James 4:6

Jam_4:6

But He giveth more grace

The greatness of the Divine gifts a source of Christian encouragement

I.

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE THAN WE DESERVE. That may seem a self-evident proposition. It is like saying He giveth what is undeserved to the undeserving--grace that is entirely beyond and above deserving, above all human merit of every kind. Grace is grace. Ah, how apt are we to forget this. We are so accustomed to its gifts and mercies that we seem to ourselves to have established some kind of right to them. We are so brought up among the precious things of Gods kingdom that we never pause to think that these are the fruits of amazing surpassing love. We shall never grow in grace as we ought until we have better perceptions of its true quality. It is from first to last to the undeserving. All its gifts of unbounded goodness are the unmerited expression of Divine pity and love.

II. HE GIVETH MORE GRACE THAN WE DESIRE. For we do desire it; if we be gracious persons at all, it is one of the laws of our life. Just as the seed peeps upward from the soil to see the sun as it begins to live anew--just as rivers run to the ocean, as the sun hasteth to his going down, as ships speed on to their haven, as doves fly to their windows, as the exile sighs for his native land, as the weary pilgrim longs for his home, as each man seeks his own company--so the heaven-born soul riseth to things above; the things that she desires. Have you no desire? Ah! then you are not yet a new creature. If we have no spiritual desires we have no spiritual life. We are very apt to commit mistakes as to the strength of our desire for grace. We are very apt to mistake both ways, sometimes to think it is stronger than it is, and sometimes to think it is weaker than it is. We have some temporary vehemence of affection; we mistake that for a settled desire, but God does not. He knows exactly how much there is of thirst and longing in our souls for purity, light, and love, and all that we understand by grace. He knows whether we really do wish to have more of His presence in our life, and how much. We come asking to be received as hired servants in His great house, and He makes us sons. We stand knocking at the door of the temple, hoping to be admitted to the outer court, and He makes us priests. We stand by the palace of the great King, trembling and afraid to enter, and there is no more spirit in us; when, lo! we are carried by the power of His grace into the presence of the King. Thus He conquers us with lovingkindness. He giveth more grace--more than we desire.

III. HE GIVES US MORE GRACE THAN WE KNOW. We are here only amid beginnings. We have the best things only in seed and germ. The precious things of the Christian resemble the farmers seed-corn. He lays it aside; it seems but little, but it will make his fields green next spring, and yellow next harvest, and fill his garners with plenty. Now, so the Christian has everything here, but it is in seed. The seed is precious seed, however, and although he goes forth weeping, sometimes, to sow it, he will doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Much of our joy hereafter will be the joy of admiration, the joy of surprise. We shall say, with wonder, Was I so rich and did not know it? Had I the germ of all this in store and yet thought of it so lightly? How could I despond, and weep and tremble as I did? But this tearful state of experience is now ended, and here I see, with adoring gratitude, that God was giving me more grace than even then I knew

IV. HE GIVETH ALL GRACE--MORE GRACE THAN WE USE. All grace is for use, not for holding. It is likened by our blessed Lord Himself to talents, one, two, five; given to every man severally according to the mans ability and according to the Masters will. It is not for holding, but for casting, as we have said, like seed-corn into the field of life. There is not one of these talents of which the Master will not require an account, not one which we may hide in the ground. And yet is not this last what we are so apt to do? The evils of this course are manifest. First, we deprive ourselves of the blessedness of giving, and then we deprive others of the blessedness of receiving. But there is more evil than this, and worse. It is more than disuse of talents; it is disease, it is corruption; it is decay, destruction, death, coming by misuse. The gold and silver pieces which the miser hoards up will not, when produced years afterwards, be in the shining state they would have been by wear; and so when the talents committed to the Christian, which have been disused for a long lifetime, are brought out at last, they will not come out in the clear shining state in which they were; and the Master may then say, Was this what I gave you these talents for? How is the fine gold become dim? I gave you pure knowledge that it might become still purer and wider, ever brightening towards perfect knowledge, and now it is all mingled with error, and the shadow of spiritual ignorance seems to have been deepening instead of passing away. I gave you clear conscience, and left it free, and you have dimmed and fettered it--fresh sympathies with all the ardour of heaven, and now you bring them back weakened and petrified. I gave you a bright eye, apt for the darting glance, and now it is dim as an old mans vision. I gave you these talents to spend and use, and so increase; but this is only the rust of them, and it will eat a mans flesh as it were fire. We all have more grace than we use, but we ought to use it far more than we do. The only preparation for receiving grace is--what?--coming to receive grace. The only way in which we can be graciously better is by beginning to be better at once, and believing in Gods willingness to help us. God only requires on our parts more receptive hearts--the willing heart of love. He giveth more grace to such. Let us have grace then whereby may serve God. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)

The gift of grace

I. THE GRACE OF GOD.

1. Grace denotes favour; that kind of favour, more especially, which flows from the mind of God into the heart of guilty man--all that we understand by the riches of goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering; all that awakens, informs, humbles, consoles, animates, and makes meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.

2. The importance of grace is unspeakable. Who but the partakers of grace can perform ode duty in a right manner?

3. Wide and glorious are the operations of Divine grace. It transforms rebels against God into loyal subjects, and the enemies of those around them into ardent friends. It shuts the gates of hell, it consecrates the whole course of life, and it insures, as well as promises, the bliss of immortality.

II. THE MANNER OF BESTOWING GRACE. He giveth grace.

1. Grace is indeed an absolute donation. Could we prefer a claim, we should receive, not a gift, but a debt.

2. In God is the fountain of grace, from which it emanates in every direction; and hence all that share the blessing ascribe it to Him alone, saying, Of His grace have all we received.

III. The grace of God in THE ABUNDANCE OF ITS COMMUNICATIONS; that is, an abundance which daily becomes larger and larger; He giveth more grace.

1. More is necessary. As the Christian advances in life, he has new duties to perform, new trials to bear, new temptations to encounter.

2. More is desired. It is the tendency of grace, as of everything in nature, to seek after its own increase.

3. More grace is provided. All our wants as Christians have been foreseen equally with those by which we can be affected as creatures.

Conclusion:

1. Why do so many remain destitute of grace? They are either careless and insensible of their need of it; or they are too proud to receive it.

2. Who, then, are made partakers of grace in its amplest communications Isa_66:2; 1Pe_5:5)?

3. Why should we rest satisfied with the highest measures of grace already bestowed? We are not straitened in God, but in ourselves; we have not, because we ask not.

4. The time is at hand when grace will be dispensed no longer. (C. A.Jeary.)

Divine grace

The world gives a little that it may give no more; but Christ gives that He may give. He gives a little grace that He may give grace upon grace. He gives a little comfort that He may give fulness of joy. Souls that are rich in grace labour after greater measures of grace out of love to grace, and because of an excellency that they see in grace. Grace is a very sparkling jewel, and be who loves it and pursues after it for its own native beauty has much of it within him. (T. Brooks.)

The abundance of grace

The fountain of Gods grace is not as a little scanty spring in the desert, round which thirsty travellers meet to strive and struggle, muddying the waters with their feet, pushing one another away, lest those waters be drawn dry by others before they come to partake of them themselves; but a mighty, inexhaustible river, on the banks of which all may stand, and of which none may grudge, lest, if others drink largely and freely, there will not remain enough for themselves. (Abp. Trench.)

More and more

See the bounty of God--ever giving and ever ready to give more!

I. OBSERVE THE TEXT IN ITS CONNECTION.

1. It presents a contrast. The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy; on Gods part this is met by, but He giveth more grace.

2. It suggests a note of admiration. What a wonder that when sin aboundeth, grace still more abounds!

3. It hints at a direction for spiritual conflict.

(1) We learn where to obtain the Weapons of our warfare: we must look to Him who gives grace.

(2) We learn the nature of those weapons: they are not legal, nor fanciful, nor ascetical, but gracious.

(3) We learn that lusting after evil must be met by the fulfilment of spiritual desires and obtaining more grace.

4. It encourages us in continuing the conflict.

5. It plainly indicates a victory. God will not give us up, but will more and more augment the force of grace, so that sin must and shall ultimately yield to its sanctifying dominion.

II. OBSERVE THE GENERAL TRUTH OF THE TEXT. God is ever on the giving hand.

1. He giveth new supplies of grace.

2. Larger supplies.

3. Higher orders.

4. He giveth more largely as the old nature works more powerfully. This should be--

(1) A truth of daily use for ourselves.

(2) A promise daily pleaded for others.

(3) A stimulus in the contemplation of higher or sterner duties, and an encouragement to enter on wider fields.

5. A solace under forebodings of deeper trouble in common life.

6. An assurance in prospect of the severe tests of sickness and death.

III. BRING IT HOME BY SPECIAL APPROPRIATION.

1. My spiritual poverty, then, is my own fault, for the Lord giveth more grace to all who believe for it.

2. My spiritual growth will be to His glory, for I can only grow because He gives more grace. Oh, to grow constantly!

3. What a good God I have to go to! (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Continual grace

I have grace every day! every hour! When the rebel is brought, nine times a day, twenty times a day, for the space of forty years, by his princes grace, from under the axe, how fair and sweet are the multiplied pardons and reprievals of grace to him! In my case here are multitudes of multiplied redemptions! Here is plenteous redemption! I defile every hour, Christ washeth; I fall, grace raiseth me; i come this day, this morning, under the rebuke of justice, but grace pardoneth me; and so it is all along, till grace puts me into heaven. (Samuel Rutherford.)

Need of more grace

Were you to rest satisfied with any present attainments to which you have reached, it would be an abuse of encouragement. It would be an evidence that you know nothing of the power of Divine grace in reality, for--

Whoever says, I want no more, Confesses he has none.

Those who have seen their Lord, will always pray, I beseech thee, show me Thy glory. Those that have once tasted that the Lord is gracious, will always cry, Evermore give us this bread to eat. (William Jay.)

More grace wanted

When Lord North, during the American War, sent to the Rev. Mr. Fletcher, of Madeley (who had written on that unfortunate war, in a manner that had pleased the minister), to know what he wanted, he sent him word, that he wanted but one thing, which it was not in his lordships power to give him, and that was more grace.

God resisteth the proud

How God resisteth the proud

1. He resisteth them by punishing them for their pride against Him, as He did the builders of the turret of Babel.

2. Sometimes He resisteth the proud by hindering their purposes by some means unlocked for, as 2Ki_19:9; Act_4:21.

3. God resisteth the proud when He turneth their devices upon their own necks, and maketh them fall into the same mischiefs and snares which they have prepared for others (Est_7:9).

4. God resisteth the proud by confounding their counsels, enterprises, and devices, as appeareth in proud Achitophel and others; as in the invincible navy of the proud Spaniards sent against little England, so confounded and in greatest part destroyed by the mighty hand of God.

5. God resisteth the proud by removing and taking away from them the things whereof they have been proud. Some are proud of riches, as he that said to his soul (Luk_12:20). Him God resisteth by removing him and his riches. Some are proud of beauty, whom God resisteth by sending sickness or other means to hinder and remove that from them. Some are proud of their wit; those He resisted by causing them to fall either by palsy or such like into doting folly. Some are proud of their strength, which languishing sickness abateth. Some are proud of their power, as Nebuchadnezzar, Senacherib, Antiochus, Pompey, Alexander, and the like, whom God resisteth, partly by taking away life, partly by removing their power, wherein they trusted from them.

6. God resisteth the proud when He turneth their ambition and vainglory into ignominy and shame. So God resisted Simon, the wicked sorcerer and deceiver.

7. God resisteth the proud in destroying their remembrance and cutting off their posterity from the earth for their pride and wickedness. Thereof the holy prophet David may be understood. The face of the Lord is against them which do evil, to cut off their remembrance from the earth.

8. God resisteth the proud by sending fear and terror into their hearts, whereof see Job_15:20-25; Job_18:7-10; 2Ki_7:6; Psa_76:5; Isa_10:33; Isa_19:16.

9. God resisteth the proud and wicked when He armeth one proud and wicked man against another, and causeth them to destroy one the other, as 2Ch_20:22; Isa_49:26; Isa_20:2. (R. Turnbull.)

The cure of pride; or, the lesson of humility

I. Pride is a FOOLISH thing, and for this reason we ought to try to get rid of it. Kings and princes, and persons in high stations, are often proud of the positions they bold. If they obtain these places because they are wise and good, it is God who gives them the wisdom and the goodness they have. And if He has given these good things, then it is foolish to be proud of them, But if they get these places without being wise or good, then surely it is still more foolish to be proud of them. How many persons are proud on account of their wealth. But even this money is not theirs. It is Gods. Now suppose a merchant should give twenty pounds to one of his clerks, and send him out to buy certain things, with directions to come back as soon as he got through, and give an account of how the money had been spent. And suppose that clerk should feel proud of what his employer had entrusted to him, and should boast ablaut it to his friends. Would you not think that very foolish? Certainly. And yet, if we feel proud on account of the money we have, this is just what we are doing. Another thing that persons are proud of is their dress. This is the most foolish of all things to be proud of. Instead of feeling proud of our dress, we ought rather to be ashamed of it. Our clothing is the proof that we are sinful, fallen creatures. And then, if we but remember where our clothing came from, we shall see how foolish it is to be proud of it.

II. The second reason why we ought not to be proud is because it is UNPROFITABLE. God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. We resist our enemies; and God resists the proud because He regards them as His enemies. Who would wish to be the enemy of God? Do you think it would pay to have God for an enemy? There is nothing in the world so profitable to us--nothing that is worth so much--nothing that pays so well as the grace of God. We read in another place that God filleth the hungry with good things, but the rich He sends empty away.

III. The third reason why we ought not to be proud is because it is DANGEROUS. We learn from the Bible that pride is a great sin; and nothing in the world is so dangerous as sin. And it is because pride is so sinful that we find such words as these in the Bible about it: The Lord hateth a proud Pro_6:17); The proud in heart are an abomination to the Pro_16:5). In Grecian story there is a fable about a man named Daedalus and his son Icarus, which shows the danger of pride. The fable says that Daedalus made wings for himself and his son, so that they might have the pleasure of flying. When the wings were finished, he fitted them on vein carefully with wax. Then they took their flight in the air from the island of Crete. Daedalus was humble-minded, and did not attempt to fly very high. He got on very well, passed safely over the sea, and reached the town of Cumae in Italy, near Naples, where he built a temple to one of the gods. Bat Icarus his son was a proud young man. He resolved to fly a great deal higher than his father. He went up nearer and nearer towards the sun, till the warmth of its beams melted the wax. Then his wings fell off, and down he fell, head over heels, into the sea. That part of the Mediterranean in which he fell was called the Acarian Sea. It is said to have been so named in memory of that proud young man. (R. Newton, D. D.)

Gods abhorrence and defiance of the proud

God abhors other sinners, but against the proud He professes open defiance and hostility. This was the sin that turned angels into devils. You may trace the story of pride from paradise to this day, Other sins are more hateful to man, because they bring disgrace and have more of baseness and turpitude in them, whereas pride seems to have a kind of bravery in it. But the Lord hates it, because it is a sin that sets itself most against Him. Other sins are against Gods laws, but pride is against Gods sovereignty. Pride does not only withdraw the heart from God, but lifts it up against God. Other sins are more patient of reproof, for conscience will frequently consent to the reproofs of Gods Word; but pride first blinds the mind, and then arms the affections--it lass the judgment asleep, and then awakens anger. (T. Manton.)

But giveth grace unto the humble

Humility a means of contentment

God gives grace to the humble. He holds them with complacency, often prospers their undertakings, and causes them to find various advantages in this temper of mind so agreeable to Him. Among these advantages contentment holds a foremost place.

I. The humble man is more CONTENTED WITH GOD, with His revelations, commands, ordinances, and dispensations, than he would and could be without the aid of this virtue. Humility prompts him to fall prostrate in the dust before the Most High and to adore Him as the All-wise and All-gracious, even there where he perceives naught but darkness around him.

II. The humble man is more CONTENTED WITH HIMSELF than he would and could be without the assistance of that virtue. Not that he imputes to his good qualities, his merits, a higher value than they properly profess, or satisfies himself with any, however low, degree of wisdom and virtue; but he is more contented with himself, inasmuch as he voluntarily submits to the limitations of his nature and his present state, little as it may be in itself and in comparison with what superior beings may be able to do and to enjoy.

III. For the same reason the humble man is more CONTENT WITH THE STATION HE OCCUPIES in the world and in society than he would and could be without the aid of his virtue. He knows that he everywhere finds opportunities and motives to unfold his mental powers, to be useful to his brethren, to exercise himself in obedience to God, and thus to render himself capable of higher occupations and dignities in a better world; and this ennobles and refines all that he does in his opinion, and induces him to do everything with care and conscientiousness.

IV. The humble man is far more CONTENTED WITH HIS FELLOW CREATURES than he would and could be without the aid of this virtue. The more modest the opinion he has of himself, of his talents, of his merits, the less does he expect any particular respect, reverence, or submission from others; the less does he imagine he has any right to it; the less does he insolently avail himself of any pre-eminence which he really has.

V. The humble man is more CONTENTED IN PROSPERITY AND IN AFFLUENCE than he would and could be without the aid of this virtue.

VI. The humble man is likewise more CONTENTED IN MISFORTUNES OR IN ADVERSITY than he would and could be without the aid of this virtue. He knows that as a man he is a frail creature, liable to innumerable accidents, that he has no real claim to an uninterrupted succession of prosperous days and favourable events, and that it is incompatible with the present condition of mankind; and the more sensibly he feels all this, the less is he surprised when such misfortunes actually befal him, if bad and good days alternately succeed in the course of his life. (G. J. Zollikofer.)

The humble are the fittest recipients of grace

Lumps of unrelenting guiltiness are as vessels closed up, and cannot receive grace; humility fitteth a man to receive it, and maketh a man to esteem it. The humble are vessels of a larger bore and size, fit to receive what grace giveth out. You may learn hence wily humble persons are most gracious, and gracious persons most humble. God delighteth to fill up such; they are vessels of a right bore. The valleys laugh with fatness when the hills are barren; and the laden boughs will bend their heads, &c. (T. Manton.)

Humility

It seems hard that the very grace said to be the most difficult to acquire should often make those who have won it of least account in the world. If it be so in this life, humility will only cry the louder from the grave. No force is ever lost. Sooner or later it will come upon us in all its power.

Humiliation

It is with us as with the reeds which grow by the riverside; when the waters overflow, the reed bows its head and bends down, and the flood passes over it without breaking it, after which it uplifts its head and stands erect in all its vigour, rejoicing in renewed life. So is it with us; we also must sometimes be bowed down to the earth and humbled, and then arise with renewed vigour and trust.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jas 4:6-10. But he — God, giveth more grace — To all those who, while they shun those tempers, sincerely and earnestly pray for it. Wherefore he saith, [see the margins] God, resisteth the proud — The unhumbled; those that think highly of themselves, and put confidence in their own wisdom, power, or holiness, and who seek the praise of men rather than the praise of God; against these God sets himself in battle array, as it is expressed, Pro 3:24. He rejects them, and will not allow them access to, or communion with himself. He thwarts their undertakings, and renders their schemes abortive. But giveth grace unto the humble — Unto those that are humbled under a sense of their ignorance and weakness, their guilt and depravity, and therefore have no confidence in any thing they are or have. Submit yourselves — Or be subject, as υποταγητε signifies, therefore to God — Pursue your lusts no longer, but yield an humble obedience to God in all things. Resist — With faith and steadfastness; the devil — The father of pride and envy; and he will flee from you — And your progress in religion will become greater, and your victory over your spiritual enemies more easy and evident day by day. Draw nigh to God — In faith and prayer; and he will draw nigh unto you — By his grace and blessing; which that nothing may hinder, cleanse your hands — From doing evil; and purify your hearts — From all spiritual idolatry, from all vile affections and corrupt inclinations, from the love of the world in all its branches; be no more double-minded — Vainly endeavouring to serve both God and mammon. Be afflicted — On account of your past sins, especially your ingratitude to God, your abuse of his blessings, and unfaithfulness to his grace; and mourn and weep — For the miseries to which you have exposed yourselves. Let your laughter be turned into mourning — Because of the heavy judgments that hang over you; humble yourselves in the sight and presence of the Lord, and he shall lift you up — Comfort you with a sense of his pardoning mercy.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jas 4:6. Μείζονα) So much the greater the farther you depart from envy.—δίδωσι, He giveth) God.—λέγει, it saith) the Scripture, Jas 4:5. James confirms the authority of Solomon, whom he quotes with great propriety, when he would dissuade us from the hinderances to wisdom.—ὁ Θεὸς—χάριν) Pro 3:34. Septuagint has Κυριος—the rest in the same words. James altogether agrees with Peter: see 1Pe 5:5.—ὑπερηφάνοις, the proud) Pride is the mother of envy, respecting which see Jas 4:5. The Hebrew is ללצים, scoffers, such are they who think that the Scripture speaks in vain.—ἀντιτάσσεται, resists) In the Hebrew יליץ, He will laugh at. The humble are of such a spirit, that if it were possible for God to require the service of any one, they would afford it; but the proud endeavour to resist Him, as Pharaoh did; therefore He repays each according to their own deservings. He resists the proud, but He gives grace to the lowly.—χάριν, grace) He, to whom God gives grace, learns to lay aside all envy.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jam_4:6. The words μείζονα δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν are explained from the fact that James already had in his view the passage of the O. T., afterwards quoted, from which these words are taken. The subject is the same as in the former sentence. The comparative does not express the comparison with the blessings which the world gives (Bede: majorem gratiam dat quam amicitia mundi; thus also Tirinus, Gebser, Pott, Winer, Schneckenburger, Kern), or after which those: invidi atque arrogantes, quos reprehendit, Jam_5:2-4 (Bouman), longed for; also it does not indicate the greater measure of the comforting and satisfying Spirit as related to the longing Spirit (Lange: but he gives grace greater than the longing), but μείζονα suggests a comparison with a case in which there is no πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθ. (Wiesinger, so also de Wette); incorrectly Bengel: eo majorem, quo longius recesseris ab invidia.

διό] = therefore, because it is so (de Wette). ἡ γραφή is to be supplied to λέγει. Kern incorrectly takes λέγει impersonally: it is said. The passage is Pro_3:34, and is verbally quoted according to the LXX., except that here, as also in 1Pe_5:5, ὁ Θεός is put instead of κύριος. The ὑ̔περήφανοι are those who, whilst they in striving after high things (τὰ ὑψηλὰ φρονοῦντες, Rom_12:16) will be the friends of the world, are not ready to bear the reproach of Christ. That these are ἐχθροὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, the scripture confirms by ἀντιτάσσεται.

Opposed to these are the παπεινοί, that is, the lowly, those who τοῖς ταπεινοῖς συναπαγόμενοι, Rom_12:16, seek not the friendship of the world, but humbly bear the cross of Christ. That these are φίλοι τοῦ Θεοῦ the Scripture confirms by δίδωσιν χάριν.[198] Comp Sir_3:19-20.

[198] The difficulty of the passage has induced some expositors to have recourse to arbitrary emendations; thus Erasmus and Grotius explain the words from διὸ λέγει to χάριν as a gloss from 1Pe_5:5. Hottinger (with whom Reiche agrees), on the contrary, is inclined to erase the words from μείζονα to λέγει, and to insert a δέ between ὁ and Θεός. Also Lücke, according to Gebser, considered those words a kind of gloss and error librarii to ἡ γραφὴ λέγει and τοῖς ταπ. δίδ. ver. 6, and that the context is to be thus construed: πρὸς φθόνον … ἐν ὑμῖε ἔ δοκεῖτε ὅτε κενῶς ἡ γρ. λέγει: ὁ Θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις κ.τ.λ.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jas 4:6 . μείζονα δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν : these words further emphasise the developed doctrine of the Spirit referred to above; they point to the nature of divine grace, which is almost illimitable. These verses, 5, 6, witness in a striking way to the Christian doctrine of grace, and herein breathe a different spirit from that found in most of the Epistle. ὁ Θεὸς … χάριν : Cf. Sir 10:7 ; Sir 10:12 ; Sir 10:18 ; Pss. of Sol. 2:25, Son 2:4 :28; the quotation is also found in 1Pe 5:5 ; taken with the preceding it teaches the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Ephrem Syrus quotes this as a saying of Christ’s ( Opp . iii. 93 E., ed. Assemani; quoted by Resch, op. cit. , p. 199).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But--"Nay, rather."

he--God.

giveth more grace--ever increasing grace; the farther ye depart from "envy" [BENGEL].

he saith--The same God who causes His spirit to dwell in believers (Jam 4:5), by the Spirit also speaks in Scripture. The quotation here is probably from Pro 3:34; as probably Pro 21:10 was generally referred to in Jam 4:5. In Hebrew it is "scorneth the scorners," namely, those who think "Scripture speaketh in vain."

resisteth--literally, "setteth Himself in array against"; even as they, like Pharaoh, set themselves against Him. God repays sinners in their own coin. "Pride" is the mother of "envy" (Jam 4:5); it is peculiarly satanic, for by it Satan fell.

the proud--The Greek means in derivation one who shows himself above his fellows, and so lifts himself against God.

the humble--the unenvious, uncovetous, and unambitious as to the world. Contrast Jam 4:4.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. But he giveth more grace] μειζονα χαριν, A greater benefit, than all the goods that the world can bestow; for he gives genuine happiness, and this the world cannot confer. May this be St. James' meaning?

God resisteth the proud] αντιτασσεται. Sets himself in battle array against him.

Giveth grace unto the humble.] The sure way to please God is to submit to the dispensation of his grace and providence; and when a man acknowledges him in all his ways, he will direct all his steps. The covetous man grasps at the shadow, and loses the substance.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(6) But he giveth more grace—i.e., because of this very presence of the Holy Ghost within us. He, as the author and conveyer of all good gifts, in their mystic seven-fold order (Isa_11:2) adds to the wasted treasure, and so aids the weakest in his strife with sin, resisting the proud, lest he be led to destruction (Pro_16:18), and helping the humble, lest he be “wearied and faint in his mind” (Heb_12:3).

God resisteth the proud . . .—Excepting “God,” instead of “Lord,” this is an exact quotation from the LXX. version of Pro_3:34, which reads in our Bibles, “Surely He scorneth the scorners, but He giveth grace unto the lowly.” It is again brought forward by St. Peter (1Pe_5:5), and seems to have been a common saying—“a maxim of the wise that had become, as it were, a law of life.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. But he giveth more grace] Following the explanation already given, the sequence of thought seems to run thus: God loves us with a feeling analogous to the strongest form of jealousy, or even envy, but that jealousy does not lead Him, as it leads men, to be grudging in His gifts; rather does He bestow, as its result, a greater measure of His grace than before, or than He would do, were His attitude towards us one of strict unimpassioned Justice.

Wherefore he saith …] The nominative to the verb is not expressed, and we may, with almost equal fitness, supply the Scripture, the Spirit, or God.

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble] The point of the quotation lies in the last clause, as containing the proof of what St James had just asserted, that God gave His grace freely to those who thought themselves least worthy of it. It is to be noticed (1) that we again find St James quoting from one of the great sapiential books of the Old Testament (Pro_3:34), and (2) that St Peter also quotes it (1Pe_5:5). That maxim of the wise of old had become, as it were, a law of life for the Community at Jerusalem. Clement of Rome follows their example (c. 30).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But he giveth more grace,.... The Arabic version adds, "to us"; the Ethiopic version, "to you"; and the Syriac version reads the whole thus; "but our Lord gives more grace to us"; or "greater grace"; than the world can give, whose friendship is courted by men; the least measure of grace, of faith, and hope, and love, and of a spiritual knowledge of Christ, and interest in him, and of peace, joy, and comfort, is more worth than all the world, and everything in it: or greater grace, more favours than the saints are able to ask or think; so Solomon had more favours given him than he could think of asking for: or greater grace, and larger measures of it, even of spiritual light and knowledge, under the Gospel dispensation, than under the former dispensation; or where God bestows gifts qualifying for service and usefulness, and these are made use of and employed for such purposes, he gives more: or this may refer to internal grace wrought by the Spirit of God, in the hearts of his people; more of which he may be said to give, when he causes it to abound, as to its acts and exercises; when faith grows exceedingly, hope revives, and is lively, and abounds through his power and influence, and love to God and Christ, and one another, abounds yet more and more; when there is a growth in every grace, and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus, so that this grace becomes a well of living waters, springing up into eternal life, which at last will have its perfection in glory:

wherefore he saith; either the Spirit that gives more grace, or the Scripture, or God in the Scripture, in Pro 3:34,

God resisteth the proud: or scorns the scorners; he rejects them that trust in themselves that they are righteous, and despise others; that say, Stand by thyself, I am holier than thou; that are proud of themselves, their enjoyments, their gifts, their external righteousness, and holiness, and are full, and rich, and increased with goods, and stand in need of nothing; these he opposes, he sets himself against, he thrusts them away from him, he sends them away empty, and scatters them in the imagination of their own hearts; and in the things in which they deal proudly, he is above them; he sits in the heavens and laughs at them, and frustrates all their schemes:

but he giveth grace unto the humble; who are sensible of their own vileness and meanness, and acknowledge it; who think the meanest of themselves, and the best of others; and do not envy the gifts and graces of God bestowed upon others, but rejoice at them; and ascribe all they have, and are, to the free grace of God; and ingenuously confess the deficiency of their duties, and the insufficiency of their righteousness to justify them before God; and that when they have done all they can, or are assisted to do, they are but unprofitable servants: now to these God gives grace; he not only gives grace at first, to make them humble, but he gives them more grace, or increases what he gives: grace is God's gift; he gives all the grace that is in Christ, and all the blessings of grace that are in the covenant, and all the grace that is in the hearts of his people; as faith, hope, love, repentance, humility, patience, self-denial, resignation to his will, and every degree of spiritual knowledge; and grace is only his gift; men cannot give it to themselves, nor can the best of men give it to others; not godly parents to their children; nor ministers to those to whom they preach; no, nor the angels in heaven; nor is it to be obtained by the works of men: it is a free gift; it is given of the sovereign will and good pleasure of God, to whom, and when, and in what measure he pleases; to which he is not induced by any motives in men, for they have nothing in them to move him to it; and it is given by him absolutely, without conditions, not suspending it till the performance of them; and he gives it cheerfully and not grudgingly, largely, bountifully, and in great abundance.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Ver. 6. But he giveth] Or, "it," that is, the Scripture "giveth," &c., transforming us into the same image, and conforming us to the heavenly pattern by the Spirit that breatheth in it.

God resisteth the proud] Gr. αντιτασσεται, "setteth himself in battle array against such," above all other sorts of sinners, as invaders of his territories, and foragers or plunderers of his chief treasures. Pray therefore to be preserved from the perilous pinnacle of self-exaltation. God defieth such as deify themselves; he knoweth them afar off, Psa 138:6, he cannot abide the sight of them. Neither need we wonder, since (as Boetius well observeth) whereas all other vices fly from God, pride lets fly at him; yea, flies in his face, and seeks to dethrone him; as we see in that proud prince of Tyre, Eze 28:2, who thought himself first wiser than Daniel, Eze 28:3; then, that he exceeded the high priest in all his ornaments, Eze 28:13; then, he thought himself to be above Adam, Eze 28:13; then above the cherubims, Eze 28:14; and lastly, he said he was God himself, and sat in the seat of God. So the pope, 2Th 2:4.

But giveth grace to the humble] Humility is both a grace, and a vessel to receive grace. God poureth the oil of his grace into broken vessels, contrite spirits.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But he giveth more grace - The reference here is undoubtedly to God. Some have regarded this clause as a continuation of the quotation in the previous verse, but it is rather to be considered as a declaration of the apostle himself. The writer had just spoken of envy, and of the crimes which grew out of it. He thought of the wars and commotions of the earth, and of the various lusts which reigned among men. In the contemplation of these things, it seems suddenly to have occurred to him that all were not under the influence of these things; that there were cases where men were restrained, and where a spirit opposite to these things prevailed. Another passage of Scripture struck his mind, containing the truth that there was a class of men to whom God gave grace to restrain these passions, and to subdue these carnal propensities. They were the humble, in contradistinction to the proud; and he states the fact that “God giveth more grace;” that is, that in some instances he confers more grace than in the cases referred to; to some he gives more grace to overcome their evil passions, and to subdue their corrupt inclinations, than he does to others. The meaning may be thus expressed: - “It is true that the natural spirit in man is one that tends to envy, and thus leads to all the sad consequences of envy. But there are instances in which higher grace or favor is conferred; in which these feelings are subdued, and these consequences are prevented. They are not indeed to be found among the proud, whom God always resists; but they are to be found among the meek and the humble. Wherefore submit yourselves to his arrangements; resist the devil; draw nigh to God; purify yourselves, and weep over your past offences, and you shall find that the Lord will lift you up, and bestow his favor upon you,” Jam 4:10.

Wherefore he saith - The reference here is to Pro 3:34, “Surely he scorneth the scorners; but he giveth grace unto the lowly.” The quotation is made exactly from the Septuagint, which, though not entirely literal, expresses the sense of the Hebrew without essential inaccuracy. This passage is also quoted in 1Pe 5:5.

God resisteth the proud - The proud are those who have an inordinate self-esteem; who have a high and unreasonable conceit of their own excellence or importance. This may extend to anything; to beauty, or strength, or attainments, or family, or country, or equipage, or rank, or even religion. A man may be proud of anything that belongs to him, or which can in any way be construed as a part of himself, or as pertaining to him. This does not, of course, apply to a correct estimate of ourselves, or to the mere knowledge that we may excel others. One may know that he has more strength, or higher attainments in learning or in the mechanic arts, or greater wealth than others, and yet have properly no pride in the case. He has only a correct estimate of himself, and he attaches no undue importance to himself on account of it. His heart is not lifted up; he claims no undue deference to himself; he concedes to all others what is their due; and he is humble before God, feeling that all that he has, and is, is nothing in his sight. He is willing to occupy his appropriate place in the sight of God and men, and to be esteemed just as he is. Pride goes beyond this, and gives to a man a degree of self-estimation which is not warranted by anything that he possesses. God looks at things as they are; and hence he abhors and humbles this arrogant claim, Lev 26:19; Job 33:17; Psa 59:12; Pro 8:13; Pro 16:18; Pro 29:13; Isa 23:9; Isa 28:1; Dan 4:37; Zec 10:11. This resistance of pride he shows not only in the explicit declarations of his word, but in the arrangements of his providence and grace:

In his providence, in the reverses and disappointments which occur; in the necessity of abandoning the splendid mansion which we had built, or in disappointing us in some favorite plan by which our pride was to be nurtured and gratified.

(2)In sickness, taking away the beauty and strength on which we had so much valued ourselves, and bring us to the sad condition of a sick bed.

(3)In the grave, bringing us down to corruption and worms. Why should one be proud who will soon become so offensive to his best friends that they will gladly hide him in the grave?

(4)In the plan of salvation he opposes our pride. Not a feature of that plan is fitted to foster pride, but all is adapted to make us humble.

(a) The necessity for the plan - that we are guilty and helpless sinners;

(b) the selection of a Saviour - one who was so poor, and who was so much despised by the world, and who was put to death on a cross;

(c) our entire dependence on him for salvation, with the assurance that we have no merit of our own, and that salvation is all of grace;

(d) the fact that we are brought to embrace it only by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and that if we were left to ourselves we should never have one right thought or holy desire - all this is fitted to humble us, and to bring us low before God. God has done nothing to foster the self-estimation of the human heart; but how much has he done to “stain the pride of all glory? See the notes at Isa 23:9.

But giveth grace unto the humble - The meaning is, that he shows them favor; he bestows upon them the grace needful to secure their salvation. This he does:

(1)Because they feel their need of his favor;

(2)Because they will welcome his teaching and value his friendship;

(3)Because all the arrangements of his grace are adapted only to such a state of mind. You cannot teach one who is so wise that he already supposes he knows enough; you cannot bestow grace on one who has no sense of the need of it. The arrangements of salvation are adapted only to an humble heart.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

But he giveth greater grace. The Holy Spirit which dwelleth in you, giveth you graces in proportion to your fidelity in complying with them, and according to your humility and the love which you bear to your neighbour. (Calmet) --- St. James may also mean by these two verses, to exhort the Jews and Gentiles, who were rather jealous of each other, to nourish no jealousy against one another, not be troubled at the blessing which their neighbour enjoyed from the bountiful hand of the Almighty. The will God deal to us with a more liberal hand, and will bestow upon us greater graces in proportion as we lay aside all ill-will towards our neighbour. But that he will withhold his hand from the envious man, because he resists the proud, and give his grace to the humble. Glory is the exclusive property of heaven; whoever, therefore assumes it to himself, makes God his enemy. There is nothing in man since his fall; there is nothing in holy writ which does not preach to us this truth. --- N. B. These last words, "God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble," are only in the Septuagint edition. Proverbs iii. 34. The Hebrew and Vulgate read in this place, "He shall scorn the scorners, and to the meek he will give grace." (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

But he; either the Spirit of God, if spirit in the former verse be understood of the Spirit of God; or God, if spirit be there taken for the spirit of man.

Giveth more grace; either, though we, according to our natural inclination, be envious, yet God (or his Spirit) is bountiful and liberal; or God gives to those that are renewed, more grace than to be hurried on by their own old spirit, to envy, strife, and suchlike lusts.

Wherefore he saith; God saith, viz. in the Spripture: or it may be taken indefinitely, and impersonally, for, it is said. The particular place he refers to, is Pro 3:34, according to the translation of the LXX., which not only James, but other New Testament writers, frequently follow.

God resisteth; it is a military term: God sets himself, as in battle, against the proud, defying, beating down, exposing to contempt, and destroying them; he is so far from giving them more gifts, that he rather spoils them, as sworn enemies, of what they have.

The proud; those that by reason of the gifts God hath given them, lift themselves above others: Solomon, in the parallel place, calls them scorners; it being the usual guise of those that think over-well of themselves, to despise others, and even contemn the warnings and judgments of God himself, which may well draw him out to fight against them.

But giveth grace unto the humble; not only gives favour and honour in the sight of men to those that are lowly in their own eyes, but especially furnisheth them with grace for the overcoming and mortifying their carnal desires and remaining corruptions.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. More grace—Literally, But a greater grace he bestows; namely, as the next sentence shows, the grace of God to the humble. Greater than what is this grace? It is given greater to the humble (next verse) than it otherwise would be given in view of the antithesis of the humble against the proud, that is, the high spirit of envy. The question then amounts to this: Say not rightly the Scriptures that man’s proud yet God-bestowed spirit tends to envy, and to overcome the superiority of rivals? But a greater grace, therefore, does He give, namely, to the humble, and he resists the overriding attempts of the proud.

He saith—Quoted freely from Psa_138:6, or Pro_3:34.

The proud—Whose spirit lusteth to envy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

God resisteth the proud. The connection of this with ver. 4 is very close, and is favorable to the view taken above as to the meaning of the first clause of ver. 5, as the words appear to be cited in support of the statement that whosoever would be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. The quotation is fromriov Pro_3:34, LXX, Ku uJperhfanoiv ajntitassetai, tapeinoiv dedwsi carin. St. James"s version agrees with this exactly, except that it has oJ Qeov instead of Kuriov (the Hebrew has simply "he," ran). The passage is also quoted in precisely the same form by St. Peter, (1Pe_5:5) and with Qeov instead of oJ Qeov by St. Clement of Rome. In St. Peter the quotation is followed by the injunction, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God .... Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom withstand (w ajntisthte) steadfast in the faith." There is clearly a connection between this passage and the one before us in St. James, which proceeds, "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil (ajntisthte delw), and he will flee from you." This passage, it will be felt, is the simpler, and therefore, probably, the earlier of the two (cf. (Jam_1:3)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But he giveth greater grace - To all who shun those tempers. Therefore it - The scripture. Saith, God resisteth the proud - And pride is the great root of all unkind affections. Prov. iii, 34

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

grace

Grace (imparted). 1Pe 2:19; Rom 6:1; 2Pe 3:18

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A humble state of mind demanded of Christians:

v. 6. But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

v. 7. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

v. 8. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

v. 9. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness.

v. 10. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.

All sins may be said to have their root and origin in the pride of the human heart, which refuses to bow to the will of the Lord. Christians, therefore, will deny themselves and depend upon the help promised from above: But He gives greater grace; wherefore He says: God sets Himself against the proud; to the humble, however, He gives grace. If the Spirit, who has made His abode with us, can but perform His work unhindered by willful transgressions and outbursts of evil lust, then the Lord, through His work in our hearts, will give us grace for a life of proper sanctification. For this truth we have the authority of the Word, in which the Holy Spirit Himself gives us the assurance that, while God always resists the proud, it is His good pleasure to give grace to the humble. See 1Pe 5:5. A Christian’s constant effort, then, will be to conquer and vanquish the natural pride of his heart, through the power of the Spirit that lives in him, and always to offer to the Lord a heart that is willing to hear and to keep His will. Note that the divinity of the Holy Spirit is plainly taught in this passage.

The need of this attitude is spoken of by the apostle: Submit yourselves, then, to God; but set yourselves against the devil, and he will flee from you. That is the characteristic of the believers of all times, that they overcome the haughtiness and pride of their evil nature more and more, and place themselves, with all their gifts and abilities, in the hands of God, whether for good days or for bad, Psa 37:5. As the Lord teaches them in His Word, so do they unhesitatingly follow, even though it means entire denial of self. And in performing this part of their Christian calling, they will set themselves against, they will resist with all the power at their command, the wiles and temptations of the devil. It is a matter of ceaseless vigilance, of tireless battling; but there is only one outcome possible, namely, the flight of the devil. With God and the Word on our side, the victory is bound to be ours.

This necessitates what the apostle further urges: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. The more closely our new, regenerated, sanctified nature draws to the Lord, the more firmly we are united with Him in faith and love on the basis of His Word, the better will be our chances of overcoming all the enemies that try to draw us away from the Lord. But to such as are loath to do that the apostle says: Purify your hands, you sinners, and make chaste your hearts, you double-minded. Wherever there are men that call themselves Christians and still long after the flesh-pots of the world, they must be brought back to their right minds by such a loud call to loyalty. They should purify the hands that have become soiled by any contact with the filthy matters of this world; they should see to it that their hearts, whose allegiance they have tried to divide between God and the world, turn all alone to the Lord and His will.

In most cases this would make necessary a return to the Lord by a real repentance: Undergo hardship and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned to lamentation, and your joy to depression. Throughout this passage a person may find many allusions to the Old Testament calls to repentance, such as were uttered by the prophets. The fact of their having turned from the Lord and become guilty of such trespasses as the apostle has enumerated, should cause the guilty ones to feel miserable and afflicted; their sins should call forth mourning and weeping on their part, as evidences of a genuine change of heart. Whereas they formerly laughed in the boisterous manner of the world and with the children of this world, they should now substitute bitter lamentation; whereas they found their joy in the delights tending to idolatry, the thought of their transgression should cause them to feel dejected and depressed in spirit.

If this attitude would be found among them, a true repentance of the heart, then they would also have the assurance: Be humbled before the Lord, and He will exalt you. So long as pride is the dominating trait in a person’s life and works, so long God will resist the efforts of such a person. But if a poor sinner has thrown overboard all his self-righteousness, all the sinful pride of his heart, and lays before the Lord a broken and a contrite heart, then the Lord Himself will exalt him, will pardon his sins and accept him through the merits of Jesus Christ the Savior.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sin of envy being censured before, our apostle next condemns the sin of pride; he uses a military term when he tells us, the God resisted the proud; it signifies, that he sees himself as in battle array against the proud, in a direct oppositon to him; there are no sort of sinners whom God sets himself so much against to punish and plague as proud sinners: such are wholly out of his favour; he beholdeth them afar off, and they are the subjects of his high displeasure; like naked men in an army, they stand exposed to his wrath, they have no shelter, nothing to keep off the threatening from them: for there can be no shelter from divine wrath, but in divine love.

There are two eminent works of divine providence in the world, the one is to lift us and exalt the humble, the other is to abase and pull down the proud; some pride themselves in their natural parts, others in their acquired parts; some in their moral virues and evangelical graces, others in their holy duties and spiritual performances; we seldom do well, but we think too well of ourselves.

Learn hence, that pride is a common sin, and provoking; yea, a very provoking sin, and so must needs be, because it is an usurpation of the place and power of God, and sets itself against all the commands and threatenings of God: God resisteth the proud, but he giveth grace to the humble:

grace, that is,

1. Favour; the humble shall have his favour, and the proud his frowns.

2. God giveth grace, that is, more grace, farther measures of grace, to the humble: as we lay up our richest wines in the lowest cellars so does God lodge his choicest graces in humble and lowly hearts; he giveth not only grace, but more grace, to the humble; such as are low in their own eyes, are under the special protection and direction of the Most High God.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6–10. God giveth more grace. To enable us to overcome our love of the world. Wherefore the scripture saith. Quoted from Prov. 3:34. The passage is quoted to show that the way to secure grace more abundantly is to be humble before the Lord.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

But God gives more grace

How this phrase relates to the previous verse can be made explicit: "But, even though our spirits may desire what we cannot have, God gives us even more grace, if we will humble ourselves" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

so the scripture ... So submit

"Because God gives more grace, the scripture ... Because God gives grace to the humble, submit"

the proud

This refers to proud people in general. AT: "proud people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

the humble

This refers to humble people in general. AT: "humble people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

submit to God

"obey God"

Resist the devil

"Oppose the devil" or "Do not do what the devil wants"

he will flee

"he will run away"

you

Here this pronoun is plural and refers to James' audience. (See: Forms of You)

translationWords

God

grace

word of God

proud

humble

Satan

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

6. μείζονα δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν. But (God) giveth greater grace. These words are also obscure. Either (a) a larger favour, even than the indwelling Spirit, for He contends against the proud, who represent the φιλία τοῦ κόσμου, and gives grace to the humble who have renounced that friendship, (b) or more grace than the world gives, (c) or more than is lost through hostility to the world.

διὸ λέγει, because of which fact the Spirit of God saith. The quotation which follows is verbatim from Pro 3:34, except that ὁ θεός replaces κύριος of the LXX.: see 1Pe 5:5, where the same quotation is made. It is interesting to comp. Luk 1:51-52 διεσκόρπισεν ὑπερηφάνους διανοίᾳ καρδίας αὐτῶν … καὶ ὕψωσεν ταπεινούς. Note the occurrence of the leading words, ὑπερηφάνους and ταπεινούς. The thought is the same. It is one that entered into that atmosphere of religious life in which the Holy Family lived and which St James shared.

ἀντιτάσσεται, ranges himself against, comp. ἀντιτάξομαι κτενῶν σε, Eur. Phoen. 622: ἀθρόᾳ μὲν οὐδαμοῦ τῇ δυνάμει ἀντετάξαντο, Thuc. IV. 55. It is a word which suggests the image of the Christian warfare so frequent with St Paul. Comp. the formula used in renunciation at Baptism συντάσσομαί σοι Χρίστε· ἀποτάσσομαί σοι Σατανᾶ (Bingham’s Antiq., Vol. IV. xi. vii. § 2), and Act 13:48 ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6.] Testimony from Scripture to convince further those who might question what has just been stated.

6.] But He (God, by His Holy Spirit dwelling in us, the same subject as in the previous sentence) gives the more grace (the more and greater, for this longing and jealous desire): wherefore he saith (the Spirit, again: for it is the same Spirit who is implanted in us that speaks in Scripture. This is better than to supply ‘the Scripture;’ far better than to take λέγει impersonally, “it is written,” as Kern), God (κύριος, LXX: and the same variation is found where the words are again cited in 1Pe 5:5) is set against the proud (reff.), but giveth grace to the lowly (see Rom 12:16. This is a proof that the ambitious and restless after worldly honours and riches, are God’s enemies, whereas the humble and lowly are the objects of His gifts of ever-increasing grace. The inference follows in the shape of solemn exhortation (vv. 7-10)).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. μείζονα δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν. God makes rigorous requirements of devotion, but gives gracious help in order that men may be able to render the undivided allegiance which he exacts. The subject of δίδωσιν is clearly ὁ θεός (cf. κατῴκισεν). That the phrase is drawn from, and directly prepares for, the quotation from Proverbs which follows makes it unlikely that this sentence is part of the quotation of v. 5.

μείζονα. The comparative is most naturally taken as meaning “greater grace in view of the greater requirement.”

Another interpretation is that of Bede: “majorem gratiam dominus dat quam amicitia mundi”; so also many other commentators.

χάριν. The context seems to require that this be understood of the “gracious gift” of aid to fulfil the requirement of whole-hearted allegiance. Cf. 1Pe 3:7, Eph 4:7. On the meaning of χάρις, cf. J. A. Robinson, Ephesians, pp. 221 ff.

Those who take χάριν in the sense of “favour,” i.e. not the means of complying, but a reward for complying, have difficulty with μείζονα, which is then inappropriate; and the idea itself suits the context less well.

διὸ λέγει, sc. ἡ γραφή or ὁ θεός. A regular formula of quotation, Eph 4:8, Eph 5:14, Heb 3:7; διό (cf. Gen 10:9, Num 21:14) means that the truth just affirmed has given rise to the sacred utterance to be quoted. On the formula, see Surenhusius, Βίβλος καταλλαγῆς, 1713, p. 9.

The quotation from Pro 3:34 illustrates and confirms the main position of the preceding passage, vv. 1-5, viz. that God will not yield to Pleasure a part of the allegiance of men’s hearts, but that by his grace he enables men to render to him undivided allegiance. “So says the Scripture: ‘God is opposed to the proud and worldly, it is the humble who receive his gift of grace.’ Hence (vv. 7ff.) to gain his favour we must humble ourselves before him.” The quotation thus has the important function of making the transition from the negative to the positive aspects of the subject, cf. the use of it in Clem. Rom. 30:2.

The quotation is taken verbatim from the LXX of Pro 3:34, except that ὁ θεός is substituted for κύριος. This is also the case in the same quotation in 1Pe 5:5 and Clem. Rom. 30, and is probably due to a common form of popular quotation.

On the theory of Oort (1885) and Grätz (1892-94), that the obscure Hebrew אִם in the passage quoted is a corruption of אֱלֹהִים, which has been preserved in James, 1 Peter, and Clem. Rom., see Toy on Pro 3:34.

ὑπερηφάνοις, “haughty persons,” here applied to those who, despising the claims of God, devote themselves to worldly pleasures and position, and insolently look down on others, especially on the humble pious. They are haughty both toward God and toward men, and are here identified with the “friends of the world.” Cf. 1:10, 2:5-7, 5:1-6.

On ὑπερηφανία, cf. Psa 31:23, Ecclus. 10:7, 12, 18, 2 Macc. 9:11, 12, Ps. Sol. 2:35 (where Pompey is described as setting himself up against God), 4:28, and see Trench, Synonyms, § xxix.

ἀντιτάσσεται, “opposes,” cf. v. 4 and Act 18:6, Rom 13:2, Jas 5:6.

ταπεινοῖς, “humble persons.” Here applied primarily to those who are humble toward God (cf. v. 7 ὑποτάγητε, v. 10 ταπεινώθητε ἐνώπιον Κυρίου), but not without thought of the same persons’ lowly position in the community, cf. 1:10, 2:5.

Spitta (pp. 117-123) has ingeniously argued that the unidentifiable quotation in v. 5 is from the apocryphal book “Eldad and Modad” (cf. Num 11:24-29). This work is referred to by Hermas (Vis. ii, 3), and Lightfoot suggests that the quotation given as γραφή in Clem. Rom. 23:3 f. and as ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος in 2 Clem. Rom 11:2-4, as well as the one in Clem. Rom. 17:6, come from it. Spitta believes that, besides furnishing the quotation, it has also influenced the context here in James.

The basis of his view is an exegesis which translates the passage thus: “Think ye that the Scripture says in vain concerning envy: ‘It (i.e. envy) longeth to possess the Spirit which He hath made to dwell in us; but He giveth (because of that envy) greater grace (to us)’?”

This suggests to Spitta, following Surenhusius and Schöttgen, the situation of Num 11:24-29, where Eldad and Modad are complained of by the envious Joshua because they have the spirit of prophecy, which no longer rests on him and the others of the Seventy Elders. The haggadic development (Wünsche, Midrasch Bemidbar Rabba, pp. 408 f.) emphasised the greater grace granted to Eldad and Modad, which is explained by R. Tanchuma (Bemidbar r. 15) as due to their greater humility, since they modestly declined to be included in the number of the Seventy.

The resemblance is here striking, provided the underlying exegesis of James be once accepted. But that requires the conjecture φθονεῖτε for φονεύετε in v. 2, and the consequent understanding of the whole passage as dealing primarily with φθόνος as its topic. It would thus make necessary a wholly different apprehension of the author’s purpose from that presented above.

Some of the confirmatory resemblances which Spitta finds between James and passages that may be supposed to have some connection with Eldad and Modad are curious. Thus, Hermas, Vis. ii, 3, cf. Jas 4:8; Clem. Rom. 23 (2 Clem. Rom_11), cf. Jas 4:8 f. δίψυχοι, ταλαιπωρήσατε, 3:16 ἀκαταστασία, 1:2, 5:7 ff.; Clem. Rom. 17:6, cf. Jas 4:14 ἀτμίς.

Spitta would also connect with Eldad and Modad the unlocated quotation in Clem. Rom. 46:2, in which he finds some resemblance to the story of Korah, Num_16. And he compares Hermas, Vis. iii, 6 Sim. viii, 8, which seem to him to allude to this passage.

But the evidence collected is not sufficient to overturn the more natural interpretation of the general course of thought in the context. Spitta’s theory introduces a whole series of incongruous ideas, which have no good connection with what precedes and lead to nothing in what follows; and it must be pronounced fantastic.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Resisteth. See on 1Pe 5:5.

Proud. See on Mr 7:22.

Humble. See on Mt 7:29.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.