Lesson for July 22, 2026

The Book of James

Chapter 1:5-11

Verse 5

James recognized that some believers lacked the spiritual wisdom to handle the tests that come their way. So, James gave them the mechanics of how to get the spiritual wisdom they need to be able to solve problems.

Mechanic one is to have positive volition toward God, “let him ask of God.” A believer with negative volition would never ask God for anything. So, we have a believer who recognizes their deficiency regarding the wisdom to handle testing, and they go to the source of problem-solving to find the answer. Remember that God has promised to provide doctrinal information for those who desire it.

The way that we let God know we desire spiritual wisdom is by asking for it. This is interesting because asking is prayer and prayer is simply the verbal expression of positive volition. Perhaps a believer would pray, “Dear Lord, I don’t have the wisdom to handle this particular problem. Can you please provide the necessary wisdom from doctrine in my soul that I need to pass this test?” And, low and behold at the next Bible class you attend, in your personal study, or the Holy Spirit will help you recall a certain doctrine, and the answer is revealed.

God gives us exactly what we need to pass the tests of life. God understands that learning wisdom from Bible doctrine is a process and a progression. And when a person is positive, God has obligated Himself to provide the wisdom that has been requested from doctrine (John 7:17)

Verse 6

Mechanic two is to ask by means of faith. The Greek word for doubting is “diakrino,” which means to separate in your mind, and that means to have doubts. The surf of the sea being driven and tossed by the wind is an illustration of a believer allowing doubt to control your thinking. The waves (surf of the sea) are an illustration of both instability and disorientation. All of the power of the sea cannot resist the power of the wind. This is an illustration of instability, mental attitude sins, emotional revolt of the soul, and false doctrine, causing a believer to doubt God and His Word. (Hebrews 4:2)

Verse 7-8

Expect is the Greek word “oiomai,” which means to suppose or to think. Double-minded is the Greek word “dipuchos,” meaning two-souled. Double-minded means thinking divine viewpoint one minute and human viewpoint the next. This type of thinking is unstable because you cannot properly apply doctrine with Human Viewpoint Thinking. When a believer is thinking divine viewpoint there will be no doubt that their prayers will be answered because they are praying according to God’s will. And God’s will can be known only by knowledge of His Word.

When a believer has only academic knowledge of God’s Word and tries to apply it spiritually, they always distort the truth. Remember that the mind is a staging area and that doctrine must be transferred from the staging area to the human spirit to be spiritual knowledge. What you have in the mind cannot be applied until it is transferred by faith to the human spirit. Only Bible doctrine in the human spirit is useable for spiritual growth and wisdom, and it is useable in two ways: for “construction material” for your spiritual building and for a frame of reference for application. (Ephesians 3:17-19; Colossians 2:7)

James was admonishing these believers to stop presuming that they would receive blessing from God, if they were double-minded. God’s system of blessing is grace, based on a believer’s capacity to receive it. Attempting to serve two masters means instability. Matthew 6:24 says that no one can serve two masters. There is no “sitting on the fence” in the Christian life. If you are not advancing, you are retreating.

Mechanic three is single-mindedness. It is thinking divine viewpoint, which is the mind of Christ. The Christian Way of Life is a supernatural way of life, which cannot be lived apart from knowledge of Bible doctrine and the guidance of God the Holy Spirit. (Romans 7:6, 8:2; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18) This way of life requires thinking. All changes in our lives must come from the inside. The true character of a believer is determined by what they think, not by what they do. God never forces believers into any course of action. We determine what our own spiritual lives are going to be, based on what we allow ourselves to think. Divine Viewpoint Thinking equals a victorious Christian Way of Life.

In order to have Divine Viewpoint Thinking, you must know the doctrines taught in the Bible. The more Bible doctrine you know and apply, the more Divine Viewpoint Thinking you will be able to utilize. The less Bible doctrine you know, the more Human Viewpoint Thinking you are going to utilize. The more Human Viewpoint Thinking you use, the more insecure and unstable you are going to be.

Daily study of God’s Word keeps Divine Viewpoint Thinking fresh in the mind and helps counteract Human Viewpoint Thinking. (Psalms 119:129-135) Thinking your way through life with Divine Viewpoint Thinking will bring victory, peace, power, and stability. (Isaiah 26:3-4, 33:6) Vacillating between Divine Viewpoint Thinking and Human Viewpoint Thinking will make a believer unstable. An unstable believer is an unhappy believer.

Verses 9-10

A believer of humble circumstances is pictured as a person who is not well-off by human standards, perhaps because they do not have wealth or fame. But this believer of humble means does have a high position spiritually because they are a member of the Royal Family of God.

Glory in his high position means to celebrate the fact that you are a child of God. If you start with grace, and stay with it, life becomes a great celebration whether your circumstances are prosperity or adversity.

The Greek word for glory is “doxa,” which means worth, radiance, or visible manifestation of God’s majesty. The Greek word for humiliation is “tapeinos” meaning to be humbled. The rich believer who glories in their wealth and position can only glory in something that has no lasting value. Wealth will pass away, but what we build spiritually will last for all eternity. Therefore, James said let the wealthy believer glory in something that’s not going to last, it’s his choice. And at the Judgment Seat of Christ a believer who places wealth above God and His Word will suffer shame. I John 2:28, “Now, little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not draw back from Him in shame at His coming.”

Grace orientation gives us the capacity to enjoy what we have and helps pass the prosperity test. It is very important to understand that the basis for our happiness is Bible doctrine, not material wealth. The basis for happiness goes with us to Heaven. If you have Bible doctrine in your soul, it goes with you.

Verse 11

This analogy is a reference to a wealthy believer who becomes distracted by their wealth and pursues things other than God and His Word. Instead, they concentrate on the details of life, i.e. wealth, fame, and power. In other words, they become a slave to the details of life and destroy their spiritual lives (its flower falls off). The beauty begins to fade because slavery to the details of life is accompanied by negative volition toward Bible doctrine and leads to the destruction of a spiritual life. Rich or poor, a believer must pursue Bible doctrine by learning, believing, and applying it on a consistent basis to experience the happiness of God and avoid becoming double-minded.