but if ye have bitter emulation and strife in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
This is a warning for people who are sure they are in the right. James has just asked who among them is wise, and now he turns to the heart behind the claim.
The verse names a pair, and one commentator treats them as two steps down, not one thing said twice. He uses an older translation, which calls the jealousy "bitter emulation" and the ambition "faction." The first sin is private. The second drags other people in.
If Christ is the Christian's life, what does it mean for him to have "bitter emulation" in his heart? Is it not indulging an evil work of the old nature, the servant dishonouring his Master? This was bad, but "faction" is worse. It is not only one person feeding the vanity of an evil nature. It spreads that vanity to others, who are all too ready to exalt self and look down on people who ought to be loved and honoured.
James says the trouble sits "in your hearts," and one writer traces how it gets out. The usual cover story is faithfulness to the truth.
The evil, as always, starts in the heart. Envy in the heart leads to boasting, and boasting leads to lying against the truth. How often the envious man tries to hide his jealousy! He protests that he has no bitterness in his heart, but is only resisting evil and standing for the truth. Suppose we deliberately say offensive things, under cover of exposing some evil or telling a brother the plain truth for his good. Then we may be quite sure that malice in the heart lies behind our offensive words.
"Be false to the truth" raises a question: which truth? One commentator sets two claims side by side. Only one of them can be true.
What is this truth, against which we all far too often lie? Every outbreak of the flesh, by the tongue or in some other way, denies in practice that sin in the flesh was condemned at the cross of Christ. Which is truth — the cross of Christ, or my bitter strife and fiery tongue? They cannot both be truth. The cross of Christ is TRUTH, and my evil is a lie against the truth.
Another writer reaches the same conclusion by a different route — through pride.
Notice too that envy and strife lead to boasting and lying against the truth. These things stem from pride. The truth speaks clearly against self-exaltation. So if I justify my pride, I lie against the truth.
So where does this bitterness come from? One writer names its source, and it is not heaven.
Where there is divine life, knowledge does not show itself in mere words. It shows itself in the way a person walks, and in works that display the meekness of true wisdom. Bitterness and contention are not the fruits of a wisdom that comes from above. They are earthly. They belong to the nature of man, and to the enemy.
The same writer follows the trail forward to verse 16. What starts as a feeling ends in public wreckage.
Envy and strife in the heart may lead to boastful and lying words, spoken to excuse and cover the envy. If so, those boastful and hypocritical words will produce scenes of disorder and confusion, which open the door to "every evil work". Here, then, plain and searching words lay bare the root cause of every scene of disorder among the people of God.
Since this sin hides so well, one writer gives a test. Envy always admits something about the person who feels it.
We do well to remember that envy is always a confession of inferiority. To envy a man with a big income is to admit that your own is smaller. In the same way, to be jealous of a man with a gift is to confess that your own gift is inferior.
- Root. The evil starts in the heart, not on the tongue. Envy leads to boasting, and boasting leads to lying against the truth.
- Reach. Jealousy is the private sin. Ambition is worse, because it spreads to others who exalt self and look down on people who should be loved and honoured.
- Mask. The envious man claims he is only resisting evil and standing for the truth. But envy is always a confession of inferiority: to be jealous of another man's gift is to admit your own is smaller.
- Lie. Every outbreak of the flesh denies that sin in the flesh was condemned at the cross. Both cannot be true — the cross is truth, so my evil is the lie.
- Harvest. Bitterness is earthly, human and from the enemy. Its boastful words end in disorder and open the door to every evil work.
This is not the wisdom which comes down from above, but earthly, natural, devilish.
James draws a line between two kinds of wisdom, and he draws it at their source. One kind comes down from God. The other does not. This verse gives the false kind three names, and each name marks a step further down.
Note: where the ESV says "unspiritual, demonic," older translations say "sensual, devilish." The writers quoted below use those older words.
The difference is not in how much you know. It is in the root the wisdom grows from. One writer traces both wisdoms back to two natures.
In verse 15 James clearly separates the two kinds of wisdom. To see the two natures clearly separated, read Romans 7 carefully. The two natures lie at the root of the two wisdoms. The wisdom that is from God displays the marks of the new nature, and like that nature it is from above. The other wisdom displays the marks of the old nature, and like that nature it is from the earth.
This wisdom is dangerous because of where it stands. It does not present itself as an enemy of God. It claims a place inside the gospel.
There is a wisdom that is not from God. It has its seat in human intelligence. It is earthly, sensual, devilish, and it is false to the gospel, because it claims to belong to the gospel.
One writer sets each of the three words against its opposite, and shows what each one costs.
This wisdom is earthly, not heavenly; sensual (or "soulish"), not spiritual; devilish, not Christ-like. Because it is earthly, it does not last. Because it is sensual, it runs mostly on human desire and feeling. Because it is devilish, it deceives, and the danger is deadly.
The word behind "sensual" points to the soul, not the body. One writer follows all three words to the end.
It is first "earthly." It brings in no motive that is not of earth. The word for "sensual" is the one we have had before as "natural." It is "psychic," soul-led... In it are the instincts and appetites that keep life going, and nothing more. The spirit does not have its supreme place; the man is soul-led, soul-governed... It is not only "earthly, sensual," but "demoniacal." Satan is the prince of the world, so a worse influence is over man than could be found in his fallen nature alone.
James does not ask you to inspect your reasoning. He asks what your wisdom keeps company with.
Wisdom, like faith, shows what it is by the spirit and conduct that go with it and reflect it... What is the source and character of any wisdom, however grand its claims, that joins itself to bitter rivalry and division? Is it not a lie against the truth? Does it flow from anything higher than hearts ruled by self-will, instead of hearts purified by faith?
The lie has a definite content. One writer shows why defending your own pride sets you against the truth.
Notice too that envy and strife lead to boasting and lying against the truth. These things come from pride, and the truth speaks firmly against self-exaltation. So if I justify my pride, I lie against the truth.
The three words are a slope, not a list. Once wisdom stops coming down, it does not stay level.
There is no middle ground. Man cannot be his own master. If his house is empty, all the sweeping and tidying will only make it ready for a tenant. If his wisdom does not come from above, it will not be only "earthly," but "sensual," and then "devilish."
James wrote this warning to believers. One writer shows what unjudged jealousy does among them.
The preacher speaks truly: "Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" (Prov. 27:4)... It is good for all believers to take to heart the words of the apostle James, when he warns us against allowing "bitter jealousy and selfish ambition" in our hearts. If it is not judged in the heart, it will lead to confusion and every evil work, even among Christians.
The remedy is not better thinking but a different place. One writer locates the cure in the position Christ took.
To the mind of the world's wise man, the most offensive position of all is to be a servant, to be God's bondservant. This is love's place, and Christ took it and filled it without fail. Through His redemption we can follow in His path, having Him as our life, which He truly is, and we are free to cultivate this wisdom that comes down from above.
- Source — What marks wisdom is where it comes from, not how much it knows. One kind comes down; this kind does not.
- Descent — The three words trace a fall. Earthly has lost heaven. Soulish has lost the spirit's rule. Devilish has gained a new master.
- Disguise — It is dangerous because it claims to belong to the gospel while being false to it.
- Detection — Bitter envy and strife in the heart give it away. Defending that pride is a lie against the truth.
- Deliverance — There is no middle ground. Take the servant's place Christ took, and wisdom from above is free to grow.
For where emulation and strife [are], there [is] disorder and every evil thing.
This verse traces a short, sharp line: from something hidden in the heart to open ruin among God's people. Two questions follow — why does envy have such power, and why does disorder never stop at disorder?
The verse starts with jealousy. One writer measures its power by what it has produced:
Perhaps there is no greater power for evil in the world than envy. Envy led to the first murder in the world, when Cain rose up against his brother and killed him. And envy led to the greatest murder in the world, when the Jews killed the Prince of life. We read that Pilate "knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up" (Matthew 27:18).
Envy hides itself. The same writer shows what it is quietly admitting:
We do well to remember that envy is always the confession of inferiority. To envy a man with a big income is to admit that one's own is smaller. In the same way, to be jealous of a man with gift is to confess that one's own is an inferior gift.
The verse names a place: wherever these two things are. One writer follows the chain from the hidden feeling to the public wreck:
If envy and strife in the heart lead to boastful and lying words, used to excuse and cover the envy, then those boastful and hypocritical words will produce scenes of disorder and confusion. Such scenes open the door to "every evil work". So here, in plain and searching words, we see the root cause of every scene of disorder among the people of God.
Envy and strife do not produce every evil work on their own. They produce disorder, and disorder leaves the door unguarded:
Envy involves both personal selfishness and ill-feeling toward another. Strife therefore accompanies it. This in turn upsets all proper balance. Disorder takes over, and leaves the door open for "every evil work." This is how Satanic activity thrives.
This same evil looks clever to the world. One writer traces it back to the devil's own fall:
At the root of it lies envy or rivalry. This was the original sin of the devil. By trying to exalt himself, envying what was above him, he fell. When this is found there is bound to be strife, and strife in its turn results in confusion and every kind of evil work. Many of these evil things, perhaps all of them, would be counted as wisdom by fallen men. It looks wise enough to the average man to scheme and fight for oneself — to be always out for "number one" as it is called.
Smooth talk can fool anyone, so there is a safer test — fruit, not words:
Its moral character gives away its evil source, even though smooth language and fair speaking might easily trap the unwary. The least intelligent believer who keeps the Lord Jesus before him can spot "envying and faction." Once these are allowed, they quickly bring in "confusion and every bad work." So by their fruits the earthly wise soon become obvious to those who are neither intelligent nor spiritual enough to discern otherwise.
Different writers use different words — envy or rivalry, faction or strife. The picture is the same: taking sides until everything falls apart.
Since the trouble starts inside, that is where it must be dealt with:
Never has there been a scene of confusion and strife among the people of God that has not had its hidden root, of envy and strife, in the heart. We may be sure that the heart that entertains bitterness, envying, and strife, will be no garden for the Lord.
- Root — Envy sits under the whole chain. It drove the first murder in the world and the killing of the Prince of life.
- Confession — Envy is always an admission of inferiority. That is why it hides behind boasting and lying words.
- Spread — Envy in the heart turns into boastful, lying speech. That speech turns into open scenes of disorder among God's people.
- Door — Disorder is not the end but the opening. It lets "every evil work" walk in, and Satanic activity thrives by it.
- Test — Earthly wisdom talks well, but its fruit gives it away. Anyone who keeps the Lord Jesus before him can spot envy and faction.