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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 2:11-15
I. Although James tells us that God brought us forth by the word of truth, he does not stress the divine life with which God has brought us forth in regeneration as the New Testament does:
А. The Lord Jesus said that He came that we may have life and may have it abundantly and that He is life to us — John 10:10; 11:25; 14:6.
B. God’s salvation commences with His life through regeneration and consummates in the divine life through transformation — 3:3, 15; Rom. 5:10; 12:2a.
C. God has given the sinners repentance unto life — Acts 11:18.
D. All the believers are God’s heirs of the grace of life — 1 Pet. 3:7b.
E. God’s divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness — 2 Pet. 1:3.
F. God’s grace in Christ enables us to reign in life, ruling over all the negative things that are against God and His economy — Rom. 5:17, 21.
G. The Lord promised that the overcomers will eat of the tree of life — Rev. 2:7.
H. The Triune God flows as a river of water of life in which the tree of life grows for the supply to the entire city of the New Jerusalem — 22:1-2.
I. The tree of life is a great blessing to the redeemed — v. 14, cf. v. 19.
J. The Epistle of James, as a book stressing Christian perfection, only refers to the divine life in speaking of the crown of life as a reward promised by God to His lovers (1:12) but does not speak anything concerning the divine life to be the believers’ life for their spiritual existence and the divine life’s capacity and function. What a critical lack this is!
II. James mentions the church only once, charging the sick members of the church to ask the elders of the church to pray for healing (5:14), but he does not speak a bit concerning the church as the organic Body of Christ as the organism of the Triune God (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4-6), which is the center and goal of God’s eternal economy (3:9-11) and which will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21—22).
III. In addition to its lack in the above six items, the Epistle of James does not tell us about the following items:
А. The divine nature — 2 Pet. 1:4.
B. The hand of love of God the Father and the hand of grace of God the Son — John 10:28-29.
C. The unlimited fullness of the Father — Col. 1:19.
D. These are also elements of the tremendous lack in the Epistle of James.
Note: Without seeing a clear vision of God’s eternal economy, without the all-inclusive Christ, without the all-inclusive Spirit, without the divine life that enables us even to reign over the things that are against God, without the all-inclusive power of the resurrection of Christ, and without the all-terminating cross of Christ, there is no possibility for anyone to live out Christian perfection (Christian living). According to the entire teaching of the New Testament, Christian perfection is produced by the believers with the rich element of all that Christ is, by the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive consummated Spirit, and through the power of Christ’s resurrection and the death of Christ’s cross. Without the termination of our natural life by the cross, we may have a kind of perfection not by self-denial but by self-cultivation, which is considered by most Christians as the genuine Christian perfection. Such a Christian perfection is a pretense and is the product of the natural life endeavoring to develop the “bright virtue” in the man of God’s old creation. It is hard to discern how much the Christian perfection stressed by James implies these all-inclusive items in the New Testament.
According to the New Testament teaching, the Christian living should also eventually be for the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:15-16), not merely for the believers’ personal benefit and blessing, nor merely for them to glorify God in their excellent living and good conduct. The goal of God’s New Testament economy is the Body of Christ (for the consummation of the New Jerusalem), at which the Christian living, Christian perfection, should be aimed.
IV. Besides the above lacks, the Epistle of James is devoid of the five following critical items concerning the believers’ spiritual experiences in life, without which the New Testament becomes only a book of doctrine and no longer a book of experience in the divine life:
А. The union and mingling of the believers with the Triune God — Matt. 28:19; Eph. 4:4-6.
B. The believers being joined to the Lord as one spirit — 1 Cor. 6:17.
C. The believers’ regenerated spirit — Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22.
D. The discernment of the believers’ spirit from their soul — 1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12.
E. Living by the Spirit and walking according to the spirit — Gal. 5:16, 25; Rom. 8:4b.
Note: All the lacks and defects in the Epistle of James mentioned above are evidences that the Christian perfection stressed by James is not one up to the standard of the high level of the genuine Christian perfection as revealed in the New Testament, but one which is inadequate in fulfilling God’s New Testament economy and which is even mistaken under the vague vision concerning God’s eternal economy.
In the previous chapter we saw four lacks in the Epistle of James. The first lack is the economy of God, which is for the building up of the Body of Christ as the organism of the Triune God consummating in the New Jerusalem. The second lack is the cross of Christ. The third lack is the marvelous aspects of Christ. James mentions that Christ is the Lord of glory, but he does not explain what glory is. The fourth lack is the Spirit in five items. These five items are the life-giving Spirit, the compound Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Lord Spirit, and the sevenfold intensified Spirit. These five aspects of the Spirit were “not yet” before Christ’s resurrection (John 7:39). After Christ’s resurrection the Spirit in these five aspects came into existence. In this chapter we want to continue our fellowship on the lacks of the Epistle of James.
Although James tells us that God brought us forth by the word of truth, he does not stress the divine life with which God has brought us forth in regeneration as the New Testament does.
The Lord Jesus said that He came that we may have life and may have it abundantly and that He is life to us (John 10:10; 11:25; 14:6). James refers to the regeneration by God, but he only says that this rebirth was by the word of truth, which is a term adopted from the Psalms (119:43). He does not say that regeneration basically is with Christ as life. Peter also speaks of regeneration, but he says that this was through the living and abiding word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). He calls this word the incorruptible seed. This living seed is of life. Without Christ as life, we cannot be regenerated.
God’s salvation commences with His life through regeneration and consummates in the divine life through transformation (John 3:3, 15; Rom. 5:10; 12:2a). God’s salvation begins with life, continues with life, and consummates with life. A number of Christians are very enthusiastic for gospel preaching. They call it soul winning. They feel that we merely need to save sinners so that they can be justified and eventually qualified to go to heaven. God’s salvation, however, does not consummate in going to heaven. It consummates in life, which is Christ Himself.
God has given the sinners repentance unto life (Acts 11:18).
All the believers are God’s heirs of the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:7b). The grace of life is our inheritance.
God’s divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life — concerning life within and godliness in our living without (2 Pet. 1:3). Godliness is the living of the divine life. The divine life within us becomes our living, and that is godliness.
God’s grace in Christ enables us to reign in life, ruling over all the negative things that are against God and His economy (Rom. 5:17, 21). James speaks merely of being able to resist temptation, but the life presented in the New Testament enables us to reign over sin and Satan. Eventually, we will reign over the nations. We receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness to reign in life. Then grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. We reign in this age, and grace reigns in the eternal age. We should be vital not merely to overcome but to reign. The vital groups are producing not only overcomers but also kings. As kings, we should go to visit people with the gospel. When we do this, we reign.
The Lord promised that the overcomers will eat of the tree of life (Rev. 2:7).
The Triune God flows as a river of water of life in which the tree of life grows for the supply to the entire city of the New Jerusalem (22:1-2). The Triune God flows out with two provisions: the river of life and the tree of life. One is for drinking, and the other is for eating.
The tree of life is a great blessing to the redeemed (v. 14, cf. v. 19). The greatest blessing is the tree of life.
The Epistle of James, as a book stressing Christian perfection, only refers to the divine life in speaking of the crown of life as a reward promised by God to His lovers (1:12) but does not speak anything concerning the divine life to be the believers’ life for their spiritual existence and the divine life’s capacity and function. What a critical lack this is!
James mentions the church only once, charging the sick members of the church to ask the elders of the church to pray for healing (5:14), but he does not speak a bit concerning the church as the organic Body of Christ as the organism of the Triune God (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4-6), which is the center and goal of God’s eternal economy (3:9-11) and which will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21—22).
In addition to its lack in the above six items, the Epistle of James does not tell us about the following items.
James does not tell us about the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Something that has the dog nature is a dog, and someone who has the human nature is a man. How wonderful it is that we have God’s nature! We are partakers of His divine nature, so that makes us God in His nature but, of course, not in His Godhead. The Bible’s teaching is very logical.
The hand of God the Father is of love and the hand of God the Son is of grace (John 10:28-29). Love and grace are one. Love is the source; grace is the manifestation. When love is expressed, it becomes grace. We can use a gift as an illustration of this. If someone gives you a New Testament, that is out of his love and is an expression of his love. This expression is grace, which is free. The grace of the Son is the expression of the Father’s love.
Colossians 1:19 speaks of the unlimited fullness of the Father.
These are also elements of the tremendous lack in the Epistle of James. James’s lack is not light. It is tremendous.
Without seeing a clear vision of God’s eternal economy, without the all-inclusive Christ, without the all-inclusive Spirit, without the divine life that enables us even to reign over the things that are against God, without the all-inclusive power of the resurrection of Christ, and without the all-terminating cross of Christ, there is no possibility for anyone to live out Christian perfection (Christian living). According to the entire teaching of the New Testament, Christian perfection is produced by the believers with the rich element of all that Christ is, by the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive consummated Spirit, and through the power of Christ’s resurrection and the death of Christ’s cross. Without the termination of our natural life by the cross, we may have a kind of perfection not by self-denial but by self-cultivation, which is considered by most Christians as the genuine Christian perfection. Such a Christian perfection is a pretense and is the product of the natural life endeavoring to develop the “bright virtue” in the man of God’s old creation. It is hard to discern how much the Christian perfection stressed by James implies these all-inclusive items in the New Testament.
According to the New Testament teaching, the Christian living should also eventually be for the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:15-16), not merely for the believers’ personal benefit and blessing, nor merely for them to glorify God in their excellent living and good conduct. The goal of God’s New Testament economy is the Body of Christ (for the consummation of the New Jerusalem), at which the Christian living, Christian perfection, should be aimed.
Besides the above lacks, the Epistle of James is devoid of the five following critical items concerning the believers’ spiritual experiences in life, without which the New Testament becomes only a book of doctrine and no longer a book of experience in the divine life.
The believers are united and mingled with the Triune God (Matt. 28:19; Eph. 4:4-6).
First Corinthians 6:17 says that we believers are joined to the Lord as one spirit. This means that we become Him and He becomes us. This is not merely union but also mingling.
James is devoid of the truth concerning the believers’ regenerated spirit (Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22).
James is also devoid of the revelation concerning the discernment of the believers’ spirit from their soul (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). A sister may want to go shopping for items that are on sale out of the desire from her soul. But another part of her being tells her not to do this. This is her spirit. We need to learn to discern our spirit from our soul.
James also lacks the thought of living by the Spirit and walking according to the spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25; Rom. 8:4b).
All the lacks and defects in the Epistle of James mentioned above are evidences that the Christian perfection stressed by James is not one up to the standard of the high level of the genuine Christian perfection as revealed in the New Testament but one which is inadequate in fulfilling God’s New Testament economy and which is even mistaken under the vague vision concerning God’s eternal economy.
The New Testament, which is of twenty-seven books, is composed of mainly nine items. If we see them, we understand the New Testament. These items are the economy of God; the all-inclusive God with His fullness; the all-inclusive Christ with His riches; the all-inclusive Spirit with His supply; the divine life, which is Christ Himself as the embodiment of the Triune God; Christ’s death; Christ’s resurrection; and the Body of Christ. All these items consummate the New Jerusalem (the final item) as the ultimate goal of God. The economy of God is a plan to produce the Body of Christ through the Triune God (the Father, the Son, and the Spirit), through the divine life, and through Christ’s death and resurrection. The building up of the Body of Christ will consummate the New Jerusalem. The entire New Testament covers these nine items. All the other things in the New Testament are like the leaves of a tree, whereas these items are the fruit.
The book of James touches only two of the above items: the begetting Father and the indwelling Spirit. But even these items are spoken of by James in an inadequate way. Thus, the book of James is devoid of the main items in the New Testament.
