4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, “[a]He [b]jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:4-6 (NASB) 中文 

Who’s your friend?

What song better describes your friend? Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” that contains the words, “Hello darkness you’re my friend”? Or “What a friend we have in Jesus”? Having addressed our derailed desires, James now addresses the seat of our love. In particular, he asks, “Who is our friend?” But here, James is asking if it’s the world or God.

The same question asked in Bo Diddley’s song, Who Do You Love? And James makes it clear, you can’t have both. You are either a friend of God or the World; we love God or the World. And what is the “world”? John tells us in 1 John 2:15, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

Adulteresses

When we see this word adulteress, we likely picture a prostitute or unfaithful wife. That’s the image James wants to conjure up. It’s a direct tie back to the OT where God declares and repeatedly demonstrates His unending love for Israel. But Israel, like an adultress, turns from God and worships the gods of the surrounding nations. (Exodus 20:5, 34:14, Deut 4:24, 5:9, 6:15)  “But James used the phrase you adulteresses to give a specific spiritual picture. According to this picture, God is the ‘husband’ and we are His ‘wife’ (as in Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 54:5, Jeremiah 3:20, and Exodus 34:15-16).” (enduringword.com) 

Jealous God

Can that be true? Can God be jealous? Well of course, if the Bible says so it’s true. The scriptures we listed above support this.  And just as these passages describe God’s jealousy for Israel, even more so, He is jealous for us, for our attention and love. Why? For one, He put His Spirit in us. For another, He knows it is best for us to be devoted to Him rather than the word. The world will pass away but God is eternal. 

And do you remember that we are created in His image (Genesis 1:27). The fact we have jealousy confirms God does too – just like he has anger, love, joy, hope, etc. So consider God’s emotions, His jealousy for us. Think of the spouse of an unfaithful spouse. It’s such a deep pain that is difficult to get over and forgive. It’s one of those sins that needs to be forgiven seventy times seven times. (Matthew 18:21)

Opposition or grace

James says we have another choice: pride or humility. They result in opposition or grace from God – you decide. Though this verse is not exactly (it’s probably based on Proverbs 3:34 and Peter used the same (1Pe 5:5). In all of this, God gives grace.

RЯeflection

• Are you a friend of God or of the world? Assess where your resources and affection are: time, money, delight?
• Another way to see this verse is: God opposes the proud…so He can give grace to the humble! When I am proud, God opposes me, my behavior. When I face that opposition I have a choice: I can rebel or repent. If I humbly repent, God then gives the grace.