Tiago 4
John Trapp · Citado em PreceptAustin
Tiago 4:4
Trapp - Pleasure, profit, preferment are the worldling's trinity. D Edmond Hiebert = Because of the fallen nature of the human race, the term (kosmos) predominantly has an ethical import, the human race in its alienation from and opposition to God. Hiebert adds that kosmos (as used in Jas 4:4) "does not refer to the material creation but rather to the mass of unredeemed humanity as an egocentric world-system that is hostile to God. It is "a mighty flood of thoughts, feelings, principles of action, conventional prejudices, dislikes, attachments, which have been gathering around human life for ages, impregnating it, impelling it, moulding it, degrading it" (Liddon). Its central aim is self-enjoyment and self-aggrandizement in disregard of or in open hostility toward God. To cultivate the world's friendship implies conformity to its principles and aims. To be controlled by the spirit of worldliness is wholly incompatible with loyalty to God; it makes them guilty of spiritual adultery." (cp Mt 6:24+) (D Edmond Hiebert - James - Highly Recommended Commentary - Any commentary written by Hiebert is excellent!) Akin = (Kosmos is) an evil organized earthly system controlled by the power of the evil one (1Jn 5:19) that has aligned itself against God and His kingdom (1Jn 4:3, 4, 5; 5:19; Jn 16:11). (Akin, D. L. 1, 2, 3 John: Broadman & Holman Publishers) W. H. Griffith Thomas - Worldliness is a spirit, an atmosphere, an influence permeating the whole of life and human society, and it needs to be guarded against constantly and strenuously. R H Mounce = The world is the place where God has come to do His redeeming and transforming work. In this sense, kosmos often has a negative connotation. This world is equated with this passing, evil age, which is opposed to God (1Co 3:18KJV, 19; Eph 2:2+; cf. Ro 12:2+). A fundamental part of Christ's work on the cross was defeating the elements of this world (Col 2:8-20)...The kosmos resists the very God who created it and his Son (Jn. 1:9, 10, 11; 7:7); consequently, this world is ruled by the evil one (Jn 12:31; 16:11). Therefore, while Christians continue to live in this kosmos, they must maintain purity and refrain from being caught up in this world's systems (Jn 17:15, 16, 17; 1Jn 2:15+; cf. Php 2:15+; Jas 1:27+; Jas 4:4). But the superabundant grace and power of God are shown in that despite this opposition and corruption, "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). Malcolm Watts - Make no mistake about it, the world with its unbelief is a spiritual ice-house, and too much contact with it will quickly cool the spirit. Kenneth Wuest = Kosmos refers to an ordered system. Here it is the ordered system of which Satan is the head, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects, together with those purposes, pursuits, pleasures, practices, and places where God is not wanted. Much in this world-system is religious, cultured, refined, and intellectual. But it is anti-God and anti-Christ... The Germans have a word for kosmos (world of men who are living alienated and apart from God) the zeitgeist or spirit of the age. This masquerade costume which saints sometimes put on, hides the Lord Jesus living in the heart of the Christian, and is an opaque covering through which the Holy Spirit cannot radiate the beauty of the Lord Jesus. The world says to that kind of a saint, “The modernism of your appearance nullifies the fundamentalism of your doctrine.” (Wow!) (Wuest) Wuest discusses an instructive use of kosmos in Ephesians 2... And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. (Eph 2:1, 2+) Kenneth
Tiago 4:9
Trapp says that pentheo here in James 4:9 speaks of a "funeral grief" which is not a bad thought considering the fact that sin kills our fellowship with God! This is a grief so deep and so profound that it simply cannot be contained nor concealed. Beloved, a true awareness of our sinful state should optimally always have such a deep impact on our psyche! Mourning can reflect an outward expression of sorrow. It is to experience sadness or grief as the result of depressing circumstances or the condition of persons and so to be sad, to grieve, to bewail or to lament. Pentheo is the word which is used for mourning for the dead, for the passionate lament for one who was loved. This is the quality of mourning Jesus is calling for as we see our sins the way God sees them and His Spirit convicts us of sin. (cp John 16:8, Acts 2:37, Zech 12:10) In Classical Greek in most uses of pentheo, it expresses a sorrow which is outwardly expressed in some way, such as by tear or laments. Among the Greeks the verb and noun (penthos) were used especially for public mourning. Not surprisingly, pentheo is often connected with the term "weep" and it describes the mourning which cannot be hidden. It describes not only a grief which brings an ache to the heart, but also a grief which brings tears to the eyes. Weary of wandering from my God, And now made willing to return I hear and bow me to the rod For thee, not without hope, I mourn: I have an Advocate above A Friend before the throne of love. (Weary of Wandering from My God) Pentheo - 10x in 10v in the NT - Mt 5:4; 9:15; Mark 16:10; Lk 6:25; 1Co 5:2; 2Co 12:21; Jas 4:9; Rev 18:11, 15, 19. Matthew 5:4 (note) Blessed are those who mourn (present tense = speaks one exhibiting a lifestyle of mourning!), for they shall be comforted. A W