Lesson for July 15, 2026

The Book of James
Chapter 1:1-4

Introduction

The date of this epistle is approximately 45 AD. It is one of the earliest epistles (if not the first) and one of the most practical. The place of writing is Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem there were those practicing legalism (keeping the Mosaic Law), which could have hindered the grace ministries of Peter, Paul, and the other apostles. Both Peter and Paul eventually moved out of Jerusalem and left the leadership of the church in Jerusalem to James. The Book of James is a book of commands: there are fifty-four imperatives in the book. James’ epistle was written from the viewpoint of Christian application and production, two words that could summarize this book.

The great focal point of the earlier chapters has to do with faith and the principle of experiential justification by divine good works. James is not discussing salvation, as many think. He is discussing the Christian Way of Life. James writes about justification by works before people, not before God. Believers are justified by the application of Bible doctrine before people. Doctrine is on the inside and cannot be seen, but its application can be seen. Your faith in Jesus Christ is on the inside and can’t be seen, but the result of your faith can be seen by means of your ambassadorship. There are many overt manifestations of what goes on inside of you. Inside of you is faith in Jesus Christ. Inside of you is justification by faith. The fact that you are justified by faith is a reality, a principle of truth, but it is invisible.

James was dealing with the overt side of the Christian life for the most part and he was saying that there are some norms and standards that, if you are growing spiritually, will be manifested in your life. What is behind an overt action, in the case of a spiritually mature believer, is Bible doctrine. When you believe in Christ, that is justification by faith (before God). But when you have a lot of Bible doctrine in your soul and you are applying it, that is justification by divine good works (before people).

People often have a habit of trying to set up certain norms and standards as to what a Christian should be. And, if you don’t happen to fit into those norms and standards, they say you’re not a Christian. Some people believe that certain people they know are not Christians because they commit some particular sin; usually something that shocks them. But according to the Word of God a Christian is capable of committing any sin an unbeliever commits. A Christian still has a sin nature and you cannot say that a person is unsaved because of some sin they commit.

Verse 1

James was the half-brother of Jesus. (Matthew 13:55) James was not a believer during the public ministry of Jesus Christ. (John 7:5) However, he did become a believer after the resurrection. (Acts 1:14; I Corinthians 15:7; James 1:1) Neither James, his mother Mary, nor his father Joseph, were saved on the basis of their family relationship with Jesus Christ, they were saved like everyone else, by faith in Christ. (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Galatians 1:19; 2:2,9,12)

James called himself “a bond servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Greek noun for servant is “doulos,” which means a slave. He belonged to God. Then he put in the Greek word “kai,” which is a word of equality, and it is translated “and.” He placed God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as equal, and he called himself a slave of both of them. James recognized, through the Bible doctrine in his soul, his true relationship with God. Our ongoing relationship with God is always based on Bible doctrine stored in our soul and that we are using in our daily lives.

The next interesting point in this verse is that this is addressed “to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.” This tells us that he did not address it to only the Jews in Jerusalem over whom he had authority as their pastor. He had already recognized their negative volition because of the legalism of the Mosaic Law that he had observed within the church.

The Church started in Jerusalem and had its first impact from Jerusalem, but the Jerusalem church was also the first to become apostate. The Jewish church in Jerusalem had no further impact for Christ after they became legalistic. Where there is negative volition toward Bible doctrine, legalism and emotional revolt of the soul eventually take over. So was the case with the church at Jerusalem. Therefore, it was to the advantage of Jewish believers to be scattered into other regions where legalism was not so rampant.

Verse 2-3

The Greek word for consider is the imperative “hegeomai,” which means to add up the facts and come to a conclusion. The facts that had to be added up were principles of Bible doctrine which they possessed in their souls. Therefore, for someone to tell a person to consider it all joy when they are going through testing and that person has no doctrine in their soul is totally out of line. Add up the facts from the Word of God and then make your conclusion. No doctrine, no facts; no facts, no conclusion; no conclusion, no obeying the command to consider it all joy. This imperative command can be obeyed only when you have knowledge of Bible doctrine. The Greek word for joy is “chara,” meaning inner happiness. This verse says that the only possible way for believers to have happiness in a pressure situation is by utilizing the doctrine stored in their souls. When they do, inner happiness will be the result.

The Greek word for encounter is “peripipto,” which means to fall into. In other words, this says that there are going to be certain times in your Christian life when you are going to encounter testing. And the Greek word for various is “poikilos,” which means many types or many categories of testing. The Greek word for trials is “peirasmos,” which means testing to determine the quality of something. Testing always concludes with either a positive or a negative attitude. There is no testing for believers that cannot be handled with proper application of Bible doctrine using the Problem-Solving Devices. (I Corinthians 10:13)

The Doctrine of Joy (Happiness)

1. Joy/happiness is related to the character of God. God has always possessed perfect happiness. His happiness is a part of His character. God is perfect, He has perfect character and He possesses perfect and eternal happiness. He always has inner happiness. There never will be a time when He does not have inner happiness.
2. Happiness is related to the divine plan. In eternity past, God decided to share His happiness with us. This is possible only through salvation plus the consistent study and application of Bible doctrine. (Nehemiah 8:10)
3. Happiness, therefore, is accomplished or shared through grace. Grace found a way to share God’s happiness and therefore any benefit to man from God is through grace.
4. Such happiness is confined to the plan of God. People enter the plan of God by faith in Jesus Christ. But being saved means that such happiness is potential, and not yet a reality. Salvation never implies instant or automatic happiness. The potential of happiness becomes a reality only when a believer functions consistently under God’s power system and erects an edification complex in their soul. (1 John 1:4)
5. God has designed happiness to be permanent and stabilized through the edification complex of the soul. (John 17:13, 17) Happiness by means of the edification complex provides capacity to enjoy the details of life and to enjoy a relationship with God.
6. The ultimate of happiness for a believer occurs through the filling of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22)
7. There is the concept of the daily buildup of happiness. We live one day at a time and happiness is something that we can build up every day. As we consistently learn accurate Bible doctrine and apply it, there are some very permanent and wonderful things that occur. One of them is sharing God’s happiness. (Matthew 4:4; Jeremiah 15:16; James 1:25)

“Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” The Greek word for knowing is “ginosko,” which means to learn from experience. In this case, we are to be learning from the experience of studying Bible doctrine consistently. The Greek word for testing is “dokimion,” which means testing for the purpose of approval. In other words, every pressure in life is a test but it is designed for our advancement. The Greek word for faith is “pistis,” which is a technical word and refers to the Bible doctrine stored in your soul.

The Greek word for endurance is “hupomone,” which means to abide under. It refers to patience from a stabilized faith; the stabilized use of doctrine in your life. Therefore, it comes to mean the ability to trust without wavering under the most adverse of circumstances, and even for prolonged periods of time. (Isaiah 30:18; 40:31; Psalm 37:7, 34; 65:2; Acts 1:4) Patience is what happens when a believer develops the edification complex of the soul and uses it. Endurance means staying within your edification complex. The edification complex functions at all times if allowed to do so, even in adversity.

Verse 4

The Greek word for perfect is “teleios,” which refers to that which is completed, fully grown, fully developed. It refers to the rapid construction of the edification complex in the soul, under pressure. It doesn’t mean witnessing, praying, or fellowship with others. It means understanding what it means to live under grace and share God’s happiness at all times. Remember that this is potential only, depending on whether you have erected the complex. The Greek word for complete is “holokleros,” and means complete in every part, intact, and undamaged. It means, therefore, that you can go through any storm in life and it can’t damage your edification complex. The Greek word for lacking is “leipo,” meaning to be deficient. So, it should be translated “being deficient in nothing.”