomThe Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomJames 3:17-18
Dealing With Conflict In The ChurchDealing With Conflict In The ChurchJames 4:1-6
What Constitutes True SalvationWhat Constitutes True SalvationJames 4:7-10
Speak No EvilSpeak No EvilJames 4:11-12
God’s Plan Or My Plan?God’s Plan Or My Plan?James 4:13-17
Physically Rich But Spiritually PoorPhysically Rich But Spiritually PoorJames 5:1-6
How To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleHow To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleJames 5:7-11
Simply Speak The TruthSimply Speak The TruthJames 5:12; Matthew 5:33-37
What To Do When It HurtsWhat To Do When It HurtsJames 5:13-18
The Value Of The SoulThe Value Of The SoulJames 5:19-20
