Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (ESV).           Paul spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 20:31). During that time “God was performing extraordinary miracles” through him and casting out demons (19:11-12). Ot...

1 Peter 5:5-7 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.            Peter’s words in 1 Peter...

James 4:9-10 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.            James 4:9-10, if taken out of context, sounds downright morbid. Does God want His people miserable, mourning, and weeping? In a sense, yes, He does! But these imperatives are part of a greater context wher...

James 4:8b Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.In addition to submitting to God and resisting the devil (4:7), James calls those spiritual adulterers in his audience to “cleanse your hands…and purify your hearts.” Such people are to radically repent of their sinful ways in order to restore their fellowship with God. The fact that these people are called “doub...

James 4:7-8a Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.If God gives to His people all that He requires of them—“greater grace” (v. 6), then all we need to do is “submit” (Gr. hupotassō) to Him—to subordinate our lowly selves to God by putting ourselves under Christ’s lordship. We know we need this when we finally realize th...

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

James 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? (NASB95)           James 4:5 presents two interpretive problems in the second half of the verse. First, the NASB’s rendering differs from other English translations, attesting to its difficulty. The fact that “jealously” and “desires” can have both negative and pos...

James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.            Although James called his readers “beloved brethren” (1:16, 19; 2:5), in 4:2 he accused them of murder. Now in 4:4 he calls them “adulteresses.” Why? Because of their penchant to stray from God—their “frie...

James 4:2b-3 You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.Prayer is always the solution to the problems Christians face—asking God for the right things and for the right reasons. Jesus plainly exhorted us to “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matt. 7:7). James warns, however, that our prayer re...

James 4:1-2a What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.            Back in 3:16 James addressed the problem that exists in our churches when jealousy and selfish ambition are present: “there is disorder and every...

James 3:17-18 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.            Crucial to James’s point throughout his epistle is not so much what wisdom is but what it does. Like faith, wisdom is something that anyone can posse...

James 3:15-16 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.            In contrast to the wisdom that is evident in those who love Christ—He who came down from above (cf. John 1:1, 14; 8:23), there is the wisdom that is “earthly, natural, demonic” (Gr. epigeios, psuchi...

James 3:13-14 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.Those who think themselves wise might expect to be recognized for their intellect, wealth, or fame. Yet James speaks of wisdom in theological terms—wisdo...

James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.            James begins this section by asking his readers to discern who is wise and understanding among them. Although he may have had teachers in view (3:1), he was no doubt asking the question for everyone to consider. True also today, those considered wise in James’ day...

James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.            In both the Old and New Testaments there are two kinds of wisdom: God’s wisdom and worldly wisdom (cf. Jas. 3:15). In 3:13, James proposes the next test of true salvation: whether one possesses wisdom and understanding. James, however, is not talking about intelli...