Lesson 1 April 25
JAMES CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
1. Who wrote the epistle?
a. James the
son of Zebedee - apostle, the brother of John
martyred during the Feast of unleavened bread in 44AD by King Herod Agrippa 1,
Acts 12:1-2 [martyred to early]
b. James the
son of Alphaeus - know very little about - appears
only in lists of disciples Matt.
c. James the
younger - in Mark 15:40 listed along with his mother Mary and brother Joses and sister Salome.
(know very little)
- some speculation that b and c are speaking of the same
person
d. James the
father of Judas, not Iscariot, Lk 6:16 (would not be this one)
e. James the
half brother of the Lord.
-
mentioned as one of the sons of Mary and the mother of Jesus Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3
- During Jesus ministry James and his brothers were not believers Jn 7:5, became a believer after death, resurrection of
Jesus
- Jesus after his resurrection appeared to James. 1 Cor 15:7
- after the ascension of Christ James was with
the Apostles and his brothers in the upper room Acts 1:14
- after the release of Peter from prison, Acts
- was recognized as the head of the Church at Jerusalem Gal 1:19; 2:9,12 by Paul
2. Objections Raised
a. JAMES, is a
Galilean, whose native tongue would be Aramaic
b. Over the
centuries many have strongly objected to the Book itself - questioning it's
validity as part of the Canon
3. When Written
a. Sometime after
becoming the P/T of the Church at
b. Since there
is no mention in the book of the
c. This would
place it before 49AD.
d. Those who
reject James, the brother of Jesus, usually place the writing between 75-150AD
4. His Death
a. As was
the pattern for most of the early Church leaders & the Apostles James was
martyred in 62AD.
b. Tradition:
(widely held) the Pharisees in
5. Purpose Reason for Writing
a. To exhort
early Jewish believers to advance to maturity and experiential righteousness
(walking worthy)
b. Deals
primarily with the practical - ethical issues of living as believers in the
kosmos.
c. Therefore deals
primarily with Phase 2 living
d. Examples of the
problems James dealt with:
6. Outline Chapter One
a. vs:1 -
greeting / salutation
- only part that follows the pattern of a letter
- no personal greetings for anyone or about anyone also no
closing benediction
b. vs:2-12 -
Patience / Joy under testing
- or what is the mature believer's MA under testing,
c. vs:13-18 Resisting
temptation.
d. vs:19-27 -
Receptive comprehension plus application results in the power / ability to
handle the situation no matter what it is!!
(testing or temptation)
vs:1 James, a bond-servant, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
First refers to himself as a bond-servant - dou/loj - a slave / bond-servant (one who is under authority)
How the term dou/loj was used:
The early church was well aware of
the true nature of the master-slave relationship.
Christianity found the term doulos appropriate in setting forth the essence of the
believer's true relationship 'to God.
** Point
is that each of us as believers have an important place / part / function in
the body of Christ, we need to recognize this and orient to it.
** Just
as James knew he was to be obedient to the will of God, we as believers today
are to do the same.
** He
knew that you cannot serve God, be the doulos of God
and be enslaved to the sin nature at the same time.
This simple opening statement tells us that James knew some things:
1. He knew that one who is grace oriented doesn't need crutches to lean
on.
2. That physical birth itself is no advantage spiritually.
3. Knew that any human need, a perceived disadvantage, would be handled
in time, phase-2
by God's gracious provision, the DOA's to live one’s
life and glorify God.
of God and of the
Lord Jesus Christ - are all in the genitive case expressing
possession i.e. the ones to whom James belonged.
James
not only recognized that God existed and believed it. But also believed that
his half brother was indeed who He had said He was, the God - man, the Messiah.