“But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:3 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” wrote this Epistle to the twelve Jewish tribes that were scattered throughout the world. He wrote to them concerning a number of subjects. He wrote concerning their faith, respect of persons, the war that goes on within each Christian and what to do when sick. For this message we are going to consider the subject of faith and what it means to have patience and let her have her perfect work as we trust God and our Lord Jesus Christ, to wok in our lives. Let us read our text, James 1:1-8, and then comment on it in more detail. James 1:1-8 “1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” In James 1:1, James wrote to the twelve tribes of Israel which were scattered throughout the world. “1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” In James 1:2-3, James told the twelve tribes “to count it all joy when they fell into “different, various” temptations. “2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” The reason James gave “to count it all joy” when they fell into ”divers” i.e., “different” and “various” trials is because, when their faith was tried it worked patience in their lives. In like manner, we are “to count it all joy” when we fall into “different and “various” trials. Why? Because the trying of our faith works patience. Because, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 When we trust God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, we can expect that there are going to be temptations by the devil to get us to sin. The good news is that God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us everyday to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. So, when we are tempted, the Holy Spirit is there to help us to overcome temptations. With every temptation there is a way out, we need to listen and take the way God has provided to overcome temptation. “ (The King James Dictionary was used to define “divers” - “1. different; various”.) In James 1:4, James encouragement to the twelve tribes of Israel, was to “exhort” them, i.e.,strongly urge” them to let “patience have her perfect work”. “4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (Merriam-Webster was used to define exhort, which means to “strongly urge.”) What does patience mean? Patience means, “steadfastness, constancy, endurance”, ... in the N. T. the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from the deliberate purpose and his loyalty and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings”, according to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. “Constancy” is “the quality of staying the same : lack of change : the quality of being loyal to a person or belief ... Full Definition of CONSTANCY 1 a : steadfastness of mind under duress : fortitude b : fidelity, loyalty 2 : a state of being constant or unchanging”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. What does perfect mean? “Perfect means, “brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness; perfect”, according to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. What does entire mean? Entire means “complete in all its parts, in no part wanting or unsound, complete, entire, whole”, ... in Jas. i. 4; complete in all respects, consummate”, according to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the new Testament. Consummate” is being “ very good or skillful ... complete in every detail : perfect 2 : extremely skilled and accomplished 3 : of the highest degree“ according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Patience, then is a virtue that is designed to make one “complete” and “skillful” in all things pertaining to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, having a strong faith in God and the Lord Jesus Christ, unswerving in faith and loyalty to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, even through the “greatest trials and sufferings” that we may face. Patience makes one complete “in all respects” in serving God and the Lord Jesus Christ. In James 1:5-8, James said if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God for wisdom. “5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The message is clear from James, for the twelve tribes, they were to ask God for wisdom who will not upbraid”. “Upbraid” means “1. To charge with something wrong or disgraceful; to reproach; to cast in the teeth;” according the King James Dictionary. God would not punish them with “something wrong or disgraceful, “reproaching them, i.e., “charging them with a fault in severe language” because they asked Him for wisdom, “casting their request back into their teeth”, but rather if they asked, God would give them wisdom because God gives wisdom to all men liberally who ask in faith with nothing wavering. But their asking God for wisdom had to be asked in faith with nothing wavering. Why? It is because he that wavers asking God for wisdom is a like a wave of the sea that is “driven with the wind tossed” to and fro. James said this is a “double minded man”. “Double-minded” means ”a. “wavering, uncertain, doubting”, according to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. (King James Dictionary was used to define “reproacheth” - (2. To charge with a fault in severe language.”) And the man who is uncertain, doubting that God will give him wisdom will not receive wisdom. And what James said to the twelve tribes is for us as well. If we lack wisdom, all we have to do is ask God, who gives “to all men liberally”. God does not punish us with “something wrong or disgraceful, “reproaching us, i.e., “charging us with a fault in severe language”, “casting our request back into our teeth” because we ask Him for wisdom, but rather if we ask God, not wavering, i.e., “not doubting” that God will give us wisdom, He will give us wisdom because God gives wisdom “to all men liberally”. God is only too willing to give us the wisdom we need to overcome any temptation that comes our way and the way out of it. There is a condition when we ask God for anything. That condition is this, when we ask in faith, we are to have no doubts that God can help us. When we ask God for anything, know that God will answer our prayers. If we “waiver”, i.e., “doubt”, that God can do what we ask for, we will not receive it. We are “like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” A double-minded man is one doubts, who is uncertain that God will grant him wisdom, he is unstable in all his ways. In conclusion, let us remember that the the trying of our faith works patience. And let us allow patience to have her perfect work in making us “complete in all things pertaining to God and the Lord Jesus Christ and “complete in all of our” being, i.e., “nothing unsound”, in our commitment to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:4 References: King James Version Bible Gateway - Thank you for public access to Bible verses. By Public Domain The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible - Copyright 2010 - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Thank you for helping me find the Scriptures for this message from God’s Word. The Interlinear Bible - Hebrew- Greek - English - Hendrickson Publishers edition published by permission. - Printed in the United States of America - Printed in December 2011 -Thank you for identifying the Greek word divers, meaning various. Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece - Hendrickson Publishers Inc. - 27th edition - 9th corrected printing - Printed in the United States - First Printing (wide margin edition) - March 2007 - Thank you for identifying the Greek words, divers temptations. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament - Hendrickson Publishers Inc. - Tenth Printing - February 2012 - Printed in the United States of America - Thank you for the definitions of the Greek words “divers”, “perfect, “entire, and “upbraideth. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Thank you for identifying the Biblical Greek words for “divers”, ”perfect”, “entire” and “upbraideth. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary - For the definition of “constancy” and “consummate”. 1611 King James Dictionary - Thank you for the definitions of “divers”, “upbaideth”, “reproach”, and “exhort”.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 21:08:09 +0000
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