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Scripture Reading: James 1:1-12
In 1:2 James exhorts us to count it all joy whenever we fall into various trials. In verse 3 he goes on to say, “Knowing that the proving of your faith produces endurance.” Faith here is the Christian faith given by God in Christ (2:1; Eph. 2:8).
James says in verse 3 that the proving of our faith, the trying and testing of our faith, produces endurance. I can testify that my endurance has increased as a result of opposition and trial. The testings that we suffer produce endurance.
Endurance is different from patience. It is possible to be patient without having much endurance. Our patience may be fragile. What we need is an enduring patience. This enduring patience is endurance.
When you are mistreated by someone, you may first exercise patience. But you will learn that patience alone is not adequate, because in the suffering of trials you also need endurance. Endurance comes out of the proving, the trying, the testing, of our faith.
In verse 4 James continues, “And let endurance have its complete work, that you may be complete and entire, lacking in nothing.” Although James may not have had a clear view concerning the distinction between grace and law, his Epistle is notable and remarkable concerning Christian conduct, emphasizing practical Christian perfection, that the believers should be “complete and entire, lacking in nothing.” This may be considered the main subject of his Epistle. Such perfection in Christian behavior requires the trials of God’s governmental dealing and the believers’ endurance by the virtue of the divine birth through regeneration by the implanted word (vv. 18, 21).
What is the difference between complete and entire? As to help in answering this question, we may use a jigsaw puzzle as an illustration. For such a puzzle to be complete means that it contains all the pieces. If even one piece of the puzzle is missing, the puzzle would not be complete. Hence, to be complete means to have every part of a full unit. A person’s body would not be complete if any part were missing. To be complete is to have all the parts or pieces of a certain unit.
But what does it mean to be entire? Using the illustration of the jigsaw puzzle, we may say that when all the pieces of the puzzle are put together, there is a whole, an entire entity. Suppose a jigsaw puzzle has a hundred pieces. If all the pieces are at hand, the puzzle is complete. Then when these pieces are put together in their proper places, the puzzle is whole or entire. Therefore, the word “entire” in 1:4 denotes the whole, the entirety, of a unit.
In 1:4 James is not using the words complete and entire as synonyms. What James means here is that we need to have all the items of practical Christian perfection. If we have every item, we shall be complete. Following that, we shall have the entire Christian perfection; that is, we shall have practical Christian perfection as a whole.
When James’ writing touches the matter of practical Christian perfection, it is very descriptive and also detailed. On the one hand, this perfection must be complete, with every item present; on the other hand, it must be a whole, an entirety. Therefore, James ends verse 4 with the words “lacking in nothing.” His desire was that those who received his Epistle would be complete and entire in their practical Christian perfection, lacking in nothing.
In verse 5 James says, “But if anyone of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and does not reproach, and it will be given to him.” It was by His wisdom that God, in Christ, made His eternal plan and carried it out (1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:9-11; Prov. 8:12, 22-31). And in His New Testament economy God first made Christ our wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). The wisdom of God is needed for practical Christian perfection. Hence, we need to ask God for it.
According to the composition of this Epistle, although it seems that James did not have a clear vision concerning God’s New Testament economy, he had the wisdom to portray things concerning the practical Christian life.
James was reputed to be a man of prayer. Here he charged those who received his Epistle to pray for wisdom. This implies that his own wisdom was given by God through prayer. In this Epistle James emphasizes prayer (5:14-18). Prayer is a virtue of practical Christian perfection.
In verse 5 James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it. In order to be perfect in our behavior, the basic need is for wisdom. A foolish person cannot be perfect. But if we are full of wisdom, then in every activity of our daily life we shall behave perfectly. This indicates that perfection is mainly carried out through wisdom. A wise person can be perfect. However, if we lack wisdom, we may offend others by our foolish talk. Our speaking may indicate that we do not have adequate wisdom. When we are short of wisdom, we should ask God for it.
James says that if we ask God for wisdom, He will give generously and will not reproach. To give generously is to give with simplicity and liberality, without reserve (Rom. 12:8; 2 Cor. 8:2).
James’ word here indicates that he is godly and that he knows God. In this verse James did not say, “If you lack wisdom, you should learn of me. Let me give you some lectures or some books to read. Then you will have wisdom.” Instead of speaking this way, James, being godly, encourages the readers of his Epistle to ask of God. He knows God and in particular knows that God is generous. James tells us in this verse that when God gives, He does not reproach. But a stingy person does not want to give anything. If he does give something, he may give with reproach, with stinging words. The generous God is not like such a man. God gives generously, and He gives without reproach. Being a godly man, a man who knew God, James realized this.
In verse 6 James goes on to say, “But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing, for he who doubts is like a surge of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.” The Greek words rendered “doubting” and “doubts” also mean wavering and wavers. Someone who wavers in prayer is like a surge of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.
Verses 7 and 8 say, “For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-souled man, unstable in all his ways.” God made man only one soul, with one mind and one will. When a believer doubts in prayer, he makes himself double-souled, like a boat with two rudders, unstable in direction. Faith in prayer is also a virtue of practical Christian perfection.
Verses 6 through 8 indicate that James surely was a godly man. No doubt, he was a man of wisdom, a man of faith, and a man of prayer. As such a man, he knew God.
In verses 9 and 10 James continues, “And let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, and the rich in his being brought low, because as a flower of the grass he will pass away.” The Greek word rendered “glory” in verse 9 also means boast or rejoice. When a lowly brother glories and rejoices in exaltation, it leads him spontaneously to praise the Lord (5:13). He should not glory in a secular way without praising the Lord. But although it is easy for a lowly brother to glory, rejoice, and praise the Lord in his exaltation, in his elevation or uplifted estate, it is not easy for a rich one to do so in being brought low. Nevertheless, whether in exaltation or in being brought low, to rejoice and praise is a virtue of practical Christian perfection.
We all need to realize that no matter how wealthy we may be, our environment may change. A person may be rich today, but after a short period of time he may be poor. For example, a brother may have a high position at work, and suddenly and unexpectedly he may be demoted or even fired. Because such things happen, we should not put our trust in our environment, wealth, position, or education.
In verse 11 James explains, “For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich shall fade away in his pursuits.” What a sobering word to those who pursue riches! Yet it is a soothing word to the rich who are being brought low through loss of their riches.
James used the surge of the sea in verse 6 to illustrate a doubting heart, and the flower of the land in verse 10 to portray the fading rich man. Now, in verse 11 he uses the sun in the heavens with its scorching heat to illustrate the fading factor of man’s riches under God’s governmental dealing. He used even the turning of the planets in verse 17 to illustrate a variation which is in contrast to God the Father’s invariableness. In dealing with the problem of our tongue in 3:3-12 he used twenty kinds of things for illustrations. Moreover, he used vapor in 4:14 to portray the brief appearing of our life, and the farmer’s longsuffering in 5:7-8 to teach us how to await the Lord’s coming. He was a wise and experienced man, with not only the experience of human life, but also wisdom from the divine source through seeking by prayer (v. 5; 3:13, 15, 17). Yet it seems that he may have been frustrated by his sympathy and compromise with Judaism, from seeing a thorough vision of the wisdom concerning God’s New Testament economy, as Paul saw and unveiled in his Epistles.
In verse 12 James says, “Blessed is the man who endures trial, because having become approved, he will receive the crown of life, which He promised to those who love Him.” Verses 2 through 12 deal with trials. Trials come from the believers’ environment to prove their faith (vv. 2-3) through suffering (vv. 9-11). The believers should endure the trials with all joy (v. 2) because of their love for the Lord that they may receive the blessing of the crown of life. In verse 12 the word “approved” refers to the approving of the believers’ faith (v. 3).
The crown of life is the glory, the expression, of life. The believers endure the trials by the divine life, and this will become their glory, their expression, the crown of life, as a reward to them at the Lord’s appearing for their enjoyment in the coming kingdom (2:5).
The word “life” in verse 12 indicates that the underlying thought of verses 12 through 27 is the crucial need of the divine life. The begetting Father and His begetting us, His making us the firstfruit of His creatures (vv. 17-18, 27), the implanted word of life (v. 21), and the perfect law of life (v. 25) are all confirmations of this.
In verse 12 James says that the crown of life is promised to those who love the Lord. To believe in the Lord is to receive the divine life for our salvation; to love the Lord is to grow in the divine life for maturity that we may be qualified for a reward — the crown of life — to enjoy the glory of the divine life in the kingdom.
In verse 2 James says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you fall into various trials.” Then, at the end of this section on enduring trials by faith, he says in verse 12, “Blessed is the man who endures trials.” In verses 3 through 11 James points out the way to endure trials. If we would endure trials, we first need to ask God for wisdom. If we do not endure trials, this may mean that we are lacking wisdom, for a wise man always endures trials. For example, suppose a brother who has been married only for a short period of time is offended by his wife. He then begins to consider the possibility of divorce. This is a foolish thought. If this brother were wise, he would never consider divorce. A wise person does not think like this. This brother needs wisdom in order to behave properly with his wife.
Without wisdom, our behavior as Christians cannot be perfect. In order to be perfect and, in particular, to endure trials, we need wisdom. If we would endure trials, the first thing we need to do is pray that the Lord would give us wisdom. Of course, this prayer must be in faith.
Second, if we would endure trials, we should not have any confidence in our environment, for it can change. Whether we are uplifted or brought low, our attitude toward the environment should be the same.
In order to endure trials, we must ask for wisdom, praying in faith. Then we need a genuine understanding of the vanity of human life. Whether we are rich or poor, high or low, human life is vain. If we realize this, we shall be able to endure trials and be blessed.
James says that the man who endures trials is blessed because, having become approved, he will receive the crown of life. This is a strong indication that James regards practical Christian perfection as coming out of the divine life which we receive at the time of our regeneration, our divine birth. The life that we have received through regeneration must now be developed into a crown. In what way is the divine life developed into a crown? It is developed by asking God for wisdom and also by understanding the vanity of human life. Therefore, we need wisdom, prayer, faith, and the realization of the vanity of human life. But the crucial matter is the divine life.
If we did not have the divine life, we would not be able to endure trials. Those saints who realize that they have the divine life within them and who exercise this life will have the divine life developed into a crown. This crown is a glorious expression of the inner divine life received through our divine birth. This crown will be the reward which the Lord will give to those who love Him.
We have seen that James was a godly man, a man who knew God and loved the Lord. Furthermore, James was a man of wisdom, a man of prayer and faith, a man who understood the real situation of human life, and also a man who was able and willing to endure sufferings with joy. However, it is possible for even such a godly man to lack a clear vision concerning God’s economy. Throughout the centuries, there have been a great many believers who were godly people like James. But one after another was lacking a clear vision concerning God’s economy. There may be thousands of believers like this today. Some Christians may think that it is sufficient to be godly like James. They think it is adequate to know God, to love God, to be a man of prayer and faith, and to be able to endure trials with joy. But we would say that it is not adequate to be such a godly person, for even such a man as James may lack the proper view regarding God’s move in the various dispensations.
The reason I appreciate the book of James is that this Epistle points out the possibility that we may be those who know God, who love God, and who are full of wisdom and faith, yet do not have a clear view of God’s economy. We all need to know what the Lord’s recovery is. The Lord’s recovery is simply the recovery of God’s economy.
Many believers are godly like James. They love God, they trust God, and they pray in faith. But they do not know anything about God’s economy. These believers cannot satisfy God’s desire. The desire of God’s heart can be fulfilled only by those who know God and are godly and who, like Paul, also have a clear view concerning God’s economy in this age.
We have pointed out that James uses many figures in this Epistle: the surge of the sea, the flower of the land, the sun with its scorching heat, the planets, vapor, and a farmer’s longsuffering. James surely was a wise and experienced man. Not only did he have experience in human life, but through prayer he also obtained wisdom from the divine source. Nevertheless, it seems that, by his sympathy with Judaism and compromise with it, he was frustrated from seeing a thorough vision of God’s New Testament economy.
James was the son of Mary, a woman who was pious and godly. Her praise recorded in chapter one of the Gospel of Luke indicates that she had the knowledge of God’s Word, for in her praise she quoted a number of Old Testament verses. No doubt she gave her children, including James, a godly education. James, therefore, was raised in the atmosphere of Judaism. It is likely that James loved Judaism.
The fact that James was sympathetic to Judaism and compromised with it can be seen in chapter twenty-one of Acts. James and the other elders told Paul that there were thousands of Jewish believers who were zealous for the law. From reading this chapter we can see that with James and those in Jerusalem the spiritual sky was not clear. Rather, the sky was cloudy. In the case of James, the sky may have been clouded by his godliness. He was reputed along with John and Peter to be a pillar of the church, and no doubt he was the leading one. But although James was so highly regarded, with him there was mixture and vagueness concerning God’s move. This mixture was also a cause for God’s sending Titus, a prince of the Roman Empire, with the Roman army to destroy the city of Jerusalem, including the temple. If this had not happened, the mixture of Judaism with God’s New Testament economy might have continued for centuries. God, however, would never sanction or justify such a mixture.
