Page 513 - Demo

JAMES 
16* Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: 17all good giving and every perfect gift* is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 18i He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of rstfruits of his creatures.*
III. EXHORTATIONS AND WARNINGS
Doers of the Word. 19Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear,* slow to speak, slow to wrath,j 20for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.k 21Therefore, put away all lth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.l
22Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.m 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24He sees himself, then goes o and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25But the one who peers into the perfect law* of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.n
26* If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue* but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.o 27Religion that is pure and unde led before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows* in their a iction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.p
1:17
“Father of lights” is a beautiful name for God, referring to God as the creator of all “lights”—the sun, the moon, the stars.
1:23
“A man who looks at his face in the mirror.” What does James mean? Perhaps the point is about looking in rather than looking out, focusing on ourselves rather than focusing outward on the world and its needs—caring for “orphans and widows” (1:27).
Louis XVI (1754-1793), King of France,
providing help to the poor, 1788, by Louis Hersent (1777-1860)
i. [1:18] Jn 1:12–13; 1 Pt 1:23.
j. [1:19] Prv 14:17; Sir 5:11.
k. [1:20] Eph 4:26.
l. [1:21] Col 3:8.
m. [1:22] Mt 7:26; Rom 2:13.
n. [1:25] 2:12; Ps 19:8; Rom 8:2.
o. [1:26] 3:2; Ps 34:14.
p. [1:27] Ex 22:21.
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* [1:16–18] The author here stresses that God is the source of all good and of good alone, and the evil of temptation does not come from him.
* [1:17] All good giving and every perfect gift may be a proverb written in hexameter. Father of lights: God is here called the Father of the heavenly luminaries, i.e., the stars, sun, and moon that he created (Gn 1:14–18). Unlike orbs moving from nadir to zenith, he never changes or diminishes in brightness.
* [1:18] Acceptance of the gospel message, the word of truth, constitutes new birth (Jn 3:5–6) and makes the recipient the rstfruits (i.e., the cultic o ering of the earliest grains, symbolizing the beginning of an abundant harvest) of a new creation; cf. 1 Cor 15:20; Rom 8:23.
* [1:19–25] To be quick to hear the gospel is to accept it readily and to act in conformity with it, removing from one’s soul whatever is opposed to it, so that it may take root and e ect salvation (Jas 1:19–21). To listen to the gospel message but not practice it is failure to improve oneself (Jas 1:22–24). Only conformity of life to the perfect law of true freedom brings happiness (Jas 1:25).
* [1:25] Peers into the perfect law: the image of a person doing this is paralleled to that of hearing God’s word. The perfect law applies the Old Testament description of the Mosaic law to the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings freedom.
* [1:26–27] A practical application of Jas 1:22 is now made.
* [1:26] For control of the tongue, see note on Jas 3:1–12.
* [1:27] In the Old Testament, orphans and widows are classical examples of the defenseless
and oppressed.