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Introduction
We are on to verse 2 of James 4 this evening.
Last week, we spent time considering verse 1.
In that study, the Holy Spirit explained to us the source of all wars and fightings.
Namely, they come from our own lusts.
The “lusts that war” in our members is the source of all human conflict both within and without.
We also discovered how that these “lusts” are lurking within us ready to do battle at moment’s notice.
They “war” in our members.
The word “war” literally means an encamped army.
This evening, the Holy Spirit continues to expound upon our lusts as the source of conflict.
Look at verse 2 with me.
Here are some grammatical notes to consider before we get into spiritual application.
GRAMMAR STUDY
Grammatically, this is a very interesting verse.
There are no nouns and no adjectives.
Essentially, the subject is “ye” or “you.”
Therefore, we, as sinful people, are at the center of this verse.
Note how many times we are mentioned.
James 4:2 (KJV 1900)
2 Ye [you] lust, and have not: ye [you] kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye [you] fight and war, yet ye [you] have not, because ye ask not.
Obviously we have a problem.
As you may already know, the word “you” is a personal pronoun.
No matter how we dissect this it comes down to one thing.
Each person has a serious spiritual problem.
Now, it would do us much good to remember that this letter (the book of James) is written to believers.
Thus, the indication is that every believer has a problem.
What is our problem?
There are several verbs that tell us.
Ye [you] lust & have not
Ye [you] kill &
Ye [you] desire to have & cannot obtain
Ye [you] fight &
Ye [you] war, yet
Ye [you] have not, because
Ye [you] ask not
The word “lust” is a different word in the Greek than the word “lust” in verse 1.
We covered this last week.
However, it would do us good to briefly cover it again.
There are two main Greek words for our English word “lust.”
In last week’s verse, the Greek word was “hedone” which simply means gratification of the natural desire or sinful desires or, as we might simply say, pleasures.
However, in our text this evening, verse 2, it is the Greek word “epithumia” which is essentially an intensive passion to do something and can be used for both good and bad things based on the context.
Obviously, the context here is that of having an intense passion for bad or sinful things.
The word “kill” simply means to murder and emphasizes an intentional as well pre-meditated killing.
“Desire” means to burn with jealousy.
The word “fight” is the verb form of the same word found in verse 1.
It means to strive to fight, quarrel, or dispute.
Again, the word “war” is the verb form of the word “wars” found in verse 1.
Its connotation is that of making war.
It is not the same word as “war” in the latter part of verse 1 which means an encamped army ready to make war.
The larger sense in our text is action of warring as it takes place.
The word “ask” is an interesting word here.
Its connotation goes a little deeper then just making a request.
The suggestion that goes with this word is that of a petition from one who is in a lesser position than the one to whom the petition is made.
For example, it would be the case of a child requesting something from a parent or a simple peasant making a request of a king.
In our context, we are simply men asking something of the Almighty God, Ruler of All Things.
Undoubtedly you have noted the use of the verb “have.”
In the Greek, the understanding is more about ability than possession.
It is equivalent to saying, “you have the means of” doing this or that.
A good example of this would be 2 Corinthians 8:11
Note the phrase “which ye have.”
It is the same Greek word as “have” in our text.
In other words, you have the means to do it so do it.
That is essence of “have” in our text.
Then, lastly, there is the verb “obtain.”
It simply means to obtain or achieve a certain goal.
As for the rest, there are two adverbs.
They are the words “not” which is used four times and the word “can.”
“Can” is also somewhat interesting.
It is both a verb and an adverb.
As verb, it means “to be able or is capable.”
However, in the Greek, it is used to modify the verb “obtain.”
Thus, the subject is completely incapable of achieving its goal.
SPIRITUAL APPLICATION
What is the Holy Spirit talking about?
This verse is continuation of the thought started in verse 1.
What is the source of our wars and fightings?
The source is the lusts that war in our members.
So the focus is our lusts and the spiritual battle within which often translates to without.
What is the Holy Spirit saying about this spiritual struggle?
As we move into this paragraph and this study, let’s keep in mind the context.
This entire letter was written to believers.
And, again, the Holy Spirit is helping us understand the underlying issues of man’s conflicts.
Conflicts that are both internal and external.
We, as believes, are, in essence, a walking civil war.
Within each of us there are two desires working against one another.
I alluded to this in the morning worship service as well.
A key verse describing that conflict is Galatians 5:17
In our flesh, we desire to please ourselves, however, the Holy Spirit as He indwells us places a desire to please God.
Thus, at the heart of the issue is which desire do we intensely or passionately go after.
Unfortunately, we, more often than not, are most passionate about pleasing our fleshly desires.
I want you to note the last phrase of this verse for a second before we move on.
James 4:2 (KJV 1900)
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
This is the root cause of everything.
Basically, we don’t trust God.
That is the real problem.
If we truly trusted Him, we would call upon Him.
Instead, we have more trust in ourselves than we do Him.
Therefore, our distrust in Him and His Word is our basic problem.
Let’s consider three things from this verse this evening.
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