James 4:7

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:6-10

4. The resources to choose right 4:6-10 read more

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:7

In view of God’s certain supply of this grace we need to adopt a definite stance toward the people involved in this conflict. Ten aorist imperatives in James 4:7-10 demand decisive action. They sound like military commands and reflect how seriously James viewed double-mindedness. [Note: Hiebert, James, p. 236.] Toward God we must submit in humility. This means making what is of importance to Him important to us, ordering our priorities in harmony with God’s priorities. It means not living to... read more

John Darby

Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - James 4:7

4:7 patience, (a-1) 'Have it done,' not 'be doing it;' the aorist tense. All the imperatives (ten) from vers. 7 to 10 are in the aorist. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:1-17

Denunciation of Greed and Love of Pleasure1. Lusts] better, ’pleasures.’2. ’You eagerly desire something which another has and you have not. This unregulated desire may lead to hate and even murder (cp. Ahab, 1 Kings 21), but even so your covetous desires go on; they grow by what they feed on. Still you have not got your desire. Then comes the wholesale murder of unjust war; and yet you are unsatisfied, because you try to get things for yourselves, instead of asking God for them.’ The chief... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - James 4:7

(7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. (But) resist the devil.—The hardest advice of all, to a man reliant on himself, is submission to any, more especially to the Unknown. But, as a correlative to this, the Apostle shows where pride may become a stimulant for good, viz., in contest with the Evil One.He will flee.—Or, he shall flee. “The Devil,” says the strange old book called The Shepherd of Hermas, “can tight, but he cannot conquer; if, therefore, thou dost withstand him, he will flee from... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - James 4:1-17

James 4:1 At the coiner of old maps of the world, of the fifteenth century, may be noted a large, blank space, without form and without name, whereon these three words are inscribed: Hic sunt leones . This sombre corner exists also in man. The passions prowl around and mutter, somewhere within us, and it may be said also of one dark spot in our souls: 'Here are lions'. Victor Hugo. 'Politics, domestic and foreign, are very discouraging,' wrote Sydney Smith in a letter in 1827. 'Jesuits abroad,... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - James 4:1-13

Chapter 18ST. JAMES AND PLATO ON LUSTS AS THE CAUSES OF STRIFE; THEIR EFFECT ON PRAYER.James 4:1-13THE change from the close of the third chapter to the beginning of the fourth is startling. St. James has just been sketching with much beauty the excellences of the heavenly wisdom, and especially its marked characteristic of always tending to produce an atmosphere of peace, in which the seed that produces the fruit of righteousness will grow and flourish. Gentleness, good-will, mercy,... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - James 4:7-10

Chapter 20THE POWER OF SATAN AND ITS LIMITS-HUMILITY THE FOUNDATION OF PENITENCE AND OF HOLINESS.James 4:7-10SUBMISSION to God is the beginning, middle, and end of the prodigal’s return from disastrous familiarity with the world to the security of the Father’s home. A readiness to submit to whatever He may impose is the first step in the conversion, just as unwillingness to surrender one’s own will is the first step towards revolt and desertion. "I am no more worthy to be called Thy son: make... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - James 4:1-17

IV. FURTHER EXHORTATIONS TO RIGHT LIVING CHAPTER 4 1. Fightings and worldliness rebuked (James 4:1-6 ) 2. The Godly walk (James 4:7-17 ) James 4:1-6 A strong rebuke follows the statements concerning the wisdom from beneath and the wisdom from above. It must be borne in mind that these exhortations are addressed to the twelve tribes scattered abroad; to say that these words mean believers only would be a serious mistake; while Christians are contemplated, those of the tribes of Israel who... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - James 4:7

4:7 {5} Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.(5) The conclusion: We must set the positive virtues against those vices, and therefore whereas we obeyed the suggestions of the devil, we must submit our minds to God and resist the devil with a certain and assured hope of victory. In short, we must endeavour to come near to God by purity and sincerity of life. read more

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