Maturity Profiled 08—The Mature Pursue God—James 4:1-12

In today's section of James, we come to the heart of why James had to write his letter profiling maturity for the church. It appears that these early Christians had begun to, with rabid immaturity, turn on one another. They were under fire from society and were recipients of some type of socioeconomic persecution, and this pressure seems to have boiled over into some broken relationships within the congregation—modern psychologists call this projection or displacement.[^1] There was nothing they could do to fire back at their persecutors, so they fired off at each other!

James said a lot in this passage. There are so many phrases—you do not have because you do not ask; you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions; whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God; he gives more grace; he opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble; draw near to God, and he will draw near to you; humble yourselves before the Lord— that would be worthy of an entire sermon. In covering this larger section in its entirety, however, it might be helpful to categorize the cacophony of powerful statements into two main principles related to Christian maturity. First, immaturity breaks relationships. Second, the mature remedy those broken relationships by pursuing God.

1. Immaturity Breaks Relationships (1-4)

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James knew a divided church is an ineffective one, so James tried to surgically remove the cancer within these churches. If he could get them back to a selfless love and unity, rather than their selfish self love and disunity, he could get them back into gospel effectiveness as they glorified God. To that end, James was honest with them about what their immaturity was doing to their relationships.

First, he told them their relationship with others was broken. He drew their attention to—asked them to be honest about—the quarrels and fights that existed in their midst (1). One can easily imagine the tense mood in these churches. Resentment, grudges, scandal, slander, smear campaigns—it was likely an ugly scene, but their quarrels and fights didn't stop there. Instead, James said, they went all the way to the point of murder (4:2). It is doubtful they literally began killing one another, but their hatred and lack of forgiveness had a murderous effect in the eyes of God (Matt. 5:21-26).

However, it wasn't only their relationship with each other that was eaten away by their immaturity—so was their relationship with God. James called them adulterous people (4:4). It's as if James saw these churches as the bride of Christ, but now their infighting and wars were making them unfaithful to their first love. This is a callback to many Old Testament passages, such as the entire book of Hosea, that portray ancient Israel as a rebellious bride who has run from her good and faithful husband. These churches, James said, were becoming friends with the world, which made them enemies of God (4:4). Jesus declared that we are either for him or against him, and these people were drifting into the "against" column (Luke 11:23). Because of all this, their spiritual life was harmed. Their prayers were hindered—they typically would not even ask God, but when they did, they didn't receive from him because they asked wrongly to spend on their own passions (4:2-3). Everything in their relationship with God was stiff and dysfunctional—nothing was flowing—because of their immaturity.

But the war with others and disunity with God was only a manifestation of the war and disunity they felt within themselves (the self). James identified the source of their sickness—passions at war within them (4:1). They had desires that were wrong desires, James said (4:3). Their entire focus was on their passions, and it was those passions that cratered everything. They had misaligned and unsubmitted desires. They were not living in submission to King Jesus—and it was slowly killing them.

So the churches James wrote to had been slowed by their immaturity, which was driven by their unholy passions and desires, and it had strained everything. Their relationship with each other and their God had been harmed by their immaturity, so James throws them a line of rescue. This intense and candid passage helps disabuse us of the wrong notions about the early church. If we aren't careful, we might come to the conclusion that the initial years of Christianity were pure bliss. We might envision all those new believers selling everything, donating it to the community, and sitting around a campfire every night, reaffirming their love for God and each other. James and the rest of the New Testament, including a more careful reading of Acts, help us remember that Christians, though justified, are not yet glorified and are still being sanctified, so sin and division are bound to exist within the churches they inhabit. Because of this reality, each one of us ought to pursue maturity. There are too many people to help, too many disciples to form, and too much fruit for us to bear to take our pursuit of sanctification/maturity lightly. Too much is at stake for us to be apathetic about it.

The sad reality, however, is that many modern, western churches are built on an appeal to the passions and desires of believers—an appeal to immaturity. Too few are asking, "Where will I be challenged? Where can I serve? Where can I help? Where can I grow and be transformed? Where can I take up my cross, die daily, and follow my Lord?"

Eugene Peterson tells a story of a time early in his ministry when the church he pastored was energized by a new building campaign. As they built, enthusiasm swelled, and the church grew in numbers—but, apparently, they didn't grow spiritually all that much because once the building was finished, attendance rapidly declined. One church consultant told Eugene to start another building project because it seemed to be the only thing that energized the people. To that, Eugene demurred, refusing to give the people what they wanted by instead giving them what they needed. Their desires were off, and the church needed to be recalibrated to the desires of God.[^2]

Psalm 133 tells us that unity among believers is "like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down the collar of his robes" (Ps. 133:2). I doubt you have ever described the unity of believers in that way. It is poetical and beautiful, but what does it mean? In ancient Israel, when oil was running from the head to the beard and onto the robes of Aaron, it meant that new priests were being ordained to ministry in the temple, and Israel was fulfilling its mission to be a light to the nations. For new priests to be ordained, there had to be a demand for them. If the people were carnal and self-oriented, there would be no unified demand for worship. Therefore, there would be no oil running down Aaron's beard, and they would not fulfill their mission as a light to the world. James saw the same thing in the churches he wrote to—they were filled with self-desire and infighting, which broke their unity, took them off mission, and dimmed their light before the world. They needed to get back to a Triune God-like unity and work together for the gospel in their communities.

2. Maturity Pursues God (5-12)

5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

A mark of Christian maturity frames this passage. Near the beginning, James announced that God gives grace to the humble (6). Near the end, James exhorted: humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you (10). The concept is that the same path to exaltation Jesus took is the one Jesus' people also take: the humble receive grace, and the humble are exalted, just as Jesus drank in the Father's favor and exaltation after he humbled himself to the point of death on the cross for us.

"In Jesus, the Holy One of God who makes us holy, a divine humility was the secret of His life and His death and His exaltation; the one infallible test of our holiness will be the humility before God and men which marks us. Humility is the bloom and the beauty of holiness." —Humility, Andrew Murray

It is this low or humble spirit that will drive one to pursue God. As Jesus said with the very first beattitude, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). It is those who know their lack and are conscious of their spiritual poverty without Christ that experience the kingdom. It is those who acknowledge their position as creature before a perfect and awesome Creator who will yield to that Creator.

Unfortunately, there are so many things you can obtain in the visible church via pride and arrogance. Entire ministries and reputations can and have been built on ego, personality, or ambition. This might garner admiration. It might seem like you are making an impact. But one thing you can't get that way is God. He is only found via a humble posture before him, the posture of a worshipper.

Just as water flows down hill, so God's presence and grace and exaltation flows down to the lowly and humble before him. But humility is often awkward for us because we don't bring it to God, nor is it something he bestows onto us. Instead, humility is merely the sense or attitude that comes upon us when we see a ourselves a bit more clearly in light of him.

So, with humility intact, the believer pursues God. What does this humble pursuit of God look like?

1. It Recognizes God's Pursuit of Us (5-6)

The pursuit of God always starts with an understanding that God has first pursued you. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). This seems to be what James means when he asks the question, "Do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us'?" (5). It's a difficult phrase for biblical linguists to translate, but it appears James is appealing to the general sense found in Scripture that God longs for his people. This should be evident from a mere scan of the biblical narrative—from God's Eden in Genesis to the new heavens and earth of Revelation, God is depicted as in pursuit of a people who are sometimes not in pursuit of him. And this is not some periphery attribute of God but is fundamentally central to his nature. When he revealed himself within the Ten Commandments, Yahweh said, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God" (Ex. 20:5). His jealousy is not like ours, full of paranoia, selfishness, and unrighteous self-centeredness. His jealousy is due to his profound love for us—he wants us to flourish, which he knows is impossible if we do not center ourselves upon him. When we rush to lesser things for our meaning and fulfillment, when we settle, it breaks his heart.

Perhaps you needed to hear this today: God wants you. He is not trying to hide from you. Consider the progress of biblical revelation. God was on full display in hidden, hidden due to sin, but kept making moves towards us. He called a family, made a nation, rescued them from captivity, established a holy space for them to meet with him, told them he was coming, incarnated and became one of us, died for us and then rose to life, and now resides within all who believe in him—and one day he will return for us and we will forever be in his light and kingdom. He has sequentially, systematically, and persistently pursued us. He wants to know you and for you to know him—recognize this truth!

2. It Accepts His Rule (7)

The pursuit of God also accepts God's rule. James exhorted, "Submit yourselves therefore to God" (7). I realize that to some of you, this sounds like a toxic relationship—something to be avoided at all costs. But submission to God, the willful lowering of the self beneath God's will and desires, is unlike your relationship with anyone or anything else.

And, don't be mistaken, you will submit to someone or something. We are never as autonomous or self-determined as we think. We are so often at the mercy of the ideas and dreams of others—they permeate our minds, and we think they are ours. Don't submit to them, but submit to God. He is King. He is everlasting. And he is good.

3. It Resists Opposition (7)

The pursuit of God also resists opposition. James said, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (7). I am sure it is challenging for some of you to believe in the existence of an evil being called the devil. Your skepticism might be one of his best strategies for operating unencumbered in your life. Just because you cannot see him or he cannot be discovered with the scientific instruments at our disposal doesn't mean he isn't part of reality. Jesus believed in him, speaking often of his work on earth and experiencing forty miserable days of temptation from him at the launch of his public work. And even though there isn't a device that gives us a heatmap or radar feedback on his existence, a deeper consideration of the evils in humanity and the dark spiritual encounters many claim to have had could stand as evidence of his existence.

When you are discouraged by the ongoing presence of temptation in your life, battle back by praying for those you know who are similarly tempted. Satan hates a praying Christian. In a sense, to pray is to return nuclear bombs for his fiery darts.

When you are tempted to divide from other believers, begin to reach out with words of encouragement, edification, and comfort to believers you know. Satan hates the unity of the church. In a sense, words of healing and help and upbuilding are a way to return the truth for his lies.

And when you are distracted or overrun with the cares of this life, begin to worship God. Satan was a worship leader in heaven before he was filled with pride. He hates the worship of God. In a sense, the worship of God is a way to put Satan in his place.

4. It Engages with God (8)

The pursuit of God also engages with God. James explained, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (8). The phrasing is reminiscent of much of the worship language of the Old Testament. The Israelite worshippers were to draw near to God at the Tabernacle and temple—and his presence was often made manifest as a result! We are pursuing the same God, not through temple sacrifices, but through the ultimate sacrifice of the Son. As Christians, we have now been given Scripture meditation, private and public prayer, the Lord's table, and engagement with Christians who point us to the Lord as some of the ways we can engage with God.

This engagement is something we must fight to maintain. God has already sent in his RSVP—he will draw near to you—so it is important for us to take the time to engage with him (4:8).

5. It Deals with Sin (8-9)

The pursuit of God also deals with sin. In a lengthy turn of phrase, James pleaded, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom." (8-9). James thought part of our pursuit of God is to join God's Spirit in dealing with the sins that beset us.

Don't forget the backdrop from which James is writing. He grew up in a faithful Jewish home—Mary and Joseph took their family to Jerusalem for the various feasts, festivals, and sacrifices. They were, like many (but not all), heartfelt in their worship and praise of God. After Jesus' resurrection, James realized that same heartfelt stance could be taken up by God's church. Because of the blood of Christ, there is the possibility of cleansing and purification before God.

The believer who pursues God will make an effort to deal with sin when it pops up in their lives. When it becomes a rut or routine, they begin to go to work to invite God's power and methods into the situation, methods like repentance, fasting, prayer, confession, lament, acceptance of consequences, honesty, relationships with friends and mentors who will challenge them, Scripture study, and connection to a local church. Unfortunately, many will merely ignore or disguise sin by defending (not repenting), feasting (not fasting), arguing (not praying), hiding (not confessing), excusing (not lamenting), resisting consequences (not accepting them), lying (not honesty), surrounding themselves with people who don't challenge them (not people who do challenge them), studying voices that coddle them (not Scripture), and leaving their church to find a new one.

6. It Passes the Test (11-12)

Finally, the pursuit of God is proved by passing a simple test. In our final verses for today, James wrote, "Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" (11-12). The people James wrote to were mistreating one another by speaking evil against each other. It didn't matter if the words were true or not; their overly critical words about others were harming the church.

What does James mean by all this talk? If someone is pursuing God, they will want to submit to God's law, and since God's royal law is love, speaking evil against another believer is evidence that God's royal law has not been obeyed. James is not saying that injustices or offenses should go unaddressed—he would want abusers and bullies to be confronted by the church. However, to James, the churches he wrote to were not obeying God's law of love in the way they treated each other. They needed to pass God's simple test of love for one another—anything less showed that their pursuit of God was not where it needed to be. Our pursuit of God releases us more and more from wrong desires, which changes our relationship with God and others.

Concluding Commitments and Prayer

How do we conclude a meditation on a passage such as this one? I realize each of us could take a look at our own lives through the lens of this passage—am I pursuing God well?—but since it addressed life in the church community, perhaps it would be good to pray a prayer of commitment as a group before God: we will pursue God. For this prayer, I have adapted a prayer from A.W. Tozer's Pursuit of God.

"O God, we have tasted your goodness, and it has both satisfied us and made us thirsty for more. We are painfully conscious of our need for further grace. We are ashamed of our lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, we want to want you; we long to be filled with longing; we thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show us your glory, we pray, that so we may know you indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within us. Say to our souls, 'Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give us the grace to rise and follow you up from this misty lowland where we have wandered so long. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

[^1]: James, Craig Blomberg and Miriam Kamell [^2]: Working the Angles, Eugene Peterson

Study Questions

What does James identify as the root cause of quarrels and fights among the believers in James 4:1-2, and how does this understanding relate to Christian maturity?

How does James describe the relationship between humility and grace in James 4:6-10? Why is this connection significant for spiritual growth?

According to James 4:7-8, what practical steps does James encourage believers to take in their pursuit of God? Heart (Feelings, Impressions, Desires)

How do you personally relate to the idea that immaturity can break relationships within the church? Reflect on a time when you witnessed or experienced this.

When you consider James' exhortation to "humble yourselves before the Lord" (James 4:10), what emotions or thoughts arise in you about your own spiritual journey?

What desires or longings does the passage awaken in you regarding your relationship with God and others in your church community?

What specific actions can you take to resist the devil, as mentioned in James 4:7, in your daily life?

How can you actively pursue unity within your church community, especially in light of the call to not speak evil against one another (James 4:11)?

What steps will you take this week to draw nearer to God, as encouraged in James 4:8, and how can you ensure consistency in this pursuit?