The Book of James an Overview
by Lane Rogers
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Opening Statement 1:2-4 |
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1. First Segment |
Testing produces Joy 1:2-4
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Wisdom through prayer 1:5-8 |
Poverty Excels Wealth 1:9-11 |
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2. Second Segment |
Testing produces Blessedness (1:12-18) |
Pure Speech contains no anger (1:19-21) |
Obedience Requires Generosity (1:22-2: 5) |
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II. Body (2:1-5:6) |
Testing Through Wealth (4:13-5:6) |
The Demand for Pure Speech (3:1-4:12) |
The Excellence of Poverty and Generosity (2:1-26) |
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III. Closing Statements (5:7-20) |
Endurance in the Test (5:7-11 Rejection of Oaths (5:12) Helping one another through Prayer and Forgiveness (5:13-18) Closing Encouragement (5:19-20) |
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The greeting formula presents James the Just, the brother of the Lord, writing to Jewish Christian congregations scattered outside of his "home" district of Palestine. The author, whether James or an editor of his material stemming from him, uses typical Greek greeting style, a form which appears in both literary (e.g. 1 Macc. 10:25; Euseb. Praep. Ev) and actual (e.g. 1st Thess. 1:1) letters of the period.
James 1
| 1James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. |
I. The author identifies himself as James or Jacob in Hebrew (y'qb) As argued in the introduction, such a title can apply to only one person in the church and that is James the Just.
II. The term doulos or servant is bond-slave. In Rome the bond-slave may very well have a iron collar around his neck, attached to a chain in order for the owner to 'keep up' with him. James is saying he has an iron chain around his heart. The (slave-bond servant) does not come bearing a message in his own name. He is chattel or property. He (the slave or servant) can only speak for the master, in this case the Messiah.
III. The dodeka (twelve tribes) tells us the author looks at the recipients of this epistle as the true Israel. The church naturally has this title since it was the work of the Messiah to reconstitute the 12 tribes of Israel (Je.3:18; Ezk. 37:19-24; Pss. Sol. 17:28). Thus, the Christians recognized themselves as the true heirs of the Jewish faith (Romans 4; 1st Cor. 10:18; Gal. 4:21-31; Phil. 3:3). While such a term will ring on the ears of the Jewish Christian, Paul also used the term for gentile churches.
IV. The second part of the term (The Diaspora), is a reference to those outside of Jerusalem. Those people are "strangers and pilgrims" on earth (cf. Heb. 11:13; 13:14; and 1st Pet. 1:1, 17; 2:11). Thus, the book is addressed to the "true Israel," the church.
The Text 1:2-11
| 2Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. |
Testing, Wisdom, and Wealth 1: 2-11
Overview
James presents the first statement of his main themes in 1:2-11. The first of the three major concepts, which he brings together, is that genuineness of faith will be tested. James argues that this testing is for the benefit of the individual, for it produces the approved "character." The second concept is that of "wisdom" need to discern the test and stand fast under pressure. This is a gift from God. "Wisdom" functions for James in an analogous position to that which the "Holy Spirit" occupies for Paul. The third concept is that one major situation in which belief is tested is the use of wealth. Faith is the great equalizer, but can the wealthy Christian stand the test? Will the wealthy share with the poorer brother? Will he/she try to compromise when radical adherence to the faith threatens economic circumstances? These are the issues that emerge in the opening paragraph.
A. Testing Produces Joy 1:2-4
1. It is my view that James is not speaking of earthy joy, but of heavenly joy. When we reach the end of our stay on earth and realize that we have run the good race we, happiness is the result.. James develops this point in 1:12.
2. Notice that the readers here are addressed as "brothers." In a Christian context we understand that he is addressing those in the church. The brothers are to be be extremely happy but testing comes in a variety of forms and often this is not a situation that one seeks but stumbles into (cf. Luke 10:30). Jews have a long history of testing going all the way back to Abraham (Gen.22) and the Israelites in the wilderness (e.g. Nu. 14:20-24).
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Jesus anticipates a similar test of faith when He said:
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"Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be gland, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Mt. 5:11-12 par. Lk. 6:22-23) |
b. We are then to consider this testing "sheer joy." This joy however is not the detachment of the Greek philosopher (4 Macc. 9-11), but the eschatological joy of those expecting the intervention of God at the end of the age.
c. Verse 3___James turns to the "reason" why an eschatological perspective produces joy. This is translated "knowing" in most versions but it means that they have been taught. They have been taught that testing produces virtue. We are told that the terms for testing has shifted. It now is proving. The likely background for the use of this term is the refiner's fire (LXX Pr. 27:21).
Like gold then in the refiner's fire, the testing produces "fortitude." NEB; patient endurance (RSV). After testing we have a new person. Paul valued the concept of being tested by fire since he uses the term 16 times (2nd Cor. 6:4; 12:12; 1 Thes. 1:3) and it is also used many times by John in Revelation.
d. Fortitude was not the end of the matter for James. Yes, it is an important virtue but it leads to something much more important. James says that we must not shortcut fortitude. But rather the virtue forming process is a perfect work. James generally follows the NT idea of what it is to be perfect. The perfect man is one who is ready in every aspect to meet the Lord.
Wisdom
Comes Through Prayer 1:5-8
| 5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask.of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways |
A. This section revolves around two subsections that appear later in the text. Wisdom (cf. 3:13) and double mindedness (cf.4:8). This is an important subject for James. He makes the argument that the gift of God (Wisdom) is for those who are not double minded.
B. He is making this argument against those who have compromised their faith. These are people who look both to God and to the world to establish their norms. If they had faith, they would have wisdom (which is implied) and it is this that makes them perfect by reacting to testing properly.
a. (5) The author views the real possibility that his readers lack wisdom. But what is this wisdom they lack? It is a gift from God which enables one to be perfect or in James' conception, to stand the test.
b. The concept that Wisdom is a gift from God leads us to the command (imper. pres. act) to ask for wisdom. An interesting observation is that in Jewish literature, these same ideas are stated many times. Thus, those with a Jewish background would have understood. Similarly, in the NT, Wisdom is closely associated with understanding the divine plan and responding to it. In 1 Corinthians for instance, Christ is the manifestation of wisdom, especially in His suffering (e.g 1 Cor.1:24). There is also a contrast between human wisdom and divine perspective. The Corinthians are the perfect example because they recognize the divine teaching in Paul's preaching (1st Cor. 2:4-6). Wisdom then is the possession of the believer given by the Holy Spirit that enables one to see history from a divine perspective. James never mentions the Spirit but it is certainly implied in his language.
c. God then, is the One who gives wisdom freely without hesitation or mental reservation. He does not grumble or criticize. God simply does what He says He will do.
d. (v.6) Having described the willingness of the father to give wisdom, James informs us by the use of faith that another part of the picture is in view. We find out that the problem of lack of wisdom does not lie with the father but with the child. The petitioner must not doubt the integrity of the Father. I think that the larger context of this simply is saying that a man who doubts God's gift lacks fortitude. Remember, we are still seeking to be "perfect." (Note: to clarify this point, one may want to read the Shepherd of Hermas Man 9, since there is agreement in general that Hermas depends on James). The instability of the doubter is reinforced by the metaphor of "a wave of the sea, driven and tossed."
e. (7) We are then to trust God because the one who does not trust God will receive nothing. This is a reference back to 1:6.. Note, at this point the word (Lord) here means God and not Christ.
F. (8) James adds to the statement above two descriptions of that person (the one who does not have faith). First, we have a "two souled" man (dipsuchos). James is the first person to use this term in the NT. In the OT,it is a person with a double-minded heart (PS. 12:1, 2: 1 Ch. 12:33). In Rabbinic material this theme is used as a rejection of all that is bad and evil and embracing all that is good.
This is one whose allegiance to God is less than total. Such a person is "unstable in all his ways." For James, there is no middle ground between faith and lack of faith.
Poverty
may Excel Wealth 1:9-11
| 9But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. |
I. The rich vs. the poor is an important subject to James. The poor are highly honored if they are Christians for God has given them a high position despite their low position on earth. The wealthy may seem powerful now but God will bring them low in the end unless they humble themselves now.
(9) ho adelphos ho tapeinos is the next place James turns. Two facts stand out. (1) First this person is a Christian since he used the title "brother." Second, the person is poor. The term tapeinos does not always mean poor. It usually means just a humble person. But in this context it is the poor. James tells these "poor" Christians to boast, or have pride in their circumstances because of future expectations. The Christian must overlook the boasting of the rich as in 4:16 and Ps. 49:7 and look at life from an eschatological point of view. In this case, the poor person is the one who is really rich.
b (10). The irony of this situation is underlined in the next clause which contrasts the rich man's situation with that of the poor man. The rich must boast in humiliation or abasement! Fortunes are reversed as in 1 Sam. 2:7, or Luke 16. But who is this rich person? Is it a rich outsider or a rich Christian? The grammar demands the latter. In verse 10, the wealthy Christian is told to take no pride in possessions of position. Rather, he/she is to be self-abased in identifying with Christ.
c. (11) This is a proverb that refers to a phenomena observed in Palestine. The sun rises and the flowers wilt. But what does mean? The easy translation is "burning heat." This word only appears two times in the NT and it is possible to translate this "burning wind." But we cannot lose context here. The question is still what happens to the rich person? James says that the rich will be scorched in the sun's heat, a scorching indicative of God's judgment which will follow and turn the "fading away" into an eternal fact.
by Lane Rogers
