James 3:1 - My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
It says, "My brethren," so again, he's talking to Jewish believers. Be not many masters, and the word masters (DIDASKALOI) is the word teachers. And the word "be" is literally the word become. That's very important. He is not restraining called teachers to teach. It says be not many teachers, but it is literally do not become many teachers.
He's talking about the ambitious ones who want to teach. In the synagogue, when it came to the reading of scripture, they would ask someone to come up and read the scripture and give a homily or a message on the scripture for that week. And so, people in the congregation would prepare all week long so they could be the teacher. My brethren, do not become many teachers, knowing that we shall receive, and notice the word we because James includes himself, we shall receive the greater condemnation.
James 4:10 - Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
The word humble is a command, but it's in the Passive Voice. It is literally be humbled in the sight of the Lord. Every time there is a command for to be humbled in the scriptures, it's always in the Passive Voice which means submit to God's humbling process. He humbles us.
You see, if I humble myself and bring myself before God, that's pride. "Here I am Lord, your humble servant. I have come humbly before you!" and the Lord is probably going "Let's try that again because I can't accept that." So, when God brings us low, we are supposed to submit to it. And then the promise, and he shall lift you up.
Just as a sidenote about this section, Verses 7 through 10 give the commands for the problem. Remember that these are Jewish believers who are in difficult and hard situations. They are afflicted. They are mourning. They are weeping. And they are attempting to change their circumstances into laughter and joy in order to encourage themselves.
The command is let yourself be afflicted, let yourself mourn, let yourself weep, let your joy turn into heaviness, and your laughter into mourning. In other words, take the low road. We all want to feel good. We all want to feel encouraged. We all want to think positive. But James is saying take the low road.
If you're in affliction, and choose affliction and mourning, weeping and heaviness, and mourning so that you can experience the grace of God rather than attempting to in your own human resources make yourself a happier person and make yourself feel better about yourself, that's the road to be on.
He's not saying that you should not feel good about yourself. He's just saying choose the difficult road. Don't keep trying to get out of it. God is humbling you for a reason. He's bringing you low so that you come to Him.
James 4:2 - Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
The first one is you lust, and this is the normal word for lust, EPITHUMIA, to put your desire upon something. You lust, and the consequence is you have not: Secondly, you kill. Thirdly, and you desire to have. Consequence number two: and cannot obtain: Fourthly, you fight. Fifthly, and you war. Consequence number three: Yet you have not, because you ask not.
James 4:3 - Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
The sixth indictment: You ask. Consequence: and receive not, because you ask amiss, or wrongly, meaning wrong motive, that you may consume it upon your HEDONEI, your hedonistic desires.
This is quite a section. First of all, you lust and you don't have. That's very frustrating. He says you kill. Can lust kill? Oh yes! Look at David in the Old Testament. He wanted Bathsheba but she was someone else's wife. So, he had her husband go out on the front lines on the battlefield and had him killed so he could marry Bathsheba. Yes, lust can kill.
James 4:4 - Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
In the Textus Receptus, from which we get our King James translation, it is the only manuscript that has both adulterers and adulteresses. In all the other manuscripts, it's just feminine, adulteresses.
Some of the sages, when they read that, they thought that's not fair because men are involved too. They think you're talking about actual sexual adultery, so they added the men to make it both. But he's not talking about the actual physical act. He's talking about spiritual adultery. The reason why the feminine word is in the text is because it's making reference to the body of Christ or the church which happens to be feminine.
James 4:1 - From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
From where come wars and fightings among you? What is the cause, the source? Come they not here, from out of your lusts that are warring in your members? Notice how I read that. The word war is actually warring. It's a Present Participle. It's continuously going on.
But even more important than that is the word for lusts. Come they not hence, even of your lusts warring in your members? There is a word, EPITHUMIA, which is used for lust in the scriptures. And EPITHUMIA means to place your desire upon something. This is not that word. The Greek word used here is HEDONEI. We get our word hedonism from this word. It means to seek pleasure for gratification.
This is not lusting to own something or lusting to have something. It's not covetousness. It means I have to seek some kind of activity to satisfy some kind of pleasure to satisfy and give me gratification. We are said to live in a hedonistic society. That's what we usually try to do.
Our physical life, our flesh, our bodies have been limited because of a work schedule all week long. And so, we can hardly wait to get out there and find some pleasure to find gratification for the things that we seek. It's actually worse than lust. From where do your hedonistic desires come from that are warring in your members? It's from the lusts that are warring.
In Verses 2 and 3, there are six indictments, and four consequences.
James 3:6 - And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
That's the word GEHENNA. There are different words in the scriptures for the word hell. This is used 11 times by Jesus. GEHENNA comes from the Hebrew word that means the Valley of Hinnom. It's on the southeast of Jerusalem. It's a deep valley. I read somewhere that it's the garbage dump. People come and they just dump their garbage over and it falls down into this valley, and it is constantly burning.
If a poor person dies and they have no money for a funeral, they just take their body and throw them over. Criminals, their bodies are thrown into the Valley of Hinnom. So, when he uses GEHENNA, the tongue is set of fire by GEHENNA. The tongue sets out the entire course of life, in a philosophical approach.
Think back on things that we may have said to people that destroyed relationships or destroyed our jobs. Affliction with the tongue is one of the things that you just can't forget. You can offend somebody and come and apologize and repent, and they can forgive you, but they'll always remember. And Satan knows that. The tongue can be a dangerous weapon. And it is!
James 3:13 - Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
This particular word knowledge (EPISTEMON) means somebody with specialized knowledge. A lawyer would be somebody with specialized knowledge. A physician would be somebody with specialized knowledge. Even amongst the sages that studied the scriptures, they have specialized knowledge.
So, who is a wise man endued with specialized knowledge amongst you? Let him shew out of a good conversation, which means lifestyle, his works with meekness of wisdom.
James 3:1 - My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
It says, "My brethren," so again, he's talking to Jewish believers. Be not many masters, and the word masters (DIDASKALOI) is the word teachers. And the word "be" is literally the word become. That's very important. He is not restraining called teachers to teach. It says be not many teachers, but it is literally do not become many teachers.
He's talking about the ambitious ones who want to teach. In the synagogue, when it came to the reading of scripture, they would ask someone to come up and read the scripture and give a homily or a message on the scripture for that week. And so, people in the congregation would prepare all week long so they could be the teacher. My brethren, do not become many teachers, knowing that we shall receive, and notice the word we because James includes himself, we shall receive the greater condemnation.
There's more responsibility for those who teach!
James 4:10 - Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
The word humble is a command, but it's in the Passive Voice. It is literally be humbled in the sight of the Lord. Every time there is a command for to be humbled in the scriptures, it's always in the Passive Voice which means submit to God's humbling process. He humbles us.
You see, if I humble myself and bring myself before God, that's pride. "Here I am Lord, your humble servant. I have come humbly before you!" and the Lord is probably going "Let's try that again because I can't accept that." So, when God brings us low, we are supposed to submit to it. And then the promise, and he shall lift you up.
Just as a sidenote about this section, Verses 7 through 10 give the commands for the problem. Remember that these are Jewish believers who are in difficult and hard situations. They are afflicted. They are mourning. They are weeping. And they are attempting to change their circumstances into laughter and joy in order to encourage themselves.
The command is let yourself be afflicted, let yourself mourn, let yourself weep, let your joy turn into heaviness, and your laughter into mourning. In other words, take the low road. We all want to feel good. We all want to feel encouraged. We all want to think positive. But James is saying take the low road.
If you're in affliction, and choose affliction and mourning, weeping and heaviness, and mourning so that you can experience the grace of God rather than attempting to in your own human resources make yourself a happier person and make yourself feel better about yourself, that's the road to be on.
He's not saying that you should not feel good about yourself. He's just saying choose the difficult road. Don't keep trying to get out of it. God is humbling you for a reason. He's bringing you low so that you come to Him.
I certainly agree!
Blessings
James 4:2 - Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
The first one is you lust, and this is the normal word for lust, EPITHUMIA, to put your desire upon something. You lust, and the consequence is you have not: Secondly, you kill. Thirdly, and you desire to have. Consequence number two: and cannot obtain: Fourthly, you fight. Fifthly, and you war. Consequence number three: Yet you have not, because you ask not.
James 4:3 - Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
The sixth indictment: You ask. Consequence: and receive not, because you ask amiss, or wrongly, meaning wrong motive, that you may consume it upon your HEDONEI, your hedonistic desires.
This is quite a section. First of all, you lust and you don't have. That's very frustrating. He says you kill. Can lust kill? Oh yes! Look at David in the Old Testament. He wanted Bathsheba but she was someone else's wife. So, he had her husband go out on the front lines on the battlefield and had him killed so he could marry Bathsheba. Yes, lust can kill.
James 4:4 - Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
In the Textus Receptus, from which we get our King James translation, it is the only manuscript that has both adulterers and adulteresses. In all the other manuscripts, it's just feminine, adulteresses.
Some of the sages, when they read that, they thought that's not fair because men are involved too. They think you're talking about actual sexual adultery, so they added the men to make it both. But he's not talking about the actual physical act. He's talking about spiritual adultery. The reason why the feminine word is in the text is because it's making reference to the body of Christ or the church which happens to be feminine.
James 4:1 - From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
From where come wars and fightings among you? What is the cause, the source? Come they not here, from out of your lusts that are warring in your members? Notice how I read that. The word war is actually warring. It's a Present Participle. It's continuously going on.
But even more important than that is the word for lusts. Come they not hence, even of your lusts warring in your members? There is a word, EPITHUMIA, which is used for lust in the scriptures. And EPITHUMIA means to place your desire upon something. This is not that word. The Greek word used here is HEDONEI. We get our word hedonism from this word. It means to seek pleasure for gratification.
This is not lusting to own something or lusting to have something. It's not covetousness. It means I have to seek some kind of activity to satisfy some kind of pleasure to satisfy and give me gratification. We are said to live in a hedonistic society. That's what we usually try to do.
Our physical life, our flesh, our bodies have been limited because of a work schedule all week long. And so, we can hardly wait to get out there and find some pleasure to find gratification for the things that we seek. It's actually worse than lust. From where do your hedonistic desires come from that are warring in your members? It's from the lusts that are warring.
In Verses 2 and 3, there are six indictments, and four consequences.
James 3:6 - And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
That's the word GEHENNA. There are different words in the scriptures for the word hell. This is used 11 times by Jesus. GEHENNA comes from the Hebrew word that means the Valley of Hinnom. It's on the southeast of Jerusalem. It's a deep valley. I read somewhere that it's the garbage dump. People come and they just dump their garbage over and it falls down into this valley, and it is constantly burning.
If a poor person dies and they have no money for a funeral, they just take their body and throw them over. Criminals, their bodies are thrown into the Valley of Hinnom. So, when he uses GEHENNA, the tongue is set of fire by GEHENNA. The tongue sets out the entire course of life, in a philosophical approach.
Think back on things that we may have said to people that destroyed relationships or destroyed our jobs. Affliction with the tongue is one of the things that you just can't forget. You can offend somebody and come and apologize and repent, and they can forgive you, but they'll always remember. And Satan knows that. The tongue can be a dangerous weapon. And it is!
James 3:13 - Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
This particular word knowledge (EPISTEMON) means somebody with specialized knowledge. A lawyer would be somebody with specialized knowledge. A physician would be somebody with specialized knowledge. Even amongst the sages that studied the scriptures, they have specialized knowledge.
So, who is a wise man endued with specialized knowledge amongst you? Let him shew out of a good conversation, which means lifestyle, his works with meekness of wisdom.
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