James 1:1

THE GENERAL LETTER OF JAMES

Oesterley thought that "For the most part this epistle is a collection of independent sayings";[1] but the viewpoint advocated here is that every portion of it fit beautifully and appropriately into the one theme of "Perfection" which ties every word of it into a cohesive whole. This theme was stated at the outset (James 1:4), thus: "That ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." In this chapter, the following requirements for those who would be perfect are advocated: (1) be joyful in trials (James 1:2-4); (2) in ignorance and uncertainties, let the Christian pray in faith without doubting (James 1:5-8); (3) in economic disparities, the rich and the poor alike are to rejoice at their new status in Christ (James 1:9-11); (4) God is not to be blamed for temptations, but the source of temptation must be recognized as lying within Christians themselves; (5) anger and wrath are to be suppressed (James 1:19-20); and (6) it is not hearing God's word but the hearing and doing of it that lead to perfection (James 1:21-27).

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting. (James 1:1)

The manner in which James here bracketed the names of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ carries the affirmation of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord taught that "no man can serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24); and, in James' affirmation here, he did not mean that he had two masters, but that the two are one. The very use of the title "Lord" in the New Testament denotes this, the same being the "title given to the early Roman emperors to denote their deity."[2]

Servant of God ... Paul, Timothy, Peter, Jude, and Epaphras were all so designated, the New Testament word for each being [@doulos], meaning "one born into slavery"; thus every such usage of it indicates that such a servant was a "born again" Christian. The Old Testament Hebrew word for "servant" ([~`ebed]) was the title by which "the greatest ones of the Old Testament were known."[3] Moses, Caleb, Joshua, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah were all called "servants of God." However, it is wrong to make this fact the basis of identifying James with the Old Testament prophets. Paul also repeatedly referred to himself as the [Greek: doulos] of God and of Jesus (Romans 1:1); and both Paul and James belong to the New Testament, not to the Old Testament.

To the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion ... This is an unfortunate rendition because of the capitalization of "Dispersion," making it a technical term for the Jewish people. This epistle is not written to the Jews, in the sense of racial Jews. The address of those to receive this letter as "brethren" in the very next verse proves this. "The twelve tribes" is here a reference to the spiritual Israel of God, that is, the Christians of all ages. In this very first verse, James followed the same pattern that occurs repeatedly throughout the letter, in which the words of Jesus Christ dominate every line of it. It was Christ who promised the apostles that they would "sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28); and James here used exactly the same terminology to describe the church of Jesus Christ. Wessel declared that "This is a symbolical designation of the Christian church."[4] Harper agreed that "The words here include the whole of spiritual Israel, all Christians everywhere."[5] Barnes likewise noted that "The phrase, `the twelve tribes' became a sort of technical expression to denote the people of God, the church."[6] This epistle, therefore, should be understood as inspired instructions to Christians, and the efforts of some to write it off as a mere appeal to racial Jews should be resolutely resisted. Paul frequently used "Israel" as a designation of the Christian community, the true children of Abraham; and James did exactly the same thing here. Morgan said that "There are more references to the Sermon on the Mount in James than in all the other New Testament letters put together."[7] It is not surprising, therefore, that in this very first verse James employed the terminology used by our Lord.

[1] W. E. Oesterley, The Expositor's Greek Testament, Vol. IV (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 408.

[2] Ibid., p. 419.

[3] A. F. Harper, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. X (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 193.

[4] William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 35.

[5] Walter W. Wessel, The Wycliffe New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 945.

[6] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1953), p. 17.

[7] G. Campbell Morgan, The Unfolding Message of the Bible (Old Tappan, New Jersey: The Fleming H. Revell Company, 1941), p. 382.