Criswell Theological
Review 1.1 (1986) 113-135.
Copyright © 1986 by The
JAMES, THE WISDOM OF JESUS
JOHN
A. BURNS
I. Introduction
The Scope and Purpose
When
the Epistle of James is studied, it is regarded as a book of
wisdom. But what kind of wisdom is it? With what
biblical parallels
can it be connected? Given that it is practical,
with what matters does it
register concern? Does it speak directly to all
mankind or is it specifi-
cally directed to the
believer? Are the issues that presented themselves
to the 1st century church pertinent for this
century? It is the intention of
this article to speak to the foregoing questions.
It has always been difficult to
trace the outline as found in this
epistle. While it is not the purpose of this
article to trace the argument
of James as it develops, one cannot ignore the
importance of develop-
ing arguments within the
epistle. The wise man desires bases on which
he can affirm his spiritual vitality. The book of
James presents the tests
of faith. As the believer encounters opportunities
to walk in wisdom,
and employs the provisions given by the Lord,
genuine growing faith
will be evident. Faith always is appropriated in
concrete circumstances
applied to specific attitudes and acts.
The Wisdom Tradition in
the Ancient World
Collections of wise sayings were
found in every part of the OT
and NT biblical worlds.1 In its subject
matter, the sayings of the wise
embraced one's practical, everyday conduct and
gave advice about
proper behavior in the royal courts. Its message was
ostensibly simple:
1 R. B. Y. Scott, The Way of Wisdom in the Old Testament (
1971) 23f.
114
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
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whoever takes this counsel is "wise,"
whoever ignores wisdom's warn-
ing is a "fool."
The OT expects the father of the family to teach his
children these words, e.g., "my son" Prov 1:8-9:18; 22:17-24:22.
Most
of the proverbs of ancient literatures, including the OT, are
short statements which pertain to the varied facets
of life. These are
sayings which describe the successful life--which
can be learned
through the pursuit of wisdom.
Wisdom in the OT
The object of OT wisdom is twofold:
1. To instruct the student to
explore life's meaning through reflec-
tion, inquiry, and debate.
2. To guide the learner in living,
through the rules of God's moral
order.
The Wisdom literature of the OT is
usually a reference to the
books of Ecclesiastes, Job, certain Psalms (19; 27;
104; 107; 147; 148),
and especially the book of Proverbs. Also, there
are books of Hebrew
literature outside the OT canon which are cast in
this literary mold.
Wisdom in the NT
Of the books of the NT, James is
often identified as an example of
wisdom literature.2 There is no question
that this epistle, as other
portions of the NT (e.g., 1 Cor
1-4 and the Sermon on the Mount), are
of the essence of divine wisdom. It is another
matter to identify
the epistle of James as wisdom literature, since
this is a literary
classification.
II. The Wisdom Tradition and James
There are a number of differences
between the characteristics of
Wisdom
literature and James that disqualify it as Wisdom literature,
though, of course, this epistle presents the wisdom of
God. The
following observations should be considered:
1. James does not exhibit the
paternal tone (e.g., "my son") found
often in Wisdom literature. In fact, there is no
emphasis on any age
group.
2. There is an absence of rhetorical
questions in James' argument
and in his introduction (cf. Prov
1:22).
3. There is a congratulatory and
often exclamatory form of speech
employed in Wisdom literature, as in Prov 3:13 and 28:19. This form is
2 Donald W. Burdick, "James" in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, (12 vols;
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 115
also found in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the
Mount, but it is a
form never found in James.
4. The four key words of Prov 1:6, showing the various literary
forms employed in Proverbs, are: proverbs (Hebrew masal), parables
(melisa),
wise words and riddles, verbal puzzles (hida).
The most important of these forms is
the masal, “likeness,
com-
parison.” It is often expressed
in verse couplets. Other masal
expres-
sions emphasize contrast,
antithesis3 (Prov 10:1; 25:1; 26:11).
James
does not employ such literary devises as these
models or paradigms.
5. The message of James is not
formed around the figures of the
wise and the simple, a frequent device to teach
truth in the wisdom
literature (Prov 10:1).
Also, varieties of poetic
parallelism, including numerical paral-
lelism, commonly used in
stating the sentiments of OT wisdom, do not
appear in James.
What does the absence in James of
structures, forms and vocabu-
lary common to OT wisdom
literature indicate? It means that James is
not fashioned after, nor dependent on, an OT model.4
There is no
adequate reason why the NT should include
literature cast in the same
form as Proverbs, Job or Ecclesiastes. The epistle
of James gains no
advantage in imitating the wisdom formulas. If the
author wished to
cast his epistle after the wisdom model, he would
have made use of its
peculiar literary features.
Literary Parallels in
James
The Old Testament. Of course
James, like the rest of the NT,
breathes the wisdom of God, but its literary
characteristics are indica-
tive of NT forms of
expression, even though the writer of this epistle
has been steeped in OT and Incarnational
thought.
James was familiar with the Hebrew
OT as well as the LXX. His
vocabulary of 570 words includes 73 of which are
not used in the rest of
the NT--and 46 of that number are found in the LXX.
Certain
idiomatic Hebraisms are frequent.5 It
should be noted that OT per-
sonages are employed as illustrations.
The book of James cannot be
explained as a reapplication of the
OT message. The Epistle's author reflects the
teaching of Jesus Christ
too broadly to allow that conclusion.
3 Samuel P. Tregelles, Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testa-
ment Scriptures (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1949) 517.
4 James Hardy Ropes, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the
Epistle of St.
James (ICC; Edinburgh: T.
& T. Clark, 1971) 18-19.
5 James Adamson, The Epistle of James (NIC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976) 18.
116
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
The New Testament. It is clear
that James preserves directly the
truth (some call it tradition, possibly a neutral
term) of Jesus. This is the
immediate background of the wisdom of James, rather
than the OT.
But
this Epistle does not rest on the four Gospels, nor on
the full range
of the Synoptics--it
reflects the specific teaching of Jesus in the Sermon
on the Mount and a few other loci.6
It seems better, then, to refer to
James as NT wisdom, or the
wisdom of Jesus. It is well to remember that Jesus
heightened the
ethical demands (Matt 5-7; Luke 6) for his
disciples far above the
nature and scope of application of the OT. Like Jesus,
James expects
his teaching to produce an altered, new life. In
fact, James' wisdom
specifies how the believer lives to please God. In
the light of the
Father's
constant presence and in view of His coming at the eschaton
(the consummation, the Judge of the ages), the believer must
not
merely think but must live in a way which honors God.
III. Wisdom in James' Epistle
The effective means by which a
believer becomes practically wise
is prayer (1:5). If God is seen as the source of
all provision, then the
superintendence by His will offsets the
human desire to prosper apart
from God's wise provision.
The Way of Wisdom
J
(Matt
18:18-20; 21:22 // Mark 11:24; John 14:13-14; 15:7 and 16:23).
These
are promises based on the believer's relationship to God. Because
of this personal dimension, the prayer of faith is
effective in securing
both daily wisdom (1:5) and in the cure of the
repentant, ailing sinner
(5:15).
Such an extreme measure in that believer's life calls
forth the
demonstration of wisdom in a changed
life, a living statement of faith
in the wisdom of God.
The well-debated passage 2:18-26,
especially v 20, is written to the
brethren (2:15) with the idea of the fulfilled
Christian life in mind. The
vain man is one in whom there is no recognizable
fulfillment of the
divine purpose (1:4; 3:2). God's intention includes
both the forensic
righteousness conferred on the
believer by God and the practical
demonstration of applied
righteousness by the wise believer.7 Paul,
too, stresses both elements: being a child and
living like a child of God.
6 Peter W. Davids, "James and Jesus" in Gospel Perspectives, Vol. 5 (
JSOT
Press, 1984) 66-67.
7 Leslie Mitton, The Epistle of James
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966) 103.
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 117
Practical
righteousness is the wise life; it is characterized by freedom
from one's limitations and is a life dependent on
God, who is the author
of all good (1:17).
The subjects which
concern the wise believer are: the source of
wisdom, regeneration, the nature and use of God's
Word, the control of
one's response to others (especially favoritism), the
response of
righteous faith, the error of grasping at life
apart from the will of God,
and the confession of sin.
James presents the two ways of life
available to the believer: there
are two ways to deal with trials and temptations,
to respond to God's
Word, to relate to wealth, to approach faith,
and to use the tongue.
There
is a choice between "wisdoms," and between the two ways to
cope with one's desires. Also, there are
alternatives to the tendency to
judge, to be arrogant, and to be self-centered.
Finally, James reminds
us of the alternatives to impatience, deception,
and to the bondages of
prayerlessness.
These two ways of life are not
simply presentations of an inferior
and a superior lifestyle. The wisdom of the
individual materializes:
should he or she choose the prayer path? Spiritual
gain or loss will
result. However, what James presents is not an option
for the believer--
it is obligatory. The necessity of a Christian
lifestyle is indicated by the
frequency of James' injunctions; there are
fifty-four imperatives in one
hundred eight verses. James reproves, rebukes
and exhorts through the
use of the prohibitive subjunctive.8
The commands address the thoughts,
emotions and the activity of
the will. Some of these commands emphasize one's
attitude, while
others specify individual acts. At times, the nature
of the word-
meaning demands a complex idea of the attitude
with acts growing
therefrom. Of course, in dealing
with the Christian personality, the
total personality of body, soul and spirit, are
included in any response
to God's Word. At tUnes
there are distinct emphases which involve one
aspect of the personality more than the others.
The Attitude of the Wise
Christian
The word (1:2) for testing is peirasmo<j;9 some have taken this
word to mean only or principally
"persecution." However, that posi-
tion ignores an entire range
of human experiences which require
wisdom. Secondly, it would require an unnecessarily
late date for
James,
one which would allow for later developments of persecution
8 H. E. Dana and J. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of
the Greek New Testament
(Toronto: Macmillan, 1955) 171.
9 H. Seesemann, "[peira" TDNT
6 (1968) 23-26.
118
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
beyond the local (less intensive) level. Thirdly, this
word is used of
common circumstances of misfortune (peirasmo<j) in Plutarch's
work.10
The
term then covers a range of experiences from internal, moral
pressure to exterior circumstances and, whenever
indicated context-
ually, to persecution. This
first of James' tests of faith concerns faith
under pressure (chap 1).
What should be the wise believer's
attitude in response to dis-
appointments, sorrows, hardships,
persecutions, and temptations?
James
(1:2) says the response should be joy--not just joy at the end of
the experience but throughout it all (indicated by
the present participle
"knowing"). The verb describing the expressed response
is an aorist
tense, indicating that on each occasion of danger to
the soul the trial
should be counted joy. Counting it joy is prescribed,
not suggested.11
"Counting"
is a bookkeeping term; it emphasizes what one must
conclude, perhaps regardless of what one
observes. These conscious
acts are possible--because there is happiness in
experiencing whatever
contributes to the Christian's spiritual growth.
This understanding of
happiness is traceable to Jesus' Beatitudes where
the blessed man (cf.
Ps
1) rejoices under unusual circumstances. The Christian attitude
expresses itself in decisive, conscious acts,
rejoicing in the opportunity
they provide for the Lord to work His blessing in
their growth: "that
they might be complete" (i!na h#te
te<leioi).
Wisdom and Testing
In the midst of this opportunity for
growth, there are two areas of
danger. The first area of danger (1:2) is that the
testing will suddenly
and frequently (o!tan) overtake us. The word
"fall" (peripe<shte)
in
classical Greek designates an unplanned and
undesirable event;12 in 2
Macc 10:4, it describes
The
only other NT use of the word "fall" describes the ambush of the
man who "fell" among thieves on the
Jerusalem-Jericho road (Luke
10:30).
The strength of a testing often is that we never know
when it
will occur.
The predicament caused by testing
points out that wisdom will be
necessary. The verb "to ask" occurs twice
in 1:5-6 (both present
imperatives); seeking wisdom from the giving-God is
the normal
procedure.
The second danger (1:4) is that the
believer will seek God's
wisdom, but will stop seeking and applying God's
wisdom before it has
10 LSJ
1221.
11 Joseph B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. James (Grand Rapids:Zondervan, 1954) 33.
12 LSJ
1249.
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 119
fully accomplished its purposes, a perfect work (e@rgon te<leion). The
command is to "keep on letting patience achieve"
God's intention
(e]xe<tw). Wisdom is given to
teach us proper attitudes. It is possible that
we will not allow the full extent of God's
purposes. This failure of faith
may cause us to (1) lie our way out of further
distresses, (2) simply
give up under pressure, and (3) to yield to
self-pity, bitterness and
discontent, rather than to patience.
It is God's wisdom to insist on
faith, suggested by the present tense
of the imperative: "let him continue to ask
in faith" (1:6). It refers to a
simple act of coming to Jesus with a specific need in
mind, knowing
that a partnership has been formed through
confidence in Him. When
one is characterized by wavering (1:6), there is no
such confidence that
the prayer will be heeded, that one cannot decide whether
to trust God
or not. A sea rages within him but without
resolution; there is only
unsettled behavior. Continual hesitation does not
promote fellowship
with God. This is contrary to wisdom.
Wisdom as Skill
There is necessary activity and
persistence in the exercise of
wisdom. In Matt 26:39 and Luke 22:42, Jesus prays
unwaveringly for
wisdom, "not my will. . . ." Note Peter's
hesitation and its consequences
(Matt
14:25-31). The wise are only so when they act
wisely. James
instructs us to learn attitudes as a part of
wisdom.
The word "wisdom" is used
only twice in James (1:5 and 3:13-18),
but the concept is developed throughout the book.
Wisdom in the
secular sense was used to designate one's skill
in an art or handicraft; it
had reference to the most exact sciences. It was
also employed in a
religious sense of the Divine essence of pure and
immutable being. In
that application, wisdom indicated the most envied
and elevated
existence. The idea of wisdom occurs extensively
in the LXX. The
verb, noun and adjective complex occurs over 300
times, most often in
the wisdom books, but quite frequently in the
historical books.13 There
it specifies technical skill and knowledge as, for
example, in describing
the ability of the Tabernacle's craftsmen, such as Oholiab and Bezalel.
The
prominent ideas specified are those of experience in life, with its
problems, and of success in living. Emphasis is
heavily on the side of
activity rather than thought. Wisdom is revealed
by practice and in
personal piety.
Though wisdom describes innate
skill, clever conduct, and a
knowledge of culture, the OT speaks often of the
wisdom possessed by
13 Edwin Hatch and Henry
A. Redpath, A
Concordance to the Septuagint (3 vols;
Rapids: Baker, 1983) 2. 1278-81.
120
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
God
and the wise response expected in His creatures as they honor His
Word.
Wisdom and Obedience
In the NT, the wisdom in which Jesus
grew continually was also
obedience to the revealed Word of God (Luke 2:40).14
His under-
standing and use of God's wise revelation caused
his enemies to marvel
(Mark
6:2). Stephen manifests God's wisdom in his witness. Paul
expounds the theology of wisdom, especially as it
relates to Christian
growth. The wisdom of the Lamb in the Revelation of
John specifies
his ability to interpret the mysteries of the last
times.
James' epistle emphasizes wisdom in
living out the life of Christ in
ordinary human circumstances. It is the wisdom
that comes from God;
it is opposed to the wisdom of this world; it does
not serve those who
champion the other, immoral "wisdom."
The wisdom of which James speaks
does not derive from human
experience; it is not selfish. It signifies a
spiritual understanding of
God's
will for man's life and a welcome compliance in the whole of
one's life.
What effect does wisdom have on
one's attitudes and ensuing
actions? James warns against faulty judgments of
boasting and self-
deception. There are six imperatives in Jas
1:9-22, all but one of them
in the present tense; the exception is de<casqe
in 1:21. This pas-
sage shows examples of how to cope with temptations
to double-
mindedness.
In 1:9-11, the example of failure to
trust God (double-mindedness)
concerns material wealth and its accompanying
prestige.15 James,
throughout this epistle, as here, presents the
tests of faith, the evidences
by which we can be assured that our faith is
actively single-minded, the
opposite of diakrino<menoj.
In 1:9, the second of four uses of
the conjunction de< appears; each one
indicates a new development in the argument in
this section of the
book (1:5, 9, 19 and 22).
Wisdom and Wealth
Rather than telling fellow
Christians that it is permissible to
assume a low profile, though they are socially insignificant,
he com-
mands each one to
"glory" or "boast" (a word used most often in Paul's
epistles in a pejorative sense). God is to be
glorified, of course, not
14 U. Wilckens,
"Swfi<a" TDNT 7 (1971) 496-528.
15 Bo Reicke,
The Epistles of James, Peter and Jude (AB;
Garden City: Doubleday,
1964) 15.
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 121
because of one's poverty in contrast to the
affluence and influence of
others, but because God's plan for such ones is the
equality to be found
in Christ. His acceptance in the Son is intended
to sustain him amid
testing. Without this support, he may be tempted
to seek a solution in
opting for a security similar to the influential man
who depends on
wealth and influence to extricate him from potential troubles.
Lest the
"rich" man seek to settle his problems apart from the
Lord's wisdom,
James
(1:10) reminds him to exult in the position he shares with his less
able brother. Both rich and poor have access and are
equally dependent
on the provision of God. Matt 5:12 has a similar
command to the
spiritually alert to exult, knowing that the wages
for life's experience
are not payable on earth. In J
God,
either through practiced intrigue or despondency which may
even lead him to think God has forsaken him (1:13).
The physical
dimensions of life are transitory--this realization
is a mark of wisdom
(1:11;
see also 5:1-6). The error (1:16) against which James warns
seems best related to the foregoing section where a
careless believer.
allows faithlessness to grow to fruition. Vv 13-15
contain several
negative notes, while those of vv 17-1.8 are
positive. The command is
properly rendered "Stop being deceived"
(1:16).16 Deception is a token
of the unused provision of wisdom.
Wisdom and Rank
The wise instructor commands (1:19)
the demonstration of God's
mind in the believer's conduct. The gifts of God and
the birth by God
are sufficient to produce a life reflecting a
relationship with God. The
wise Christian has a distinctive purpose (note the
parallel constructions
of
ei]j
to> to with the infinitive) in living.17
The last construction with ei]j is
changed from an infinitive to a noun (o]rgh<) to introduce emphatically
the subject of the next section (1:20-27) with its
warning against wrath
in speech and conduct (1:26). Reception of the
Word of God results in
the traits of a Rabbi's good pupil as one who
is" . . . quick to hear, slow
to forget. . . ."18 However, James
upgrades the word "forget" to
"speak," which in this context is the hesitation to
speak rashly or in
anger. He also adds a warning against acts of wrath
which are the result
of self-assertion as over against God's will.
16 Peter W. Davids, Commentary on
James (NIGTC;
1982)
86.
17 Arthur Carr, The General Epistle of James (CGT;
1899) 22.
18 APOT
707.
122
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
Wisdom and Growth
The counsel of God's wisdom aims at
implanting His word into toe
Christian's
character (e@mfuton) in 1:21.19 The "rooted word"--that is its
nature--is welcomed (de<casqe)
into a life, like elements of nutrition
being continually absorbed into a plant to make it
grow.
The element which makes this
growth-pattern possible is "meek-
ness" (1:21). Jesus calls himself
"meek" in Matt 11:29; He places
"meekness" in the forefront of the qualities of the
"blest" (Matt 5:4, 5).
It
is willingness to acknowledge the will of God in one's life, the
opposite of the exercise of anger (3:13, 17), and
is an expression of
righteousness (1:20).20
The potency of the "rooting-word" results in the
character of Christ transforming (sw<zw) the entire life of the
Christian
(yu<xh). The intended goal for
the believer is not learning; it is deeds
(1:22).
Just as spiritually unproductive as
double-mindedness is the
attempt to combine faithfulness to Christ, in
other connections, with
unfaithfulness in relations with other
Christians. The second test of
faith relates to the deceptively gentle pressure of
favoritism (chap 2).
Believers
are admonished to stop trying (e@xete) to combine faith in
Christ
with the discrimination of persons (2:1). This snobishness
ignores
injustice for fear of the powerful (2:6). Such
conduct respects the
person of man, but disrespects the person of God.
These perpetrators
are judges with evil thoughts (2:4).
In one of three OT quotations in
James (2:8-11), there is evidence
of Semitic grammatical influence: the future is
used as a categorical
imperative, "love your neighbor." 21
The form emphasizes the exercise
of the will; it is a command. The emphasis on a
controlled use of the
will is seen in these imperative verbs of
"saying" and "doing" (2:12). A
third test focuses on personal commitment (2:14-26).
The believer
"enwisened," recognizes the
unity of the Law which reflects the unity
of the Law-giver's will. Believers are to be
influenced by God's wisdom
so that they won't express their impatience with
those in need (2:16).
The
language here was used to let one know he was being dismissed.
The
next word in the imperative (u[pa<gw)was
used to say goodbye to
beggars. It signaled that contact with the
needy-one was over; the
subject was closed. Wisdom should control the
emotions. Wishing the
19 Sophie Laws, The Epistle of James (HNTC;
1980) 82.
20 BAGD
704.
21 W. E. Oesterley, "The General Epistle of James" The Expositor's Greek New
Testament (5 vols;
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 123
one who needs warm clothing and sufficient food to
have them
indicates only a hearer not a doer of the Word.
The word "comforted"
(xorta<zesqe) means, "to feed
someone until they are full" (2:16).22 It is
no more excusable to ignore God's revealed will in
respect to treatment
of people's needs ("loving one's
neighbor") than it is to reject God's
admonitions not to murder and to avoid adultery
(2:11).
The emphasis of the verb "to
have" (2:18) shows what potentially
belongs to one. The chiastic structure of these
verses (2:18-26) means
to tie faith to works inseparably. Without faith,
there would be no
reason to do any works. Also, without faith, there
would be no relation
to the dynamic power necessary to perform the
works. It is also
necessary to recall the sort of works expected in
this passage: "saying"
and "doing" what the principle of love
demands. The point is not just
to do what man will see, but what God expects the
result of their faith
to be also (2:20). Personal commitment to God
moves beyond empty
claims (2:18) either to man or to God. The vain man is
one who does
not employ wisdom (2:20). It is interesting that
Abraham's hospitality
(Gen
18) is passed over as an illustration of faith in favor of his offering
of Isaac. He was justified previously, believing
God would give a son.
The
point is, Abraham's relationship to God is of greatest import, even
above acts of mercy. Isaac's "offering" is
not an act of Abraham's
mercy, but is an act of faith, completed faith, not
like that of the
unwise.
The Tests of Faith
In chaps 1 and 2, three tests have
been presented whereby the
believer can determine whether he or she is
walking in wisdom. These
are tests concerning faith. Only faith leads us to
walk wisely.
1. When people are under pressure
(chap 1), the wise walk of the
faithful brings them to trust God's perspective
on life. They must trust
God to provide for them. Jesus instructed men
(Matt 6:24-34) that God
was dependable for today and tomorrow; the pursuit
of God and His
righteousness should be our
preoccupation (Matt 6:33) as doers of the
Word.
2. There are pressures of another
kind--friendly pressures. There
is no place in the Christian assembly for the
veneration of personalities,
nor for the denegration
of those we judge to be of lesser importance
(2:1-13). Favoritism not only
ignores the nature of the Body of Christ,
but leads one to worship persons instead of the
Person of God. The
error is an attempt to combine one's faith in a
general sense with an
22 G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (
& T. Clark, 1937) 482.
124
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
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exception to what Christ taught. If the church
service is to honor
Christ,
what difference does it make who occupies “places of honor”
(2:3)?
Six times in the Synoptic Gospels Jesus makes reference to Lev
19:18,
"you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (see also Rom 13:19;
Gal
5:14).
3. In the last part of chap 2 (vv
14-26), there is the wise admoni-
tion to let faith result in
faithful acts. This section is directly related to
the previous one: it is the poor who benefit from
the acts "out of" faith.
Jesus
taught (John 13:14-15) the disciples such practical dimensions of
love (John 15:12, 17).
The wisdom of faith in 3:1-5:20 demonstrates
the possibilities of
the Christian life. Here there are six tests of
wisdom's self-control.
One's
faith may be tested for its vitality at three points. Do I exercise
self-control or does my orientation
lie in worldly-wisdom and its
misuse of the tongue (3:1-18)? What is my reaction to
the lure of the
world and its attraction (4:1-5:12)? and, Do I distinguish my faith
through its acts of prayer and restoration
(5:13-20)? In the light of the
return of the Lord, the Judge, the believer must walk
in wisdom (5:7f).
Chap 3 opens with a present
imperative (3:1), "Don't keep on
attempting to become teachers." The teaching
office, viewed as a
counterpart to being a Rabbi, was strongly sought.23
Any social contact
one might have with a Rabbi was desirable: whether
to speak with him,
have him as a house-guest, to marry his daughter--even
to carry his
burdens, fetch him water, or saddle his donkey.
There was acceptance,
authority and a highly desirable lifestyle in the
role of the Christian
teacher too.
From God's perspective, the teacher's
role is important because of
the vast influence of his words. The teacher is a
minister of wisdom; his
words can lead to life changes, therefore, the
censure or approval will
be keener (3:1). The word "judgment"
signifies both the possibility
of either acquittal or condemnation. James links
himself with other
teachers by using the first person plural. The
future indicative empha-
sizes an inescapable time of evaluation.
Jesus speaks of teachers who are
desensitized about their respon-
sibility: they only concern
themselves with personal honors, the
ignore righteousness in favor of oppression, feigned
spirituality, blind
guidance, and pretense (Matt 23).
Wisdom and Ministry
The wise use of the tongue is
illustrated in six ways in chap 3,
each one illustrates the need of control; the list
is punctuated by
23 APOT
707.
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 125
statements and questions which heighten the need
for the exercise of
wisdom. True and false wisdom are contrasted as to
origin, character,
and outcome. A man's words are an extension of
himself; they reflect
his nature (cf. 3:10). Control over the tongue
signifies the whole person
is under control (te<leioj)
(3:2). In chaps 3 and 4, the thought introduced
in 1:5-8 is further developed.
The aorist imperative deica<tw (3:13) calls upon the
wise to "demon-
strate" his wisdom. Even
a wise one must make an effort to reveal
God's
provided sagacity. Perhaps there were some there who imagined
that teaching yields maturity automatically and who
did not realize
that they were ignorant of the temptations of the
office (2:9). The
evidence of maturity is only detected when the
wise man acts wisely
and in meekness. The emphasis is, once again, on
deeds versus words.
In 3:13 there occurs a hapax legomenon.
The word ]Episth<mwn
("endued with knowledge") is employed in classical Greek
of a skilled
workman, as a scientific person, as opposed to
someone who is without
special "knowledge or training.24
It is employed to describe judges
(Deut
1:13) and the nation
Jesus said every insignificant word
would be judged (Matt 12:36).
Words
cannot be used for the benefit of the individual, they must be
effectual for good. The frequency with which the
teacher exercises his
frequently is envisioned in the word polla>: "all sorts of
times" and
frequently (3:2). Thus, the need is to be careful;
because the unruly
teacher can unwisely engage in destructive conduct,
can be duplicious,
and be selfishly ambitious (3:5-14).
The wisdom which dominates that kind
of conduct comes from a
source other than God (cf. 1:5, 17). The three words
describing this
alternate wisdom present a descending level of
characteristics (3:15).
Jesus
said the results produced by the conduct of a professed wise
person indicate the source and nature of that wisdom
(3:17; Matt
11:19). He also related
that the proper use of the teacher's gift results in
blessing (3:9; Matt 5:19). James warns would-be
teachers to stop using
the teaching function as a permit for arrogant
boasting and even for
lying, especially in the sense that such wisdom is
claimed to be derived
from God (3:14), when it simply cannot be.
Wisdom and the World
There is another way to determine
the reality of one's faith. How
does the believing wise one deal with the magnetism
of the godless
system of life known as the world (4:1-5:12)?
24 LSJ
573.
126 CRISWELL
THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
The first command to wise living is
at 4:7, but the background
begins at v 1. Possibly our Lord's words in Matt
7:7-12 provided the
basis for this divine commentary on the wise and the
unwise ways of
dealing with ambition (4:1-6).
In vv 5 and 6, James reminds the
readers that there is a will to be
served other than their own. To reject Jesus' Lordship
is to express
unfaithfulness to our God. Jesus spoke
of an adulterous generation
which sought only to please itself, even when
confronted by God's
revelation (Matt 12:38-39). Duplicity of heart,
seen in adultery (4:4), is
really not divided affections, but a reassignment of
total affections,
according to Jesus (Matt 6:24-34). In the Matthean reference, as in
James
chap 4, the issue that reveals spiritual infidelity is one's grasping
attitude toward material things.
The remedy for this display of
worldly wisdom is submission and
resistance (4:7). God has every right to our love.
The Word of God
means all that it says (Deut 32:47—note keno>j answering to Deuter-
onomy's keno>j) when it asserts God's
jealousy (4:5).
Maintaining Fellowship
Because of God's just claims for our
affection (ou#n), James issues a
series of commands in 4:7-10, all ten are aorist
imperatives, emphasiz-
ing the need for acts of
the will.
1. "Submit" (u[pota<ssomai) 4:7. The aorist imperative denotes an
urgent entreaty or command. The passive aorist has the
significance of
the middle voice.25 This structure of
the word suggests voluntary
alignment under God's authority. James expects
total commitment,
expressed by subordination and resistance
initially, then subsequently,
in obedience to the other imperatives. In Luke
2:51, this verb "submit"
describes the voluntary subordination of Jesus to
his parents. It also
indicates the same deference of the Christian wife
to her husband (Eph
5:21ff.).
NT usage provides a family structure for one dimension of
usage of this term. Perhaps the basis of this command
in 4:7 is founded
on the practice of one's relation to God's family.
Elsewhere in the NT
u[pota<ssw is employed in the
sense of involuntary compulsion (e.g.,
Rom
8:20).
2. "Resist" (a]nti<sthte). This aorist
imperative is best taken as
ingressive. It is often translated as an urgent
entreaty, "Take your stand
against. . . ." When an imperative is
followed by a future verb form, as
here, it forms the equivalent of a semitic conditional sentence.26 This
modifies the construction and is best translated,
"When you take your
25
Adamson, James 174.
26 Mayor,
James 146.
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM OF JESUS 127
stand against the Devil, he will run from you." Spiritual advantage in
combat with the Devil is not automatic, the believer
must take a
position; this is a positive action, a step of
volition beyond non-
submission to the tempter (1:13-15).
In His wisdom, God provides a way
beyond escape--resistance
against the adversary. This is accomplished by
submission to the will
and life of God. Jesus said no man can serve two
masters simul-
taneously, he can love and serve
only one of them at a time. In
temptations, Jesus sought this refuge by
appropriating the Word of
God at each occasion. The result of His
resistance (Matt 4:10) was
Satan's flight (Matt 4:11). Christ is the model.
Note, too, the episode of
spiritual strife in Peter's life (Luke 22:21-36),
and the anticipated
turnabout of Peter in taking a stand against the
Devil through submis-
sion to God (Luke 22:32).
3. "Draw near" (e]ggi<sate) 4:8. God is not only
to be obeyed, but
He
must be worshipped. In the OT (Exod 19:22; 30:20; Lev
10:3) the
word is used of the Hebrew priest approaching God in
both Taber-
nacle and
can. The construction is parallel to the previous conditional
statement
(4:7). Here it is rendered,
“When you draw near to God, He will draw
near to you."
4. “Cleanse” (kaqari<sate) 4:8. The word draw
near was also
used of the pious turning to God (Jer 30:20). This approach required
the worshipper to cleanse himself before attempting
to worship God.
Matt
23:26 records Jesus' teaching that any ritual will only hold value if
the worship is morally clean. Jesus adds to the
teaching about cleansing
in John 13. There the emphasis is on both the
believer's responsibility to
appropriate and the Savior’s part in providing
cleansing.
As
the priests entered the Tabernacle, they paused In the
court-
to wash their hands and feet in order to be
acceptable to God and
avoid judgment (Exod
30:19-21). Jesus' teaching about the large and
small obstructions in the eye (Matt 7:3ff.) concern
cleansing as a
prerequisite to any effective moral
correction. The statement about
“hands” and "hearts" symbolizes "deeds"
and "thoughts." The word
sinners" specifies the believer who has
"missed the mark"; this failure
must be cleansed before genuine worship can be
enjoyed (4:8).
The two aorist imperatives are
"cleanse," which emphasizes the
purging of our deeds, and "purify."
The noun, kaqaro<j, is used of the
body without the smearing of paint or oil by
Xenophon.27 He also
employs it of wheat stripped of its chaff28
and of an army stripped of all
27 Xenophon, Oeconomicus, X.7.
28 Ibid
XVII. 8 9.
128
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
but its very best warriors.29 The
central idea in every case is that the
subject is free from anything that would
diminish its full value.
]Agni<sate translated
"purify," on the other hand, is used of moral
purity accomplished by acts of a dedicated will. It
places one in a
condition, prepared for worship (see also a]gni<zw, 1 Pet 1:22 and 1 John
3:3).
]Agno<j is used of cleansing
from ceremonial defilement in the
LXX and in John 11:55 and Acts 21:24, 26; 24:18.
The Levitical
priest had to be cleansed before he served God. At
the same time, the heart had to be purified, that
is, separated from
everything that might cause uncleanness,
(especially see 1:6ff.). In Luke
11:39-42,
Jesus distinguishes between apparent, outward holiness and
the separation which always can be detected by the
One who looks on
the heart (also Jas 5:2). When the believer rests
in the wisdom of God,
both that which gives rise to the sin (1:14) and the
enactment of
subsequent evil deeds are to be dealt with. Jesus'
wise instruction must
be applied to the spiritual condition. The word
"heart" depicts the seat
of the emotions and of thought, even of one's
desires and under-
standing, and especially of all these elements of
personality crystalizing
in the action of the will, the root of one's
conduct. The word "sinners”
(a[martoloi<) identifies those who
sin in full view of everyone, in a
notorious fashion (4:8). In parallel with the idea
of the cleansing of the
heart, the sort of sin to be dealt with is failure,
the believer's failure to
trust God and His will for the Christian's life. This
is sin which God
alone can detect, but, once specified by the Spirit's
conviction, the
believer is the only one who can turn
alternatively to God in faith.
The Renewal of Fellowship
The next five aorist imperatives describe
the characteristic acts of
the process of repentance--as our Lord sees it.
Again, it should be
noted that these are not options, they are steps in
one's change which
God
commands (4:9-10). Once again, the Beatitudes of Jesus are the
background to James' words (Matt 5:4 and Luke
6:25). The "mourning”
in Matt 5, as in James, is not over sin generally
expressed in the world,
but sin as discovered in the individual who then
repents and is
subsequently comforted (paraklhqh<sontai). Only then is the believer
"blessed."
The first of these commands is talaipwrh<sate; the noun form
indicates misery and distress (4:9).30
Repentance begins within. Jesus
commanded His disciples to take up their cross and
deny themselves.
The
believer who admits to having sinned is "crushed" in his spiritual
29 Ibid
VIII.117.
30 BAGD
810.
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 129
consciousness. This word is used of
undergoing hardship (Jer 4:13,
20;
Isa 33:1). Here James emphasizes the personal initiative,
""Be
distressed."
They must "mourn" and "weep"
also. "Mourn" (penqh<sate)
expresses a self-contained grief, not normally
visible. This godly sorrow
is commended by Jesus in Luke 6:25 and Mark 16:10.
It indicates a grief
that leaves a heartache. In the two verses cited,
this "mourning" is
coupled with “weeping” (klau<sate). The internal grief
brings tears to
the eyes; inner feeling is communicated. This
weeping is a loud
expression of pain or sorrow; it is even used of a
lament for those who
have died (John 11:31; Matt 2:18).
But repentance transcends feeling,
no matter how deeply seated,
and it goes past a display of this grief. It also
demands change. The
verb metatraph<tw
("to turn about, turn into") emphasizes change by
one's turning.31 This is the only use of
this word in the NT (4:9).
The end result of the believer's
repentance is the Lord's renewal to
unrestricted fellowship (4:10). What
has the repentant believer lost in
the process of renewal--nothing. He has taken his
proper place; this is
suggested first in v 6 (tapeinoi<j) and again in v 10 (tapeinw<qhte).
These
four verses form a unit. The word tapeino<w means ""to
confess and
deplore one's spiritual insignificance."
The aorist passive has, here, the
significance of the middle voice, "deplore
yourself," "count yourself
wretched."
The believer who counts the Lord's
wisdom as precious counsel is
rewarded. The Lord will raise him up (4:10). This
parallels Jesus'
promise in Matt 23:12 and Luke 23:12 where the contexts
have to do
with humility; Jesus' parable about a display of
pride in prayer (Luke
18:9-14)
illustrates the need for humility by the religious.
God's attitude toward the humility
of repentance is to exalt the
humble. The raising from humility here is not an
elevation in the social
scheme of things, but a drawing up into an acceptance
in the spiritual
realm--unhindered fellowship. This is a command with
a promise.
James returns to the practical
question of unity within the Body of
Christ
in 4:11. Katalalei?te, the present
imperative, instructs God's
people to "'stop defaming, talking against"
one's fellow Christians; the
practice had been in progress among them. Perhaps
this is one of the
things that the previous catena of aorist imperatives
directed the
repentant believer to care for. Even if the
criticism against another
Christian
is true, caustic activity can only hurt the Body; it also
obligates the critic for criticism by the same
standards of conduct.
Jesus'
wise counsel stipulates this in Matt 7:1ff. and Luke
6:37. Talking
31
Abbott-Smith, Greek Lexicon 288.
130
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
against the brother or sister disregards the
purpose of the "kingly law,"
that is, to be a "guide for people who wish to
please God. Speaking hard
words about one another is encouraged by pride which
is evil (4:16)
and which leads to conflict among believers
(4:1-2). The Lawgiver
alone has the right to discriminate (4:12). We do not
have the advantage
necessary to be able to save or to destroy, so we
do not have the right
of pronouncement.
Man's dependent nature should keep
him from acting indepen-
dently of God. God's will, and
not personal judgment, should provide a
basis for human decision and as a guide about how to
plan and execute
one's life (4:15; Luke 12:28; 13:32-33). These were
well-to-do believers
whose whole life consisted in traveling for trade and
profit. God filled
no essential category in their lives (4:16).
The words a@ge
nu?n (4:13) are equivalent
to "come now" or "see
here" (cf. Matt 26:65). This too is the counsel
of wisdom. The intention
of this command is to reprove those already guilty
of making plans
which exclude God. A calculated arrogance in which
they will do what
they like, where they like (th>n po<lin means
"this city") and for as long
as they wish. Even if there would be no arrogance
in evidence, God is
still left out. Note how the use of kai> separates the various
elements of
the intended plan in v 11. The wisdom of Jesus in
Matt 6:34 provided a
background for these words. The common idea is
preoccupation with
oneself. The Matthean
verbs merimnh<shte
and merimnh<sei
concern the
matter of a person's trust in God (6:19-34). The verb merimna<w means
"to care," "to be anxious," and in 6:19-34 the
idea is "worry," "self-
concern for security." The use of the
future tense in Jas 4:13 indicates
that specific plans are made (will go, will make,
will buy, will sell) with
no intention of change.
Wealth is not the highest value.
Patience is the alternative to
grasping (5:1-6). Jas 5:1 repeats the command for
attention, as at 4:13
(a@ge nu?n) "come now," "see
here." Again, the purpose is to reprove.
The
nu?n intensifies James'
insistence, "without delay."32 In addition
to
the word "weep" already used in 4:9,
James employs the word "howl"
(o]lolu<zontej). It indicates the
nature of the crying--a howling because
of distress.33 Here, it is the distress
borne out of repentance. Though
used only here in the NT, the LXX uses it often, at
times of violent grief
(Joel
1:5, 13).34
The warning here (5:1-6) is
addressed to believers to disuade them
from setting a high value on wealth. Had the idea
been to address the
32 Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
(New
33 BAGD
567.
34 Thayer, Lexicon 567.
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM
OF JESUS 131
unsaved, James would have presented an appeal to
be saved. In
addition, the coming of Christ is cited as a
benefit in 5:7; this would not
be a comfort to the unbeliever. The wise (Matt
6:19; Luke 12:33) are
those who do not make riches their treasures (5:2).
In the second part of this chapter
(5:7-12), the alternative to the
grasping of materialism is stated: patience. The
imperative makro-
qumh<sate is found here and in v
8. This word describes an attitude
which can endure delay, bear suffering and still
never gives in. It is an
aspect of the Holy Spirit's life expression (Gal
5:22). The same word is
used of God's being content to wait in his
longsuffering toward men.
The
illustration in 5:7 bears out this thought; it also uses the present
imperative "behold." The background of
the expectant farmer who
orders his life along lines of patience forms the
chief character (also in
Matt
13:30). The preciousness of the fruit justifies the waiting until the
heavenly gifts are received.
The imperative, "stabilize,
strengthen!" (5:8), in tandem with the
second use of makroqumh<sate specifies that the
believer's stance is not
just to await the inevitable restitution, but to
nourish the activity of the
resolution. We must will to wait for God's time to
enrich us according
His
will; he has promised to care for us until He rewards us (5:8).
This
is a cure for "double-soulness." The
employment of the word in
the LXX most often describes strengthening the body
with food,
though it specifies God's working in men's spiritual
quotient (cf. 1 Pet
3:17).35
God's reward is not a compounded interest on all the valued
things we have done without; it is life on a different
plane (John 14:6)
and in the presence (h[ parousi<a) of Him whose coming is imminent
(pro> tw?n
qurw?n e@sthken, 5:9). Because His
presence will be our
reward, we are encouraged against continuing to blame
one another
for unmerited distress. Mh<
stena<zete means, "Stop
complaining!"
(Perhaps
inwardly, since the word denotes a feeling which is internal
and unexpressed, an inward feeling of a grudge
against another.)
Jesus' word of wisdom to the
persecuted is first found in Matt
5:10-12.
James calls our attention (i]dou<) to those who proved
them-
selves constant: Job and the prophets. They refused to
renounce God;
their temper did not easily succumb to suffering. In
Job, u[pomonh< is
used 14 times.
The final reaction of the "enwisened" believer occurs in 5:12. Even
more important than the avoidance of a grudging
attitude, which may
lead to the misuse of the tongue, there is a danger
in using oaths. This
oath is a reference to private assertions. There is no
idea of taking a
public oath in a courtroom. It is the believer's duty
to be constantly
35 Hatch
and Redpath, Concordance
2.893.
132 CRISWELL
THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
truthful. The use of oaths, half-serious,
half-profane, was common in
1st century conversation. James says "stop
swearing." Swearing is only
necessary where truth is of little importance.
Jesus warned against
swearing (Matt 5:34-37). Of all the sins
involving speech, this is the
most serious; it denies the transcendence of God.
Swearing places God
in obligation to the oath employed. There are OT
passages which seem
to approve swearing; these occasions are emphases
on one's faith in
Jehovah
as symbolized by an oath. They are not placing God under
obligation.
Because the use of oaths would
sooner or later lead to excuses, and
then on to false statements, James counsels
"Let your `yes' be `yes' and
nothing more. . . ." A breach of the Third
Commandment is to be
avoided.
The Wise Use of Prayer
In Jas 5:13-21, two final acts in
faith are counseled by James. Pray
in every circumstance of life (5:13-20), and
restore those living in
spiritual despair (5:21). The section begins with
three questions; there
are twenty-two altogether in James.
The subject of prayer was first
introduced in 1:5. Here (5:13),
prayer is the preferred alternative to reacting to
circumstances and to
distress. The circumstances indicated by kakopaqei? are
not those of
illness, but are matters of misfortune. In such
difficulties, "continue
praying," James urges. But suppose we enjoy
pleasant circumstances?
We
must not forget God in good times, either. When the bounty of God
overflows, a wise Christian praises God—another
aspect of prayer;
dependence is still acknowledged. The word ya<llw means "to sing or
to play on a harp"; it describes praise 56
times in the LXX: "continue
singing psalms." This epistle abounds
everywhere with man's response
to God; a major aspect of wisdom is the response
of prayer.
The last in a series of three
questions, "Is any among you weak?"
occurs in 5:14. This weakness is the third of three
possible conditions.
The
condition suggests a person who realizes that he may be unable to
respond continuously to the Lord because of
encroaching physical
illness. It is not specified that this
sickness/weakness is necessarily
caused by personal sin, though it may be (1 Cor 11:30-32). The ka@n
with the subjunctive mood of the verb indicates the
possibility of sin as
the cause of the weakness. The perfect with the
verb "to be" empha-
sizes the continuous state of sin in which those
whose sickness is the
result of sin will remain until forgiven (Matt 9:2-7).
When one is unable to complete the
season of prayer which would
lead to forgiveness, the instruction given is to
call for those who assist in
the ministry of such occasions. Visiting the sick was a normal function
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM OF JESUS 133
of the elders in a Jewish community (Matt 25:36)
and seems to be more
than an act of charity. It was visitation aimed at
restoration by way of
intercession. This, too, is the way
of godly wisdom, in contrast to the
pagans' use of charms and incantation which was an
aspect of worldly
wisdom.
The normal form of the imperative in
James (aorist) emphasizes
each separate act, when the one in need cannot pray,
those who are
called make supplications, "Let them pray"
(5:14).1 Clem 5:9 mentions
supplications for those sick in soul
and body.
The word "anointing" (5:4)
is a participle (a]lei<yantej); as such, it
is secondary to the act of supplication. The
aorist tense of the participle
ordinarily points it out as an activity previous to
the main verb form,
here previous to the prayer offered. "Let them
supplicate having
anointed him in the name of the Lord"
(5:14b; cf. 3 John 7; Acts 5:41;
9:2;
19:7).
It is the prayer of faith that
saves, not the anointing, which may be
the unmistakable assurance to the sick one that
they have voluntarily
identified with his or her need (cf. Mark 6:13).
This prayer proceeds
from a singleminded,
"enwisened" man. Prayer (eu]xh<) has the sense of
"a vow" in the NT, and is most often used in that sense
in the LXX.
Perhaps
the idea is that a prayer of dedication is made as intercession
for the one who lies ill, expressing his stated
intention to please God.
The
prayer is based on Jesus; name. He is the prince of the new aeon;
the One to whom obligation belongs.
The result of this prayer of
identification and dedication results in
the physical revitalization of the person fallen
ill. The use of e]gei<rw
demonstrates that the salvation (sw<sei) designates physical
healing.
Raising
one up in other senses are inappropriate here (cf. Mark 1:31;
Matt
9:5). Should the cause of the illness be through sin, forgiveness
shall be extended to that one.
V 16 does not begin a new subject,
rather it draws a conclusion
deduced from the previous section. The two
sections are connected by
the word ou#n (therefore), not
translated in some English versions. By
the imperative "confess," the emphasis
continues on the practice of
mutual confession and intercessory prayer. It is God's
appointed means
of physical and spiritual wellbeing in the
gathering of believers.
The value of confession lies in its
expression of the believer's
penitence, which furnishes a ground for others'
confession. The word
e]comologe<w means basically
"assuming a position of agreement" about
the nature of the specified sin and one's avowed
intention that it be
brought to an end. The prefix suggests an
audible confession to another
believer. The tense of this imperative suggests
the continuing practice
of such confession. The verb "to pray"
suggests a continuous readiness
134 CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
to intercede on behalf of fellow Christians. The
word "healing" always
refers to physical healing in the NT.
This strong prayer is made to be
strong, effective by God's
response to it. Since God hears prayer, a
Christian with a clear
conscience (cf. 4:3) should pray boldly (Prov 15:29) and should inter-
cede as Elijah did as an intercessor (5:17) (cf.
Jesus' teaching, reflective
of the 1 Kgs 17
reference in Luke 4:25; see also Heb 4:15). The Christian
is charged to be fully aware of (ginwske<tw),
and to act on the truth of
the great value of bringing the unresponsive
Christian to repentance
(5:17)
as Elijah did his generation through prayer and power. The
reduplication of the same idea of
prayer (in both the noun and the
verb) places a special emphasis on the prophet's
singling one item out
as a special item of prayer. It is not in the one
who prays, but in the
prayer that the value lies.
The last imperative in James (5:20)
suggests how important it is to
be fully aware continuously that the return of a
sinning believer from
his unprofitable way of life has two immediate
consequences: (1) he
will save a person (yuxh>n) from the result of
persistent sins, and (2) will
cover sins (1 Pet 4:8 which quotes Prov 1.0:12), that is, will procure
forgiveness (Pss 32:1;
85:2; Deut 4:24; Rom 4:7). Kalu<ptein
in connec-
tion with sins usually means
"cause them to be forgotten" (5:20).
The Proverbs context (10:12) of this
verse (5:20) says that love
covers all transgressions. In context, the idea is
"love refuses to see
faults." James' use has reference to those who
confess they have
wronged another, or even wronged each other. The
result of the act of
confession is that the mutual love arising in such
cases will cover up
whatever the wrong was, will cause all parties to
disregard the sin. The
background of this verse is found in Matt 5:23f,
18:15, and Luke 17:3f.
where unforgiven sin
precludes worship and repentance strengthens
Christ's
Body.
IV.
Conclusion
The understructure of James'
theology is the wisdom of Jesus, as
our Lord, the Savior taught it and lived it. It is
theology requiring
faithful obedience. The tests in the book of 1
John are designed to
show the existence of the life of God in the
Christian. The Epistle of
James
indicates tests of faith. As we engage ourselves to walk wisely,
the function of wisdom will demonstrate the
existence of faith and will
exhibit its vitality.
James has as his purpose the
demonstration of a living faith. But
faith is more than an occasional thought; it goes
beyond one's attitude.
It
can only take shape in concrete situations. When the believer obeys
Burns: JAMES, THE WISDOM OF JESUS 135
the wise instruction of the Scripture, he walks in
wisdom. That applica-
tion of wise words results
in incidents of applied faith. Whether the
incidents of observed faith will emerge out of
occasions of testing,
from situations where one has to decide the extent
to which God will
control and be responsible for their needs, and
under circumstances
where human perception would be limited. Wisdom is
served when
the believer repents personally or engages in the
process of restoration
of another believer. The proper use of wisdom
allows the believer to
observe faith at work.
The wisdom James commands us to
employ is taught by Christ
and emphasized by Paul. The theology of James
features an under-
structure of the wisdom of Jesus which was taught
by Jesus Christ and
featured in his life.
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