What Spirit are we talking about here?
James 4:5 is a notoriously difficult passage to understand. Here's the ESV: 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”?
NASB: Do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
KJV: Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
There are three basic problems in understanding this verse, and they are all connected to the second half of the verse, which the most translations put in quotes (“He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”).
Here they are, in reverse order:
What spirit is James talking about? Is he saying that the Holy Spirit has been made to dwell in believers (the NASB way), or is he referencing the spirit that God breathed in man at creation what the ESV is going for)? Even a third option is possible: James could be referencing each person’s individual spirit (KJV).
Who is the subject of the verse? Who is “yearning jealously”? God? The Holy Spirit? Or the human spirit in each person?
What Scripture reference does James have in mind? Obviously if this question was easy to answer, it would solve the first two questions, but unfortunately, there is not any Scripture that contains the content of the quotation James uses. So should this even be in quotes (as it is in the NASB and the ESV)?
Notice that all three of the translations above answer all three questions differently.
Let's look at those questions one at a time because understanding this verse makes James’ warning against spiritual adultery all the more potent.
First, what spirit is James talking about? Is this a reference to the Holy Spirit in salvation, the divine spirit breathed into man at creation or individual’s own spirit?
What spirit is James talking about? Is he saying that the Holy Spirit has been made to dwell in believers (the NASB way), or is he referencing the spirit that God breathed in man at creation what the ESV is going for)? Even a third option is possible: James could be referencing each person’s individual spirit (KJV).
Who is the subject of the verse? Who is “yearning jealously”? God? The Holy Spirit? Or the human spirit in each person?
What Scripture reference does James have in mind? Obviously if this question was easy to answer, it would solve the first two questions, but unfortunately, there is not any Scripture that contains the content of the quotation James uses. So should this even be in quotes (as it is in the NASB and the ESV)?
Notice that all three of the translations above answer all three questions differently.
Let's look at those questions one at a time because understanding this verse makes James’ warning against spiritual adultery all the more potent.
First, what spirit is James talking about? Is this a reference to the Holy Spirit in salvation, the divine spirit breathed into man at creation or individual’s own spirit?
While the ESV and the NASB both see this as God’s Holy Spirit, there are good reasons not to follow their rendering. First, it doesn’t fit the context of James. Nowhere else in James does he speak of the Spirit’s role in sanctification or regeneration. He does not talk about how the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. So if he were to do that here, it would be unusual and even out of place.
It would also cause some problems that run against the argument he is making in chapter 4. James is echoing Jesus, who said that the foolish man builds upon the sand, while the wise man builds upon the rock.
It would also cause some problems that run against the argument he is making in chapter 4. James is echoing Jesus, who said that the foolish man builds upon the sand, while the wise man builds upon the rock.
James is arguing that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God, and he is using illusions to OT prophetic language that compare the Israelites to harlots and whores. At that point in Israel’s history, the temple had been practically abandoned and the Israelites had already apostatized. To argue that they possessed the Holy Spirit either individually or corporately severely misunderstands their spiritual condition before their exile. Their problem is that they were Spiritless, not Spirit-filled.
James uses that obvious point to warn professing Christians against the licentiousness of the Israelites.
James uses that obvious point to warn professing Christians against the licentiousness of the Israelites.
He tells his readers that if they have an affair with the world, they are no friend of God. This is a powerful rhetorical (and spiritual!) point, but one that is undercut if he begins it by reassuring his readers that they do in fact possess the Spirit of God. Taking this as the Holy Spirit presents all kinds of soteriological problems (in addition to pneumatological problems) which are avoided if James is simply making a declaration about the depravity of the human spirit. Thus, it is best to see James declaring that the spirit which is jealous in his readers is their own spirit, not the Spirit.
Now, to the second question, which after the first is much easier. When James wrote 4:5, he did not supply the subject of the sentence, leaving the reader to infer it. This explains why the KJV supplies the subject as our own individual spirit, while the NASB and ESV both supply “He” as if it were God.
But because we answered the first question as if it were the human spirit striving, it is essential that we follow the lead of the KJV, and see the subject as our own spirit exercising jealousy.
Now, to the second question, which after the first is much easier. When James wrote 4:5, he did not supply the subject of the sentence, leaving the reader to infer it. This explains why the KJV supplies the subject as our own individual spirit, while the NASB and ESV both supply “He” as if it were God.
But because we answered the first question as if it were the human spirit striving, it is essential that we follow the lead of the KJV, and see the subject as our own spirit exercising jealousy.
Because we understand the spirit to be the human spirit, then the verse takes on a negative connotation—as if our own human spirit is striving with jealousy. Examples of this range from Rachel—who was filled with jealousy over Leah’s fecundity—all the way back to Cain, who was jealous of his brother’s worship. Even in James, jealousy is such an issue that we are to put it to death (James 3:14, 16).
To see God as the subject of this sentence would, in turn, make God out to be the one desiring jealousy in our own hearts. The ESV tries to avoid this by making God yearning, not over our own jealousy, but over the Spirit he placed in us. But again, that runs into the problems we discussed under the heading of the first question. One translation tries to mix both of these, but it ends up making it sound like God’s Spirit is jealous of our own spirit (NLT: “the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?”).
To see God as the subject of this sentence would, in turn, make God out to be the one desiring jealousy in our own hearts. The ESV tries to avoid this by making God yearning, not over our own jealousy, but over the Spirit he placed in us. But again, that runs into the problems we discussed under the heading of the first question. One translation tries to mix both of these, but it ends up making it sound like God’s Spirit is jealous of our own spirit (NLT: “the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?”).
I argue that these problems are avoided by simply not supplying a divine subject where James does not, and instead to see the subject as embedded into the sentence. My translation would be something like the KJV: “The spirit that marks us desires envy.”
In other words, our hearts are prone to wander.
Which leads to the third question: What OT verse says anything like that? Commentators generally grant that nothing approaches this as an OT quote, but instead argue that the concept is taught, even if it is not taught in so many words. But because of how we answered the first two questions, that gives us one very good option: Proverbs 21:10. There, Solomon writes, “The soul of the wicked desires evil.” I recognize there are problems with seeing this verse in the background—namely, the Septuagint deviates from the Hebrew here, and my understanding of James 4:5 follows the Hebrew, but not the Septuagint’s Greek. Despite that, I do think the Hebrew is close enough to the Greek James uses to make his citation not only plausible but likely.
Moreover, this contrast fists very nicely with the two-ways-to-live theme so prevalent in James. He is warning against loving the world, and he backs up his warning by reminding us that our hearts are prone to drifting away from God. Because of sin, we are inherently jealous creatures, and God knows this and warns us against it. We should flee from that spirit of striving, and instead of running to the world, we should run to God. After all, when we come to him, he gives us refuge, grace, and safety (James 4:6-8). Author: Cripplegate
In other words, our hearts are prone to wander.
Which leads to the third question: What OT verse says anything like that? Commentators generally grant that nothing approaches this as an OT quote, but instead argue that the concept is taught, even if it is not taught in so many words. But because of how we answered the first two questions, that gives us one very good option: Proverbs 21:10. There, Solomon writes, “The soul of the wicked desires evil.” I recognize there are problems with seeing this verse in the background—namely, the Septuagint deviates from the Hebrew here, and my understanding of James 4:5 follows the Hebrew, but not the Septuagint’s Greek. Despite that, I do think the Hebrew is close enough to the Greek James uses to make his citation not only plausible but likely.
Moreover, this contrast fists very nicely with the two-ways-to-live theme so prevalent in James. He is warning against loving the world, and he backs up his warning by reminding us that our hearts are prone to drifting away from God. Because of sin, we are inherently jealous creatures, and God knows this and warns us against it. We should flee from that spirit of striving, and instead of running to the world, we should run to God. After all, when we come to him, he gives us refuge, grace, and safety (James 4:6-8). Author: Cripplegate
