James
| James: Chapters -1- -2- -3- -4- -5- |
|---|
Prior < < < < |
1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the twelve scattered tribes: Greetings. • 2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters [a], whenever you might fall into any and all sorts of trials, 3 knowing that the proving of your faith produces steadfastness [remaining under]. 4 Allow steadfastness, then, to work its completion, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. 5 Now, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask in the presence of God, the One who gives to all generously without finding fault, and wisdom will be given to him. • 6 Let him ask in faith, however, doubting nothing. For the one who hesitates is like a wave of the sea, being blown and tossed by the wind. 7 One who is hesitant, lacking in confidence, should not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. • 8 For he is a two-souled man (b), with two stories of self, wildly unstable in all of his ways. 9 Let the brother or sister of lowliness boast in his dignity; 10 and let the rich boast in his lowliness of mind, because like a flower of grass, he will pass on by. 11 For the sun rises with its burning heat and withers the grass, and its flower fades away and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. In the same way, the rich man will fade away in his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trials, because, having been proven, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. • 13 Let no one being tested say, “I am being tested by God.” For God cannot be tempted or tested by evils, and He Himself tempts or tests no one [c]. • 14 A human, however, is tested by his own desire and passion being lured by bait and turned in the wrong direction. 15 Then desire and passion, having become pregnant, give birth to sin; and sin, brought to completion, gives birth to death. 16 Do not be misled, my beloved brothers and sisters. • 17 Every good act of giving, and every perfect gift, is from above [from the Source], coming out from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or shadow of turning. • 18 Out from His own desire, He gave birth to us by the Word of truth, for us to be specific firstfruits out from His created beings. 19 Be aware, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone of you be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow into anger. 20 The anger of man does not produce the just approval of God. 21 Therefore, having already put off all defilement and the abounding of malice, • receive inside of gentleness the word implanted, which is able to rescue and heal your souls, your story and awareness of self. 22 Be doers of the word, however, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word only, and not a doer, that one is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror. • 24 For he has perceived himself, gone away, and then immediately forgotten what he looks like. 25 The one who looks intently, however, into the perfect law of liberty, and who continues in that liberty, not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed and happy in his work. 26 If any of you appears to be devout, but does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his own heart, for this kind of devotion is useless. 27 Devotion that is pure and untainted in the presence of God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their troubles, and to keep oneself away from the world, unblemished. |
| Gospel Comments | Notes |
|---|---|
| • Ruling Verse 7: Faith acknowledges God and sees Him in all, even that which seems awful. Fatih asks for the fulfillment of all Word and never hesitates. Our life is a direct and ongoing relationship with God through faith. We enter through giving thanks (count it all joy). The "proving" of our faith is Christ Jesus, faithful and True, the end is completion. • Definition: We are NOT double-souled (literally: schizophrenic); we do not have two natures. • Definition: God does not know evil; doing what is wrong never enters His mind. He never “chooses the good” or “refuses the evil.” God does not know evil. The devil lied. God is Life without death; He is Good all the time. • Definition: Sin is first defined by the Tree of Life, not by knowing right and wrong. Sin is birthed by the passage of false word and doubt through the same path by which God intended Life. Sin is everything done after turning one's back against Jesus and His good-speaking as our only Source (See Hebrews 1:3). • Definition: The word “above” in reference to God does not mean geography, but Source, out from God’s Pro-Knowing, His thoughts concerning all (See Romans 8:29). • Life: God's Word is planted in us through our faith, as sperm in the womb. The reproduction of life is the central metaphor of God and the Bible. The Spirit of God brings this truth to us clearly through James, the first Gospel book to be sent into the Church. “Out from His own desire, God gives birth to us by His Word.” We are conceived of God; we know of Him as our Father. • Covenant: The mirror is Christ Jesus, for we are free, in liberty, to see Him alone, the Salvation of God. Seeing Jesus is the only way we perceive ourselves to know what we are. Liberty is no attachment to anything else. Out from this metamorphosis, then, we act with Love in confidence. |
a. In most languages, including Greek, the male term includes both male and female, thus adding “sisters” to adelphos is fully appropriate. b. The Greek word used here has become the English word “schizophrenia.” c. The same Greek word is used for “test” and “tempt.” Both are not of God; God’s gospel word is “proven” or “to prove” what is already Christ. More than that, this gospel verse RULES. God does not know evil. The devil lied. |