As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1James,
a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which [are]
in the Diaspora, greetings.
Well, well. Here we are. I am embarking on a study of the
book of James after just finishing a study of the book of Galatians. These two
books have been thought by many to teach two different gospels, Galatians a
gospel of free grace and James a gospel of faith + works. Martin Luther even
considered the book of James “a gospel of straw” and denied its canonicity. I believe
the two books simply approach grace, faith, and works from different perspectives.
I am quite sure one balances the other. That is in part why I selected this
particular book for my next study. If I, in any way, have embraced some
imbalance from my study of Galatians, hopefully the Lord will correct me
through James.
Another reason why I have desired to study this book is
because I have actually taught through it a number of times, though never
having studied it myself. I generally have tried to make it a rule that I’ll
not teach Bible until I myself have invested the time to study it (and live it
for a while). There is great danger in simply repeating what others say the
Bible means. I guess I felt that James is so straight forward that I could
teach it without that investment. However, again, that is a delicate and
dangerous business. So … I want to invest the time now and at least correct any
misconceptions I may have embraced through my (arrogantly) having “rushed in
where angels fear to tread.”
Finally, I want to study the book because I have in my
library two commentaries, one by Robert Johnstone (1871) and another by Thomas
Manton (1693). They, like my old friend John Eadie, are men who study the text
carefully, think deeply about its meaning and application, then emerge as men
of warm faith. I long to “walk with these wise men” and learn from their wisdom
myself. A stroll with them through the book of James is a chance to do just
that.
Interestingly, I didn’t seriously expect to gain much from
studying verse 1, what is in a sense just a simple greeting. But my old friends
pointed out some things I think worth noting. Three things at least are important:
First, we see in the greeting the severity of God’s
judgment. To write to the Jewish Christians, he has to write to a people
dispersed across the civilized world. One might pause and remember how the Lord
called the Jewish people out of Egypt and miraculously delivered them into a
land flowing with milk and honey. He drove out the peoples who lived there and
gave to Abraham’s descendants a veritable Garden of Eden. He spared no detail
and we saw under David and Solomon how a people could in fact be blessed almost
beyond human imagination. He did all those good things for them, but He warned
them, if they took it all for granted and embarked on a culture of godless self-destruction,
He would take it all from them. And He did. Hmmmm. His name is El Shaddai – the
God who does exceedingly abundantly above anything we could ask or think, but
that is a two-edged sword. Just as He would bless us beyond our wildest dreams,
so He may have to abandon us to our most hellish nightmares. The scattered
Jewish people stand as a monument to both the goodness and the severity of God.
He’s no one to trifle with.
Secondly, the Diaspora reminds us of the absolute
immutability and infallibility of God’s Word. Someone pointed out that, based
on Deuteronomy 28, you could have written the entire history of the Jewish
people from Sinai to the present. All history has done is filled in the exact names
and places and dates. When they followed Him, He blessed them exactly as He said
He would and when they turned away, they suffered the exact judgments He said they
would. Jesus came and said, “I am the way, the truth …” He is truth. All He says is true. His Word is absolute
truth. The history of the Jewish people is also a monument to the truth of God’s
Word. You and I can read James 1:1 and be reminded to hang our souls on the “very
great and precious promises.” We will find Him to be absolutely true just as
the Jewish people have.
Finally, we see the wonder of grace. Though the Diaspora is
itself a judgment of God, yet He raised up a James to write them a letter, call
them “brothers,” and hail them with “Greetings!” Ah, the wonder of grace. Our
God reaches down to find us even in the midst of the consequences of our sins! Sometimes
hardships (even self-inflicted) may seem like a cloud blocking out the sunshine
of His face, yet He hasn’t changed.
Behind the cloud the sun still shines as bright as ever. Regardless of our circumstances,
regardless of how dark our days may seem to be, regardless even if we are quite
sure we got here through our own folly, the God of grace yet waits to meet us,
to be our God, to give us a love and joy and peace that, like His beautiful face,
are ours whether we see the sun shine or not. James 1:1 would teach us that
even in judgment, our God still would send blessing to those who love Him.
The
sun is always shining, when you fly above the clouds,
Like
the way my life is beautiful, whenever you’re around;
You
soothe my soul like summer rain and make the world seem right;
You
lift me up above the clouds and drive away the night.
What amazingly monumental truths – all in a single verse
that I didn’t think would have much to say! Yep. His name is El Shaddai!
Looks like we’re on our way. Again.
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