James 4:14-15

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - James 4:14

... whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.The uncertainty of tomorrow was stressed by Jesus who said of the grass of the field, "It today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven" (Matthew 6:30); and both Peter and James discerned the spiritual overtones of the teaching, Peter saying, "All flesh is as grass" (1 Peter 1:24), an idea certainly inherent in what James declared here. How... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - James 4:15

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.If the Lord will ... "This, it seems, is not an Old Testament expression."[29] It is found, however, a number of times in the New Testament: Acts 18:21; Acts 21:14,1 Corinthians 4:19; 1 Corinthians 16:7, and in Hebrews 6:3. The use of this expression in daily speech was once common among Christians, even their writings frequently carrying it in the form of D.V. ("Deo volente"); but this extensive usage has been... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - James 4:15

James 4:15. For that ye ought to say,— Instead of which you ought to say, If the Lord will, and we shall live, we will do this, or that. Pious men have such a tacit sense of their dependance upon God, when they do not express it in words; so ought we to understand Romans 15:28. 1 Corinthians 16:5. Indeed, the having in our minds such a constant regard to the providence of God, and such a due sense of our own frailty and mortality, is of much more moment than the outwardly expressing it; though,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - James 4:14

14. what—literally, "of what nature" is your life? that is, how evanescent it is. It is even—Some oldest authorities read, "For ye are." BENGEL, with other old authorities, reads, "For it shall be," the future referring to the "morrow" ( :-). The former expresses, "Ye yourselves are transitory"; so everything of yours, even your life, must partake of the same transitoriness. Received text has no old authority. and then vanisheth away—"afterwards vanishing as it came"; literally, "afterwards (as... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - James 4:15

15. Literally, "instead of your saying," &c. This refers to "ye that say" (James 4:13). we shall live—The best manuscripts read, "We shall both live and do," &c. The boasters spoke as if life, action, and the particular kind of action were in their power, whereas all three depend entirely on the will of the Lord. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13-16

1. The self-centered person 4:13-16 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13-17

C. Self-reliance 4:13-17As in the previous chapters, James began with the exposition of a practical problem and moved on to its larger contextual problem, that is, its context in life. He already identified the source of interpersonal and inner personal conflicts as self-centeredness and explained that criticism places the critic in a seat that only God should occupy. Now he pictured a self-centered person living his or her life. He did this to enable his readers to see the root of this problem... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:14

The problem is what the merchant did not consider: his complete dependence on God (cf. Luke 12:18-20; John 15:5)."To what extent is your life directed by the knowledge that Christ is coming back? Much of our thinking and behavior is shaped by what we can see of present circumstances or past events. Yet Scripture speaks forcefully of Christ’s return as a fact that should be directing how we live now. Christians are to be motivated by the certainty of this future event." [Note: Stulac, p. 156.] read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:15

The merchant should have made his planning in conscious dependence on God recognizing His sovereign control over all of life (cf. Acts 18:21; 1 Corinthians 4:19; 1 Corinthians 16:7; Philippians 2:19; Philippians 2:24). The Latin phrase, deo volente ("God willing," abbreviated D.V.) remains in use even today among some Christians."A study of the use of this conditional clause ["If the Lord wills . . ."] in the NT makes it clear that we are not to repeat it mechanically in connection with every... read more

John Darby

Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - James 4:14

4:14 who (c-2) 'Who are such as do not.' read more

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