THIS is called by EUSEBIUS ([Ecclesiastical History, 2.23], about the year 330 A.D.) the first of the Catholic Epistles, that is, the Epistles intended for general circulation, as distinguished from Paul's Epistles, which were addressed to particular churches or individuals. In the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament extant, they stand before the Epistles of Paul. Of them, two only are mentioned by EUSEBIUS as universally acknowledged (Homologoumena), namely, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First Epistle of John. All, however, are found in every existing manuscript of the whole New Testament.
It is not to be wondered at that Epistles not addressed to particular churches (and particularly one like that of James, addressed to the Israelite believers scattered abroad) should be for a time less known. The first mention of James' Epistle by name occurs early in the third century, in ORIGEN [Commentary on John 1:19, 4.306], who was born about 185, and died A.D. 254. CLEMENT OF ROME ([First Epistle to the Corinthians, 10]; compare Jas 2:21, 23; [First Epistle to the Corinthians, 11]; compare Jas 2:25; Heb 11:31) quotes it. So also HERMAS [Shepherd] quotes Jas 4:7. IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 4.16.2] is thought to refer to Jas 2:23. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA commented on it, according to CASSIODORUS. EPHREM THE SYRIAN [Against the Greeks, 3.51] quotes Jas 5:1. An especially strong proof of its authenticity is afforded by its forming part of the old Syriac version, which contains no other of the disputed books (Antilegomena, [EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 3.25]), except the Epistle to the Hebrews. None of the Latin fathers before the fourth century quote it; but soon after the Council of Nicea it was admitted as canonical both by the East and West churches, and specified as such in the Councils of Hippo and Carthage (397 A.D.). This is just what we might expect; a writing known only partially at first, when subsequently it obtained a wider circulation, and the proofs were better known of its having been recognized in apostolic churches, having in them men endowed with the discernment of spirits, which qualified them for discriminating between inspired and uninspired writings, was universally accepted. Though doubted for a time, at last the disputed books (James, Second Peter, Second and Third John, Jude, and Revelation) were universally and undoubtingly accepted, so that no argument for the Old Testament Apocrypha can be drawn from their case: as to it the Jewish Church had no doubt; it was known not to be inspired.
LUTHER'S objection to it ("an Epistle of straw, and destitute of an evangelic character") was due to his mistaken idea that it ( Jas 2:14-26) opposes the doctrine of justification by faith, and not by works, taught by Paul. But the two apostles, while looking at justification from distinct standpoints, perfectly harmonize and mutually complement the definitions of one another. Faith precedes love and the works of love; but without them it is dead. Paul regards faith in the justification of the sinner before God; James, in the justification of the believer evidently before men. The error which James meets was the Jewish notion that their possession and knowledge of the law of God would justify them, even though they disobeyed it (compare Jas 1:22 with Ro 2:17-25). Jas 1:3; 4:1, 12 seem plainly to allude to Ro 5:3; 6:13; 7:23; 14:4. Also the tenor of Jas 2:14-26 on "justification," seems to allude to Paul's teaching, so as to correct false Jewish notions of a different kind from those which he combatted, though not unnoticed by him also ( Ro 2:17, &c.).
Paul ( Ga 2:9) arranges the names "James, Cephas, John," in the order in which their Epistles stand. James who wrote this Epistle (according to most ancient writers) is called ( Ga 1:19), "the Lord's brother." He was son of Alpheus or Cleopas ( Lu 24:13-18) and Mary, sister of the Virgin Mary. Compare Mr 15:40 with Joh 19:25, which seems to identify the mother of James the Less with the wife of Cleopas, not with the Virgin Mary, Cleopas' wife's sister. Cleopas is the Hebrew, Alpheus the Greek mode of writing the same name. Many, however, as HEGESIPPUS [E USEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 23.1], distinguish the Lord's brother from the son of Alpheus. But the Gospel according to the Hebrews, quoted by JEROME, represents James, the Lord's brother, as present at the institution of the Eucharist, and therefore identical with the apostle James. So the Apocryphal Gospel of James. In Acts, James who is put foremost in Jerusalem after the death of James, the son of Zebedee, is not distinguished from James, the son of Alpheus. He is not mentioned as one of the Lord's brethren in Ac 1:14; but as one of the "apostles" ( Ga 1:19). He is called "the Less" (literally, "the little," Mr 15:40), to distinguish him from James, the son of Zebedee. ALFORD considers James, the brother of the Lord, the author of the Epistle, to have been the eldest of the sons of Joseph and Mary, after Jesus (compare Mt 13:55), and that James the son of Alpheus is distinguished from him by the latter being called "the Less," (that is, junior). His arguments against the Lord's brother, the bishop of Jerusalem, being the apostle, are: (1) The Lord's brethren did not believe on Jesus at a time when the apostles had been already called ( Joh 7:3, 5), therefore none of the Lord's brethren could be among the apostles (but it does not follow from Joh 7:3 that no one of them believed). (2) The apostles' commission was to preach the Gospel everywhere, not to be bishops in a particular locality (but it is unlikely that one not an apostle should be bishop of Jerusalem, to whom even apostles yield deference, Ac 15:13, 19; Ga 1:19; 2:9, 12. The Saviour's last command to the apostles collectively to preach the Gospel everywhere, is not inconsistent with each having a particular sphere of labor in which he should be a missionary bishop, as Peter is said to have been at Antioch).
He was surnamed "the Just." It needed peculiar wisdom so to preach the Gospel as not to disparage the law. As bishop of Jerusalem writing to the twelve tribes, he sets forth the Gospel in its aspect of relation to the law, which the Jews so reverenced. As Paul's Epistles are a commentary on the doctrines flowing from the death and resurrection of Christ, so James's Epistle has a close connection with His teaching during His life on earth, especially His Sermon on the Mount. In both, the law is represented as fulfilled in love: the very language is palpably similar (compare Jas 1:2 with Mt 5:12; Jas 1:4 with Mt 5:48; Jas 1:5; 5:15 with Mt 7:7-11; Jas 2:13 with Mt 5:7; 6:14, 15; Jas 2:10 with Mt 5:19; Jas 4:4 with Mt 6:24; Jas 4:11 with Mt 7:1, 2; Jas 5:2 with Mt 6:19). The whole spirit of this Epistle breathes the same Gospel-righteousness which the Sermon on the Mount inculcates as the highest realization of the law. James's own character as "the Just," or legally righteous, disposed him to this coincidence (compare Jas 1:20; 2:10; 3:18 with Mt 5:20). It also fitted him for presiding over a Church still zealous for the law ( Ac 21:18-24; Ga 2:12). If any could win the Jews to the Gospel, he was most likely who presented a pattern of Old Testament righteousness, combined with evangelical faith (compare also Jas 2:8 with Mt 5:44, 48). Practice, not profession, is the test of obedience (compare Jas 2:17; 4:17 with Mt 7:2-23). Sins of the tongue, however lightly regarded by the world, are an offense against the law of love (compare Jas 1:26; 3:2-18 with Mt 5:22; also any swearing, Jas 5:12; compare Mt 5:33-37).
The absence of the apostolic benediction in this Epistle is probably due to its being addressed, not merely to the believing, but also indirectly to unbelieving, Israelites. To the former he commends humility, patience, and prayer; to the latter he addresses awful warnings ( Jas 5:7-11; 4:9; 5:1-6).
James was martyred at the Passover. This Epistle was probably written just before it. The destruction of Jerusalem foretold in it ( Jas 5:1, &c.), ensued a year after his martyrdom, A.D. 69. HEGESIPPUS (quoted in EUSEBIUS [Ecclesiastical History, 2.23]) narrates that he was set on a pinnacle of the temple by the scribes and Pharisees, who begged him to restrain the people who were in large numbers embracing Christianity. "Tell us," said they in the presence of the people gathered at the feast, "which is the door of Jesus?" James replied with a loud voice, "Why ask ye me concerning Jesus the Son of man? He sitteth at the right hand of power, and will come again on the clouds of heaven." Many thereupon cried, Hosanna to the Son of David. But James was cast down headlong by the Pharisees; and praying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," he was stoned and beaten to death with a fuller's club. The Jews, we know from Acts, were exasperated at Paul's rescue from their hands, and therefore determined to wreak their vengeance on James. The publication of his Epistle to the dispersed Israelites, to whom it was probably carried by those who came up to the periodical feasts, made him obnoxious to them, especially to the higher classes, because it foretold the woes soon about to fall on them and their country. Their taunting question, "Which is the door of Jesus?" (that is, by what door will He come when He returns?), alludes to his prophecy, "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh . . . behold the Judge standeth before the door" ( Jas 5:8, 9). Heb 13:7 probably refers to the martyrdom of James, who had been so long bishop over the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem, "Remember them which have (rather, 'had') the rule (spiritually) over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation."
His inspiration as an apostle is expressly referred to in Ac 15:19, 28, "My sentence is," &c.: "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us," &c. His episcopal authority is implied in the deference paid to him by Peter and Paul ( Ac 12:17; 21:18; Ga 1:19; 2:9). The Lord had appeared specially to him after the resurrection ( 1Co 15:7). Peter in his First Epistle (universally from the first received as canonical) tacitly confirms the inspiration of James's Epistle, by incorporating with his own inspired writings no less than ten passages from James. The "apostle of the circumcision," Peter, and the first bishop of Jerusalem, would naturally have much in common. Compare Jas 1:1 with 1Pe 1:1; Jas 1:2 with 1Pe 1:6; 4:12, 13; Jas 1:11 with 1Pe 1:24; Jas 1:18 with 1Pe 1:3; Jas 2:7 with 1Pe 4:14; Jas 3:13 with 1Pe 2:12; Jas 4:1 with 1Pe 2:11; Jas 4:6 with 1Pe 5:5, 6; Jas 4:7 with 1Pe 5:6, 9; Jas 4:10 with 1Pe 5:6; Jas 5:20 with 1Pe 4:6. Its being written in the purest Greek shows it was intended not only for the Jews at Jerusalem, but also for the Hellenistic, that is, Greek-speaking, Jews.
The style is close, curt, and sententious, gnome following after gnome. A Hebraic character pervades the Epistle, as appears in the occasional poetic parallelisms ( Jas 3:1-12). Compare "assembly": Greek, "synagogue," Jas 2:2, Margin. The images are analogical arguments, combining at once logic and poetry. Eloquence and persuasiveness are prominent characteristics.
The similarity to Matthew, the most Hebrew of the Gospels, is just what we might expect from the bishop of Jerusalem writing to Israelites. In it the higher spirit of Christianity is seen putting the Jewish law in its proper place. The law is enforced in its everlasting spirit, not in the letter for which the Jews were so zealous. The doctrines of grace, the distinguishing features of Paul's teaching to the Hellenists and Gentiles, are less prominent as being already taught by that apostle. James complements Paul's teaching, and shows to the Jewish Christians who still kept the legal ordinances down to the fall of Jerusalem, the spiritual principle of the law, namely, love manifested in obedience. To sketch "the perfect man" continuing in the Gospel law of liberty, is his theme.
Jas 1:1-27. INSCRIPTION: EXHORTATION ON HEARING, SPEAKING, AND WRATH.
The last subject is discussed in Jas 3:13-4:17.
1. James--an apostle of the circumcision, with Peter and
John, James in Jerusalem, Palestine, and Syria; Peter in
Babylon and the East; John in Ephesus and Asia Minor. Peter
addresses the dispersed Jews of Pontus, Galatia, and
Cappadocia; James, the Israelites of the twelve
tribes scattered abroad.
servant of God--not that he was not an
apostle; for Paul, an apostle, also calls himself
so; but as addressing the Israelites generally, including
even indirectly the unbelieving, he in humility omits the
title "apostle"; so Paul in writing to the
Hebrews; similarly Jude, an apostle, in his General
Epistle.
Jesus Christ--not mentioned again save
in
Jas 2:1; not at all in his speeches (
Ac 15:14, 15; 21:20, 21), lest his introducing the name
of Jesus oftener should seem to arise from vanity, as being
"the Lord's brother" [BENGEL]. His teaching
being practical, rather than doctrinal, required less
frequent mention of Christ's name.
scattered abroad--literally
"which are in the dispersion." The dispersion of
the Israelites, and their connection with Jerusalem as a
center of religion, was a divinely ordered means of
propagating Christianity. The pilgrim troops of the law
became caravans of the Gospel [WORDSWORTH].
greeting--found in no other Christian
letter, but in James and the Jerusalem Synod's Epistle
to the Gentile churches; an undesigned coincidence and mark
or genuineness. In the original Greek
(chairein) for "greeting," there is a
connection with the "joy" to which they are
exhorted amidst their existing distresses from poverty and
consequent oppression. Compare
Ro 15:26, which alludes to their poverty.
2. My brethren--a phrase often found in James, marking
community of nation and of faith.
all joy--cause for the highest joy
[GROTIUS]. Nothing but joy [PISCATOR]. Count all
"divers temptations" to be each matter of
joy [BENGEL].
fall into--unexpectedly, so as to be
encompassed by them (so the original
Greek).
temptations--not in the limited sense
of allurements to sin, but trials or distresses of
any kind which test and purify the Christian character.
Compare "tempt," that is, try,
Ge 22:1. Some of those to whom James writes were
"sick," or otherwise "afflicted" (
Jas 5:13). Every possible trial to the child of God is
a masterpiece of strategy of the Captain of his salvation
for his good.
3. the trying--the testing or proving of your
faith, namely, by "divers temptations." Compare
Ro 5:3, tribulation worketh patience, and
patience experience (in the original dokime,
akin to dokimion, "trying," here; there it
is experience: here the "trying" or
testing, whence experience flows).
patience--The original implies more;
persevering endurance and continuance
(compare
Lu 8:15).
4. Let endurance have a perfect work (taken out of
the previous "worketh patience" or
endurance), that is, have its full effect, by
showing the most perfect degree of endurance, namely,
"joy in bearing the cross" [MENOCHIUS], and
enduring to the end (
Mt 10:22) [CALVIN].
ye may be perfect--fully developed in
all the attributes of a Christian character. For this there
is required "joy" [BENGEL], as part of the
"perfect work" of probation. The work of God in a
man is the man. If God's teachings by patience have had
a perfect work in you, you are perfect
[ALFORD].
entire--that which has all its
parts complete, wanting no integral part;
1Th 5:23, "your whole (literally,
'entire') spirit, soul, and body"; as
"perfect" implies without a blemish in its
parts.
5. English Version omits "But," which the
Greek has, and which is important. "But (as
this perfect entireness wanting nothing is no easy
attainment) if any," &c.
lack--rather, as the Greek word
is repeated after James's manner, from
Jas 1:4, "wanting nothing," translate,
"If any of you want wisdom," namely, the
wisdom whereby ye may "count it all joy when ye fall
into divers temptations," and "let patience have
her perfect work." This "wisdom" is shown in
its effects in detail,
Jas 3:7. The highest wisdom, which governs patience
alike in poverty and riches, is described in
Jas 1:9, 10.
ask-- (
Jas 4:2).
liberally--So the Greek is
rendered by English Version. It is rendered with
simplicity,
Ro 12:8. God gives without adding aught which may take
off from the graciousness of the gift [ALFORD]. God
requires the same "simplicity" in His children
("eye . . . single,"
Mt 6:22, literally, "simple").
upbraideth not--an illustration of
God's giving simply. He gives to the humble
suppliant without upbraiding him with his past sin and
ingratitude, or his future abuse of God's goodness. The
Jews pray, "Let me not have need of the gifts of men,
whose gifts are few, but their upbraidings manifold; but
give me out of Thy large and full hand." Compare
Solomon's prayer for "wisdom," and God's
gift above what he asked, though God foresaw his future
abuse of His goodness would deserve very differently. James
has before his eye the Sermon on the Mount (see my Introduction). God hears every
true prayer and grants either the thing asked, or else
something better than it; as a good physician consults for
his patient's good better by denying something which
the latter asks not for his good, than by conceding a
temporary gratification to his hurt.
6. ask in faith--that is, the persuasion that God can and
will give. James begins and ends with faith. In the
middle of the Epistle he removes the hindrances to faith
and shows its true character [BENGEL].
wavering--between belief and unbelief.
Compare the case of the Israelites, who seemed to partly
believe in God's power, but leaned more to unbelief by
"limiting" it. On the other hand, compare
Ac 10:20; Ro 4:20 ("staggered not
. . . through unbelief," literally, as here,
"wavered not");
1Ti 2:8.
like a wave of the sea--
Isa 57:20; Eph 4:14, where the same Greek word
occurs for "tossed to and fro," as is here
translated, "driven with the wind."
driven with the wind--from
without.
tossed--from within, by its own
instability [BENGEL]. At one time cast on the shore of
faith and hope, at another rolled back into the abyss of
unbelief; at one time raised to the height of worldly
pride, at another tossed in the sands of despair and
affliction [WIESINGER].
7. For--resumed from "For" in
Jas 1:6.
that man--such a wavering
self-deceiver.
think--Real faith is something
more than a mere thinking or surmise.
anything--namely, of the things that
he prays for: he does receive many things from God, food,
raiment, &c., but these are the general gifts of His
providence: of the things specially granted in answer to
prayer, the waverer shall not receive "anything,"
much less wisdom.
8. double-minded--literally, "double-souled," the one soul directed towards God, the other to something else. The Greek favors ALFORD'S translation, "He (the waverer, Jas 1:6) is a man double-minded, unstable," &c.; or better, BEZA'S. The words in this Jas 1:8 are in apposition with "that man," Jas 1:7; thus the "us," which is not in the original, will not need to be supplied, "A man double-minded, unstable in all his ways!" The word for "double-minded" is found here and in Jas 4:8, for the first time in Greek literature. It is not a hypocrite that is meant, but a fickle, "wavering" man, as the context shows. It is opposed to the single eye ( Mt 6:22).
9, 10. Translate, "But let the brother," &c. that is, the best remedy against double-mindedness is that Christian simplicity of spirit whereby the "brother," low in outward circumstances, may "rejoice" (answering to Jas 1:2) "in that he is exalted," namely, by being accounted a son and heir of God, his very sufferings being a pledge of his coming glory and crown ( Jas 1:12), and the rich may rejoice "in that he is made low," by being stripped of his goods for Christ's sake [MENOCHIUS]; or in that he is made, by sanctified trials, lowly in spirit, which is true matter for rejoicing [GOMARUS]. The design of the Epistle is to reduce all things to an equable footing ( Jas 2:1; 5:13). The "low," rather than the "rich," is here called "the brother" [BENGEL].
10. So far as one is merely "rich" in worldly goods, "he shall pass away"; in so far as his predominant character is that of a "brother," he "abideth for ever" ( 1Jo 2:17). This view meets all ALFORD'S objections to regarding "the rich" here as a "brother" at all. To avoid making the rich a brother, he translates, "But the rich glories in his humiliation," namely, in that which is really his debasement (his rich state, Php 3:19), just as the low is told to rejoice in what is really his exaltation (his lowly state).
11. Taken from
Isa 40:6-8.
heat--rather, "the hot wind"
from the (east or) south, which scorches vegetation (
Lu 12:55). The "burning heat" of the sun is
not at its rising, but rather at noon; whereas the
scorching Kadim wind is often at sunrise (
Jon 4:8) [MIDDLETON, The Doctrine of the Greek
Article].
Mt 20:12 uses the Greek word for
"heat."
Isa 40:7, "bloweth upon it," seems to
answer to "the hot wind" here.
grace of the fashion--that is of the
external appearance.
in his ways--referring to the
burdensome extent of the rich man's devices [BENGEL].
Compare "his ways," that is, his course of life,
Jas 1:8.
12. Blessed--Compare the beatitudes in the Sermon on the
Mount (
Mt 5:4, 10, 11).
endureth temptation--not the
"falling into divers temptations" (
Jas 1:2) is the matter for "joy," but the
enduring of temptation "unto the end."
Compare
Job 5:17.
when he is tried--literally,
"when he has become tested" or
"approved," when he has passed through the
"trying" (
Jas 1:3), his "faith" having finally gained
the victory.
the crown--not in allusion to the
crown or garland given to winners in the games; for this,
though a natural allusion for Paul in writing to the
heathen, among whom such games existed, would be less
appropriate for James in addressing the Jewish Christians,
who regarded Gentile usages with aversion.
of life--"life" constitutes
the crown, literally, the life, the only true life,
the highest and eternal life. The crown implies a
kingdom (
Ps 21:3).
the Lord--not found in the best
manuscripts and versions. The believer's heart fills up
the omission, without the name needing to be mentioned. The
"faithful One who promised" (
Heb 10:23).
to them that love him--In
2Ti 4:8, "the crown of righteousness to them that
love His appearing." Love produces patient
endurance: none attest their love more than they who
suffer for Him.
13. when . . . tempted--tried by solicitation
to evil. Heretofore the "temptation" meant
was that of probation by afflictions. Let no one
fancy that God lays upon him an inevitable necessity of
sinning. God does not send trials on you in order to make
you worse, but to make you better (
Jas 1:16, 17). Therefore do not sink under the pressure
of evils (
1Co 10:13).
of God--by agency proceeding
from God. The Greek is not "tempted
by," but, "from," implying indirect
agency.
cannot be tempted with evil,
&c.--"Neither do any of our sins tempt God to
entice us to worse things, nor does He tempt any of His
own accord" (literally, "of Himself";
compare the antithesis,
Jas 1:18, "Of His own will He begat
us" to holiness, so far is He from tempting us of
His own will) [BENGEL]. God is said in
Ge 22:1 to have "tempted Abraham"; but there
the tempting meant is that of trying or
proving, not that of seducement. ALFORD translates
according to the ordinary sense of the Greek,
"God is unversed in evil." But as this
gives a less likely sense, English Version probably
gives the true sense; for ecclesiastical Greek often
uses words in new senses, as the exigencies of the new
truths to be taught required.
14. Every man, when tempted, is so through being drawn away
of (again here, as in
Jas 1:13, the Greek for "of" expresses
the actual source, rather than the agent of
temptation) his own lust. The cause of sin is in ourselves.
Even Satan's suggestions do not endanger us before they
are made our own. Each one has his own
peculiar (so the Greek) lust, arising from his
own temperament and habit. Lust flows from the original
birth-sin in man, inherited from Adam.
drawn away--the beginning step
in temptation: drawn away from truth and virtue.
enticed--literally, "taken with a
bait," as fish are. The further progress: the
man allowing himself (as the Greek middle
voice implies) to be enticed to evil [BENGEL].
"Lust" is here personified as the harlot that
allures the man.
15. The guilty union is committed by the will embracing the temptress. "Lust," the harlot, then, "brings forth sin," namely, of that kind to which the temptation inclines. Then the particular sin (so the Greek implies), "when it is completed, brings forth death," with which it was all along pregnant [ALFORD]. This "death" stands in striking contrast to the "crown of life" ( Jas 1:12) which "patience" or endurance ends in, when it has its "perfect work" ( Jas 1:4). He who will fight Satan with Satan's own weapons, must not wonder if he finds himself overmatched. Nip sin in the bud of lust.
16. Do not err in attributing to God temptation to evil; nay (as he proceeds to show), "every good," all that is good on earth, comes from God.
17. gift . . . gift--not the same words in
Greek: the first, the act of giving, or the gift
in its initiatory stage; the second, the thing
given, the boon, when perfected. As the "good
gift" stands in contrast to "sin" in its
initiatory stage (
Jas 1:15), so the "perfect boon" is in
contrast to "sin when it is finished," bringing
forth death (
2Pe 1:3).
from above--(Compare
Jas 3:15).
Father of lights--Creator of the
lights in heaven (compare
Job 38:28 [ALFORD];
Ge 4:20, 21; Heb 12:9). This accords with the reference
to the changes in the light of the heavenly bodies alluded
to in the end of the verse. Also, Father of the spiritual
lights in the kingdom of grace and glory [BENGEL]. These
were typified by the supernatural lights on the breastplate
of the high priest, the Urim. As "God is light, and in
Him is no darkness at all" (
1Jo 1:5), He cannot in any way be the Author of sin (
Jas 1:13), which is darkness (
Joh 3:19).
no variableness . . . shadow
of turning-- (
Mal 3:6). None of the alternations of light and shadow
which the physical "lights" undergo, and which
even the spiritual lights are liable to, as compared with
God. "Shadow of turning," literally, the dark
"shadow-mark" cast from one of the
heavenly bodies, arising from its "turning" or
revolution, for example, when the moon is eclipsed by the
shadow of the earth, and the sun by the body of the moon. B
ENGEL makes a climax, "no variation--not even the
shadow of a turning"; the former denoting a change in
the understanding; the latter, in the will.
18. (
Joh 1:13). The believer's regeneration is the
highest example of nothing but good proceeding from
God.
Of his own will--Of his own good
pleasure (which shows that it is God's essential nature
to do good, not evil), not induced by any external
cause.
begat he us--spiritually: a
once-for-all accomplished act (
1Pe 1:3, 23). In contrast to "lust when it hath
conceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin
. . . death" (
Jas 1:15). Life follows naturally in connection
with light (
Jas 1:17).
word of truth--the Gospel. The
objective mean, as faith is the appropriating mean
of regeneration by the Holy Spirit as the efficient
agent.
a kind of first-fruits--Christ is, in
respect to the resurrection, "the first-fruits"
(
1Co 15:20, 23): believers, in respect to regeneration,
are, as it were, first-fruits (image from the
consecration of the first-born of man, cattle, and fruits
to God; familiar to the Jews addressed), that is, they are
the first of God's regenerated creatures, and the
pledge of the ultimate regeneration of the creation,
Ro 8:19, 23, where also the Spirit, the divine agent of
the believer's regeneration, is termed "the
first-fruits," that is, the earnest that the
regeneration now begun in the soul, shall at last extend to
the body too, and to the lower parts of creation. Of all
God's visible creatures, believers are the noblest
part, and like the legal "first-fruits," sanctify
the rest; for this reason they are much tried now.
19. Wherefore--as your evil is of yourselves, but your good
from God. However, the oldest manuscripts and versions read
thus: "YE KNOW IT (so
Eph 5:5; Heb 12:17), my beloved brethren; BUT
(consequently) let every man be swift to hear," that
is, docile in receiving "the word of truth" (
Jas 1:18, 21). The true method of hearing is treated in
Jas 1:21-27, and Jas 2:1-26.
slow to speak-- (
Pr 10:19; 17:27, 28; Ec 5:2). A good way of escaping
one kind of temptation arising from ourselves (
Jas 1:13). Slow to speak authoritatively as a master or
teacher of others (compare
Jas 3:1): a common Jewish fault: slow also to speak
such hasty things of God, as in
Jas 1:13. Two ears are given to us, the rabbis observe,
but only one tongue: the ears are open and exposed, whereas
the tongue is walled in behind the teeth.
slow to wrath-- (
Jas 3:13, 14; 4:5). Slow in becoming heated by debate:
another Jewish fault (
Ro 2:8), to which much speaking tends. TITTMANN
thinks not so much "wrath" is meant, as an
indignant feeling of fretfulness under the
calamities to which the whole of human life is exposed;
this accords with the "divers temptations" in
Jas 1:2. Hastiness of temper hinders hearing God's
word; so Naaman,
2Ki 5:11; Lu 4:28.
20. Man's angry zeal in debating, as if jealous for the honor of God's righteousness, is far from working that which is really righteousness in God's sight. True "righteousness is sown in peace," not in wrath ( Jas 3:18). The oldest and best reading means "worketh," that is, practiceth not: the received reading is "worketh," produceth not.
21. lay apart--"once for all" (so the
Greek): as a filthy garment. Compare Joshua's
filthy garments,
Zec 3:3, 5; Re 7:14. "Filthiness" is cleansed
away by hearing the word (
Joh 15:3).
superfluity of
naughtiness--excess (for instance, the
intemperate spirit implied in "wrath,"
Jas 1:19, 20), which arises from malice (our
natural, evil disposition towards one another).
1Pe 2:1 has the very same words in the Greek. So
"malice" is the translation,
Eph 4:31; Col 3:8. "Faulty excess"
[BENGEL] is not strong enough. Superfluous excess in
speaking is also reprobated as "coming of
evil" (the Greek is akin to the word for
"naughtiness" here) in the Sermon on the Mount
(
Mt 5:37), with which James' Epistle is so
connected.
with meekness--in mildness
towards one another [ALFORD], the opposite to
"wrath" (
Jas 1:20): answering to "as new-born babes"
(
1Pe 2:2). Meekness, I think, includes also a
childlike, docile, humble, as well as an
uncontentious, spirit (
Ps 25:9; 45:4; Isa 66:2; Mt 5:5; 11:28-30; 18:3, 4;
contrast
Ro 2:8). On "receive," applied to ground
receiving seed, compare
Mr 4:20. Contrast
Ac 17:11; 1Th 1:6 with 2Th 2:10.
engrafted word--the Gospel
word, whose proper attribute is to be engrafted
by the Holy Spirit, so as to be livingly incorporated with
the believer, as the fruitful shoot is with the wild
natural stock on which it is engrafted. The law came to man
only from without, and admonished him of his duty. The
Gospel is engrafted inwardly, and so fulfils the
ultimate design of the law (
De 6:6; 11:18; Ps 119:11). ALFORD translates, "The
implanted word," referring to the parable of
the sower (
Mt 13:1-23). I prefer English Version.
able to save--a strong incentive to
correct our dulness in hearing the word: that word which we
hear so carelessly, is able (instrumentally) to save us
[CALVIN].
souls--your true selves, for the
"body" is now liable to sickness and death: but
the soul being now saved, both soul and body at last shall
be so (
Jas 5:15, 20).
22. Qualification of the precept, "Be swift to
hear": "Be ye doers . . . not
hearers only"; not merely "Do the
word," but "Be doers" systematically
and continually, as if this was your regular business.
James here again refers to the Sermon on the Mount (
Mt 7:21-29).
deceiving your own selves--by the
logical fallacy (the Greek implies this) that the
mere hearing is all that is needed.
23. For--the logical self-deceit (
Jas 1:22) illustrated.
not a doer--more literally, "a
notdoer" [ALFORD]. The true disciple, say the rabbis,
learns in order that he may do, not in order that he may
merely know or teach.
his natural face--literally, "the
countenance of his birth": the face he was born with.
As a man may behold his natural face in a mirror, so
the hearer may perceive his moral visage in
God's Word. This faithful portraiture of man's soul
in Scripture, is the strongest proof of the truth of the
latter. In it, too, we see mirrored God's glory, as
well as our natural vileness.
24. beholdeth--more literally, "he contemplated
himself and hath gone his way," that is, no
sooner has he contemplated his image than he is gone his
way (
Jas 1:11). "Contemplate" answers to hearing
the word: "goeth his way," to relaxing the
attention after hearing--letting the mind go elsewhere, and
the interest of the thing heard pass away: then
forgetfulness follows [ALFORD] (Compare
Eze 33:31). "Contemplate" here, and in
Jas 1:23, implies that, though cursory, yet some
knowledge of one's self, at least for the time, is
imparted in hearing the word (
1Co 14:24).
and . . . and--The
repetition expresses hastiness joined with levity
[BENGEL].
forgetteth what manner of man he
was--in the mirror. Forgetfulness is no excuse (
Jas 1:25; 2Pe 1:9).
25. looketh into--literally, "stoopeth down to take a
close look into." Peers into: stronger than
"beholdeth," or "contemplated,"
Jas 1:24. A blessed curiosity if it be efficacious in
bearing fruit [BENGEL].
perfect law of liberty--the Gospel
rule of life, perfect and perfecting (as shown in the
Sermon on the Mount,
Mt 5:48), and making us truly walk at liberty (
Ps 119:32, Church of England Prayer Book
Version). Christians are to aim at a higher standard of
holiness than was generally understood under the law. The
principle of love takes the place of the letter of
the law, so that by the Spirit they are free from the yoke
of sin, and free to obey by spontaneous instinct (
Jas 2:8, 10, 12; Joh 8:31-36; 15:14, 15; compare
1Co 7:22; Ga 5:1, 13; 1Pe 2:16). The law is thus not
made void, but fulfilled.
continueth therein--contrasted with
"goeth his way,"
Jas 1:24, continues both looking into the mirror
of God's word, and doing its precepts.
doer of the work--rather, "a doer
of work" [ALFORD], an actual worker.
blessed in his deed--rather, "in
his doing"; in the very doing there is
blessedness (
Ps 19:11).
26, 27. An example of doing work.
religious . . .
religion--The Greek expresses the external
service or exercise of religion,
"godliness" being the internal soul of it.
"If any man think himself to be (so the
Greek) religious, that is, observant of the offices
of religion, let him know these consist not so much in
outward observances, as in such acts of mercy and humble
piety (
Mic 6:7, 8) as visiting the fatherless, &c.,
and keeping one's self unspotted from the
world" (
Mt 23:23). James does not mean that these
offices are the great essentials, or sum total of
religion; but that, whereas the law service was merely
ceremonial, the very services of the Gospel consist
in acts of mercy and holiness, and it has light for its
garment, its very robe being righteousness
[TRENCH]. The Greek word is only found in
Ac 26:5, "after the straitest sect of our
religion I lived a Pharisee."
Col 2:18, "worshipping of
angels."
bridleth not . . .
tongue--Discretion in speech is better than fluency of
speech (compare
Jas 3:2, 3). Compare
Ps 39:1. God alone can enable us to do so. James, in
treating of the law, naturally notices this sin. For they
who are free from grosser sins, and even bear the outward
show of sanctity, will often exalt themselves by detracting
others under the pretense of zeal, while their real motive
is love of evil-speaking [CALVIN].
heart--It and the tongue act and react
on one another.
27. Pure . . . and undefiled--"Pure" is
that love which has in it no foreign admixture, as
self-deceit and hypocrisy. "Undefiled" is the
means of its being "pure" [TITTMANN].
"Pure" expresses the positive,
"undefiled" the negative side of religious
service; just as visiting the fatherless and widow
is the active, keeping himself unspotted from the
world, the passive side of religious duty. This is the
nobler shape that our religious exercises take, instead of
the ceremonial offices of the law.
before God and the Father--literally,
"before Him who is (our) God and Father." God is
so called to imply that if we would be like our Father, it
is not by fasting, &c., for He does none of these
things, but in being "merciful as our Father is
merciful" [CHRYSOSTOM].
visit--in sympathy and kind offices to
alleviate their distresses.
the fatherless--whose
"Father" is God (
Ps 68:5); peculiarly helpless.
and--not in the Greek; so close
is the connection between active works of mercy to others,
and the maintenance of personal unworldliness of spirit,
word, and deed; no copula therefore is needed. Religion in
its rise interests us about ourselves in its
progress, about our fellow creatures: in its highest
stage, about the honor of God.
keep himself--with jealous
watchfulness, at the same time praying and depending on God
as alone able to keep us (
Joh 17:15; Jude 24).
Jas 2:1-26. THE SIN OF RESPECT OF PERSONS: DEAD, UNWORKING FAITH SAVES NO MAN.
James illustrates "the perfect law of liberty" ( Jas 1:25) in one particular instance of a sin against it, concluding with a reference again to that law ( Jas 2:12, 13).
1. brethren--The equality of all Christians as
"brethren," forms the groundwork of the
admonition.
the faith of . . .
Christ--that is, the Christian faith. James grounds
Christian practice on Christian faith.
the Lord of glory--So
1Co 2:8. As all believers, alike rich and poor, derive
all their glory from their union with Him, "the Lord
of glory," not from external advantages of worldly
fortune, the sin in question is peculiarly inconsistent
with His "faith." BENGEL, making no ellipsis of
"the Lord," explains "glory" as in
apposition with Christ who is THE GLORY (
Lu 2:32); the true Shekinah glory of the temple (
Ro 9:4). English Version is simpler. The glory
of Christ resting on the poor believer should make him be
regarded as highly by "brethren" as his richer
brother; nay, more so, if the poor believer has more of
Christ's spirit than the rich brother.
with respect of persons--literally,
"in respectings of persons";
"in" the practice of partial preferences of
persons in various ways and on various occasions.
2, 3. "If there chance to have come"
[ALFORD].
assembly--literally,
"synagogue"; this, the latest honorable use, and
the only Christian use of the term in the New
Testament, occurs in James's Epistle, the apostle who
maintained to the latest possible moment the bonds between
the Jewish synagogue and the Christian Church. Soon the
continued resistance of the truth by the Jews led
Christians to leave the term to them exclusively (
Re 3:9). The "synagogue" implies a mere
assembly or congregation not necessarily united by any
common tie. "Church," a people bound together by
mutual ties and laws, though often it may happen that the
members are not assembled [TRENCH and V ITRINGA]. Partly
from James' Hebrew tendencies, partly from the Jewish
Christian churches retaining most of the Jewish forms, this
term "synagogue" is used here instead of the
Christian term "Church" (ecclesia, derived
from a root, "called out," implying the union of
its members in spiritual bonds, independent of space, and
called out into separation from the world); an undesigned
coincidence and mark of truth. The people in the Jewish
synagogue sat according to their rank, those of the same
trade together. The introduction of this custom into Jewish
Christian places of worship is here reprobated by James.
Christian churches were built like the synagogues, the holy
table in the east end of the former, as the ark was in the
latter; the desk and pulpit were the chief
articles of furniture in both alike. This shows the error
of comparing the Church to the temple, and the ministry to
the priesthood; the temple is represented by the whole body
of worshippers; the church building was formed on the model
of the synagogue. See VITRINGA [Synagogue and
Temple].
goodly apparel . . . gay
clothing--As the Greek, is the same in both,
translate both alike, "gay," or "splendid
clothing."
3. have respect to him, &c.--though ye know not who he
is, when perhaps he may be a heathen. It was the office of
the deacons to direct to a seat the members of the
congregation [CLEMENT OF ROME, Apostolical
Constitutions, 2.57, 58].
unto him--not in the best manuscripts.
Thus "thou" becomes more demonstratively
emphatic.
there--at a distance from where the
good seats are.
here--near the speaker.
under my footstool--not literally so;
but on the ground, down by my footstool. The poor man must
either stand, or if he sits, sit in a
degrading position. The speaker has a footstool as well as
a good seat.
4. Are ye not . . . partial--literally,
"Have ye not made distinctions" or
"differences" (so as to prefer one to another)?
So in
Jude 22.
in yourselves--in your minds, that is,
according to your carnal inclination [GROTIUS].
are become judges of evil
thoughts--The Greek words for "judges" and
for "partial," are akin in sound and meaning. A
similar translation ought therefore to be given to both.
Thus, either for "judges," &c. translate,
"distinguishers of (that is, according
to your) evil thoughts"; or, do ye not
partially judge between men, and are become
evilly-thinking judges (
Mr 7:21)? The "evil thoughts" are in the
judges themselves; as in
Lu 18:6, the Greek, "judge of
injustice," is translated, "unjust judge."
ALFORD and WAHL translate, "Did ye not
doubt" (respecting your faith, which is
inconsistent with the distinctions made by you between rich
and poor)? For the Greek constantly means
"doubt" in all the New Testament. So in
Jas 1:6, "wavering."
Mt 21:21; Ac 10:20; Ro 4:20, "staggered not."
The same play on the same kindred words occurs in the
Greek of
Ro 14:10, 23, "judge . . .
doubteth." The same blame of being a judge, when one
ought to be an obeyer, of the law is found in
Jas 4:11.
5. Hearken--James brings to trial the
self-constituted "judges" (
Jas 2:4).
poor of this world--The best
manuscripts read, "those poor in respect to the
world." In contrast to "the rich in this
world" (
1Ti 6:17). Not of course all the poor; but the
poor, as a class, furnish more believers than the
rich as a class. The rich, if a believer, renounces riches
as his portion; the poor, if an unbeliever, neglects that
which is the peculiar advantage of poverty (
Mt 5:3; 1Co 1:26, 27, 28).
rich in faith--Their riches
consist in faith.
Lu 12:21, "rich toward God."
1Ti 6:18, "rich in good works" (
Re 2:9; compare
2Co 8:9). Christ's poverty is the source of the
believer's riches.
kingdom . . . promised-- (
Lu 12:32; 1Co 2:9; 2Ti 4:8).
6. The world's judgment of the poor contrasted with
God's.
ye--Christians, from whom better
things might have been expected; there is no marvel that
men of the world do so.
despised--literally,
"dishonored." To dishonor the poor is to dishonor
those whom God honors, and so to invert the order of God
[CALVIN].
rich--as a class.
oppress--literally, "abuse their
power against" you.
draw you--Translate, "is it not
they (those very persons whom ye partially prefer,
Jas 2:1-4) that drag you (namely, with
violence)" [ALFORD].
before . . . judgment
seats--instituting persecutions for religion, as well as
oppressive lawsuits, against you.
7. "Is it not they that blaspheme?" &c. as in
Jas 2:6 [ALFORD]. Rich heathen must here chiefly be
meant; for none others would directly blaspheme the name of
Christ. Only indirectly rich Christians can be
meant, who, by their inconsistency, caused His name
to be blasphemed; so
Eze 36:21, 22; Ro 2:24. Besides, there were few rich
Jewish Christians at Jerusalem (
Ro 15:26). They who dishonor God's name by wilful
and habitual sin, "take (or bear) the
Lord's name in vain" (compare
Pr 30:9, with Ex 20:7).
that worthy name--which is "good
before the Lord's saints" (
Ps 52:9; 54:6); which ye pray may be
"hallowed" (
Mt 6:9), and "by which ye are called,"
literally, "which was invoked" or, "called
upon by you" (compare
Ge 48:16; Isa 4:1, Margin;
Ac 15:17), so that at your baptism "into
the name" (so the Greek,
Mt 28:19) of Christ, ye became Christ's people (
1Co 3:23).
8. The Greek may be translated, "If,
however, ye fulfil," &c., that is, as ALFORD,
after E STIUS, explains, "Still I do not say,
hate the rich (for their oppressions) and drive them from
your assemblies; if you choose to observe the royal law
. . . well and good; but respect of persons is a
breach of that law." I think the translation is,
"If in very deed (or 'indeed on the one
hand') ye fulfil the royal law . . . ye
do well, but if (on the other hand) ye respect persons, ye
practice sin." The Jewish Christians boasted of, and
rested in, the "law" (
Ac 15:1; 21:18-24; Ro 2:17; Ga 2:12). To this the
"indeed" alludes. "(Ye rest in the law): If
indeed (then) ye fulfil it, ye do well; but
if," &c.
royal--the law that is king of all
laws, being the sum and essence of the ten commandments.
The great King, God, is love; His law is the royal law of
love, and that law, like Himself, reigns supreme. He
"is no respecter of persons"; therefore to
respect persons is at variance with Him and His royal law,
which is at once a law of love and of liberty (
Jas 2:12). The law is the "whole"; "the
(particular) Scripture" (
Le 19:18) quoted is a part. To break a part is to break
the whole (
Jas 2:10).
ye do well--being "blessed in
your deed" ("doing," Margin) as a
doer, not a forgetful hearer of the law (
Jas 1:25).
9. Respect of persons violates the command to
love all alike "as thyself."
ye commit sin--literally, "ye
work sin,"
Mt 7:23, to which the reference here is probably, as in
Jas 1:22. Your works are sin, whatever boast of
the law ye make in words (see on Jas
2:8).
convinced--Old English for
"convicted."
as transgressors--not merely of this
or that particular command, but of the whole absolutely.
10. The best manuscripts read, "Whosoever shall have kept the whole law, and yet shall have offended (literally, 'stumbled'; not so strong as 'fall,' Ro 11:11) in one (point; here, the respecting of persons), is (hereby) become guilty of all." The law is one seamless garment which is rent if you but rend a part; or a musical harmony which is spoiled if there be one discordant note [TIRINUS]; or a golden chain whose completeness is broken if you break one link [G ATAKER]. You thus break the whole law, though not the whole of the law, because you offend against love, which is the fulfilling of the law. If any part of a man be leprous, the whole man is judged to be a leper. God requires perfect, not partial, obedience. We are not to choose out parts of the law to keep, which suit our whim, while we neglect others.
11. He is One who gave the whole law; therefore, they who
violate His will in one point, violate it all [BENGEL]. The
law and its Author alike have a complete unity.
adultery . . .
kill--selected as being the most glaring cases of violation
of duty towards one's neighbor.
12. Summing up of the previous reasonings.
speak--referring back to
Jas 1:19, 26; the fuller discussion of the topic is
given
Jas 3:5-12.
judged by the law of liberty-- (
Jas 1:25); that is, the Gospel law of love, which is
not a law of external constraint, but of internal,
free, instinctive inclination. The law of liberty,
through God's mercy, frees us from the curse of the
law, that henceforth we should be free to love and obey
willingly. If we will not in turn practice the law of love
to our neighbor, that law of grace condemns us still more
heavily than the old law, which spake nothing but wrath to
him who offended in the least particular (
Jas 2:13). Compare
Mt 18:32-35; Joh 12:48; Re 6:16, "Wrath of the
(merciful) Lamb."
13. The converse of, "Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall obtain mercy" (
Mt 5:7). Translate, "The judgment (which is
coming on all of us) shall be without mercy to him who hath
showed no mercy." It shall be such toward every one as
every one shall have been [BENGEL]. "Mercy" here
corresponds to "love,"
Jas 2:8.
mercy rejoiceth against
judgment--Mercy, so far from fearing judgment in the case
of its followers, actually glorifieth against it,
knowing that it cannot condemn them. Not that their
mercy is the ground of their acquittal, but the mercy of
God in Christ towards them, producing mercy on their part
towards their fellow men, makes them to triumph over
judgment, which all in themselves otherwise deserve.
14. James here, passing from the particular case of
"mercy" or "love" violated by
"respect of persons," notwithstanding profession
of the "faith of our Lord Jesus" (
Jas 2:1), combats the Jewish tendency (transplanted
into their Christianity) to substitute a lifeless,
inoperative acquaintance with the letter of the law, for
change of heart to practical holiness, as if justification
could be thereby attained (
Ro 2:3, 13, 23). It seems hardly likely but that James
had seen Paul's Epistles, considering that he uses the
same phrases and examples (compare
Jas 2:21, 23, 25, with Ro 4:3; Heb 11:17, 31; and
Jas 2:14, 24, with Ro 3:28; Ga 2:16). Whether James
individually designed it or not, the Holy Spirit by him
combats not Paul, but those who abuse Paul's doctrine.
The teaching of both alike is inspired, and is therefore to
be received without wresting of words; but each has a
different class to deal with; Paul, self-justiciaries;
James, Antinomian advocates of a mere notional faith. Paul
urged as strongly as James the need of works as evidences
of faith, especially in the later Epistles, when many were
abusing the doctrine of faith (
Tit 2:14; 3:8). "Believing and doing are blood
relatives" [RUTHERFORD].
What doth it profit--literally,
"What is the profit?"
though a man say--James'
expression is not, "If a man have faith," but
"if a man say he hath faith"; referring to
a mere profession of faith, such as was usually made
at baptism. Simon Magus so "believed and was
baptized," and yet had "neither part nor lot in
this matter," for his "heart," as his words
and works evinced, was not right in the sight of God.
ALFORD wrongly denies that "say" is emphatic. The
illustration,
Jas 2:16, proves it is: "If one of you
say" to a naked brother, "Be ye warmed,
notwithstanding ye give not those things needful." The
inoperative profession of sympathy answering to the
inoperative profession of faith.
can faith save him--rather, "can
such a faith (literally, 'the faith') save
him?"--the faith you pretend to: the empty name
of boasted faith, contrasted with true fruit-producing
faith. So that which self-deceivers claim is called
"wisdom," though not true wisdom,
Jas 3:15. The "him" also in the Greek
is emphatic; the particular man who professes faith without
having the works which evidence its vitality.
15. The Greek is, "But if,"
&c.: the "But" taking up the argument against
such a one as "said he had faith, and yet had not
works," which are its fruits.
a brother, &c.--a fellow
Christian, to whom we are specially bound to give help,
independent of our general obligation to help all our
fellow creatures.
be--The Greek implies,
"be found, on your access to them."
16. The habit of receiving passively sentimental
impressions from sights of woe without carrying them out
into active habits only hardens the heart.
one of you--James brings home the case
to his hearers individually.
Depart in peace--as if all their wants
were satisfied by the mere words addressed to them. The
same words in the mouth of Christ, whose faith they said
they had, were accompanied by efficient deeds of
love.
be . . . warmed--with
clothing, instead of being as heretofore "naked"
(
Jas 2:15; Job 31:20).
filled--instead of being
"destitute of food" (
Mt 15:37).
what doth it profit--concluding with
the same question as at the beginning,
Jas 2:14. Just retribution: kind professions
unaccompanied with corresponding acts, as they are of no
"profit" to the needy object of them, so are of
no profit to the professor himself. So faith consisting in
mere profession is unacceptable to God, the object of
faith, and profitless to the possessor.
17. faith . . . being alone--ALFORD joins "is dead in itself." So BENGEL, "If the works which living faith produces have no existence, it is a proof that faith itself (literally, 'in respect to itself') has no existence; that is, that what one boasts of as faith, is dead." "Faith" is said to be "dead in itself," because when it has works it is alive, and it is discerned to be so, not in respect to its works, but in respect to itself. English Version, if retained, must not be understood to mean that faith can exist "alone" (that is, severed from works), but thus: Even so presumed faith, if it have not works, is dead, being by itself "alone," that is, severed from works of charity; just as the body would be "dead" if alone, that is, severed from the spirit ( Jas 2:26). So ESTIUS.
18. "But some one will say": so the
Greek. This verse continues the argument from
Jas 2:14, 16. One may say he has faith though he
have not works. Suppose one were to say to a naked
brother, "Be warmed," without giving him needful
clothing. "But someone (entertaining views of
the need of faith having works joined to it) will say (in
opposition to the 'say' of the
professor)."
show me thy faith without thy
works--if thou canst; but thou canst not SHOW, that is,
manifest or evidence thy alleged (
Jas 2:14, "say") faith without works.
"Show" does not mean here to prove to me,
but exhibit to me. Faith is unseen save by God. To
show faith to man, works in some form or other are
needed: we are justified judicially by God (
Ro 8:33); meritoriously, by Christ (
Isa 53:11); mediately, by faith (
Ro 5:1); evidentially, by works. The question here is
not as to the ground on which believers are
justified, but about the demonstration of their
faith: so in the case of Abraham. In
Ge 22:1 it is written, God did tempt Abraham,
that is, put to the test of demonstration the
reality of his faith, not for the satisfaction of God, who
already knew it well, but to demonstrate it before
men. The offering of Isaac at that time, quoted here,
Jas 2:21, formed no part of the ground of his
justification, for he was justified previously on his
simply believing in the promise of spiritual heirs, that
is, believers, numerous as the stars. He was then
justified: that justification was showed or
manifested by his offering Isaac forty years after. That
work of faith demonstrated, but did not contribute
to his justification. The tree shows its life by its
fruits, but it was alive before either fruits or even
leaves appeared.
19. Thou--emphatic. Thou self-deceiving claimant to faith
without works.
that there is one God--rather,
"that God is one": God's existence,
however, is also asserted. The fundamental article of the
creed of Jews and Christians alike, and the point of faith
on which especially the former boasted themselves, as
distinguishing them from the Gentiles, and hence adduced by
James here.
thou doest well--so far good. But
unless thy faith goes farther than an assent to this truth,
"the evil spirits (literally, 'demons':
'devil' is the term restricted to Satan,
their head) believe" so far in common with thee,
"and (so far from being saved by such a faith) shudder
(so the Greek),"
Mt 8:29; Lu 4:34; 2Pe 2:4; Jude 6; Re 20:10. Their
faith only adds to their torment at the thought of having
to meet Him who is to consign them to their just doom: so
thine (
Heb 10:26, 27, it is not the faith of love, but of
fear, that hath torment,
1Jo 4:18).
20. wilt thou know--"Vain" men are not
willing to know, since they have no wish to
"do" the will of God. James beseeches such a one
to lay aside his perverse unwillingness to know what
is palpable to all who are willing to do.
vain--who deceivest thyself with a
delusive hope, resting on an unreal faith.
without works--The Greek,
implies separate from the works [ALFORD] which ought
to flow from it if it were real.
is dead--Some of the best manuscripts
read, "is idle," that is, unavailing to effect
what you hope, namely, to save you.
21. Abraham . . . justified by
works--evidentially, and before men (see on
Jas 2:18). In
Jas 2:23, James, like Paul, recognizes the Scripture
truth, that it was his faith that was counted to
Abraham for righteousness in his justification before
God.
when he had offered--rather,
"when he offered" [ALFORD], that is, brought as
an offering at the altar; not implying that he actually
offered him.
22. Or, "thou seest."
how--rather, "that." In the
two clauses which follow, emphasize "faith" in
the former, and "works" in the latter, to see the
sense [BENGEL].
faith wrought with his works--for it
was by faith he offered his son. Literally,
"was working (at the time) with his works."
by works was faith made perfect--not
was vivified, but attained its fully consummated
development, and is shown to be real. So
"my strength is made perfect in weakness,"
that is, exerts itself most perfectly, shows how
great it is [CAMERON]: so
1Jo 4:17; Heb 2:10; 5:9. The germ really, from the
first, contains in it the full-grown tree, but its
perfection is not attained till it is matured fully. So
Jas 1:4, "Let patience have her perfect
work," that is, have its full effect by
showing the most perfect degree of endurance, "that ye
may be perfect," that is, fully developed in
the exhibition of the Christian character. A LFORD
explains, "Received its realization, was entirely
exemplified and filled up." So Paul,
Php 2:12, "Work out your own salvation": the
salvation was already in germ theirs in their free
justification through faith. It needed to be worked
out still to fully developed perfection in their life.
23. scripture was fulfilled--
Ge 15:6, quoted by Paul, as realized in Abraham's
justification by faith; but by James, as realized
subsequently in Abraham's work of offering
Isaac, which, he says, justified him. Plainly, then,
James must mean by works the same thing as Paul
means by faith, only that he speaks of faith at its
manifested development, whereas Paul speaks of it in its
germ. Abraham's offering of Isaac was not a mere act of
obedience, but an act of faith. Isaac was the subject of
the promises of God, that in him Abraham's seed should
be called. The same God calls on Abraham to slay the
subject of His own promise, when as yet there was no seed
in whom those predictions could be realized. Hence
James' saying that Abraham was justified by such
a work, is equivalent to saying, as Paul does, that he was
justified by faith itself; for it was in fact faith
expressed in action, as in other cases saving faith is
expressed in words. So Paul states as the mean of salvation
faith expressed. The "Scripture" would not
be "fulfilled," as James says it was, but
contradicted by any interpretation which makes man's
works justify him before God: for that Scripture
makes no mention of works at all, but says that
Abraham's belief was counted to him for
righteousness. God, in the first instance, "justifies
the ungodly" through faith; subsequently the
believer is justified before the world as righteous
through faith manifested in words and works (compare
Mt 25:35-37, "the righteous,"
Mt 25:40). The best authorities read, "But Abraham
believed," &c.
and he was called the Friend of
God--He was not so called in his lifetime, though he
was so even then from the time of his justification;
but he was called so, being recognized as such by
all on the ground of his works of faith. "He was the
friend (in an active sense), the lover of
God, in reference to his works; and (in a passive
sense) loved by God in reference to his
justification by works. Both senses are united in
Joh 15:14, 15" [BENGEL].
24. justified and, not by faith only--that is, by "faith without (separated from: severed from) works," its proper fruits (see on Jas 2:20). Faith to justify must, from the first, include obedience in germ (to be developed subsequently), though the former alone is the ground of justification. The scion must be grafted on the stock that it may live; it must bring forth fruit to prove that it does live.
25. It is clear from the nature of Rahab's act, that it
is not quoted to prove justification by works as such. She
believed assuredly what her other countrymen
disbelieved, and this in the face of every improbability
that an unwarlike few would conquer well-armed numbers. In
this belief she hid the spies at the risk of her life.
Hence
Heb 11:31 names this as an example of faith,
rather than of obedience. "By faith the
harlot Rahab perished not with them that
believed not." If an instance of obedience were
wanting. Paul and James would hardly have quoted a woman of
previously bad character, rather than the many moral and
pious patriarchs. But as an example of free grace
justifying men through an operative, as opposed to a
mere verbal faith, none could be more suitable than
a saved "harlot." As Abraham was an instance of
an illustrious man and the father of the Jews, so Rahab is
quoted as a woman, and one of abandoned character, and a
Gentile, showing that justifying faith has been manifested
in those of every class. The nature of the works alleged is
such as to prove that James uses them only as evidences
of faith, as contrasted with a mere verbal profession:
not works of charity and piety, but works the value of
which consisted solely in their being proofs of faith: they
were faith expressed in act, synonymous with faith
itself.
messengers--spies.
had received . . . had
sent--rather, "received . . . thrust them
forth" (in haste and fear) [ALFORD].
another way--from that whereby they
entered her house, namely, through the window of her house
on the wall, and thence to the mountain.
26. Faith is a spiritual thing: works are material. Hence we might expect faith to answer to the spirit, works to the body. But James reverses this. He therefore does not mean that faith in all cases answers to the body; but the FORM of faith without the working reality answers to the body without the animating spirit. It does not follow that living faith derives its life from works, as the body derives its life from the animating spirit.
Jas 3:1-18. DANGER OF EAGERNESS TO TEACH, AND OF AN UNBRIDLED TONGUE: TRUE WISDOM SHOWN BY UNCONTENTIOUS MEEKNESS.
1. be not--literally, "become not": taking the
office too hastily, and of your own accord.
many--The office is a noble one; but
few are fit for it. Few govern the tongue well (
Jas 3:2), and only such as can govern it are fit for
the office; therefore, "teachers" ought not to be
many.
masters--rather, "teachers."
The Jews were especially prone to this presumption. The
idea that faith (so called) without works (
Jas 2:14-26) was all that is required, prompted
"many" to set up as "teachers," as has
been the case in all ages of the Church. At first all were
allowed to teach in turns. Even their inspired gifts did
not prevent liability to abuse, as James here implies: much
more is this so when self-constituted teachers have no such
miraculous gifts.
knowing--as all might know.
we . . . greater
condemnation--James in a humble, conciliatory spirit,
includes himself: if we teachers abuse the office,
we shall receive greater condemnation than those who are
mere hearers (compare
Lu 12:42-46). CALVIN, like English Version,
translates, "masters" that is, self-constituted
censors and reprovers of others
Jas 4:12 accords with this view.
2. all--The Greek implies "all without
exception": even the apostles.
offend not--literally "stumbleth
not": is void of offence or "slip" in word:
in which respect one is especially tried who sets up to be
a "teacher."
3. Behold--The best authorities read, "but if," that is, Now whensoever (in the case) of horses (such is the emphatic position of "horses" in the Greek) we put the bits (so literally, "the customary bits") into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about also their whole body. This is to illustrate how man turns about his whole body with the little tongue. "The same applies to the pen, which is the substitute for the tongue among the absent" [BENGEL].
4. Not only animals, but even ships.
the governor listeth--literally,
"the impulse of the steersman pleaseth." The
feeling which moves the tongue corresponds with this.
5. boasteth great things--There is great moment in
what the careless think "little" things [BENGEL].
Compare "a world," "the course of
nature," "hell,"
Jas 3:6, which illustrate how the little tongue's
great words produce great mischief.
how great a matter a little fire
kindleth--The best manuscripts read, "how
little a fire kindleth how great a," &c.
ALFORD, for "matter," translates,
"forest." But GROTIUS translates as English
Version, "material for burning": a pile of
fuel.
6. Translate, "The tongue, that world of iniquity, is
a fire." As man's little world is an image of the
greater world, the universe, so the tongue is an image of
the former [BENGEL].
so--omitted in the oldest
authorities.
is--literally, "is
constituted." "The tongue is (constituted), among
the members, the one which defileth," &c. (namely,
as fire defiles with its smoke).
course of nature--"the orb
(cycle) of creation."
setteth on fire . . . is set
on fire--habitually and continually. While a man inflames
others, he passes out of his own power, being consumed in
the flame himself.
of hell--that is, of the devil.
Greek, "Gehenna"; found here only and in
Mt 5:22. James has much in common with the Sermon on
the Mount (
Pr 16:27).
7. every kind--rather, "every nature" (that is,
natural disposition and characteristic power).
of beasts--that is, quadrupeds of
every disposition; as distinguished from the three other
classes of creation, "birds, creeping things (the
Greek includes not merely 'serpents,' as
English Version), and things in the sea."
is tamed, and hath been--is
continually being tamed, and hath been so long ago.
of mankind--rather, "by the
nature of man": man's characteristic power taming
that of the inferior animals. The dative in the
Greek may imply, "Hath suffered itself to be
brought into tame subjection TO the nature of men." So
it shall be in the millennial world; even now man, by
gentle firmness, may tame the inferior animal, and even
elevate its nature.
8. no man--literally, "no one of men": neither
can a man control his neighbor's, nor even his own
tongue. Hence the truth of
Jas 3:2 appears.
unruly evil--The Greek, implies
that it is at once restless and incapable of
restraint. Nay, though nature has hedged it in with a
double barrier of the lips and teeth, it bursts from its
barriers to assail and ruin men [ESTIUS].
deadly--literally,
"death-bearing."
9. God--The oldest authorities read, "Lord."
"Him who is Lord and Father." The uncommonness of
the application of "Lord" to the Father,
doubtless caused the change in modern texts to
"God" (
Jas 1:27). But as Messiah is called "Father,"
Isa 9:6, so God the Father is called by the Son's
title, "Lord": showing the unity of the Godhead.
"Father" implies His paternal love;
"Lord," His dominion.
men, which--not "men
who"; for what is meant is not particular men, but
men genetically [ALFORD].
are made after . . .
similitude of God--Though in a great measure man has lost
the likeness of God in which he was originally made,
yet enough of it still remains to show what once it was,
and what in regenerated and restored man it shall be. We
ought to reverence this remnant and earnest of what man
shall be in ourselves and in others. "Absalom has
fallen from his father's favor, but the people still
recognize him to be the king's son" [BENGEL]. Man
resembles in humanity the Son of man, "the express
image of His person" (
Heb 1:3), compare
Ge 1:26; 1Jo 4:20. In the passage,
Ge 1:26, "image" and "likeness" are
distinct: "image," according to the Alexandrians,
was something in which men were created, being
common to all, and continuing to man after the fall, while
the "likeness" was something toward which
man was created, to strive after and attain it: the former
marks man's physical and intellectual, the latter his
moral pre-eminence.
10. The tongue, says ÆSOP, is at once the best and
the worst of things. So in a fable, a man with the same
breath blows hot and cold. "Life and death are in the
power of the tongue" (compare
Ps 62:4).
brethren--an appeal to their
consciences by their brotherhood in Christ.
ought not so to be--a mild appeal,
leaving it to themselves to understand that such conduct
deserves the most severe reprobation.
11. fountain--an image of the heart: as the aperture (so the Greek for "place" is literally) of the fountain is an image of man's mouth. The image here is appropriate to the scene of the Epistle, Palestine, wherein salt and bitter springs are found. Though "sweet" springs are sometimes found near, yet "sweet and bitter" (water) do not flow "at the same place" (aperture). Grace can make the same mouth that "sent forth the bitter" once, send forth the sweet for the time to come: as the wood (typical of Christ's cross) changed Marah's bitter water into sweet.
12. Transition from the mouth to the heart.
Can the fig tree, &c.--implying
that it is an impossibility: as before in
Jas 3:10 he had said it "ought not so to
be." James does not, as Matthew (
Mt 7:16, 17), make the question, "Do men gather
figs of thistles?" His argument is, No tree
"can" bring forth fruit inconsistent with its
nature, as for example, the fig tree, olive berries: so
if a man speaks bitterly, and afterwards speaks good words,
the latter must be so only seemingly, and in hypocrisy,
they cannot be real.
so can no fountain . . .
salt . . . and fresh--The oldest authorities
read, "Neither can a salt (water spring) yield
fresh." So the mouth that emits cursing, cannot really
emit also blessing.
13. Who--(Compare
Ps 34:12, 13). All wish to appear "wise": few
are so.
show--"by works," and not
merely by profession, referring to
Jas 2:18.
out of a good conversation his
works--by general "good conduct"
manifested in particular "works."
"Wisdom" and "knowledge," without these
being "shown," are as dead as faith would be
without works [ALFORD].
with meekness of wisdom--with the
meekness inseparable from true "wisdom."
14. if ye have--as is the case (this is implied in
the Greek indicative).
bitter--
Eph 4:31, "bitterness."
envying--rather,
"emulation," or literally, "zeal":
kindly, generous emulation, or zeal, is not condemned, but
that which is "bitter" [BENGEL].
strife--rather,
"rivalry."
in your hearts--from which flow your
words and deeds, as from a fountain.
glory not, and lie not against the
truth--To boast of your wisdom is virtually a lying
against the truth (the gospel), while your lives belie your
glorying.
Jas 3:15; Jas 1:18, "The word of truth."
Ro 2:17, 23, speaks similarly of the same contentious
Jewish Christians.
15. This wisdom--in which ye "glory," as if ye
were "wise" (
Jas 3:13, 14).
descendeth not from above--literally,
"is not one descending," &c.: "from the
Father of lights" (true illumination and wisdom),
Jas 1:17; through "the Spirit of truth,"
Joh 15:26.
earthly--opposed to heavenly.
Distinct from "earthy,"
1Co 15:47. Earthly is what is IN the earth;
earthy, what is of the earth.
sensual--literally,
"animal-like": the wisdom of the
"natural" (the same Greek) man, not born
again of God; "not having the Spirit" (
Jude 19).
devilish--in its origin (from
"hell,"
Jas 3:6; not from God, the Giver of true wisdom,
Jas 1:5), and also in its character, which accords with
its origin. Earthly, sensual, and devilish, answer to the
three spiritual foes of man, the world, the flesh, and the
devil.
16. envying--So English Version translates the
Greek, which usually means "zeal";
"emulation," in
Ro 13:13. "The envious man stands in his own
light. He thinks his candle cannot shine in the presence of
another's sun. He aims directly at men, obliquely at
God, who makes men to differ."
strife--rivalry [ALFORD].
confusion--literally, "tumultuous
anarchy": both in society (translated
"commotions,"
Lu 21:9; "tumults,"
2Co 6:5), and in the individual mind; in contrast to
the "peaceable" composure of true
"wisdom,"
Jas 3:17. James does not honor such effects of this
earthly wisdom with the name "fruit," as he does
in the case of the wisdom from above.
Jas 3:18; compare
Ga 5:19-22, "works of the flesh
. . . fruit of the Spirit."
17. first pure--literally, "chaste,"
"sanctified": pure from all that is
"earthly, sensual (animal), devilish" (
Jas 3:15). This is put, "first of
all," before "peaceable" because there
is an unholy peace with the world which makes no
distinction between clean and unclean. Compare
"undefiled" and "unspotted from the
world,"
Jas 1:27; 4:4, 8, "purify . . .
hearts";
1Pe 1:22, "purified . . .
souls" (the same Greek). Ministers must not
preach before a purifying change of heart,
"Peace," where there is no peace. Seven (the
perfect number) characteristic peculiarities of true wisdom
are enumerated. Purity or sanctity is put
first because it has respect both to God and to ourselves;
the six that follow regard our fellow men. Our first
concern is to have in ourselves sanctity; our second, to be
at peace with men.
gentle--"forbearing"; making
allowances for others; lenient towards neighbors, as to the
DUTIES they owe us.
easy to be entreated--literally,
"easily persuaded," tractable; not harsh as to a
neighbor's FAULTS.
full of mercy--as to a neighbor's
MISERIES.
good fruits--contrasted with
"every evil work,"
Jas 3:16.
without partiality--recurring to the
warning against partial "respect to persons,"
Jas 2:1, 4, 9. ALFORD translates as the Greek is
translated,
Jas 1:6, "wavering," "without
doubting." But thus there would be an epithet
referring to one's self inserted amidst those
referring to one's conduct towards others. English
Version is therefore better.
without hypocrisy--Not as ALFORD
explains from
Jas 1:22, 26, "Without deceiving yourselves"
with the name without the reality of religion. For it must
refer, like the rest of the six epithets, to our relations
to others; our peaceableness and mercy towards others must
be "without dissimulation."
18. "The peaceable fruit of righteousness." He
says "righteousness"; because it is itself the
true wisdom. As in the case of the earthly wisdom, after
the characteristic description came its results; so
in this verse, in the case of the heavenly wisdom. There
the results were present; here, future.
fruit . . . sown--Compare
Ps 97:11; Isa 61:3, "trees of righteousness."
Anticipatory, that is, the seed whose "fruit,"
namely, "righteousness," shall be ultimately
reaped, is now "sown in peace."
"Righteousness," now in germ, when fully
developed as "fruit" shall be itself the
everlasting reward of the righteous. As "sowing
in peace" (compare "sown in
dishonor,"
1Co 15:43) produces the "fruit of
righteousness," so conversely "the work" and
"effect of righteousness" is
"peace."
of them that make peace--"by
(implying also that it is for them, and to
their good) them that work peace." They, and they
alone, are "blessed." "Peacemakers,"
not merely they who reconcile others, but who work
peace. "Cultivate peace" [ESTIUS]. Those
truly wise towards God, while peaceable and tolerant
towards their neighbors, yet make it their chief concern to
sow righteousness, not cloaking men's sins, but
reproving them with such peaceable moderation as to be the
physicians, rather than the executioners, of sinners
[CALVIN].
Jas 4:1-17. AGAINST FIGHTINGS AND THEIR SOURCE; WORLDLY LUSTS; UNCHARITABLE JUDGMENTS, AND PRESUMPTUOUS RECKONING ON THE FUTURE.
1. whence--The cause of quarrels is often sought in
external circumstances, whereas internal lusts are the true
origin.
wars, &c.--contrasted with the
"peace" of heavenly wisdom. "Fightings"
are the active carrying on of "wars." The best
authorities have a second "whence" before
"fightings." Tumults marked the era before the
destruction of Jerusalem when James wrote. He indirectly
alludes to these. The members are the first seat of war;
thence it passes to conflict between man and man, nation
and nation.
come they not, &c.--an
appeal to their consciences.
lusts--literally,
"pleasures," that is, the lusts which prompt you
to "desire" (see on Jas
4:2) pleasures; whence you seek self at the cost
of your neighbor, and hence flow
"fightings."
that war--"campaign, as an army
of soldiers encamped within" [ALFORD] the soul;
tumultuously war against the interests of your fellow men,
while lusting to advance self. But while warring thus
against others they (without his knowledge) war against the
soul of the man himself, and against the Spirit; therefore
they must be "mortified" by the Christian.
2. Ye lust--A different Greek word from that in
Jas 4:1. "Ye desire"; literally, "ye set
your mind (or heart) on" an
object.
have not--The lust of desire does not
ensure the actual possession. Hence "ye kill"
(not as Margin, without any old authority,
"envy") to ensure possession. Not probably in the
case of professing Christians of that day in a literal
sense, but "kill and envy" (as the Greek
for "desire to have" should be translated), that
is, harass and oppress through envy [DRUSIUS]. Compare
Zec 11:5, "slay"; through envy, hate,
and desire to get out of your way, and so are
"murderers" in God's eyes [ESTIUS]. If
literal murder [ALFORD] were meant, I do not think it would
occur so early in the series; nor had Christians then as
yet reached so open criminality. In the Spirit's
application of the passage to all ages, literal
killing is included, flowing from the desire to possess
so David and Ahab. There is a climax: "Ye
desire," the individual lust for an object; "ye
kill and envy," the feeling and action of individuals
against individuals; "ye fight and war," the
action of many against many.
ye have not, because ye ask not--God
promises to those who pray, not to those who fight. The
petition of the lustful, murderous, and contentious is not
recognized by God as prayer. If ye prayed, there
would be no "wars and fightings." Thus this last
clause is an answer to the question,
Jas 4:1, "Whence come wars and fightings?"
3. Some of them are supposed to say in objection, But we do "ask" (pray); compare Jas 4:2. James replies, It is not enough to ask for good things, but we must ask with a good spirit and intention. "Ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it (your object of prayer) upon (literally, 'in') your lusts (literally, 'pleasures')"; not that ye may have the things you need for the service of God. Contrast Jas 1:5 with Mt 6:31, 32. If ye prayed aright, all your proper wants would be supplied; the improper cravings which produce "wars and fightings" would then cease. Even believers' prayers are often best answered when their desires are most opposed.
4. The oldest manuscripts omit "adulterers and,"
and read simply, "Ye adulteresses." God is the
rightful husband; the men of the world are regarded
collectively as one adulteress, and individually as
adulteresses.
the world--in so far as the men of it
and their motives and acts are aliens to God, for example,
its selfish "lusts" (
Jas 4:3), and covetous and ambitious "wars and
fightings" (
Jas 4:1).
enmity--not merely
"inimical"; a state of enmity, and that enmity
itself. Compare
1Jo 2:15, "love . . . the world
. . . the love of the Father."
whosoever . . . will be--The
Greek is emphatic, "shall be resolved to
be." Whether he succeed or not, if his wish be
to be the friend of the world, he renders himself,
becomes (so the Greek for "is") by the
very fact, "the enemy of God." Contrast
"Abraham the friend of God."
5. in vain--No word of Scripture can be so. The quotation
here, as in
Eph 5:14, seems to be not so much from a particular
passage as one gathered by James under inspiration from the
general tenor of such passages in both the Old and New
Testaments, as
Nu 14:29; Pr 21:20; Ga 5:17.
spirit that dwelleth in us--Other
manuscripts read, "that God hath made to dwell in
us" (namely, at Pentecost). If so translated,
"Does the (Holy) Spirit that God hath placed in us
lust to (towards) envy" (namely, as ye do in your
worldly "wars and fightings")? Certainly not; ye
are therefore walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit,
while ye thus lust towards, that is, with
envy against one another. The friendship of the world
tends to breed envy; the Spirit produces very
different fruit. A LFORD attributes the epithet "with
envy," in the unwarrantable sense of jealously,
to the Holy Spirit: "The Spirit jealously
desires us for His own." In English Version
the sense is, "the (natural) spirit that hath its
dwelling in us lusts with (literally, 'to,' or
'towards') envy." Ye lust, and because ye have
not what ye lust after (
Jas 4:1, 2), ye envy your neighbor who has, and so the
spirit of envy leads you on to "fight."
James also here refers to
Jas 3:14, 16.
6. But--"Nay, rather."
he--God.
giveth more grace--ever increasing
grace; the farther ye depart from "envy"
[BENGEL].
he saith--The same God who causes His
spirit to dwell in believers (
Jas 4:5), by the Spirit also speaks in Scripture. The
quotation here is probably from
Pr 3:34; as probably
Pr 21:10 was generally referred to in
Jas 4:5. In Hebrew it is "scorneth the
scorners," namely, those who think "Scripture
speaketh in vain."
resisteth--literally, "setteth
Himself in array against"; even as they, like Pharaoh,
set themselves against Him. God repays sinners in their own
coin. "Pride" is the mother of "envy"
(
Jas 4:5); it is peculiarly satanic, for by it Satan
fell.
the proud--The Greek means in
derivation one who shows himself above his fellows,
and so lifts himself against God.
the humble--the unenvious, uncovetous,
and unambitious as to the world. Contrast
Jas 4:4.
7. Submit to . . . God--so ye shall be among
"the humble,"
Jas 4:6; also
Jas 4:10; 1Pe 5:6.
Resist . . . devil--Under
his banner pride and envy are enlisted in the
world; resist his temptations to these. Faith, humble
prayers, and heavenly wisdom, are the weapons of
resistance. The language is taken from warfare.
"Submit" as a good soldier puts himself in
complete subjection to his captain. "Resist,"
stand bravely against.
he will flee--Translate, "he
shall flee." For it is a promise of God, not a
mere assurance from man to man [ALFORD]. He shall flee
worsted as he did from Christ.
8. Draw nigh to God--So "cleave unto Him,"
De 30:20, namely, by prayerfully (
Jas 4:2, 3) "resisting Satan," who would
oppose our access to God.
he will draw nigh--propitious.
Cleanse . . . hands--the
outward instruments of action. None but the clean-handed
can ascend into the hill of the Lord (justified through
Christ, who alone was perfectly so, and as such
"ascended" thither).
purify . . .
hearts--literally "make chaste" of your spiritual
adultery (
Jas 4:4, that is, worldliness) "your hearts":
the inward source of all impurity.
double-minded--divided between God and
the world. The "double-minded" is at fault in
heart; the sinner in his hands likewise.
9. Be afflicted--literally, "Endure misery," that
is, mourn over your wretchedness through sin. Repent
with deep sorrow instead of your present laughter. A
blessed mourning. Contrast
Isa 22:12, 13; Lu 6:25. James does not add here, as in
Jas 5:1, "howl," where he foretells the
doom of the impenitent at the coming destruction of
Jerusalem.
heaviness--literally, "falling of
the countenance," casting down of the eyes.
10. in the sight of the Lord--as continually in the
presence of Him who alone is worthy to be exalted:
recognizing His presence in all your ways, the truest
incentive to humility. The tree, to grow upwards,
must strike its roots deep downwards; so man, to be
exalted, must have his mind deep-rooted in humility. In
1Pe 5:6, it is, Humble yourselves under the mighty hand
of God, namely, in His dealings of Providence: a distinct
thought from that here.
lift you up--in part in this world,
fully in the world to come.
11. Having mentioned sins of the tongue (
Jas 3:5-12), he shows here that evil-speaking
flows from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense
of one's neighbor as caused the "fightings"
reprobated in this chapter (
Jas 4:1).
Speak not evil--literally, "Speak
not against" one another.
brethren--implying the inconsistency
of such depreciatory speaking of one another in
brethren.
speaketh evil of the law--for the law
in commanding, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (
Jas 2:8), virtually condemns evil-speaking and judging
[ESTIUS]. Those who superciliously condemn the acts and
words of others which do not please themselves, thus aiming
at the reputation of sanctity, put their own moroseness in
the place of the law, and claim to themselves a power of
censuring above the law of God, condemning what the law
permits [CALVIN]. Such a one acts as though the law could
not perform its own office of judging, but he must
fly upon the office [B ENGEL]. This is the last mention of
the law in the New Testament. ALFORD rightly takes the
"law" to be the old moral law applied in its
comprehensive spiritual fulness by Christ: "the law of
liberty."
if thou judge the law, thou art not a
doer . . . but a judge--Setting aside the
Christian brotherhood as all alike called to be
doers of the law, in subjection to it, such a one
arrogates the office of a judge.
12. There is one lawgiver--The best authorities read in
addition, "and judge." Translate, "There is
One (alone) who is (at once) Lawgiver and Judge, (namely)
He who is able to save and destroy." Implying, God
alone is Lawgiver and therefore Judge, since it is He alone
who can execute His judgments; our inability in this
respect shows our presumption in trying to act as judges,
as though we were God.
who art thou, &c.--The order in
the Greek is emphatic, "But (inserted in oldest
manuscripts) thou, who art thou that judgest another?"
How rashly arrogant in judging thy fellows, and wresting
from God the office which belongs to Him over thee and THEM
alike!
another--The oldest authorities read,
"thy neighbor."
13. Go to now--"Come now"; said to excite
attention.
ye that say--boasting of the
morrow.
To-day or to-morrow--as if ye had the
free choice of either day as a certainty. Others read,
"To-day and to-morrow."
such a city--literally, "this the
city" (namely, the one present to the mind of the
speaker). This city here.
continue . . . a
year--rather, "spend one year." Their language
implies that when this one year is out, they purpose
similarly settling plans for to come [BENGEL].
buy and sell--Their plans for the
future are all worldly.
14. what--literally, "of what nature" is your
life? that is, how evanescent it is.
It is even--Some oldest authorities
read, "For ye are." BENGEL, with other old
authorities, reads, "For it shall be," the future
referring to the "morrow" (
Jas 4:13-15). The former expresses, "Ye yourselves
are transitory"; so everything of yours, even your
life, must partake of the same transitoriness. Received
text has no old authority.
and then vanisheth
away--"afterwards vanishing as it came";
literally, "afterwards (as it appeared), so
vanishing" [ALFORD].
15. Literally, "instead of your saying," &c.
This refers to "ye that say" (
Jas 4:13).
we shall live--The best manuscripts
read, "We shall both live and do,"
&c. The boasters spoke as if life, action, and
the particular kind of action were in their power, whereas
all three depend entirely on the will of the Lord.
16. now--as it is.
rejoice in . . .
boastings--"ye boast in arrogant presumptions,"
namely, vain confident fancies that the future is certain
to you (
Jas 4:13).
rejoicing--boasting [BENGEL].
17. The general principle illustrated by the particular example just discussed is here stated: knowledge without practice is imputed to a man as great and presumptuous sin. James reverts to the principle with which he started. Nothing more injures the soul than wasted impressions. Feelings exhaust themselves and evaporate, if not embodied in practice. As we will not act except we feel, so if we will not act out our feelings, we shall soon cease to feel.
Jas 5:1-20. WOES COMING ON THE WICKED RICH: BELIEVERS SHOULD BE PATIENT UNTO THE LORD'S COMING: VARIOUS EXHORTATIONS.
1. Go to now--Come now. A phrase to call solemn
attention.
ye rich--who have neglected the true
enjoyment of riches, which consists in doing good. James
intends this address to rich Jewish unbelievers, not so
much for themselves, as for the saints, that they may bear
with patience the violence of the rich (
Jas 5:7), knowing that God will speedily avenge them on
their oppressors [BENGEL].
miseries that shall come--literally,
"that are coming upon you" unexpectedly and
swiftly, namely, at the coming of the Lord (
Jas 5:7); primarily, at the destruction of Jerusalem;
finally, at His visible coming to judge the world.
2. corrupted--about to be destroyed through
God's curse on your oppression, whereby your riches are
accumulated (
Jas 5:4). CALVIN thinks the sense is, Your riches
perish without being of any use either to others or even to
yourselves, for instance, your garments which are
moth-eaten in your chests.
garments . . .
moth-eaten--referring to
Mt 6:19, 20.
3. is cankered--"rusted through" [ALFORD].
rust . . . witness against
you--in the day of judgment; namely, that your riches were
of no profit to any, lying unemployed and so contracting
rust.
shall eat your flesh--The rust which
once ate your riches, shall then gnaw your conscience,
accompanied with punishment which shall prey upon your
bodies for ever.
as . . . fire--not with the
slow process of rusting, but with the swiftness of
consuming fire.
for the last days--Ye have heaped
together, not treasures as ye suppose (compare
Lu 12:19), but wrath against the last days, namely, the
coming judgment of the Lord. ALFORD translates more
literally, "In these last days (before the
coming judgment) ye laid up (worldly) treasure" to no
profit, instead of repenting and seeking salvation (see on
Jas 5:5).
4. Behold--calling attention to their coming doom as no
vain threat.
labourers--literally
"workmen."
of you kept back--So English
Version rightly. Not as ALFORD, "crieth out
from you." The "keeping back of the
hire" was, on the part OF the rich, virtually
an act of "fraud," because the poor
laborers were not immediately paid. The phrase is therefore
not, "kept back by you," but
"of you"; the latter implying
virtual, rather than overt, fraud. James refers to
De 24:14, 15, "At this day . . . give
his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it,
lest he CRY against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto
thee." Many sins "cry" to heaven for
vengeance which men tacitly take no account of, as
unchastity and injustice [BENGEL]. Sins peculiarly
offensive to God are said to "cry" to Him. The
rich ought to have given freely to the poor; their not
doing so was sin. A still greater sin was their not paying
their debts. Their greatest sin was not paying them to the
poor, whose wages is their all.
cries of them--a double cry; both that
of the hire abstractly, and that of the laborers
hired.
the Lord of sabaoth--here only in the
New Testament. In
Ro 9:29 it is a quotation. It is suited to the Jewish
tone of the Epistle. It reminds the rich who think the poor
have no protector, that the Lord of the whole hosts in
heaven and earth is the guardian and avenger of the latter.
He is identical with the "coming Lord" Jesus (
Jas 5:7).
5. Translate, "Ye have luxuriated . . . and
wantoned." The former expresses luxurious
effeminacy; the latter, wantonness and
prodigality. Their luxury was at the expense of the
defrauded poor (
Jas 5:4).
on the earth--The same earth which has
been the scene of your wantonness, shall be the scene of
the judgment coming on you: instead of earthly delights ye
shall have punishments.
nourished . . . hearts--that
is glutted your bodies like beasts to the full extent of
your hearts' desire; ye live to eat, not eat to
live.
as in a day of slaughter--The oldest
authorities omit "as." Ye are like beasts which
eat to their hearts' content on the very day of
their approaching slaughter, unconscious it is near. The
phrase answers to "the last days,"
Jas 5:3, which favors ALFORD'S translation there,
"in," not "for."
6. Ye have condemned . . . the just--The
Greek aorist expresses, "Ye are accustomed
to condemn . . . the just." Their
condemnation of Christ, "the Just," is foremost
in James' mind. But all the innocent blood shed, and to
be shed, is included, the Holy Spirit comprehending James
himself, called "the Just," who was slain in a
tumult. See my
Introduction. This gives a peculiar appropriateness
to the expression in this verse, the same "as the
righteous (just) man" (
Jas 5:16). The justice or righteousness of Jesus and
His people is what peculiarly provoked the ungodly great
men of the world.
he doth not resist you--The very
patience of the Just one is abused by the wicked as an
incentive to boldness in violent persecution, as if they
may do as they please with impunity. God doth "resist
the proud" (
Jas 4:6); but Jesus as man, "as a sheep is dumb
before the shearers, so He opened not His mouth": so
His people are meek under persecution. The day will come
when God will resist (literally, "set Himself in array
against") His foes and theirs.
7. Be patient therefore--as judgment is so near (
Jas 5:1, 3), ye may well afford to be
"patient" after the example of the unresisting
Just one (
Jas 5:6).
brethren--contrasted with the
"rich" oppressors,
Jas 5:1-6.
unto the coming of the Lord--Christ,
when the trial of your patience shall cease.
husbandman waiteth for--that is,
patiently bears toils and delays through hope of the
harvest at last. Its "preciousness" (compare
Ps 126:6, "precious seed") will more than
compensate for all the past. Compare the same image,
Ga 6:3, 9.
hath long patience for it--"over
it," in respect to it.
until he receive--"until
it receive" [ALFORD]. Even if English
Version be retained, the receiving of the early and
latter rains is not to be understood as the object of his
hope, but the harvest for which those rains are the
necessary preliminary. The early rain fell at sowing time,
about November or December; the latter rain, about March or
April, to mature the grain for harvest. The latter rain
that shall precede the coming spiritual harvest, will
probably be another Pentecost-like effusion of the Holy
Ghost.
8. coming . . . draweth nigh--The Greek expresses present time and a settled state. 1Pe 4:7, "is at hand." We are to live in a continued state of expectancy of the Lord's coming, as an event always nigh. Nothing can more "stablish the heart" amidst present troubles than the realized expectation of His speedy coming.
9. Grudge not--rather "Murmur not"; "grumble
not." The Greek is literally,
"groan": a half-suppressed murmur of impatience
and harsh judgment, not uttered aloud or freely. Having
exhorted them to patience in bearing wrongs from the
wicked, he now exhorts them to a forbearing spirit as to
the offenses given by brethren. Christians, who bear the
former patiently, sometimes are impatient at the latter,
though much less grievous.
lest . . . condemned--The
best manuscript authorities read, "judged." James
refers to
Mt 7:1, "Judge not lest ye be judged."
To "murmur against one another" is virtually to
judge, and so to become liable to be
judged.
judge . . . before the
door--referring to
Mt 24:33. The Greek is the same in both
passages, and so ought to be translated here as there,
"doors," plural. The phrase means "near at
hand" (
Ge 4:7), which in the oldest interpretations [Targums
of Jonathan and Jerusalem] is explained,
"thy sin is reserved unto the judgment of the world
to come." Compare "the everlasting
doors" (
Ps 24:7, whence He shall come forth). The Lord's
coming to destroy Jerusalem is primarily referred to; and
ultimately, His coming again visibly to judgment.
10. the prophets--who were especially persecuted, and
therefore were especially "blessed."
example of suffering
affliction--rather, simply, "of affliction,"
literally, "evil treatment."
11. count them happy-- (
Mt 5:10).
which endure--The oldest authorities
read, "which have endured," which suits the sense
better than English Version: "Those who in past
days, like the prophets and Job, have endured trials."
Such, not those who "have lived in pleasure and been
wanton on the earth" (
Jas 5:5), are "happy."
patience--rather,
"endurance," answering to "endure": the
Greek words similarly corresponding. Distinct from
the Greek word for "patience"
Jas 5:10. The same word ought to be translated,
"endurance,"
Jas 1:3. He here reverts to the subject which he began
with.
Job--This passage shows the history of
him is concerning a real, not an imaginary person;
otherwise his case could not be quoted as an example at
all. Though he showed much of impatience, yet he always
returned to this, that he committed himself wholly to God,
and at last showed a perfect spirit of enduring
submission.
and have seen--(with the eyes of your
mind). ALFORD translates from the old and genuine reading,
"see also," &c. The old reading is, however,
capable of being translated as English
Version.
the end of the Lord--the end which the
Lord gave. If Job had much to "endure," remember
also Job's happy "end." Hence, learn, though
much tried, to "endure to the end."
that--ALFORD and others translate,
"inasmuch as," "for."
pitiful . . . of tender
mercy--The former refers to the "feeling"; the
latter, to the act. His pity is shown in not
laying on the patient endurer more trials than he is
able to bear; His mercy, in His giving a happy
"end" to the trials [BENGEL].
12. But above all--as swearing is utterly alien to the
Christian meek "endurance" just
recommended.
swear not--through impatience, to
which trials may tempt you (
Jas 5:10, 11). In contrast to this stands the proper
use of the tongue,
Jas 5:13. James here refers to
Mt 5:34, &c.
let your yea be yea--Do not use oaths
in your everyday conversation, but let a simple affirmative
or denial be deemed enough to establish your word.
condemnation--literally,
"judgment," namely, of "the Judge" who
"standeth before the doors" (
Jas 5:9).
13. afflicted--referring to the "suffering
affliction" (
Jas 5:10).
let him pray--not "swear" in
rash impatience.
merry--joyous in mind.
sing psalms--of praise. Paul and Silas
sang psalms even in affliction.
14. let him call for the elders--not some one of the
elders, as Roman Catholics interpret it, to justify their
usage in extreme unction. The prayers of the elders
over the sick would be much the same as though the whole
Church which they represent should pray [BENGEL].
anointing him with oil--The usage
which Christ committed to His apostles was afterwards
continued with laying on of hands, as a token of the
highest faculty of medicine in the Church, just as we find
in
1Co 6:2 the Church's highest judicial function. Now
that the miraculous gift of healing has been withdrawn for
the most part, to use the sign where the reality is wanting
would be unmeaning superstition. Compare other apostolic
usages now discontinued rightly,
1Co 11:4-15; 16:20. "Let them use oil who can by
their prayers obtain recovery for the sick: let those who
cannot do this, abstain from using the empty sign"
[WHITAKER]. Romish extreme unction is administered to those
whose life is despaired of, to heal the soul,
whereas James' unction was to heal the body. CARDINAL
CAJETAN [Commentary] admits that James cannot refer
to extreme unction. Oil in the East, and especially among
the Jews (see the Talmud, Jerusalem and
Babylon), was much used as a curative agent. It was
also a sign of the divine grace. Hence it was an
appropriate sign in performing miraculous cures.
in the name of the Lord--by whom alone
the miracle was performed: men were but the instruments.
15. prayer--He does not say the oil shall save: it
is but the symbol.
save--plainly not as Rome says,
"save" the soul. but heal "the
sick": as the words, "the Lord shall raise him
up," prove. So the same Greek is translated,
"made (thee) whole,"
Mt 9:21, 22.
and if . . . sins--for not
all who are sick are so because of some special sins. Here
a case is supposed of one visited with sickness for special
sins.
have committed--literally,
"be in a state of having committed
sins," that is, be under the consequences of sins
committed.
they--rather, "it": his
having committed sins shall be forgiven him. The
connection of sin and sickness is implied in
Isa 33:24; Mt 9:2-5; Joh 5:14. The absolution of the
sick, retained in the Church of England, refers to the sins
which the sick man confesses (
Jas 5:16) and repents of, whereby outward scandal has
been given to the Church and the cause of religion; not to
sins in their relation to God, the only Judge.
16. The oldest authorities read, "Confess,
THEREFORE," &c. Not only in the particular case of
sickness, but universally confess.
faults--your falls and
offenses, in relation to one another. The word is not
the same as sins.
Mt 5:23, 24; Lu 17:4, illustrate the precept
here.
one to another--not to the priest, as
Rome insists. The Church of England recommends in
certain cases. Rome compels confession in all cases.
Confession is desirable in the case of (1) wrong
done to a neighbor; (2) when under a troubled conscience we
ask counsel of a godly minister or friend as to how
we may obtain God's forgiveness and strength to sin no
more, or when we desire their intercessory prayers for us
("Pray for one another"): "Confession may be
made to anyone who can pray" [BENGEL]; (3) open
confession of sin before the Church and the world, in token
of penitence. Not auricular confession.
that ye may be healed--of your bodily
sicknesses. Also that, if your sickness be the punishment
of sin, the latter being forgiven on intercessory prayer,
"ye may be healed" of the former. Also, that ye
may be healed spiritually.
effectual--intense and fervent, not
"wavering" (
Jas 1:6), [BEZA]. "When energized" by
the Spirit, as those were who performed miracles [HAMMOND].
This suits the collocation of the Greek words and
the sense well. A righteous man's prayer is always
heard generally, but his particular request for the
healing of another was then likely to be granted when
he was one possessing a special charism of the
Spirit. ALFORD translates, "Availeth much in
its working." The "righteous" is one
himself careful to avoid "faults," and showing
his faith by works (
Jas 2:24).
17. Elias . . . like passions as we--therefore it
cannot be said that he was so raised above us as to afford
no example applicable to common mortals like
ourselves.
prayed earnestly--literally,
"prayed with prayer": Hebraism for prayed
intensely. Compare
Lu 22:15, "With desire I have desired," that
is, earnestly desired. ALFORD is wrong in saying,
Elias' prayer that it might not rain "is not even
hinted at in the Old Testament history." In
1Ki 17:1 it is plainly implied, "As the Lord God
of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall
not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my
word." His prophecy of the fact was according to a
divine intimation given to him in answer to prayer. In
jealousy for God's honor (
1Ki 19:10), and being of one mind with God in his
abhorrence of apostasy, he prayed that the national
idolatry should be punished with a national judgment,
drought; and on Israel's profession of repentance he
prayed for the removal of the visitation, as is implied in
1Ki 18:39-42; compare
Lu 4:25.
three years, &c.--Compare
1Ki 18:1, "The third year," namely, from
Elijah's going to Zarephath; the prophecy (
Jas 5:1) was probably about five or six months
previously.
18. prayed . . . and--that is, "and
so." Mark the connection between the prayer and its
accomplishment.
her fruit--her usual and due fruit,
heretofore withheld on account of sin. Three and a half
years is the time also that the two witnesses prophesy who
"have power to shut and open heaven that it rain
not."
19. The blessing of reclaiming an erring sinner by the
mutual consent and intercessory prayer just
recommended.
do err--more literally, "be led
astray."
the truth--the Gospel doctrine and
precepts.
one--literally, "any"; as
"any" before. Everyone ought to
seek the salvation of everyone [BENGEL].
20. Let him--the converted.
know--for his comfort, and the
encouragement of others to do likewise.
shall save--future. The salvation of
the one so converted shall be manifested hereafter.
shall hide a multitude of sins--not
his own, but the sins of the converted. The Greek
verb in the middle voice requires this.
Pr 10:12 refers to charity "covering" the
sins of others before men; James to one's
effecting by the conversion of another that that
other's sins be covered before God, namely, with
Christ's atonement. He effects this by making the
convert partaker in the Christian covenant for the
remission of all sins. Though this hiding of sins was
included in the previous "shall save," James
expresses it to mark in detail the greatness of the
blessing conferred on the penitent through the
converter's instrumentality, and to incite others to
the same good deed.