Celebrating Jesus Daily

Being Approved By God

Jam 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

Greeting: G5463 chairo A primary verb; to be full of “cheer”, that is, calmly happy or well off; impersonal especially as a salutation (on meeting or parting), be well:

In today’s vernacular: “Cheers!”


Jam 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

WEYMOUTH TRANS:
Reckon it nothing but joy

Divers: G4164 poikilos Of uncertain derivation; motley, that is, various in character:

Temptations: Adversity, trials and literal temptation to sin.

James is writing to Jewish believers in the dispersion who are experiencing great hardships and persecutions for their faith in Christ and tells them to account it as a joyful thing. If the epistle stopped at this point we would think James was a nutcase but in the next few verses he explains the benefits of approaching the adversities of life with faith in God.


Jam 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Trying: Testing, as gold is tested by fire.

Worketh: Accomplishes

Patience: G5281 hupomone From G5278; cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy

James tells us that the temptations, testings, and trials (the Greek text carries all those meanings.) we encounter in this life are doing two things in the unseen realm.

1. They are trying or proving our faith. The Greek word used here would be used of gold being tried or assayed in order to discover its purity and worth. Trials endured properly prove the genuine and precious quality of our faith.

2. They work patience. Accomplish endurance. Just as in the world of weight lifting “no pain, no gain”, so in the realm of faith. Faith must be exercised on a day to day basis, overcoming the adversities of life, if it is to grow in strength.

Jam 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Faithful endurance of adversity produces maturity of Christian character. "Entire" is holokleros “complete in every part.” Our English word Holistic is related to this. James tells us that God the Father is interested in every part of our being and desires us to reach our full potential of maturity in spirit, soul and body.

The completeness of character God desires to develop within us is only accomplished as we face the trials of life with faith in God’s love and care for us.

The end result?

Jam 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

BLESSED G3107 makarios A prolonged form of the poetical makar (meaning the same); supremely blest; by extension fortunate, well off: - blessed, happy (X -ier).

ROBERTSONS N.T. Word Studies
When he hath been approved (dokimos genomenos). “Having become approved,” with direct reference to to dokimion in Jam_1:3. See also Rom_5:4 for dokime¯ (approval after test as of gold or silver). This beatitude (makarios) is for the one who has come out unscathed. See 1Ti_6:9.

James pronounces a Beatitude for the person who receives God’s approval by approaching and overcoming the adversities of this life through faith in God and love for Christ.