4:1

wars and fights among you: The Greek word here rendered “wars” can refer to an ongoing state of conflict, or a military campaign, while the word for “fights” refers to individual battles in a war. As elsewhere in the Bible, such military language is used metaphorically. (1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 2:23, 24 and study note; compare 2Co 10:4.) So James uses strong figurative language to show that strife and conflict were, in effect, turning Christ’s congregation into a battlefield. Some apparently engaged in verbal battles or showed a warlike spirit as they vied for greater influence in the congregation. Their combative attitude was in stark contrast to the peaceable, reasonable spirit produced by “the wisdom from above” that James has just discussed.​—Jas 3:17 and study notes, 18 and study note.

your fleshly desires that carry on a conflict: The Greek word here rendered “fleshly desires” can refer to a strong selfish craving for pleasure of some kind. (See Lu 8:14, where this Greek word is rendered “pleasures.”) James may have had in mind a craving not only for immoral pleasures but also for such things as wealth, prestige, or the power to influence or control others. He again uses military language, this time by saying that fleshly desires can “carry on a conflict,” a phrase that literally refers to a military campaign. Selfish desires can become like an attacking army, inflicting terrible damage. James explains that such desires, if not restrained, could cause “wars and fights” among Christians. Such desires could even rob them of their relationship with God.

within you: Lit., “in your members.” Fleshly desires originate from within. (Compare Jas 1:14, 15.) The apostle Paul expressed it similarly when he said: “I see in my body [lit., “in my members”] another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sin’s law that is in my body.”​—Ro 7:23; see also study note on Ro 6:13.