James 1
English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
Greeting
1 James, a servant[a] of God and of the Lord
Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
Testing of Your Faith
2 Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you
meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith
produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you
may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But
let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave
of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not
suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded
man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his
exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the
grass[c] he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and
withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the
rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast
under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life,
which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is
tempted, “I am being tempted by God”, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and
he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and
enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to
sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a
kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Hearing and Doing the Word
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every
person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man
does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness
and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is
able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a
doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24
For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres,
being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his
doing.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does
not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is
worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself
unstained from the world.
The Bible Panorama
James 1
V 1: TWELVE TRIBES James, Jesus’
half-brother, writes to the dispersed twelve tribes of Israel.
V 2–8: TESTING TRIALS In dealing with trials,
our attitude should be one of joyfulness, knowing that God is at work in us
through them. Our faith and patience from God is fed by wisdom which He gives
to all who ask Him. Single-mindedness, in applying that wisdom and in
exercising that faith, is the answer, by God’s grace, to our trials.
V 9–11:
TEMPORARY TREASURE A materially poor Christian should rejoice in his
exaltation in Christ. The rich man should rejoice in the fact that his wealth
is nothing, and that only what he is in Christ lasts. His treasured wealth is
temporary, like a fading flower.
V
12–15: TEMPTATION TRUTH Blessing comes to those who endure temptation. God
does not tempt anyone. Our evil desires cause us to be tempted and give birth
to sin. Sin produces death.
V 16–18: TOTALLY
TRUSTWORTHY
God is referred to as the ‘Father of lights’. He is totally trustworthy. He
will neither change direction, nor cast a shadow over the truth He has already
given. It is by that truth that we come into blessing. He is a God who gives
good and perfect gifts from above.
V 19–25: TOTAL
TRANSPARENCY
Because God is the God of light, we are to behave in a transparent way. This
affects our attitudes and our words. We should be good hearers as well as
careful speakers. Filth must be left on one side and we should look at
ourselves in the Word of God as in a mirror, and deal with what we see there
with God’s help.
V 26–27: TAMED TONGUE Only someone walking
with God can have his tongue tamed. That person will also practise concern for
orphans and widows and be careful not to be soiled by worldliness.
NIV Application Commentary
God gives wisdom. At this point James moves
from moral integrity to wisdom (sophia), whose only source is God. While human
beings are, at least in part, responsible for their moral development, wisdom
comes only from God. In the New Testament generally, wisdom is allied to
understanding God’s purposes and plan and indicates a determination to live
accordingly. We need wisdom to know how to cope with trials, for wisdom
provides a clear view of our situation from God’s perspective. With wisdom we
perceive that what the world calls misfortune, whatever its source, is an
opportunity for God to bring about his purpose. Wisdom as the gift of God
logically leads to our asking for it. Here again we see verbal links to Jesus:
“Ask and it will be given to you” (Matt. 7:7; Luke 11:9); “And I will do
whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father”
(John 14:13).
Some commentators point out that in Luke
11:11–13 Jesus promises to give the Spirit, while in James the gift that comes
from God is wisdom. There is no essential conflict here, for Judaism had
developed a rich theology of wisdom, often seeing it as personified: Lady
Wisdom, who seeks to reveal herself to humanity (e.g., Prov. 1:20–21). The
granting of wisdom from God, who alone is truly wise, is a complicated notion.
The Jews understood wisdom not only as the mind and purposes of God, but also
as the content of revealed truth. In John the Holy Spirit performs both
functions. Jesus promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come, saying,
“[He] will be in you” (John 14:17) and “will teach you all things and will
remind you of everything I have said to you” (14:26). For this reason it is
better to speak of James’s “wisdom pneumatology” rather than his “wisdom
Christology.”
James goes on to say that God gives generously
without hesitation (v. 5). He contrasts God’s single-hearted devotion and
purpose to the varied and complex nature of the fraudulent schemes created by
the evil one. God also gives “without finding fault” (me oneidizontos). The
root word means “to utter insult” and carries an active tone. As in Jewish
literature, one who gives without reproach knows that kindness and generosity
are to be granted to the poor (see Sir. 18:15–18). Taken altogether, James
conveys the notion that God’s spontaneous generosity is unwavering, regardless
of our previous record (see Luke 6:35).
From NIVAC: James by David Nystrom. Published
by Zondervan Academic.
The IVP New Testament Commentary Series
The First Example: Lacking Wisdom (1:5-8)
James then leads his readers into God's grace
by calling attention to four facets. As they come in the Greek word order,
first God is one who "is giving." The word is didontos, a present
active participle; it is God's constant nature to be gracious and giving.
Second, God gives to all (pasin). The call to live by faith is extended to
everyone, and no one is left without an invitation to trust in God. Third, God
gives generously (haplos), emphasizing that God gives freely and without
reserve. Fourth, God gives without finding fault, or without reproaching.
You may ask God for the wisdom you need without
fear, for God gives without holding your failures or lack of wisdom against
you. This is the assurance with which the Christian approaches God, that God is
not a harsh Father who responds to our needs by reminding us of our faults.
Christ has made atonement for our sin; we receive justification by responding
with faith, not by trying with good deeds to become righteous enough to deserve
God's favor. This salvation by grace, the very heart of the gospel of Christ,
will certainly not be contradicted by God when we come to him for wisdom. God
responds to his own people with grace—his undivided, unwavering intent always
to give good gifts.
Yours by His Grace
Blair Humphreys
Southport, Merseyside
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