||    The Orthodox Faith (Dogma)    ||    Family and Youth    ||    Sermons    ||    Bible Study    ||    Devotional    ||    Spirituals    ||    Fasts & Feasts    ||    Coptics    ||    Religious Education    ||    Monasticism    ||    Seasons    ||    Missiology    ||    Ethics    ||    Ecumenical Relations    ||    Church Music    ||    Pentecost    ||    Miscellaneous    ||    Saints    ||    Church History    ||    Pope Shenouda    ||    Patrology    ||    Canon Law    ||    Lent    ||    Pastoral Theology    ||    Father Matta    ||    Bibles    ||    Iconography    ||    Liturgics    ||    Orthodox Biblical topics     ||    Orthodox articles    ||    St Chrysostom    ||   

4:5 He yearns jealously: This saying is not found verbatim in any extant text of the OT. It is probably a paraphrase of several biblical verses and ideas. • According to the RSV translation of the passage, God has given us a spirit to inhabit our bodies (Gen 6:3), and he jealously forbids allegiance to any other gods besides him (Ex 20:5). Another, perhaps preferable, translation is the following: "The spirit he has made to dwell in us yearns enviously." Read in this way, the passage stresses that envy corrupts the spirit of man and makes it a friend of the world rather than a friend of God, who gave it (4:4; Gen 8:21). Back to text.

4:6 God opposes the proud: A citation from Prov 3:34. The point is that pride, because it blinds us to our deepest needs, keeps us from the grace that is necessary to meet those needs (1 Pet 5:5). • God punishes thieves, perjurers, gluttons, and other sinners because they despise his commandments. However, he resists the proud in a special way, because they rely on their own strength as if they could save themselves without help from above. On the other hand, God gives grace to the humble because they recognize their need and ask God for help in overcoming their sins (St. Bede, On the Seven Catholic Epistles at Jas 4:6). Back to text.

4:7 Resist the devil: Resistance is possible only because the power of God within us is greater than the power of the Evil One present in the world (1 Jn 4:4). For similar exhortations, see Eph 6:11-17 and 1 Pet 5:8-9. Back to text.

4:8 Draw near to God: A call to return to the covenant and reestablish friendship with God (Zech 1:3; Mal 3:7). Cleanse your hands: The priests of Israel used to wash their hands before ministering in the sanctuary (Ex 30:17-21). James speaks, not of cultic purity, but of moral purity, exhorting readers to wash themselves of evil deeds and intentions. Purification is demanded of everyone who approaches the all-holy God (Ps 24:4-5; Is 1:15-16). Back to text.

4:9 mourn and weep: A call to shed tears of repentance (Mt 5:4). Catholic tradition refers to this as "compunction" of heart. Back to text.

4:10 Humble yourselves . . . exalt you: Echoes the saying of Jesus in Mt 23:12, which is likewise paraphrased in 1 Pet 5:6. Back to text.

4:11 Do not speak evil: Believers are forbidden to malign each other with either true (detraction) or false information (calumny). This behavior is injurious because it uses words to put others down and lift oneself up. James warns that one who speaks evil vaults himself above the law and therefore into the place of God, who alone is the "lawgiver and judge" of our neighbor (4:12) (CCC 2477). • This is probably an allusion to the prohibition against slander in Lev 19:16. See note on Jas 2:8. Back to text.