Page 24 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

Study Section 5: Submission to God.

5.1 Connect.

When Eve took the forbidden fruit from the tree and ate it, she also gave it to her husband,
Adam. Both purposely defied God’s command not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil. As a result, Adam and Eve paid the consequences. The greatest consequence was that
their fellowship with God was shattered. God told them that they would die if they disobeyed
Him, so eventually not only did they suffer spiritual death, but their bodies died and returned to
dust. But they also suffered immediate physical consequences from their sin. Adam was going to have
to toil and slave to grow food to feed his family. They ground and elements would not favor him. Eve
was told that she would have great pain in childbirth, but she also told that she would have to
submit to her husband and give deference to him.

Husbands are commanded to love their wives, and wives are commanded to submit to their husband’s
authority (Ephesians 5:22-23). When marriages break up, disobeying these commandments is one of
the major causes of divorce. The husband does not unselfishly care for his wife, or the wife refuses to
submit to her husband. And the Bible says we are all commanded to submit to God’s authority (James
4:1-17)! Submission to God is the key to a fruitful relationship between husband and wife and between
man and God. Today, we are going to learn about this…

5.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to define submission to God.

2. The student should be able to differentiate right and wrong motives.

3. The student should be able to identify and explain solutions that can overcome one’s failure to submit
to God.

5.3 Submission to God (Jas. 4:1-17).
Causes of Fights and Quarrels Among Them (Jas. 4:1-6).

How does James 4 connect with the previous chapters we have looked at so far? From James 1,
Jewish Christians scattered among the nations are facing trials of many kinds. As a result, James
encourages them to do something in order for them to handle trials from God with spiritual
care as they would get them to a place where God intends them to get. In the same chapter,
James discovers that they are having excessive anger that does not lead up to the righteousness
God requires. Further, they were not living in accordance with the implanted Word of God in them. In
James 2, James discovers more problems emanating from among themselves, the continued exercise of
favoritism. Also, he observes that they are buying into some teachings that postulated that if one is
saved, there is no need to worry about the kind of fruits to emanate from that salvation. You can live the
way you want. In James 3, James further discovers that there is unbridled use of the tongue and the
practice of selfish ambition and envy. So, James 4 connects with the previous chapters in that it

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