James Bible Study — Part1 ( 1:1–12)
James Bible Study — Part1 ( 1:1–12)
1)Author(James 1:1)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:Greetings.
James, half brother of Jesus, wrote this book. He addressed himself as a servant of Jesus Christ! Can I say I am a servant of my brother? That shows how humble he is. He doesn’t want to boast that Jesus is my brother. It’s a mark of being like Christ! Having a Servant’s heart and being humble. He addressed 12 Tribes of Jews who had been scattered. God has scattered His special people, Israel, throughout the world because of their sin. Even though they are scattered, James addressing like that shows how God loves them!
2)Trails/Temptation ( James 1:2–4)
James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
As a believers we find ourselves in trials and situations many times, it can be a job loss, difficult boss/marriage/children or it can be anything that hurts you repeatedly. What James is saying here is instead of naming it as a trial we have to…
- See it as TESTING OF MY FAITH
We need to act with FAITH in those circumstances, not as how we see
( 2 Corinthians 5:7) - Consider it as PURE JOY
When we understand Gods ways , it is possible to have Joy in the mist of every trial. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)
I think its really hard to rejoice when I am hurting! how is it even possible! Lets walk through a scenario.
Scenario
I have a difficult boss and every time she puts me down and its hurtful even to go to office every day, I don’t feel like going to office anymore.
My first reaction
I complain, grumble and gossip with other colleagues/spouse/friends how unfair she is! and also pray to God to deliver me from this situation.
How God wants me to react ?
- Consider it as “testing of my FAITH”
Huh! how? If I have FAITH that God will work all things works for good ( Romans 8:28) , He will work this situation for my good! Without God`s permission I wouldn’t be working under this boss. God allowed this for a reason. So I surrender and have FAITH that everything works for my good! I dont worry about the “How” part! - What is God teaching me in this?
He may be teaching something in this situation to endure the difficult people in my life, He may be teaching me how to love my enemies. How not to gossip or complain and how to be thankful. At least I have a Job etc.. If I allow the Holy Spirit to teach me, Holy spirit will remind me of many things in this time of trial. - Consider it as a Joy
If I did items 1 and 2, I automatically rejoice in this situation ! I may not be happy but I have joy and peace in my heart!
Same thing we can apply for any situation. When we keep doing this with persistence in every situation over time we grow spiritually mature ! When we preserve these words in our heart , Holy Spirit reminds us in the time of need and help us and God gives us grace to overcome there trails. Being joyful doesn’t mean we don’t cry in the midst of a heartache and be happy , we may cry or feel down but God gives that Joy and the hope inside that is unshakable irrespective of the situation. It’s like precious metal put through extreme heat to remove impurities, We are precious in God’s hand, the trials remove our impurities/sin in our life and teach us valuable lessons that God wants us to teach and help us to be more like Christ.
3) Wisdom (James 1:5)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
To understand wisdom, let us review what the Bible talks about wisdom.
Question: Why do we need Wisdom?
- Wisdom helps us to manage/build our house. ( Proverbs 14:1)
- We don’t want to be fools to despise the Wisdom ( Proverbs 1:7)
- Wisdom will protect us (Proverbs 4:6)
- Wisdom will watch over us (Proverbs 4:6)
- Wisdom is more precious than rubies ( Proverbs 8:11)
- Nothing we desire can compare with Wisdom (Proverbs 8:11)
Question: What is Wisdom?
1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us Wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
According to the above verse, Jesus Christ is our “WISDOM”! When we know more about Jesus, we understand God’s ways. In other words, having Christ in every area of our life, we have Wisdom from GOD!! We have a mind of Christ!
James 3:16
But the Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
All the these mentioned here are qualities of Jesus
- Pure
- Peace Loving
- Considerate
- Submissive
- Full of mercy
- Good Fruit
- Impartial
- Sincere
Question: How do we Seek Wisdom?
James 1:5 If any of you lacks Wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you
If we lack Wisdom, we need to ask GOD ! that means pray about it! When we ask, we shouldn’t doubt, irrespective of our sins/faults, if we ask with the sincere heart, God will give us the Wisdom that we need in every situation! Through Wisdom we get discernment in every case to know the will of GOD.
4) Unbelief (James 1:6–8)
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
1 John 5:14
When we ask God we shouldn’t doubt at all ! We need to have FAITH that God will give when we ask anything according to his will.
How is James picturing the one who doubts?
- The wave of the Sea
Like the waves of the Sea, we may go up and down when we hear something encouraging or when we pray, we may feel happy, and after that, our emotions go down. We have so many low moments once in a while we go up when we hear something, but that will only last for some time, - Blown and tossed by the wind
We get carried away based on what people say. When we don’t have strong FAITH, or we don’t know about GOD, we don’t read the Bible, we will be blown and tossed by what we hear! - Double-minded
We pray, and we speak about GOD, but inside we have restlessness and no peace! Its like saying one thing and doing another thing. - Unstable
Of course, the waves of the Sea are unpredictable; they will never be stable!
It’s terrifying to meditate this! Oh, Man If I doubt I am like a double-minded and unstable person :( This is something that we need to think deep and remind ourselves whenever we have those doubting thoughts!
5) Pass away like a wildflower (James 1:9–11)
James 1:9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation — since they will pass away like a wildflower. 11 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 will fade away even while they go about their business.
James is talking about how poor and rich should act! This verse comes to my mind what paul says in Philippians 4:11–12
Philippians 4:11–12
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Whatever situation we are in, we need to learn to be content, not only money, in any position God placed us. Everything can fade away. Money can go away… Beauty will go away.. And even health goes away…The friendships/relationships that are so strong can be shaken. Only one thing that will never change that’s Love of God and the word of God !! Let’s soak ourselves in God’s love and saturate our minds with God’s word!
6) Blessing ( James 1:12)
12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him
Refer Above chart that will explain when we endure hardship and what will happen! We mature and walk towards holiness and to be more like Christ !!!
Take away points!!
Consider a trial as “TESTING OF FAITH”
Consider trial as “PURE JOY”
When I ask God for “WISDOM” , he gives irrespective of my sins/faults!
When I doubt , I am double minded and unstable person! I replace my unbelief with “FAITH”
Everything can go away! Learn to be “CONTENT” and be “HUMBLE” in every situation.