𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 — 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝔀-𝓑𝓸𝓻𝓷 𝓢𝓮𝓮𝓴 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓚𝓷𝓸𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓖𝓸𝓭 (𝓙𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓼 4:1–6)

Jun 12
7 min read

Updated: Jun 15

Foreword

Before you read James 4:1–6, understand what Scripture is exposing: the source of the world’s cravings, conflicts, and constant pursuit of pleasure. When a person is not born again, they are outside of God’s presence and therefore spiritually dead—and a dead spirit will naturally chase self-pleasure to fill what only God can fill. But when a person is made alive in Christ through the new birth, a new hunger is created: not merely to “get things,” but to know God and to enjoy the pleasure that is found in His presence.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1, KJV)

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, KJV)

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3, KJV)

James 4:1-6 Living Bible

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it because there is a whole army of evil desires within you?

²You want what you don’t have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others have, and can’t afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it.

³And even when you do ask you don’t get it because your whole aim is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

⁴You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies. Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies—the evil pleasures of this world—makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God.

⁵Or what do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy?

⁶But he gives us more and more strength to stand against all such evil longings. As the Scripture says, God gives strength to the humble but sets himself against the proud and haughty.

James 4:1–6 exposes the root of fallen humanity: when a person is spiritually dead, they live for self-pleasure; but when a person is made alive in Christ through the new birth, they begin to seek the pleasure of God Himself—to know Him, love Him, and enjoy Him.

1) The Spiritually Dead Pursue Self-Pleasure (James 4:1–4)

James begins by tracing conflict, lust, and worldliness back to inward cravings:

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4:1, KJV)

“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.” (James 4:2, KJV)

Then he exposes the motive behind many prayers:

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3, KJV)

This is the dead heart: even when it “seeks,” it seeks fuel for self—more comfort, more control, more pleasure, more applause, more indulgence. The spiritually dead do not naturally want God; they want God to serve their desires.

James goes further and calls this love of the world spiritual adultery:

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4, KJV)

The unsaved world offers “pleasure,” but it is a pleasure that keeps the soul away from God, because it is rooted in self-rule and self-love.

Scripture describes this dead condition plainly:

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1, KJV)

“But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” (1 Timothy 5:6, KJV)

“The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7, KJV)

So, when a person is dead toward God, they chase pleasure without God—and that pursuit becomes the engine of society: self first, self always.

2) The New Birth Creates a New Desire: To Please God and Know Him

When someone is born again, they are not merely improved—they are made alive. A new appetite is formed: not just for blessings, but for God Himself.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, KJV)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV)

“And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD.” (Jeremiah 24:7, KJV)

The new-born believer begins to seek the pleasure of knowing God, because eternal life is not merely duration—it is relationship:

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3, KJV)

3) True Pleasure Is Found in God’s Presence (Not in the World)

The world does not know this pleasure, but the Scriptures proclaim it:

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11, KJV)

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4, KJV)

This is why those who truly know God can be the happiest people—not because life is painless, but because they have found the only fountain that never runs dry.

4) The Holy Spirit Carries the Joy of God Within the Believer

The pleasure of God is not theoretical; it is experienced by the Spirit:

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17, KJV)

“The joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10, KJV)

“Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Psalm 45:7, KJV)

“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Hebrews 1:9, KJV)

And this joy is meant to remain and grow:

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:11, KJV)

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” (Romans 15:13, KJV)

5) Why the Dead Can’t Stop Chasing Self-Pleasure

When a person is outside God’s presence, they are empty—so they chase what cannot satisfy. Scripture describes the world’s “pleasures” as temporary and enslaving:

“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption.” (2 Peter 2:19, KJV)

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16, KJV)

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12, KJV)

Even Moses is held up as an example of refusing the world’s pleasure because he saw something better:

“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” (Hebrews 11:25, KJV)

6) God Gives Grace to the Humble (James 4:5–6)

James ends this section with hope: God opposes pride (self-rule), but gives grace to the humble (those who turn from self to God):

“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6, KJV)

That is the turning point: the dead chase pleasure in self; the living bow low, receive grace, and discover the pleasure of God.

Epilogue

James 4:1–6 is not merely a rebuke—it is a revelation of two different lives. The dead live for self, and even their “asking” is often aimed at feeding lust:

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3, KJV)

But the living—those born of God—discover a higher pleasure: God Himself. The world does not know this joy, because it is found only in His presence and by His Spirit:

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11, KJV)

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17, KJV)

“The joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10, KJV)

So, the issue is not whether people pursue pleasure—everyone does. The issue is where they seek it. The spiritually dead chase pleasure in self and in the world, and it never satisfies. But those who are alive in Christ learn to say:

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4, KJV)

And as grace teaches the heart to humble itself, God gives more grace:

“God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6, KJV)

That is the invitation: come out of death, come into Christ, and discover the pleasure that does not fade—the pleasure of knowing God.

𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝕬𝖒𝖊𝖓

***© From Jesus To You — Darrin Pegram***

All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise noted. This message may be freely shared for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.