Chapter One

A basic overview of James verse by verse.

James 1:1a- "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ . . . ."

James was a prime minister in Jerusalem but he considers himself a servant. A servant is prized more so than being highly exalted in this context. James says later in the letter in James 4:6, " . . . God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James not only was a servant but Paul also mentioned himself as a servant in many of his opening greetings. (Tit. 1:1; Phili. 1:1; Rom. 1:1) The point is clear: it is better to be a servant than to be highly exalted.

 

James 1:1b- " . . . To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting."

The Geneva commentary states this passage as follows, "To all the believing Jews, whatever tribe they are from, dispersed throughout the whole world." The Jews were being dispersed throughout the gentile nations during this time, so this letter was written specifically to them. The Jews' posterity were dispersed by the captivity under the Assyrian and Babylonian empire and not to mention the Roman empire also. Ezekial 11:16 speaks of this quite clearly, "Thus saith the Lord God, Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come."

 

James 1:2- "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations . . . ."

Brethren, in the Greek, literally means brother. We are spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus! Count, in this context, is a command. James is saying, "Brothers, consider it pure joy, when you fall into many temptations . . . ." The Bible is commanding us to be joyful under evil urgings! "Why?" This will be explained in verse three. James was trying to encourage the Jews (and us) that they/we ought not be discouraged under afflictions and persecutions under the Gospel but ought to be joyful! As the Geneva commentary perfectly demonstrates, " Seeing their condition was miserable because of the scattering abroad, he does well to begin as he does. The first argument, because our faith is tried through afflictions: which ought to be most pure, for so it suits us. " Temptations and trials, in the long run, only enhance our faith as a Christian when we succeed.

 

James 1:3- " Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

"Why "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations?" is answered in verse three. But before we jump to the answer, James says, "Knowing this." What does James mean by these two words? In other words, knowing here means to perceive, understand, and to be aware of. One plus one is natural for the common man to know. Likewise, when we fall into temptations, we are commanded to know that the trying of our faith worketh patience.

Gill says it perfectly in James 1:3, "Two things afflictions do when sanctified; one is, they try faith, the truth of it, and make it appear to be true, genuine, and precious, like gold tried in the fire; see 1 Peter 1:6-7 and the other is, that they produce patience . . . ." 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ . . . ." Thus it is proved that patience is valued more and should be thought of rather than doing the wrong against our Lord our God. However, in order to have patience, we must let the temptation work. We must endure the full blast of the temptation to receive the full refining process that God requires of us. Only then will we come out of the furnace tried and made perfect.

 

James 1:4- "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

When we accept temptation to the fullest, we will achieve patience at the end in its entity. When we have patience, we are morally clothed with a fruit of the Spirit. Patience is an attribute to want and to fail the temptation is to be in want. Thus, we ought to fully succeed all temptations that we will want nothing.

James 1:5- "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

James is still addressing those who are the persecuted and dispersed. Suffering times are hard so James says, "If any of you lack wisdom." Wisdom is knowledge that is applied. "If any of you lack wisdom" can be translated as when you do not know what to do. What is amazing is: James does not say, "If any of you want your temptation to be removed, " but rather "If any of you lack wisdom." The New Testament saint relies on God's grace. The only requirement is "let him ask of God." When one is in hard times, prayer is the answer. All you have to do is believe. James 1:6 says, " But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." The ESV states this next section as, "who gives generously" and in the KJV, liberally means bountifully! We have a God that is willing to help us! Moreover, God upbraideth not. This means God reproaches not. He does not keep track of your sins and uses your trespasses against you! We can come before God's throne with confidence "and it shall be given him." All you have to do is believe. Obviously, the answer will not always be "yes" but either "no" or "not now but later." What blessings we have in Christ Jesus!

Reviews

[8habits]

Your idea of walking through the testimony of James has promise. I think you need to do more development beyond the bible quotations. The points are clear. Now, breathe life into them by giving them context. This could be a series of stories that domenstrate the principle, or a series of reflective questions for the reader to apply to his/her own situation. This could become a very useful bible study tool if you flesh out the ideas.