To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay(16)-1

To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay -- the Series of Explanation and Analysis of Scripture (16) - 1

The Explanation and Analysis of the Verses in Chapter 1 of JAMES

It is edited and compiled under the guidance of Holy Spirit. All thanks, praises and glories be to God!

1. Trials and temptations (1:1-18)

(1) Foreword (1:1)

JAMES 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

(NOTES)

This book was a letter written by God through James.

James is listed as one of three pillars of the church (Gal 2:9), who is the Lord's brother. According to (Gal 1:18-19), when Paul went up to Jerusalem, whom he saw there was “James, the Lord's brother”. Also together with the verses in (Act 15:11-29; Gal 1:19; 2:9; 1Co 15:7), it is known that James who gave to Paul the right hand of fellowship, is the Lord's brother, who is also the author of this book.

Although James is the Lord's brother, in the beginning of this letter, he did not call himself the Lord's brother, but “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. This shows that he understood that the relationship in LORD is irrelevant to the worldly relationship. It is obvious that the reason that he became the pillar of the church in Jerusalem, is because of his pursuit on the spirituality and his godly life after he himself repented and believed in LORD.

“the twelve tribes scattered among the nations”; refer to the Hebrew believers who escaped to scatter among all places in Judea because of persecutions.

(2) The benefits of the trials (1:2-12)

The trials and temptations are different in their source and purpose. The temptations are from the devil, and are to lure people to sin; the trials are from God, and are to benefit people. Generally speaking, the temptations are mostly aimed at the sinful nature, to gratify the sinful nature and make people feel comfortable. The trials are mostly to make the people suffer the lose or pains physically or spiritually. However, in many cases, they are the two aspects of one thing. From the side of the devil, it tried to tempt people through something to lure people to disobey God; from the side of God, He through the devil’s temptations refines people, makes people grow up and be mature to distinguish what is right or wrong, and to trust and obey God. For example: the devil wanted to use the disasters to tempt Job to disobey God, but God uses it to test Job (Job 1:6-2:10); (see also Job 23:10) “But he (God) knows the way that I (Job) take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold”.

Here, James talked about the benefits of the trials to encourage those believers in the trials. Although we often feel the trial painful, it can often bring all kinds of spiritual blessings and progress to us and make us learn all kinds of spiritual lessons.

A. Learn to be joyful in trials of many kinds (1:2)

JAMES 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

(NOTES)

“trials of many kinds”:

The trials given to the believers are from all aspects, and might be physical, spiritual, material, in life or on work. God treat His children with trials of many kinds, so that they may become the persons with joys of many kinds, and accomplish the good plans of God to them. For example, the apostle Paul received trials of many kinds from God and learned to live in any circumstances (2Co 11:22-29; Php 4:11).

“Consider it pure joy”:

“Consider” is also translated as “count” (K.J.V.). Here, the Bible requires the believers in the trials of many kinds, to rejoice even under the sufferings; not only should do so under a certain trial, but also should be joyful even all the trials come upon together.

How could one in suffering take pains as joys? The Bible does not ask us to blindly and stiffly take the pains as the joys, and suffer in vain, but ask us to have the correct viewpoint on the values of the sufferings and trials, and know the noble purpose of God to allow the trials on people. If we fix our eyes on the good hope after the trials, and the spiritual harvest we will get from it, we will be able to rejoice in the trials we receive. Therefore, in the sufferings and trials, we should believe the good will of God completely. We should learn to rejoice only in God through LORD Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:11) “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

B. Learn the perseverance of the faith (1:3-4)

JAMES 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

(NOTES)

Although this book pays careful attention to emphasize the importance of the deeds, in the beginning, it talks about the lesson on faith (The last chapter of this book is also about the faith.) It is obvious that the book of James does not make light of faith at all, but what it emphasizes is the true faith that can pass the tests. It is known from here the relationship of the faith, tests and perseverance.

a. the faith must be tested to show the value:

Since the “faith” is an internal and spiritual virtue, it is hard for others to tell whether it is big or small, and false or true; it will show after being tested, and it will also become more solid and valuable because of the tests. In the book of 1 Peter, it uses gold being refined by fire as the parable of the tests of faith. The pure gold is valuable, and has big proportion, stable character (which is not easy to have chemical changes), and brightness. The faith after testing is the same -- having the spiritual value, weights, and brightness, and is even stronger and more precious than the material gold.

Here, “the testing” is also translated as “the trying” (K.J.V.), or “the trial and proving ” (A.M.P.). God do not tempt people, but He through the trials test people’s faith.

b. Only by faith one can pass the tests:

On one hand, the faith can only show its precious value after being tested; on the other hand, when God through the sufferings test us, we can pass the tests only by faith. “because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance”; it means that God through trials of many kinds test us, to let us produce the fruit of perseverance. It is not because without testing, God won’t know us; but for the good of us, the tests let us show more of our faith. It is known that without the testing, the spiritual life can not produce more fruit. Therefore, we should trust God more, and trust God completely, so that we can know more of His faithfulness and trustworthiness. It is because all our spiritual experiences are “by faith from first to last”.

c. perseverance is a virtue that develops by faith in the testing:

See also (Rom 5:3), “suffering produces perseverance”.

It is obvious that “perseverance” is not achieved by our own restraints and trainings, but is produced by the life of God in us. The true perseverance develops from life by relying on Christ, but not by the suppression forced by oneself. Through the trials of many kinds, God let us accumulate many experiences of perseverance so that to develop the nature of perseverance in life. Usually, the worldly habits are formed in the family environment; however, the spiritual habits are tempered in the trials arranged by God.

JAMES 1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

(NOTES)

“Perseverance must finish its work ”:

What is most important to the perseverance is up to whether one can stand firm to the end or not; otherwise, it won’t be called perseverance. The perseverance of the body is often momentary; only the perseverance from life can stand firm to the end. However, the perseverance from life can not be found in our old life. We can only look upon the grace of God to work in our life so that to develop this fruit. Therefore, we must let God continue to finish His work in our life.

Perseverance is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). According to this verse, the lesson to learn the perseverance, is one of the “compulsory courses” through which God make us perfect. Only to add to every spiritual course perseverance can achieve complete success. All the great spiritual men are all great men of perseverance. In the book of 2 Timothy, it tells us that the life of perseverance is the life of a king (2Ti 2:12). Perseverance is one of the divine nature of God (Psa 103:8). It is the work accomplished by God on us though trials of many kinds. We should learn Christ's perseverance (2Th 3:5). To stand firm to the end will make us perfect, and he who stands firm to the end will be saved (Mat 24:13).

C. Learn to pray with faith (1:5-7)

The trials can make the believers pray more earnestly, and come closer to God. This is what every Christian with life admits. It is because the sincere call and cry comes from the urgent need. And such a need will only be found when the believers are in trial. Here, James teaches us three important points about prayers:

JAMES 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

(NOTES)

a. What should one ask for?

One should ask for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God”. Maybe it is because the believers in the trials usually feel that they lack wisdom to know the will of God and to deal with the current temptations. Therefore, it especially mentions this point here. Usually, what the believers need most in the trials is to understand the will of God. If one is in the trial, but he has the clear assurance that he is walking in God’s will, he will receive great comforts and power in the trials that come upon him, so that he won’t be panic, discouraged, confused and at a loss, but can take what happened calmly. Therefore, here, to those believers in the trials, it does not persuade them to ask God to remove the sufferings, or ask God for something good in materials, but persuade them to ask for wisdom first so that to know the will of God, and obey the guidance of God. This is also what Solomon asked for -- “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure …” (Jam 3:13-18; Rom 16:19).

“If any of you lacks ”:

No matter what we ask for from God, we need to see that we “lack” something. Only by seeing how much we lack, we can call out so much sincere prayers to God.

b. Whom should one pray to?

God, who gives generously to all. “he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” Whom the believers pray to in the trials, is not men who have power and authority, but the almighty God. The indispensable “wisdom” for all the believers in trials and all who pray to God, is what it tells us here -- He is “God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, ” (see Heb 11:6; 4:15,16). We must know that God like us to ask Him. He won’t consider it troublesome and won’t rebuke us if we ask many times.

“and it will be given to him”:

This is a very firm and reliable promise. It is put at the end of the whole verse, and it is apparently written for the above verses; if we ask for the spiritual wisdom in accordance to the will of God, and turn to Him with the faith in God’s kindness and love -- who gives generously to all, and it will be given to us.

JAMES 1:6_upper But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt,

(NOTES)

c. What attitude he should have to ask?

He must ask with faith. “But when he asks, he must believe ”; it means that he should not ask by faith on one hand and by what will be seen on the other hand -- but trust God wholeheartedly with single-mind. We often look at the difficulty before our eyes and with little faith and only ask according to what we think that God might do. However, here, the Bible tells us to ask by our faith.

“not doubt”, for to doubt is to disbelieve; such an attitude is the sinful, unbelieving heart once made the Israelites fall and die in the desert (Heb 3:12). There are many believers nowadays; since they are used to listening rather than doing the truth, as a result, they often have a sinful and unbelieving heart and always consider it impossible to come true. Such a unbelief is actually a big “disaster” in the spirituality of the believers. In the trials, we often are easily to doubt the deeds and faithfulness of God. In fact, God use these trials and disasters we met with earthly to get rid of the spiritual “disaster” and unbelief in us, so that we get to know His love and faithfulness in the trials, and our faith will be strengthened.

There are many ways in which God give the graces; and “trials of many kinds” is one of them. If we refuse the method of God, we can not receive His grace.

JAMES 1:6_latter-7 because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

(NOTES)

These verses explain the above verse that: “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt”. It is because:

a. A heart with doubt is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind, without rest and without stability at all, but full of crisis on the spirituality.

b. If the wave of the sea is blown by the wind, it will push other parts of the wave so that to rise and fall more severely. It is obvious that a little doubt will shake the whole faith.

c. “That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;” This verse especially reminds the believers: although God is “God, who gives generously to all without finding fault”, as to those who doubt, not only they can not get what they ask, but also they should not have the thought to ask! Many people do not pray according to the rule to get the prayers answered, but “think” his prayer will be answered by God. This thought is completely in vain.

D. Learn to follow LORD wholeheartedly (1:8)

JAMES 1:8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

(NOTES)

In many cases, we failed because of being double-minded, blindly following when things happened, and without stable opinion. These weaknesses come from loving the world, living according to the sinful nature, and having doubt on the promise of God. If we make the determination that we will not seek to please ourselves, but follow the will of God wholeheartedly, His will for us is easily to be understood. However, if we made our own choice beforehand, we will be confused on the will of God right away. All the judgment will be incorrect -- for our own favor will make us lose the spiritual capability of judgment. Here, we see the secret to overcome the trials is not to be double-minded. We must not think of getting both the worldly and spiritual blessings and joys at the same time; and must not be unwilling to bear with the trials, but expect to get the good things of the spirituality. Such an attitude will make us receive nothing.

On the other hand, “trials of many kinds” can put to death our unreasonable attitude, and make us realize the result of the double-minds will draw a blank instead, so that we can follow LORD wholeheartedly.

E. Learn to obey the arrangements of God (1:9-10_upper)

JAMES 1:9-10_upper The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position,

(NOTES)

It is also translated as “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low” (K.J.V.). It is easy for the humble who is exalted to rejoice, but it would be difficult for the rich who is made low to rejoice. The Bible asks us to rejoice in being made low in rich the same as in being exalted in humility, for all are the arrangements of God. Being made low in rich is a trial from God so that we can learn to live in want; at the same time, being exalted in humility is another kind of trial so that we can learn to live in plenty. As a results of these trials, it made us become those who rejoice in trusting and obeying the will of God. Many people trust the arrangements of God, but not “obey”; just as Job, at the beginning, he only trusted the arrangements of God, but he did not obey the arrangements of God -- thinking God is unfair. However, after the trials, he obeyed (Job 42:1-6). Therefore, we should not only trust the arrangements of God, but also obey the arrangements of God.

F. Learn to know the emptiness of this world (1:10_latter-11)

JAMES 1:10_latter-11 because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

(NOTES)

These words, on one hand, explain the reason to trust and obey the arrangements of God in the previous verse; on the other hand, tell the emptiness of the wealth in this world. Here, it uses the wild flower to describe the worldly wealth to advise the believers not to set their minds on the wealth in this world. What is most useful and admired by others is the “wealth”, but it is as temporary as the wild flower, which withers easily. Since the wealth of this world is such an emptiness, we should completely entrust ourselves into the hand of God. However, such words are hardly believed by one who lives in peaceful environment -- unless going through the trials. “Trials” let us know the emptiness of this world and love God even more.

G. Learn to be qualified to receive the crown (1:12)

JAMES 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

(NOTES)

Here, it says that the man who perseveres under trial is blessed. It is because he is qualified to receive the crown of life. Here, there are three points that we should pay attention to:

a. Do not look on the trials as big misfortune, but as blessings, for it is a way that God prepare a crown for us. Those who persevere under trials are blessed.

b. To “love him” is the power for us to overcome the trials. LORD once inquired the love of Peter: “do you truly love me more than these?” As a result of this inquiry, Peter loves LORD wholeheartedly afterward and overcomes many trials and pains.

c. This precious promise to receive the crown, is given to those “love him (LORD)”. Those who love LORD, might not be those who have great reputation in church. However, since they still “love Him” after trials of many kinds, it is apparent that they truly love Him. Although these people might be unknown to others, but they are known by God (1Co 8;3). Therefore, in the Bible, there are many blessings prepared for those who love LORD (Rom 8:28; 1Co 2:9; Jam 2:5).

3. Know about the temptations (1:13-18)

The sentence in the beginning of verse 12 is “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial”. It is obvious that “perseverance” is the attitude to trials. The believers should endure the trials, but reject the temptations. “because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life” -- refer to those who persevere under trials and overcome the trials, but absolutely not those who take the trials and are overcome by the trials. The verse in the beginning of this paragraph is verse 13: “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ” It is obvious that what is talked about in the following is temptation, but not trial. These verses talk about what we should know about the temptation and the method to overcome it, which are listed as the following:

A. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." (1:13)

JAMES 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

(NOTES)

Although God will test us with trials, or through the temptations of the devil to test us, He absolutely has no any intention that is not good or use anything to let us sin. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. Therefore, we absolutely should not put blame on God if we fail in the temptation and should not think that since such a temptation is allowed by God, He should take some responsibility on our sins and failures.

This verse reminds us easily of those Israelites in the desert who tested and tried God again and again (Heb 3:8-9). On one hand, they tried to offend the commandments of God; one the other hand, they observed whether God would punish or not; whenever the punishment really came, they grumbled against God, for examples:

Chapter 11 in Number, their desire of gluttony; Chapter 13,14 in Number, after exploring Canaan, they grumbled greatly; Chapter 16 in Number, their disobedience after the punishment; Chapter 20 in Number, their quarrellings on the waters of Meribah and so on.

B. Being enticed should put blame on one himself (1:14)

JAMES 1:14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

(NOTES)

According to (Mat 4:3), the devil is “the tempter”, and it uses all kinds of material things and vanity to entice people. The Bible tells us here that one’s own evil desires is also the reason that one is tempted. It is known that the temptations to people usually are composed of three factors:

a. the devil;

b. the worldly or sinful matters and things;

c. one’s own evil desires.

Here, it especially emphasizes that by one’s own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed, for this is the most important factor, and also the internal factor, which is different from the other two factors. If one does not indulge in one’s own evil desires, the temptations from outside can not make us sin.

If we want to overcome the temptations, we must admit first that the reason that one is tempted, is not any other’s fault, but one’s own fault; “by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ” If we keep on trying to put the blame of our failure on others, it proves that we have not really know about sin, and have not realize the corruption in us. As to such persons, they do not have even the basic condition to overcome the temptation, and they will absolutely not make decision to deal with the sinful nature, and won’t rely on LORD wholeheartedly.

C. How the temptations become sins (1:15)

JAMES 1:15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

(NOTES)

It is obvious that the temptation is not the sin; however, when the temptations are taken by the selfish and sinful desires, conceived and bred in one’s mind, it gives birth to sins. Everyone meets with the temptations all the time; however, meeting with the temptation does not mean sin; LORD Jesus has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin (Heb 4:15). It is obvious whether one sins or not; it depends on whether he accepts the temptation or not. For example, the devil gives us an idea to steal others’ watch; although we have this idea, we did not accept it but refused it; then such an idea is only a temptation from the devil, and we did not commit the sin of stealing the watch. The devil might give this idea again and again; if we refused it again and again, we do not sin. However, whenever we accept this idea, even without stealing, but had wanted to do it already, then we sinned. Therefore, the Bible asks us to “Flee the evil desires ” (2Ti 2:22). “Do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph 4:27), so that the temptation can not stay in our mind, and it won’t have chance to connect to our selfish and sinful desires.

“and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ”:

The death here includes both the physical and spiritual death. Whenever we sin, we will be put under the power of death (Heb 2:14-15), and the communion to God will be cut off (Gen 3:9-10).

D. Every good and perfect gift is from God (1:16-17_upper)

JAMES 1:16-17 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

(NOTES)

If we want to overcome the temptation, we must know clearly about the crafty plots of the devil, and must not be led astray by it, thinking that it will give us anything good and taking its cunning schemes as good intentions, so that to accept its temptations. Actually, every good and perfect gift is from above. The devil can only give us the earthly gain; as to the good gifts in heaven, the devil can not get them by itself, how can it give to others? The reason that the believers will give a foothold to the devil and accept its temptation, is because they doubt whether the grace of God is reliable or not, and whether the grace of God is better than the world before one’s eyes or not. But they do not firmly believe that: God is the Father of the heavenly lights, and is the only source of every bright blessing. It is obvious that if one wants to gain something good other than God, and ignore God and seek to gratify one’s own selfish desires, as a result, he will fall into the temptations of the devil.

E. Believe firmly in the faithfulness of God (1:17_latter)

“(God) who does not change like shifting shadows”:

This verse certainly is not saying that God does not work or move, but refers to His supremacy of unchanging forever. His faithfulness, love and powerful deeds are the same all the time, and never change. We absolutely should not doubt that the love of God has changed and His promise is not faithful anymore whenever our circumstances are changed and under the trials; also, we should not have the vain hope that God will change His righteous and holy nature and will not punish our sins whenever we live in accordance to the sinful nature and accept the temptations. When people are in the sufferings, it is easiest for them to accept the benefits before eyes and ignore the faithful promise of God; therefore, here, it especially reminds the believers that God never changes.

“(God) who does not change like shifting shadows”:

If one shifts a little bit in the light, his shadow will shift more; here, it is used to illustrate and describe the eternity of God without changing, just as one stands completely still and there is even no any shifting shadows.

F. Believe in the good will of God (1:18)

JAMES 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

(NOTES)

“the word of truth”, here, especially refers to the truth of salvation. According to His own will, God prepared the salvation for us and give birth to us with the word of the truth of salvation, so that we could be His children and He will be our Father. Since that is the case, will He change His faithfulness, treat us badly and in the same breath say, "Yes, yes" and "No, no"? Absolutely not! Therefore, no matter in what kind of the difficulties, we should always refuse the temptations of the devil, and believe in the will of God. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ” (Rom 8:32).

“that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created” :

This verse means that God chose us to be the possessions of God, be precious to Him and be pleasing to Him first. The “firstfruit” refer to those who are saved in Christ initially. According to the record of the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain they harvest (Lev 23:9,10). Here, it also reminds us to offer us to God as the first fruit.

Here, it compares those believers who are saved as the first fruit with all other things created: it is obvious that among all things created by God, the mankind was the first to sin so that all things are cursed because of him(Gen 3:17), and “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ” (Rom 8:22) After the salvation being accomplished by God, the mankind is the first to be saved. It is obvious that God treat men differently from all created things. Man is the principal part of all things; all things are the subsidiaries to man and were given to man (Gen 1:28; 1Ti 6:17), but man does not live for all things. Therefore, here, it is not saying that besides men, other creations have the chance to be saved, but to show that men are the principal parts in all things. This verse is close to the verse of (Rom 8:18-23), which calls us the first fruits of the Spirit.

2. Listening and doing (1:19-25)

The messages in the book of the James, are easy to read and understand, also very practical. The topic discussed in this paragraph is the same as the first section, which is about the most common problem that the Christians will meet with. However, we should never ignore the importance of these messages, or look on them as the platitudes because the nature of these messages are common and practical. In fact, whether we can be successful Christians or not, is up to whether we can be successful in many most common spiritual problems in daily life. Most of the people start to listen to the truth before they believe in LORD; only until after they start to do the truth, they become the Christians in practice; after this, they still need to continue in listening and doing. If we can benefit from the listening to the truth each time, and put what we hear into practice by relying on LORD, then we will make great progress no matter on the knowledge of truth or on the spiritual life. Therefore, the messages discussed in these verses are what the Christians nowadays, who live in such a generation that dislike the pure truth, should pay careful attention to.

1. Listening to the truth (1:19-21)

JAMES 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

(NOTES)

A. Everyone should listen to the truth:

Not only those who are not saved should listen, but also those who become the brothers in LORD should listen; not only those who do not know should listen, but also those who already know about it should listen; therefore, everyone should listen to the truth, no matter they are the unbelievers, the beginners in believing, the “average believers”, the elders, or the ministry, everyone of them should listen to the truth with reverence and awe; no one has the seniority enough not to listen to the word of truth.

It also reminds the believers the same in the book of 2 Peter: “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ” (2Pe 1:12). It is a pity that the believers nowadays often make this mistake: thinking that there is no need to listen to what they have listened to before and dislike the similar truth, but without asking themselves whether they have “digested” what they hear or not. They only blame the ministry that he has no fresh message to preach for them, but without examining themselves carefully whether they truly understand what they already heard and apply them in the life; just as a lazy student who does not set his mind on learning, but complains why the teacher does not teach him more advanced course; such an attitude is not in accordance to the Bible. In fact, not only the listener should listen to what they hear before, but also to the one who is preaching, if he is inspired by the Holy Spirit, he should preach it again even if he has talked about it before.

In a word, he who listens humbly will surely benefit; he who is self-conceited won’t get anything even if he listens to Christ’s preaching by himself.

B. Listening to the truth is for everyone himself:

Listening to the truth is a personal matter; everyone listens to it for his own good, but not for others. Do not think that what one hears fits someone’s need, but ignore that one himself has the same need. There are many spiritual things; one can not do them for others, nor can ask others to do them for himself; one must do it by himself. Listening to the truth is the same; just as eating and drinking, one must do it by himself and can not ask others to do it for him.

C. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak:

To speak can be quickened, how to be quick to listen? This indicates that one should listen with an attitude to hunger and thirst for the righteousness; but not with an attitude to criticize and refute. Even though what we hear does not fit our appetite, we should not rashly refute and put out the fire of the Holy Spirit. Many believers listen to the truth as the Pharisees -- while their ear was listening, their mind was arguing (Mar 2:6; Luk 5:22). To listen to the truth in such a way, one can gain nothing. People usually like speaking more and dislike listening more. However, we will benefit more if we like listening the same as speaking.

D. Do not get angry (1:19_latter-20 )

JAMES 1:19_latter-20 and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

(NOTES)

These two verses can be extended to the problem that the believers should pay attention to in their daily life. No matter to listen to the truth or live a daily life, regardless of any circumstance, the believers should always have this attitude to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. They should keep this humility and patience so that to keep our spirit in the light of God.

“for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ”:

It is because a quick-tempered man is a fool; anger stirs up dissensions, gives the foothold to the devil, and ensnares people into the nets of sins. Therefore, the believers should be away from the sins and be patient, and restrain themselves; should not let the sun go down while they are still angry; should learn to forgive others; should not take revenge, but leave room for God's wrath.

A quick-tempered man is a fool:

“A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. ” (Pro 12:16)

“A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated. ” (Pro 14:17)

“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control. ” (Pro 29:11)

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. ” (Ecc 7:9 )

Anger stirs up dissensions, and makes one commit many sins.

“A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.” (Pro 15:18)

“Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? ” (Pro 27:4)

“A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again. ” (Pro 19:19)

“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared. ” (Pro 22:24-25)

“For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife." ” (Pro 30:33)

“An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins. ” (Pro 29:22)

The believers should be patient; should not let the sun go down while they are still angry, and should not give the devil a foothold.

“A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” (Pro 19:11)

“Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. ” (Pro 16:32)

“"In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. ” (Eph 4:26-27 )

The believers should be patient and restrain themselves; should not take revenge, but leave room for God's wrath.

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. ” (Rom 12:19)

E. Humbly accept the word planted in you (1:21)

JAMES 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

(NOTES)

Moral filth and evils are the hindrances of listening to the word of truth. Christ uses the parable of sower to show the four kinds of heart fields. A heart with “all moral filth” and “the evil that is so prevalent”. can not produce a crop; however, a humble heart can produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. No matter to Christians or the unbelievers, this principal is the same. Therefore, every believer who receives the grace must listen to the word of God humbly. Many people can not benefit from the word of truth they hear; it is because they have not get rid of the moral filth and evils from their minds. The teachings that Holy Spirit gives to the believers through Peter is close to what He gives James here: they must get rid themselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind, and then they could crave pure spiritual milk (1Pe 2:1-2). They treasure the sins and evils and do not want to get rid of the sins and evils; this is the fundamental reason that makes people unwilling to accept the word of truth, and even fight against the truth.

“the word planted ”:

It is apparent that here it looks on the word of God as the seed. To preach the word of God is like to plant the seeds; what the listeners hear are the seeds planted in heart. We should accept the word planted in our hearts. Here, being planted in the hearts does not mean that one has accepted it already, just as the explanation in the parable of sower told by LORD, only a heart produced a crop has accepted it (Mar 4:20). We should let the words that we hear work in us and exert influence on us, change our thoughts and life, and live the life of Christ; then, that will be to accept the words planted in us. If after listening to the words, one does not let the words of God have influence on his life and conducts; on the contrary, allows the secular custom and the evil current to suffocate gradually the seeds of word planted in mind and turn it into dead knowledge without any influence on his spiritual life, that will be the one who does not accept the word planted in him.

“which can save you. ”:

This sentence is important in this verse. It tells us what kind of word we receive. The words of Christ we receive can save the spirits and souls of people. However, what one needs to pay attention to is to carefully distinguish whether the words one hears are pure or not (1Co 14:29; 1Ti 6:3; 2Ti 4:3); the words to let people be away from sins and lead people to be in Christ are the truth that can save the spirits and souls of people.

(2) Doing the word of truth (1:22-25)

A. The situation of listening to the word of truth without doing it (1:22-24)

JAMES 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

(NOTES)

There is no good to listen to the word of truth without doing it.

“Do not merely listen to the word, … Do what it says. ”:

Even if one comes to listen to the word of truth earnestly, it will not be of any good if he does not do what he hears. The purpose to listen to the word is not to enjoy the words, nor to satisfy a desire of listening, but for the purpose of doing it. Here, the Holy Spirit reminds us that there is nothing to boast if one is only good at listening, but one can only make progress by doing it.

Listening to the word without doing it is self-deceiving:

“and so deceive yourselves”: he who listens to the word without doing it must be self-deceiving. It is obvious that the self-deception is both the cause and result of listening to the word of truth without doing it. Many people who listen without doing, often have a lot of explanations for their behavior, and they forgive themselves but do not forgive others. Such a performance is the clear proof that one falls into the self-deception. There are also many people only listening to the word of truth but do not put them into practice. On the aspect of spirituality, they think of themselves more highly than they ought, and they do not know that what they have are merely the knowledge. The biggest danger for this kind of people is that they consider having the knowledge as equal to having life.

He who listens to the word but does not do what it says, does not know himself:

JAMES 1:23-24 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

(NOTES)

Here, the word of God is compared to a mirror. While one listens to the word of truth, is as if observe his own face originally in font of the mirror. How does one look like will be shown faithfully by the mirror. Therefore, people can not put the blame on the mirror, but themselves. Most of the people like to see the shortcomings of others, but are not willing to see their own shortcomings; however, the truth of the Bible let one see himself. If people listen to the word of truth and the darkness in their mind is exposed by the word of God, he becomes angry and hates what he hears and is not willing to do it so that to get rid of their own evil behaviors; he is the same ignorant as those who look at the mirror and see their own ugliness, blaming the mirror instead of getting rid of the spots on their own face. Such people always forget their look and do not get rid of the evils; they must not be able to know themselves.

B. He who listens to the word of truth and does what it says is blessed (1:25)

JAMES 1:25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.

(NOTES)

This verse tells us the close relationship between listening to the word of truth and reading the Bible. Whoever wants to practice what he heard, must study and read the Bible carefully so that to put what he heard into practice. On the other hand, reading the Bible is also one way to listen to the words; but it is to listen to God Himself, not to others. According to this verse, it talks about 3 things:

Regarding reading the Bible:

“looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom” ; undoubtedly, it refers to reading the Bible. The Bible is the perfect law that gives freedom. Although the law here refers to the Bible of the Old Testament, the core of the whole Old Testament is to introduce the coming Christ and His salvation to people. Looking intently into the Old Testament, we will understand the essential spirit is to let people know Christ to get the freedom. Just as the book of Rome says : “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. ” (Rom 10:4). Here, it connects the laws which introduce people to Christ, and Christ who frees people from sins and gives them freedom; the Bible which records the salvation plan of God is called as: “the perfect law that gives freedom”. All the laws make people be restrained and bound; only the bible is the law to free people from all kinds of sins and evils. It is the law written in the heart of the believers through Holy Spirit and carried out by relying on the teachings of the Holy Spirit. Regarding reading the Bible, it mentions two points here:

a. “looks intently into” : includes frequent reading, intensive reading, thinking, analysis, putting together all kinds of opinions, doing comparisons in details, and seeking the essential and correct meaning and so on.

b. “continues to do this” : the Bible should be read everyday. Not only one needs to look intently into it, but also needs to continue to do this; then one will get the inspirations and teachings of God; just as one looks at himself in the mirror, he must do it everyday so that to keep the cleanness of his appearance.

Regarding listening to the word of truth:

“not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it”:

It is apparent that listening to the word of the truth must take the word into heart and do not forget it, so that to put it into practice. One reason that one listens to the word without doing it, is because one does not turn his mind to the word, and he forgets while listening. However, if one is eager for the truth, he must take what he listens to into his heart to have the strengthen to put it into practice. It is obvious that desiring for the truth, listening to a word of the truth, and doing what one hears are mutual causes and results to one another. The more one desires for the truth, the deeper he will be moved by what he heard, and the more strength he will have to do what he heard. On the other hand, if we do the word of truth that we heard, we will understand more the preciousness of the truth, know more the blessings to do the word, be more earnest for the truth, and be easier to take what we heard into heart without forgetting it.

“not forgetting what he has heard”:

This verse especially refers to the words of the Bible, for at that time, the Bible was not so common; during the meeting, the one in charge read out the verses in the Bible, all people of the community sat still and listened to it, and asked questions whenever they had one.

Regarding being blessed:

“he will be blessed in what he does”:

Doing the word of the truth includes many aspects; thus, the blessings received also include many aspects. Here, it does not point out what kind of blessing those who do the word will receive; this implies that, what kind of blessing will be received by the one who does the word, depends on what kind of word he does and obeys.

When Christ was on earth, He mentioned many times that who do the will of God will be blessed, such as:

a. Whoever does God's will is Jesus’ brother and sister and mother (Mar 3:35).

b. Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Mat 5:19).

c. Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it (Luk 11:28).

d. He who do what LORD command are the friends of LORD (Joh 15:14).

e. He who does the will of LORD will be rewarded when LORD comes (Luk 12:43-44,47).

These promises are the most powerful comforts and encouragements for all the believers to do the words of God, because besides the promise that “he will be blessed in what he does”, they will also get all kinds of precious blessings from LORD Himself.

3. Being godly and how to treat others (1:26-2:13)

As mentioned above, one should do what he hears. Here, it explains in more details that only he who is truly godly and treats others with love, is the one who truly does the word of truth.

(1) religious (1:26-27)

Godliness is used to describe a rigorous attitude from men to God. Many worldly religions also pay attention to the religiousness; however, the artificial religiousness is unavoidably worthless. Here, the Bible instructs us that godliness is not a self-deceived pretending, nor a self-considered godliness, but must be shown on the relationship with others to prove that such a godliness is authentic. Just as the Pharisees of the Judaism, although they have a form of godliness, they devour widows' houses secretly (Mat 23:14). It is obvious that this godliness is worthless; in the like manner, if we consider ourselves godliness, but have a deficit to others on property belongings, take advantages of others, or slander the brothers from behind, then, no matter how godliness we show on the religions, it is worthless. Here, it talks about the godliness is shown on three aspects to treat people:

a. is shown on tongues (1:26)

JAMES 1:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

(NOTES)

The first mark to be godly is to keep a tight rein on one’s tongue. The ungodly sign is that one speaks too many words. There are many people in the Bible who revere God and pay careful attention to holding their tongues. David said: “I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." ” (Psa 39:1). Solomon also said: “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. ” (Pro 10:19). In this book, except chapter 2, every chapter mentions the teachings about being watchful and careful on the words (Jam 1:26; 3:1-12; 4:11, 12; 5:12). It is obvious that the careful word of the believers is the most practical display of the godly life.

“keep a tight rein on his tongue”:

“a tight rein” has the same meaning as “the bits” mentioned in chapter 3. Our tongue is like a untamed wild horse, and must be given a proper binding, otherwise it will bring disasters . How much capability we have to hold our tongues, is the sign of how much our godliness is.

B. is shown on the deeds of love (1:27_upper)

JAMES 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

(NOTES)

“Godliness” or “religion” is to feel like living in front of God all the time, and keep a clear conscience before God and men. Godly life is displayed on doing what is good and righteous, and the love and kindness to others. The godly people absolutely will not bully those who are weaker than themselves; on the contrary, they will understand the merciful mind of God the Father, and take care of the orphans and widows with love (Psa 68:5).

According to the corrupted nature of men, they always like to bully those who are weaker than themselves, and flatter those who are higher than themselves; like to take advantages from others on the material things, and do not want to give up for others. Therefore, to test others’ godliness is from these two aspects:

a. When they face someone who are weaker than themselves, will they take the chance to bully them? Or help them?

b. When they see those in poverty and need, are they willing to give up some property belongings?

It is because to treat these people well usually won’t get a reward. But these things are the true tests on one’s godliness. If without the practical deeds on doing what is good and righteous, and the love and mercy to others, that is having a form of godliness but denying its power (2Ti 3:5).

C. is shown on the holy life (1:27 _latter)

“the world” includes all the worldly evil customs, lusts, trends, and all kinds of theories or religions opposite to God and so on.

Although “godliness” should be displayed on the relationships with others, if one thinks that only the love to others is enough and one can ignore the personally holy life, that will not be the true “godliness”. Besides revering God all the time and loving others, a godly life is to live a holy and rigorous life -- “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”. Note that: “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”; it does not mean only to pay a little attention, or to refuse it in a certain category, but to try one’s best to keep away from it, and seek not to be polluted at all, so that to live a sanctified life in Christ.

Reference:

1. Zhongdao Chen: “The Lectures on the Bible Studying of the Letters in New Testament”.