At War with God (James 4:4-10)-Part 1 of 2

​Fighting God (4:4–10)

Rebellion against God is what causes all wars, both inside and outside of a country. You can see perfect harmony at the beginning of creation, but sin came into the world and caused problems. Sin is breaking the law (1 John 3:4), and breaking the law is going against God.

How does a believer go to war with God? One way a believer can engage in conflict with God is by forming friendships with those who oppose Him. James said we shouldn't befriend three enemies(the world, the flesh and the devil) if we want peace with God.

The world (v. 4). When James refers to the "world," he is discussing human society that exists without God. Everything in our society is against God and Christ. Lot was a friend of the world, but Abraham was a friend of God (James 2:23). Lot got into a war, and Abraham had to save him (Gen. 14).

As earlier noted in chapter 4 of this study, a Christian gets involved with the world slowly over time. The first thing is "the friendship of the world" (James 4:4). Such engagement makes us "spotted" by the world (James 1:27), which means that parts of our lives are acceptable to the world. Friendship leads to loving the world (1 John 2:15–17), which makes it easy to fit in with the world (Rom. 12:2). The unfortunate outcome is condemnation alongside the world (1 Cor. 11:32), with our souls salvaged “yet as by fire” (1 Cor. 3:11–15).

Being friends with the world is like cheating on your spouse. The believer is "married to Christ" (Rom. 7:4) and should be loyal to Him. The Jewish Christians who read this letter would get the idea of "spiritual adultery" because the prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Hosea used it to tell Judah to stop sinning (see Jer. 3:1–5; Ezek. 23; Hos. 1–2). The nation of Judah committed adultery against her God by following the sinful ways of other nations and worshipping their gods.

God is against the world, and anyone who wants to be friends with the world can't be friends with God. If a person lives for the flesh, they cannot be friends with God either, because James identifies this as the second enemy.

The flesh (vv. 1, 5). The term "the flesh" refers to the sinful old nature we got from Adam. The body is not the same as the flesh. The body is not bad; it is neutral. The Spirit can use the body to honor God, or the flesh can use the body to serve sin. When a sinner submits to Christ, he acquires a new nature internally; however, the old nature is neither eradicated nor transformed. This is why there is a fight inside: "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Gal. 5:17). They are at odds with each other so that you can't do what you want. James called this "your lusts that war in your members" (James 4:1).

Living for the flesh makes sad (grieves) the Holy Spirit of God who lives in us. "Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" (James 4:5). The world is against God the Father, and the flesh is against God the Holy Spirit. A husband and wife should be jealous of each other in a holy and loving way. The Spirit is very protective of our relationship with God, and it hurts the Spirit when we sin against God's love.

To live to please the old nature is to fight against God. "The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7). Letting the flesh control the mind means losing the blessing of being close to God. Abraham had a spiritual mind; he was at peace with God and walked with him. Lot had a carnal mind; he didn't listen to God and went to war. Romans 8:6 says, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

The devil (vv. 6–7). The world is at odds with the Father, the flesh is at odds with the Holy Spirit, and the devil is at odds with the Son of God. Satan's pride is his greatest sin and a powerful weapon against the saint and the Savior. God wants us to be humble, but Satan wants us to be proud. Satan told Eve, "You will be like God," and she believed him. A new Christian should not be placed in positions of spiritual leadership "lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6).

God wants us to rely on His grace, as in "But he giveth more grace," while the devil wants us to rely on ourselves. Satan is the one who came up with all the "do-it-yourself" spiritual projects. He likes to boost the believer's ego and tell them to do things their own way. Despite receiving three warnings from Jesus about Satan's plans (4:8–17), Peter fell into the trap, drew his sword, and tried to do God's will in his own way.  He really messed things up!

One issue with our churches today is that there are too many famous people and not enough people who are willing to help. There is not much room left for God's glory because Christian workers are so highly regarded. There is nothing for man to be proud of about himself. We don't have anything good in us (Rom. 7:18), but when we trust Christ, He gives us that "good thing" that makes us His children (2 Tim. 1:6, 14).

The world, the flesh, and the devil are three things that want to keep us from God. These enemies are still around from when we were living in sin (Eph. 2:1–3). Christ has saved us from them, but they still come after us. How can we beat them? How can we be God's friends and the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil? James told us three things we should do if we want peace instead of war. {continues tomorrow}