ACC ~ James 4 v1 - 10

OVERVIEW:

There is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy God’s creation, but everything depends on recognizing what those good things are and seeking them in the right way. Do not become fixated on making comparisons between what you own and what your neighbor owns (DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA). This intensifies the struggle within (BEDE). When someone desires something inordinately, it tends to ensure the receiving of the opposite (OECUMENIUS). God will see to it that petitions arising from bad motives will not be fulfilled (AUGUSTINE, ANDREAS). So pray for right motives (BEDE). The godly petitioner asks only for what is compatible with the divine promises (DIDYMUS), for what pleases God and for what God will freely give (PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS). There can be no enduring coexistence of virtue with evil (ORIGEN, DIDYMUS), and so it has been since the fallen angels and Adam (HILARY OF ARLES). Our enmities tend to make us morally blind (OECUMENIUS, SYMEON). So make the proper use of wisdom (OECUMENIUS).

God yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us. This is so whether it refers to God’s Spirit or the spirit in us that draws us toward God (SEVERIAN, BEDE). Beware of self-conceit (JEROME, AUGUSTINE). Draw near to gracious people (CLEMENT OF ROME). God wants to dwell in you (CAESARIUS OF ARLES), but this indwelling can occur only in a humble, merciful heart (MACARIUS OF EGYPT, VALERIAN). God resists the proud who trust in their own strength but gives grace to the humble because they recognize their need and ask him for help (DIDYMUS, HESYCHIUS, BEDE, OECUMENIUS). God dwells in us (AMBROSE) that he might destroy the death that has come upon us and give us more grace (ANDREAS).

Meanwhile we must fight against demonic captivity (CAESARIUS OF ARLES), a struggle in which one cannot be double-minded (OECUMENIUS). Those who remain unashamed of their sin are miserable, not so much because they have fallen from grace but because they have remained in their fallen state (CHRYSOSTOM). Mourn your sins (LEANDER). Be ready to repent while there is time (BEDE). The most important blessings that we can ever receive are spiritual ones, and Christians must be sufficiently detached from the cares of this world that they can recognize this and pray for that kind of blessing. There is no room here for compromise. To embrace the world is to reject God. By world James means the desires of ungodly people, who are at war with the Spirit of God. The only way to deal with this effectively is to humble ourselves and turn back to God in prayer and supplication. If we do this, we shall be full of contrition, and our prayers will be punctured by weeping rather than by laughter. Only if we come to God as abject penitents will he be willing to help us, but when we have that attitude, then we shall discover that far from rejecting us, he lifts us up and receives us with great joy and gladness into his heavenly kingdom.

4:1a | The Cause of Infighting

EXCESSIVE COMPARISON. DIONYSIUS: When a man has bought a large enough field and sees that his neighbor’s is larger still, he wants to increase his own so as to make his house greater. CATENA.

THE TEST OF TEACHING. ANDREAS: James shows that the teaching is not working, for they are all carnal and doing the most wicked things. CATENA.

4:1b | Your Passions at War

THE STRUGGLE WITHIN. BEDE: Your passions are at war in your members whenever your hands or your tongue or some combination of your bodily parts obeys the promptings of your depraved mind. It is also possible that the passions mentioned here are in fact good desires, pointing towards the riches and benefits of God’s kingdom. On account of these and many other such things there is often a struggle between good and evil going on in our minds. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

4:2 | You Do Not Have Because You Do Not Ask

ASK FOR RIGHT MOTIVES. BEDE: The reason that you struggle but fail to obtain what you want is that you do not ask God to give these things to you. For if you ask him with the right motives, he will give you not only everything you need here on earth but also what you need to get to heaven. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

THE OPPOSITE OBTAINED FROM WRONG DESIRES. OECUMENIUS: James proceeds here by way of thesis and antithesis. The thesis, that is, what they desire, is absurd to begin with, but the way they go about getting what they want ensures the exact opposite. Murder and fighting are not good things, but neither do the good things which they desire follow from them. Note also that here James speaks of murder and of fighting as spiritual things, not physical ones. It would be bad enough to think this kind of thing about robbers, but how much worse it is when we are dealing with people who have a certain amount of faith and who have turned to God. These are people who are trying to kill the soul and to fight against godliness. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

4:3 | You Ask but Do Not Receive

ASK IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: The Savior said: “Ask and you will receive. Everyone who asks will receive.” How can it be then that some people pray but do not get what they ask for? To this it must be answered that if someone comes to prayer in the right way, omitting none of the prerequisites for intercession, he will receive everything he asks for. But if someone appears to be going beyond the permissible bounds laid down for intercession, he will appear to be asking for something in the wrong way and therefore will not obtain it. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

ABUSIVE INTENTIONS. AUGUSTINE: If someone intends to misuse what he receives, he will not receive it. Instead, God will pity him. TRACTATES 73.1.

GOD GRASPS OUR WORTHINESS TO RECEIVE. ANDREAS: It appears that some ask but do not receive. God ignores those who attack him and those who ask wrongly, according to their own desires. But someone will say that even those who ask for divine wisdom and virtue do not receive them. In reply it must be said that such people may be worthy to receive these good things, but they must do so in the right way. Perhaps they want such things merely for the pleasure of having them, and if so, they will not get them. CATENA.

ASKING FOR WHAT PLEASES GOD. PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS: The hierarch, being a man of God, asks only for what is compatible with the divine promises, for what pleases God and for what God will freely give. He thereby demonstrates to God the lover of good that his own conduct is always modeled on the Good and shows those who are present what kinds of gifts the saints will receive. ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL HIERARCHY 7.3.7.

FALSE PETITIONS. BEDE: Those who continue in their sins ask wrongly. They entreat the Lord ill-advisedly to forgive them sins which they are not prepared to forgive in others. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.14.

4:4 | Friendship with the World Is Enmity with God

VIRTUE AND EVIL. ORIGEN: Since evil forms a friendship with the world and virtue a friendship with God, virtue and evil cannot coexist. CATENA.

GOD AND MAMMON OPPOSITES. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Whoever loves the world by committing sin is revealed as an enemy of God, just as, on the other hand, one who affirms friendship with God by not sinning is a constant enemy of the world. Therefore, just as it is impossible to serve both God and mammon, so it is also impossible to be a friend of the world and of God at the same time. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

EVEN THE SON FACED THESE ENMITIES. AUGUSTINE: It was because of these enmities toward God that not even his only-begotten Son was spared. TRACTATES 101.2.

THE UNDOING OF THE FALLEN ANGELS. HILARY OF ARLES: Love of honor and pride and boastfulness is hostile to God, for these things were the undoing of the fallen angels as well as of the first human couple, which is why to this day they are described as “enemies of God.” INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES.

TOLERATING ADULTEROUS TEACHERS. OECUMENIUS: James calls these people adulterers, not because they practiced physical adultery but because they corrupted the commands which were instituted by God and turned away to other loves. They were even prepared to tolerate an adulterous teacher, even if it was clear that he was as deep in the mud as any pig. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

ENMITY TENDS TOWARD BLINDNESS. SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN: When one is at enmity toward someone else, he has no idea how to explain to others what that person approves of or likes, nor is he able to instruct them concerning his desires. DISCOURSES 2.11.

4:5 | The Spirit He Has Made to Dwell in Us

THE SPIRIT DRAWS US TOWARD GOD. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: What this means is that the Spirit in us tends toward fellowship with God. He turns us away from the love of the world and gives us ever more grace. CATENA.

WHETHER THIS IS THE HUMAN SPIRIT. BEDE: Some think that this refers to God’s Spirit, which does battle inside us against envy and tries to rid us of it. Others, however, think that it refers to the human spirit and is a warning to us not to desire or to attach ourselves to the lusts of this world, because as long as the spirit of our mind desires earthly things it does so with envy, because it envies the fact that others have what it wants to obtain. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

USE WISDOM RIGHTLY. OECUMENIUS: James is here using an abbreviated form of speech in order to convey his meaning. What he is saying is this: “I have thus far been warning you in my own words to make the right and proper use of your wisdom that you might not abuse it in your pride by corrupting it or misinterpreting it by your overly clever preaching.” COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

4:6 | God Opposes the Proud but Gives Grace to the Humble

DRAW NEAR TO GRACIOUS PEOPLE. CLEMENT OF ROME: Scripture says that God resists the arrogant but gives grace to the humble. We should associate with those to whom God’s grace has been given. LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.30.2-3.

AGAINST THOSE WHO DEMEAN MARRIAGE. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: There are those who say openly that marriage is fornication. They lay it down as a dogma that it was instituted by the devil. They are arrogant and claim that they are emulating the Lord, who did not marry and had no worldly possessions. It is their boast that they have a deeper understanding of the gospel than anyone else. To them Scripture says that God is against the proud and gives grace to the humble. STROMATEIS 3.49.1-2.

WARNING AGAINST SELF-CONCEIT. AUGUSTINE: Give me someone professing perpetual continence, who is free from all vices and blemishes of conduct. For her I fear pride—I dread the swelling of self-conceit from so great a blessing. The more there is in her which she is satisfied with, the more I fear that in pleasing herself she will displease the one who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. HOLY VIRGINITY 34.

ARROGANCE. JEROME: One who holds his head high in arrogance hates God. SERMONS 15.

THE TRUE SIGN OF A CHRISTIAN. MACARIUS OF EGYPT: The true sign of a Christian is the following: to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, to endure hunger and thirst, to be poor in spirit, humble and contemptible in one’s own eyes. FIRST SYRIAC EPISTLE 2.

GOD WANTS TO DWELL IN YOU. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Be humble, in order that God may rest in you, which he wants to do. SERMONS 210.5.

PRIDE AND HUMILITY. VALERIAN OF CIMIEZ: One man is invited to grace in proportion to his love of humility. Another is consigned to punishment in proportion to his sin of pride. So if the swelling of pride is taking place in anyone, let him combat it, lest he draw the arms of heavenly justice against himself. SERMONS 14.2.

THE PROUD TRUST THEIR OWN STRENGTH. BEDE: God punishes robbers, perjurers, gluttons and other sinners because they are in contempt of his commandments, but it is said that he resists the proud in a special way. This is because those who trust in their own strength, who neglect to submit themselves to God’s power, who really think that they can almost save themselves and there-fore have no time to seek help from above—these are all deserving of greater punishment. On the other hand, God gives grace to the humble because they recognize their need and ask him for help to overcome the plague of their sins, and for this reason they deserve to be healed. It ought to be noted that James quotes this verse from Proverbs according to the Septuagint, as does Peter in his letter. The Latin text, which is based on the Hebrew original, reads: “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he shows favor.” CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

ENMITY WITH GOD. OECUMENIUS: It is not absurd to say that contempt for divine doctrine and an inordinate love for the world derive from pride and are the substance of enmity against God. God resists the proud, because it is normal to resist one’s enemies, and the proud must be counted among them. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

4:7 | Submit to God and Resist the Devil

GIVING MORE GRACE. ANDREAS: If death came into the world by the malice of the devil, and Christ dwells in the inner man according to the Scriptures, this is the reason why he dwells in us, that he might destroy the death which has come upon us through the devil’s cunning. And not only this, but that he might give us more grace as well. For he said: “I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” CATENA.

FIGHT AGAINST CAPTIVITY. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Let us fight as hard as we can, with the Lord’s help, against that most harsh captivity of the soul [which is the devil’s ability to divert our thoughts away from spiritual concerns]. SERMONS 77.7.

4:8a | Draw Near to God

GOD IS NEAR. AMBROSE OF MILAN: God is near, and he does not drive away those who draw near to him. THE PRAYER OF JOB AND DAVID 3.11.29.

NEARNESS TO GOD. BEDE: Draw near to God in humility, by walking in his footsteps, and he will draw near to you in his mercy, setting you free from all anxiety. For nobody is far away from God in terms of physical distance; the problem is one of attitudes and emotions. For the person who is anxious to do what is right is always near to God, whereas the one who is lost in his wickedness is far away from him, regardless of where either one happens to live. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

4:8b | Purify Your Hearts

DOUBLE-MINDED. OECUMENIUS: James describes as double-minded those who do not want to live in a committed way but who are tossed about by the iniquities of men. It is clear from what Job says that the mind here stands for our very life: “skin for skin,” [Satan says], “all that a man has he will give for his own soul.” COMMENTARY ON JAMES.

4:9 | Mourn and Weep

FIRST, CONFESS. CHRYSOSTOM: The person who repents after sinning is worthy of blessings, not of mourning, as he returns to the company of the righteous. First, confess your sins that you may be justified, for if someone is not ashamed of his sin he is miserable, not so much because he fell from grace but because he has remained in his fallen state. And if it is a wicked thing not to repent after sinning, what punishment will someone deserve who sins as a matter of course? If a person overcome with the need to repent is unclean, what forgiveness will there be for someone who suffers because he remains in his sins? CATENA.

MOURN YOUR SINS. LEANDER: Flee laughter as a sin and change temporal joy into mourning so that you may be blessed, for those who mourn are blessed and shall be comforted. THE TRAINING OF NUNS 21.

READINESS TO REPENT. BEDE: Do not rejoice in the things of this world, but remember the sins which you have committed and spend the short time which is allotted to you on this earth looking for the joys of the heavenly kingdom. You do not want to find that your pursuit of earthly enjoyment produces a situation in which you will be a beggar in eternity, weeping and wailing forever in your torment. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

4:10 | Humble Yourselves

COMBATING PRIDE. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Pride is the greatest of all evils. To the extent that humility can oppose it, it is a great good. And when both of these are consciously and deliberately at work, good I mean and evil, everyone who humbles himself before God and rejects the proud will be raised up, and his humility will take him to the heights. CATENA.

THE HUMBLE ARE BLESSED. HESYCHIUS: It is a blessed thing to humble oneself before the Lord. For James says: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” Whenever we are thus humbled, even if we are tempted by demons and even if we are attacked by those who hate virtue, we have God to deliver us, as long as we do not forget his law or curse him in our sufferings. CATENA.