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There is much wisdom and practicality in the book of James, but I can't figure out the lack of him alluding to the Holy Spirit, except for the possible reference in 4:5:

James 4:5, King James Bible:

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

English Standard Version:

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

Any insights would be welcome. (It's disconcerting, and I only noticed it recently.)

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    James (of Alphaeus) brother to Jude, wrote to the diaspora (the scattering of refugees after persecution in Judaea) not long after the ascension of Jesus Christ to the throne of God. It was a time of transition and development. It is Paul's ministry which, later (but not a great deal later) introduced more teaching about the Holy Spirit. Commented Jan 12 at 9:59
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    Interesting. Still, the Holy Spirit had been out poured on those in Jerusalem (Acts 2)? Commented Jan 12 at 13:24
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    One possibility is that James was not a Trinitarian. Commented Jan 12 at 14:15
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    @Don Berean S.B., NKJV, New American S.B., NASB1977. Legacy S.B. and others give spirit in this verse a capital "S". But I think "phthonen" is only used of evil jealousy of created beings. i.e., not God being jealous for humans to love Him. Commented Jan 12 at 15:13
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    The much longer book of Esther has a complete absence of any explicit reference to God, worship, prayer or sacrifice. Should we be worried or alarmed? Not at all. That book, and the letter of James, had a purpose that did not require such direct inclusion of such words. They were not left out 'intentionally', but left out because they were not necessary. Commented Jan 12 at 18:45

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It's important to remember that the Christian doctrine of the Holy Spirit was still evolving that the time that the Letter of James was written. Moreover, the context of this verse is a warning against adultery (4.4), which was not a commandment specific to Christians. The fact that James says "scripture says" indicates that he refers a pre-Christian writing, as there were no recognized Christian scriptures yet.

In fact, as I read it, James is not referring to the Holy Spirit in the sense of the events of Acts 2 when believers were filled with the "Holy Spirit" in a special sense. Rather, he is referring the concept of the spirit that God gave to human beings Genesis 2 and 6:

Genesis 2

7 then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 6

3 Then the Lord said: My spirit shall not remain in [or strive with] human beings forever, because they are only flesh. Their days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years.

Conclusion: There is no "lack" here. James is referring to the spirit that God gave to human beings from the beginning, not the Holy Spirit described in Acts. Everyone - Christians, Jews and Gentiles - is endowed by God with his spirit as described in the Book of Genesis, enabling us all to resist the temptation to adultery that James warns about just prior to the verse in question.

Complicating factor: what James means by "the scripture saith" is unclear. The Hebrew Bible was not yet canonized, so James' concept of scripture was probably different from ours. The passage that he quotes does not exist in any known biblical manuscript. A note in the NABRE says 'Other translations of the text with a completely different meaning are possible: “The Spirit that he (God) made to dwell in us yearns (for us) jealously,” or, “He (God) yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.”'

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  • In context, Ya'acov is speaking of spiritual adultery to those loving the world. Believers are not commanded to be filled with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, but rather as Paul describes in Ephesians 5:15-20. Good point about the mysterious reference to "the scriptures." God's jealousy and longing are more prominent in the LXX, but I couldn't find any verses in the LXX that used those words or related ones. Nevertheless, James 4 is such a powerful passage in its entirety and in full context. Commented Jan 13 at 7:01
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There are several matters here that are implied in this question.

1.. Occurrence of "Holy Spirit"

"Holy Spirit" occurs 90 times in the NT (most often in Acts) but is absent from:

  • Galatians. However, we do have "Spirit of His Son" in Gal 4:6 and an extended passage about "The Spirit" in Gal 5:16-26
  • Philippians. However, we do have "The Spirit of Jesus Christ" in Phil 1:19; and "Spirit of God" in Phil 3:3.
  • Colossians. However, there is a debatable occurrence in Col 1:7.
  • 2 Thessalonians. However, we do have a reference in 2 Thess 2:13 to "sanctification of [the] Spirit"
  • Philemon.
  • James. However, we have a debatable reference to Spirit in James 4:5 (to be addressed below)
  • 1 John. However, we do have several references to "The Spirit" in 1 John 3:24, 4:13 and "The Spirit of God" in 1 John 4:2 and "The Spirit of Truth" in 1 John 4:6.
  • 2 John.
  • 3 John.
  • Revelation. However, we do have "The Spirit(s) of God" in Rev 3:1, 4:5, 5:6; "The Spirit of life from God" in Rev 11:11.

Thus, the lack of "Holy Spirit" in James is not unique.

2.. What is "Scripture" in the NT?

The frequent reference to "scripture" (literally, "writings") in the NT almost always refer to what we now call the Hebrew scriptures or the OT. The one conspicuous exception is in 2 Peter 3:16 concerning the writings of the Apostle Paul:

as also in all the letters, speaking in them concerning these things, among which some things are difficult to be understood, which the ignorant and unestablished distort to their own destruction, as also the other Scriptures

Thus, Peter appears to already regard (at least some of) Paul's writings as "Scripture" in his day. 1 Clement 23:3 appears to refer to a passage 2 Peter 3 as "Scripture". 1 Clement 45:2 appears to allude to John 5:39 and possibly Acts 17:11.

3.. Does James 4:5 reference the Holy Spirit?

I will argue that James 4:5 is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Now, it must be admitted that this verse is tricky - but let us notice three things about what this verse says:

  • it quotes or alludes a Scripture passage(s)
  • it talks about the Spirit that that God made to dwell in us
  • it contrasts the work of this "spirit" with that of the world in V4

The only places in all the Bible that talks about the Spirit dwelling in us are all found in the NT in places like Rom 8:11, 1 Cor 3:16, Eph 2:22, 2 Tim 2;14, etc. See also John 14:17, 1 John 3:24, 4:13.

The big "problem" here is how to understand the word φθόνος (phthonos) and translated "envy" (or similar) every time it occurs, Matt 27:18, Mark 15:10, Rom 1:29, Gal 5:21, Phil 1;15, 1 Tim 6:4, Titus 3;3, James 4:5, 1 Peter 21. The basic meaning is "jealously". However, this does not need to be a negative emotion - because God is described as a "jealous God" in Ex 20:5, 34:14, Deut 4:24, 6:15, Nah 1:2, 2 Cor 11:2, etc.

Thus, I would translate James 4:5 something similar to the NASB:

Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, “He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”?

This is completely consistent with the rest of Scripture and the function of the Holy Spirit.

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  • My apologies for the confusion. I edited the question, changing "mention" to "allude to". Peace. Commented Jan 12 at 22:54
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    @Don - ahh yes - but some think (I do not) that James 4:5 does not mean the Holy Spirit. Hence the final section. Commented Jan 12 at 23:48
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    The "scripture" that James talks about is neither in the OT nor the NT, nor the known Jewish apocrypha. He was apparently thinking of a now lost writing. Commented Jan 13 at 1:19
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    Is this Holy Spirit the second person of the Trinity? If so, traditional orthodoxy would seem to reject that it is something that "He made." Like the Son, it is uncreated and "proceeded" either from the Father (Orthodoxy) or from The Father and the Son. (RCC) Commented Jan 13 at 1:24
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    @DanFefferman - the designation of the Holy Spirit as, "The Second person of the Trinity" is a post-NT theological construction. I simply see the Holy Spirit as one of the Trinity, uncreated, co-eternal with the other two. [Modern designation sees the HS as the third person of the Trinity.] Further, I do not see much or anything in the NT about the Holy Spirit being generated by either the Father or the Son - such were invented in the 4th -6th centuries by some to extricate themselves from the illogical abyss that they had dug themselves into. Commented Jan 13 at 1:44
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Let us consider a simple fact: the term "Holy Spirit" appears 89 times in the entire New Testament. Luke use it most frequently - 13 times in his gospel and 41 times in Acts. Twelve occurrences are found in the other gospels, and only 15 appear across all 13 of Paul's letters. By comparison, James is therefore not unique in his limited use - or apparent absence - of the term "Holy Spirit.",

As Jesus foretold, the world will hate His disciples. The early church faced hostility not only from external opponents but also from serious internal threats, including false teaching, distorted faith, Gnosticism, and problems of church discipline. Consequently, many New Testament letters addressed to the churches focus on practical and pastoral concerns, such as moral conduct, communal order, and accountability within the body of Christ.

The Letter of James is a representative example of this pastoral emphasis. It calls believers to a mature, authentic and obedient faith - a faith that is demonstrated in daily life through their deeds. Both Paul and James emphasizes faith. While Paul uses the term 'faith' more often (200+ times) in his letters, James employs it 16 times in his relatively short epistle.

In conclusion, there is no reason to assume that James intentionally avoided mentioning the Holy Spirit. His letter was written with a specific practical purpose: to exhort believers to bring their deeds into alignment with their professed faith.

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