In verses 9 and 10 James continues, “And let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, and the rich in his being brought low, because as a flower of the grass he will pass away.” The Greek word rendered “glory” in verse 9 also means boast or rejoice. When a lowly brother glories and rejoices in exaltation, it leads him spontaneously to praise the Lord (5:13). He should not glory in a secular way without praising the Lord. But although it is easy for a lowly brother to glory, rejoice, and praise the Lord in his exaltation, in his elevation or uplifted estate, it is not easy for a rich one to do so in being brought low. Nevertheless, whether in exaltation or in being brought low, to rejoice and praise is a virtue of practical Christian perfection.
We all need to realize that no matter how wealthy we may be, our environment may change. A person may be rich today, but after a short period of time he may be poor. For example, a brother may have a high position at work, and suddenly and unexpectedly he may be demoted or even fired. Because such things happen, we should not put our trust in our environment, wealth, position, or education.
In verse 11 James explains, “For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich shall fade away in his pursuits.” What a sobering word to those who pursue riches! Yet it is a soothing word to the rich who are being brought low through loss of their riches.
James used the surge of the sea in verse 6 to illustrate a doubting heart, and the flower of the land in verse 10 to portray the fading rich man. Now, in verse 11 he uses the sun in the heavens with its scorching heat to illustrate the fading factor of man’s riches under God’s governmental dealing. He used even the turning of the planets in verse 17 to illustrate a variation which is in contrast to God the Father’s invariableness. In dealing with the problem of our tongue in 3:3-12 he used twenty kinds of things for illustrations. Moreover, he used vapor in 4:14 to portray the brief appearing of our life, and the farmer’s longsuffering in 5:7-8 to teach us how to await the Lord’s coming. He was a wise and experienced man, with not only the experience of human life, but also wisdom from the divine source through seeking by prayer (v. 5; 3:13, 15, 17). Yet it seems that he may have been frustrated by his sympathy and compromise with Judaism, from seeing a thorough vision of the wisdom concerning God’s New Testament economy, as Paul saw and unveiled in his Epistles.
In verse 12 James says, “Blessed is the man who endures trial, because having become approved, he will receive the crown of life, which He promised to those who love Him.” Verses 2 through 12 deal with trials. Trials come from the believers’ environment to prove their faith (vv. 2-3) through suffering (vv. 9-11). The believers should endure the trials with all joy (v. 2) because of their love for the Lord that they may receive the blessing of the crown of life. In verse 12 the word “approved” refers to the approving of the believers’ faith (v. 3).
The crown of life is the glory, the expression, of life. The believers endure the trials by the divine life, and this will become their glory, their expression, the crown of life, as a reward to them at the Lord’s appearing for their enjoyment in the coming kingdom (2:5).
The word “life” in verse 12 indicates that the underlying thought of verses 12 through 27 is the crucial need of the divine life. The begetting Father and His begetting us, His making us the firstfruit of His creatures (vv. 17-18, 27), the implanted word of life (v. 21), and the perfect law of life (v. 25) are all confirmations of this.
In verse 12 James says that the crown of life is promised to those who love the Lord. To believe in the Lord is to receive the divine life for our salvation; to love the Lord is to grow in the divine life for maturity that we may be qualified for a reward—the crown of life—to enjoy the glory of the divine life in the kingdom.