James 4:4

Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.

Ye adulteresses ... Like "kill" in the preceding verses, this word too must be understood in the spiritual sense of unfaithfulness to God. "Spiritual adultery" is the unfaithfulness of the church, which is the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Romans 7:1-6; Revelation 21:2; 22:17). The marriage metaphor was extensively used in the Old Testament, as in Isaiah 54:5; and the new Israel of God, the church, naturally took it over. Jesus used it in John 3:29; and also in Matthew 12:39. The crass literalism sometimes adopted in viewing this chapter obscures the meaning completely, as Oesterley testified, "It must be confessed that these verses are very difficult to understand."[11] The answer, of course, is in understanding the metaphor. This verse represents the bride of Christ, the church, falling in love with the world and giving the adoration and allegiance owed to her lawful head and bridegroom, Jesus Christ, to the world, world also being used here in the metaphorical sense of meaning "society, as it organizes itself apart from God."[12] The Greek word here for "world .... is found only in the New Testament."[13] James followed here the exact usage of the term that marked our Lord's teaching (John 15:18,19).

Friendship with the world ... refers to a Christian's loving the pleasures, enticements and lusts of society in general, a friendship that tends inevitably to forsaking the Lord.

An enemy of God ... Demas, it will be recalled, "loved this present age" (2 Timothy 4:9), the result being that he forsook Paul and the gospel of Christ.

[11] W. E. Oesterley, Expositor's Greek New Testament, Vol. IV (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 457.

[12] T. Carson, A New American Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967), p. 579.

[13] E. C. S. Gibson, op. cit., p. 55.