The very first thing James says about his readers in James 4:2 is that they lust (KJV) or desire (NET).[1] Most translations put the Greek word (G1937) in a negative sense. Nevertheless, the Greek word is often used in a good sense. For example, it was used by Jesus of his disciples in the future desiring to see one of his days (Luke 17:22). It was also used by Paul to say someone desires a good work when he wants to be an overseer (1Timothy 3:1). It was used of Peter for messengers of the word desiring to look into the ancient prophesies (1Peter 1:12), and other examples could be put forth. The point is that James’ use of the word could very well be a good desire, but sought after for the wrong reasons, and I believe this to be the case in James 4:2. I believe the whole controversy about which James wrote his epistle concerned questions and strivings over church leadership and what goals the local churches should have in the wake of Paul’s imprisonment.
Notice why the believers weren’t able to obtain their desires for the work of God. James lists three of them here. He claims his readers desire, but had been unable to obtain. Therefore, they killed (G5407) over their desires, but they were still unable to obtain what they wanted. Next, they fought (G3164; the verb form of fights in verse-1), and finally they waged war (G4170; the verb form of wars in verse-1). Yet, they still didn’t have what they wanted or couldn’t obtain their desired goals, because they didn’t pray for them. This understanding agrees with Paul’s advice to the Philippians: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Thus, James implies they could have had what they desired to have, if they merely prayed instead of taking matters into their own hands, trying to force the issue by slandering their leaders (cp. James 4:11), debating the issues and separating brethren into parties with different loyalties. None of these things were works of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-21 and compare 22-23). The Spirit of God, remember, “lusts[2] against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit” (Galatians 5:17), and Paul concludes this thought by saying: “you cannot **do** the things you **want,** meaning you cannot perform your own will. In other words, the goals of the Kingdom of God are accomplished only through prayer, because they cannot be obtained through the flesh, which was the mistake James’ readers were making. As a result of the wrong methods used in efforts to serve the Lord, many brethren were suffering because of the quarrels, conflicts and slanderous methods used in their efforts to advance the Gospel.
It needs to be said that James’ use of the word murder in verse-2 is undoubtedly in the spiritual sense (cp. Matthew 5:21-22; Mark 7:20-23), although some believers could have died through the persecution in the wake of Paul’s imprisonment. Not everyone who took part in these efforts were believers. Some were spies who implemented the plans of the Jerusalem authorities. Others arose from within the flock who thought to implement their own will for personal gain (cp. Acts 20:29-30).
On the other hand, some believers did pray, according to James 4:3, but they were still unable to obtain what they would have like to do, because their prayers were more about what they delighted in, rather than what was in the Lord’s heart (cp. Matthew 20:22; Luke 9:54-56). James, of course, was alluding to what Jesus said:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).
Nevertheless, Jesus’ words, like those of James, were spoken in the context of judging others (Matthew 7:1; cp. James 2:1) and pointing out the evil in a brother’s life when the greater evil is in your own (Matthew 7:3; James 3:13-16). To give what is holy to the unbeliever (viz. the spy, the false teacher) would be a grave mistake, because they would use what was holy for evil purposes, and even use these things against the very believers who entrusted them with the holy office of overseer (Matthew 7:6; James 4:1-3).
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[1] Of the 43 different translations I have in my Bible suite, 12 have desire and 11 have lust, thus accounting for over half of the offerings in the text; next came covet (7), want (5), and crave (3). The others were only single listings or an intensification of desire.
[2] Lusts (G1937), which is the same word used in James 4:2
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