James 4:3

F. B. Hole's Old and New Testament Commentary - James 4:1-99

James 4 THE LAST NOTE struck, as we closed chapter 3 was that of peace. The first note of chapter 4 is the exact opposite, that of war. What lay behind the peace was the purity that is the first mark of the wisdom that is from above. So now we discover that what lies behind the wars and fightings, which are so common among the professed people of God, is the impure lust of the human heart, the lust connected with that wisdom which is earthly, sensual, devilish. You will notice that the... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - James 4:1-5

Caution against Worldly-Mindedness and Its Consequences. Against a lustful, quarrelsome disposition: v. 1. From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? v. 2. Ye lust and have not; ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. v. 3. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. v. 4. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know... read more

Johann Peter Lange

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal and Homiletical - James 4:1-3

VII. FIFTH ADMONITIONREFERENCE TO THE INFALLIBLE TOKEN OF AN UNSPIRITUAL (FANATICAL) MENTAL CONSTITUTION FOUNDED ON WORLDLY-MINDEDNESS, VIZ.: THE WARS AND FIGHTINGS IN THE JEWISH CHRISTIAN WORLD AND PARTICULARLY IN THE JEWISH WORLD BOTH INWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY.—THE CONSEQUENCE THERE-OF: FAILURE AND FRUSTRATION OF THEIR STRIVING, THEIR MURDEROUS ENVYING, THEIR WARRING AND EVEN OF THEIR PRAYINGJames 4:1-31 From whence come wars and1 fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts... read more

Frederick Brotherton Meyer

F.B. Meyer's 'Through the Bible' Commentary - James 4:1-10

“Draw Nigh to God” James 4:1-10 The Apostle returns to “the jealousy and faction” of the previous chapter, James 3:14 , and says that these evils are traceable to lust , that is, to inordinate desire. The restless inward war is the prolific parent of failure in speech and act. If we would pray more and better, we should soon find the inner fires dying down. In James 4:5 , r.v., margin, we learn that God has placed His Spirit within us, and that He yearns for complete control over our... read more

G. Campbell Morgan

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible - James 4:1-17

The writer now dealt with the effect of faith on character. Everything depends on desire. To attempt to satisfy a natural desire without reference to God is futile, and issues in internal conflict and outward warfare and strife. The writer inquired, "Doth the Spirit which He made to dwell in us long unto envying?" It is self-evident that the Spirit of God does not create desire which issues in envying. The divine corrective of such a condition is, first, that God "giveth more grace . . . to... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:1-5

In Contrast To Those Who Have Received The Wisdom That Is From Above Are Those Who Yield To The Desires Of The Flesh And Seek To Be Friends Of A World Which Ignores Christ (James 4:1-5 ). Having spoken of those who have received the wisdom from above, and through it have found peace, and a message of peace, James now turns to look at those who have refused the wisdom that is from above and are living by their own wisdom, following the endless search for pleasure. And he does it with powerful... read more

Peter Pett

Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:3

‘You ask, and do not receive, because you ask for the wrong reasons, that you may spend (dissipate) it in your pleasures.’ And even when they do sometimes ask God for it they still do not receive satisfaction of heart. And that is because their motives are wrong. The failure is due to the fact that they ask for the wrong reasons, because their motives are totally selfish. Their sole aim is simply to enjoy the fulfilment of their earthy desires and aims. They want to dissipate whatever benefit... read more

Arthur Peake

Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:1-10

James 4:1-2 Samuel : . The climax of the last paragraph leads to a diagnosis of the disease that poisoned quarrelsome Jewish communities. Faction fights were the logical outcome of unbridled passions; they “ campaign against man’ s self” ( 1 Peter 2:11), and weaken his power of control. James 4:2 is best rendered, “ You covet, and miss what you want— then you murder. Aye, you are envious and cannot get your desire— then you fight and wage war.” It is hard to see how faction that would not... read more

Matthew Poole

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible - James 4:3

Ye ask; he prevents an objection; q.d. Admit you do pray for the good things you want, or, though you pray for them. Ye ask amiss; though you pray for good things, yet you do not pray well, or in a right manner, not according to God’s will, 1 John 5:14, and therefore ye are not to complain of not being heard. That ye may consume it upon your lusts; you pray for the things of this life only, that you may have wherewith to please the flesh, and gratify your carnal appetites, and so an evil end... read more

Joseph Exell

Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - James 4:1-4

THE LOWER AND THE HIGHER LIFECRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTESJames 4:1. Lusts.—Pleasures, but viewed on their evil side. Desires that are ill regulated. Compare 1 Peter 2:11; Romans 7:23. Evidently James was much distressed by the strife of parties, and the personal quarrellings, in the Jewish communities. Disputing was a besetting sin of the Jewish race. Members.—Organs of sense and action. “The conflict within, in which the evil passion gets the mastery, causes a predisposition to contention,... read more

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