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 cou...