James 3:14

But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts Better, envy and rivalry. The latter substantive, formed from a word which means a "day-labourer", expresses primarily the temper of competition that characterised the class, and then more generally, faction and party-spirit of any kind. It is significant that the word for "envy" is used by St Luke as specially characterising the temper of the Jews towards the Gentile converts (Acts 13:45), and this, together with what we have seen of the true bearing of ch. James 2:14-26, leads to the conclusion that St James's warning is specially addressed to those of the Circumcision who displayed that feeling. He is shewing himself not the antagonist, but the supporter of St Paul's work, condemning the factious spirit which was then, as afterwards at Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:20), in Galatia (Galatians 5:20), and at Rome (Philippians 1:15), his chief hindrance. The word "bitter" is perhaps added to "envy" because the Greek word "zeal" was neutral, and admitted of a good meaning.

glory not The word expresses a relative, not an absolute glorying, a glorying over some one, on the ground of superior privileges. This was, it is obvious, likely to be the besetting sin of the party of the Circumcision in relation to the Gentiles, and was therefore checked by St James, just as afterwards, when the prospect of the rejection of Israel was becoming a certainty, it became, in its turn, the sin of the Gentile converts, and was then checked by St Paul (Romans 11:18).

lie not against the truth It is clear that if the word "truth" were only subjective in its meaning, as meaning "truthfulness," the precept would be open to the charge of tautology. We must therefore assume that it is used with an objective force, as the truth of God revealed in Christ. We ask what special truth thus revealed those to whom St James wrote were most in danger of denying, and the answer lies on the surface. They were claiming God as the God of the Jews only (Romans 3:29), denying the brotherhood of mankind in Christ, "lying against" the very truth of which they fancied that they were the exclusive possessors.