James 1:1 " James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. "
The authorship of this letter is given here. There has been a lot of controversy amongst scholars on if this is James the son of Zebedee (James the Elder). Tradition usually holds that Peter was the first leader, but the truth is that James was the one who ultimately held the greatest authority. This was the brother of John and one of the three inner circle of the 12 along with John and Peter.
The second possibility was James the Younger or Alpheus who was mentioned several times, but not much more than that is said. He is the son of one of the Marys.
The third and more likely possibility is James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ. This was the James who was the first leader of the New Testament Church who made the final decision at the Jerusalem Council. He was quite simply the first Bishop of the Jerusalem Church.
The reality is that it has always been given apostolic authority, and to which it belongs is not clearly given by the text. It is probably an early text of the church, and that would suggest more that it was from James the Less who was the first Bishop of Jerusalem.
It is written literally to all those who have been dispersed everywhere of the 12 tribes who have become Christian Believers giving some of the most practical and sharp instruction found in God's Word.
It is written not to a specific church, but to the church. It is written to the dispersed 12 tribes who believe in fact. This is a time before Gentiles were a normal part of the church. So, this is an earlier letter in the beginning stages of the church when it is a primarily Jewish Church.
James 1:2 " My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; "
James 1:2 (ALT) " Consider [it] all joy, my brothers [and sisters], whenever you* encounter various trials, "
Rejoice and count it a joy when you find yourself in the midst of a trial of your faith. This on the surface boggles the carnal mind because this is an unpleasant and challenging thing to occur. But there is a good being brought by God in this, and it is reason to count it joy.
God is doing something good, though the circumstances give challenge and sometimes severe challenge to our lives and faith. The only way that this can be done is by faith and understanding that a good is being done that will strengthen you and make you more than you already are. Knowing the truth and believing it here allows you to count it all joy!
This is a commandment! This is not an optional thing, but this is a very emphatic statement that we are to count it "all joy" when we find ourselves in a testing situation. We are to respond to trials with rejoicing. In fact, we are commanded elsewhere to rejoice whether we are in an easy place or a difficult one.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 (KJV) " 16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. "
Romans 12:12 (KJV) " Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; "
Philippians 4:4 (KJV) " Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. "
When you fall into or encounter or are caught by (peripipto) is a point in itself.
Trials usually do not announce themselves, but you are caught by them and then have to deal with them.
You will not get a warning letter or email saying that tomorrow you will have your integrity in God and your very faith challenged to its core. In fact, many times it will come when your mind is as far away from dealing with such issues as is possible. You might be dealing with a lot of issues of this life that is distracting, or it might come after a time of personal spiritual victory where you guard is down, but it usually comes when you are not guarded against a challenge.
You fall into it or are caught by it.
Various kinds of trials or peirasmos is spoken of here. It is to put on trial your faith by attack or a forcing you to prove what is inside of you. Note that God is omniscient, and knows how that you will deal with things already. That is why He knew that Job would not fail God if put to the test. God knows what to allow and what not to allow (what you are not capable of resisting yet) and guards us (puts the hedge up) accordingly.
These trials of faith can include temptations and indeed will try to pull us into having to either decide to turn closer to God or pull farther away in reacting to its influence, but they can be many things other than temptations also. They can include attacks or problems or temptations as well.
They can come from internal weaknesses or issues, or from external pressures or pulls. They are usually a mixture of both internal and external forces at work revealing what is really inside and if we respond in faith to them, will bring us into a deeper faith of God and make us more Christlike.
These times will come. James said to count it all joy when they come. They are not always there and trials always have an ending, but there is one certainty… they will come. John 16:33 " These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. "
Understand also, that if we are obedient to God's Word here, then we will rejoice and not complain and murmur when the pressure is on the trials are making things miserable. Understanding this truth will help us not succumb to the flesh's desire to complain and murmur. Instead, we understand that God is taking this time to work a good thing in our lives.
James 1:3 " Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. "
The knowledge of the good that God brings despite the trial is what brings faith. The knowing of the truth is what creates true faith in the believer. IF we know this, then we can rejoice because we know that the trying of our faith works some good things.
This is a process that we can usually see after it is completed, but it is difficult to discern by our own experience when we go through it. But we can understand what is going on if we have this TRUTH from God's Word in us as we go through it.
1 Peter 1:6-7 (KJV) " 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: "
We can rejoice even though we go through seasons of heaviness through these trials and temptations. It does cause a heaviness to go through. It is "hard" sometimes to go through these times. These scriptures are not making light of the pain and sorrow that we go through at times when we are being tested and tried.
But if we have this knowledge of the truth, then we can rejoice in the midst of the manifold heaviness and have victory. It might not make sense to the carnal mind, but it is very real and it is transforming to the Christian believer's life.
Remember, trials are only for a season. They pass. Our lives are being purified as the one who is doing the purification (God) is heating us up as molten gold and removing the impurities. He lets things cool off when He can see His own reflection in our lives just as the refiner does.
James 1:3 (ALT) " knowing that the testing of your* faith produces patient endurance. "
Endurance or patience or sometimes "longsuffering" is the strength that we are given by God to endure hard things. It is the strength to overcome in the face of adversity. It is the power that the Lord gives to us to be overcomers and not to give up in the face of pressure.
James 1:3 (Recovery Version) " Knowing that the proving of your faith works out endurance."
Understand that this is first a manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, so we understand first that it is spiritual and come from the Holy Spirit initially.
Galatians 5:22 (KJV) " But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, "
The word for longsuffering here in the Greek and the one for patience in James means much the same thing. The one in James means more of a cheerful endurance of the challenge knowing that something good is coming. It is the loyalty to the purpose of serving the Lord in the midst of the storm. It builds upon the spiritual gift and adds strength to it.
But understand that it is still a work of God. The Holy Spirit is building something good in us although we might be going through something hard and the hardness might be coming from great evil. But God has a way of turning what is meant for evil from the Enemy and others into good for our lives.
Romans 8:26-28 (KJV) " 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. "
The ability to even endure patiently comes as part of the fruit of the Spirit from God to begin with, but it is added upon and honed by the trials of this life as the Lord allows us to go through things to bring a greater good and make us much stronger. It is literally a process where the flesh loses its power over us, and Jesus is spread more and more throughout our lives (Sanctification). We are a work in progress.
There is a strengthening so that we can overcome life's challenges in going through trials of our faith. This is a good thing!
Once again, understand that God proves our faith through the hardships that we endure in life. God already knows what is in our hearts much better than we know ourselves, but this process reveals what is there to us so that something can be done and good can be brought through us.
To be continued
