Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(JAMES #1 - 1:1-18)
JAMES' SUMMARY: GOD’S COMMON SENSE GUIDE
I. 1:1-27 THE MANIFESTATION OF PERFECTION
A. 1:1 JAMES TO THE JEWS
IAkobos, TheOU kai KuRIou IeSOU ChrisTOU DOUlos,
James, bondman of God and of theLord Jesus Christ,
tais DOde-ka phuLAIS [5443] tais en tedi-a-spoRA, CHAIrein.
to the twelve tribes :in the Dispersion, greeting.
B. 1:2-18 WISDOM: PATH TO PERFECTION
1. 1:2-4 PERFECTION THROUGH TRIBULATION
a. 1:2-3 PRESSURE BRINGS PATIENCE
PAsan chaRAN heGEsas-the, a-delPHOI mou,HOtan pei-rasMOISpe-riPEse-te poiKIlois;
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into manifold temptations;
giNOSkon-tes HOti to doKImi-on [1383] huMON tes PISte-os ka-terGAze-tai hu-po-moNEN.
3 knowing that the proving of your :faith works patience.
b. 1:4 But let patience have perfect work, that you be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.
hede hu-po-moNEERgon TElei-on eCHEto, HIna Ete TElei-oi kai hoLOkle-roi, en me-deNI leiPOme-noi.
2. 1:5-11. PERFECTION THROUGH WISDOM
a. 1:5 GOD BRINGS WISDOM
Ei de tis huMON LEIpe-tai soPHIas [4678], aiTEItopaRA tou diDONtos TheOU,
But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of :God,
PAsin hapLOS [574]kai meo-neiDIzon-tos [3679]; kai doTHEse-tai auTO.
who gives to all simply and upbraids not; and it shall be given him.
b. 1:6 FAITH BRINGS WISDOM
aiTEItode en PIStei, meDEN di-a-kriNOme-nos [1252]:
But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting:
ho gar di-a-kriNOme-nos Eoi-ken KLUdo-ni thaLASses, a-ne-mi-zoMEnokai hri-pi-zoMEno.
for who doubts is like a sea wave, driven by wind and tossed.
c. 1:7-8 UNBELIEF BRINGS NOTHING (From: LUKE #24)
megar oiEStho[3633] ho ANthro-pos eKEInos HOti LEMpseTAI [2983]ti paRA tou KuRIou;
For let not that :man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord;
aNER DIpsu-chos [1374], a-kaTAsta-tos [182]en PAsais tais hoDOIS auTOU.
8 a doubleminded man, unstable in all his :ways.
d. 1:9-10 HUMILITY BRINGS EXALTATION: RICHES BRING NOTHING
KauCHAStho[2744] de ho a-delPHOS ho ta-peiNOS [5011] en toHUpsei auTOU:
But let the humble :brother glory in his :exaltation:
ho de PLOUsi-os, en teta-peiNOsei [5014] auTOU: HOti hos ANthos CHORtou pa-reLEUse-tai.
10 and the rich, in his :humiliation: because as a flower of thegrass he shall pass away.
e. 1:11 DEATH BRINGS EQUALITY
aNEtei-len gar ho HEli-os [2246] sun toKAUso-ni [2742],
For once the sun has arisen with the scorching wind,
kai eXEra-nen ton CHORton [5528]; kai to ANthos auTOU eXEpe-sen,
and it has withered the grass; and its flower is fallen,
kai heeuPREpei-a [2143] tou proSOpou [4383] auTOU aPOle-to [622];
and the grace of its :fashion is perished;
HOUtos kai ho PLOUsi-os en tais poREIais auTOU ma-ranTHEse-tai [3133].
thus also shall the rich manfade away in his :goings.
3. 1:12-18 PERFECTION THROUGH ENDURANCE
a. 1:12 ENDURANCE BRINGS A PROMISED CROWN
MaKAri-os [3107] aNER hos hu-poMEnei [5278] pei-rasMON [3986];
Blessed theman that endures temptation;
HOti DOki-mos geNOme-nos, LEMpse-tai ton STEpha-non [4735]tes zo-ES.
for when he has been approved, he shall receive the crown of :life,
hon e-pegGEIla-to [1861]tois a-gaPOsin auTON.
which He promised to them that love him.
b. 1:13-14 MAN, NOT GOD, BRINGS TEMPTATION
meDEIS pei-raZOme-nos leGEto[HOti], A-PO TheOU peiRAzo-mai;
Let no one say when tempted [that], I am tempted from God;
ho gar TheOS aPEIraSTOS [551]es-tin kaKON, peiRAzei de auTOS ouDEna:
for :God is unversed in evils, and he himself tempts no one:
HEka-stos de peiRAze-tai, huPO tes iDIas e-pi-thuMIas e-xelKOme-nos, kai de-le-aZOme-nos.
but each is tempted, being drawn away by hisown :lust, and enticed.
c. 1:15 LUST BRINGS ENTICEMENT
EIta hee-pi-thuMIa, sul-laBOUsa [4815], TIKtei [5088]ha-marTIan:
Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin:
hede ha-marTIa a-po-te-lesTHEIsa [658]a-po-kuEI THAna-ton [2288].
and the sin fullgrown brings forth death.
d. 1:16 Be not deceived, my beloved brothers.
meplaNASthe [4105], a-delPHOI mou a-ga-peTOI.
e. 1:17 THE FATHER BRINGS GOOD GIFTS
PAsa DOsis a-gaTHEkai pan DOre-ma TElei-on AnoTHEN es-tin,
Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
ka-taBAInon [2597]aPO tou paTROS ton PHOton [5457],
coming down from the Father of the lights,
par’ hoouk Eni pa-ral-laGE[3883], etroPES [5157]a-poSKIas-ma [644].
with whom is no variation, neither shadow castby turning.
f. 1:18 HIS WILL BRINGS US NEW LIFE
Bou-leTHEIS [1014]a-peKUne-sen heMAS LOgoa-leTHEIas,
With intent he brought us forth by theword of truth,
eis to EInai heMAS a-parCHEN [536]ti-na ton auTOU ktisMAton [2938].
that we be a kind of firstfruits of his :creatures.
NOTE: James through Jude are sometimes called the “Catholic” or “General” Epistles. It appears that the Holy Spirit led their writing to be especially for the early Messianic Jewish believers – before the coming of Gentile believers into the church. The Holy Spirit through Numerics led for the placement of these 7 letters to follow the book of Acts, and to precede Paul’s letter to the Romans. James and Jude were half brothers of Jesus.
In the light of this, we can look upon the Gospels as being equivalent to Elementary school, Acts is Junior High. The 7 Catholic Epistles are High School. The 14 letters of the apostle Paul fit in with our Universities. And the Book of Revelation then becomes University Graduate School.
James has special meaning as the first of the seven Catholic Epistles. It is so practical, and has such a wealth of wisdom in its balance between faith and works. Martin Luther did not see it in this light, and called it a “Right Strawy Epistle.”
Ivan Panin discovered that Bible Numerics linked these 7 epistles in an unusual manner with the 7 major planets of our solar system.
I see the Book of James as one portraying “Practical Christianity,” with a 7-fold pathway of Wisdom. It is the New Testament equivalent to the Book of Proverbs.
This portion under consideration in this first lesson – I see as Wisdom leading us into “The Path to Perfection.” The division of the book into these sections – in large measure is based upon the sentence, sub-paragraph, paragraph and chapter equivalents laid out by the numeric phenomenon discovered by Ivan Panin. His introduction to the Greek Numeric New Testament published by Oxford Press first introduced me to this in 1945 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The summaries are not inspired as are the Greek and English texts. I leave a space above these summaries. Cross them out and insert your own. You will find this exercise to be most rewarding. J.A.W.