In verse 2 James says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you fall into various trials.” Then, at the end of this section on enduring trials by faith, he says in verse 12, “Blessed is the man who endures trials.” In verses 3 through 11 James points out the way to endure trials. If we would endure trials, we first need to ask God for wisdom. If we do not endure trials, this may mean that we are lacking wisdom, for a wise man always endures trials. For example, suppose a brother who has been married only for a short period of time is offended by his wife. He then begins to consider the possibility of divorce. This is a foolish thought. If this brother were wise, he would never consider divorce. A wise person does not think like this. This brother needs wisdom in order to behave properly with his wife.
Without wisdom, our behavior as Christians cannot be perfect. In order to be perfect and, in particular, to endure trials, we need wisdom. If we would endure trials, the first thing we need to do is pray that the Lord would give us wisdom. Of course, this prayer must be in faith.
Second, if we would endure trials, we should not have any confidence in our environment, for it can change. Whether we are uplifted or brought low, our attitude toward the environment should be the same.
In order to endure trials, we must ask for wisdom, praying in faith. Then we need a genuine understanding of the vanity of human life. Whether we are rich or poor, high or low, human life is vain. If we realize this, we shall be able to endure trials and be blessed.
James says that the man who endures trials is blessed because, having become approved, he will receive the crown of life. This is a strong indication that James regards practical Christian perfection as coming out of the divine life which we receive at the time of our regeneration, our divine birth. The life that we have received through regeneration must now be developed into a crown. In what way is the divine life developed into a crown? It is developed by asking God for wisdom and also by understanding the vanity of human life. Therefore, we need wisdom, prayer, faith, and the realization of the vanity of human life. But the crucial matter is the divine life.
If we did not have the divine life, we would not be able to endure trials. Those saints who realize that they have the divine life within them and who exercise this life will have the divine life developed into a crown. This crown is a glorious expression of the inner divine life received through our divine birth. This crown will be the reward which the Lord will give to those who love Him.
We have seen that James was a godly man, a man who knew God and loved the Lord. Furthermore, James was a man of wisdom, a man of prayer and faith, a man who understood the real situation of human life, and also a man who was able and willing to endure sufferings with joy. However, it is possible for even such a godly man to lack a clear vision concerning God’s economy. Throughout the centuries, there have been a great many believers who were godly people like James. But one after another was lacking a clear vision concerning God’s economy. There may be thousands of believers like this today. Some Christians may think that it is sufficient to be godly like James. They think it is adequate to know God, to love God, to be a man of prayer and faith, and to be able to endure trials with joy. But we would say that it is not adequate to be such a godly person, for even such a man as James may lack the proper view regarding God’s move in the various dispensations.
The reason I appreciate the book of James is that this Epistle points out the possibility that we may be those who know God, who love God, and who are full of wisdom and faith, yet do not have a clear view of God’s economy. We all need to know what the Lord’s recovery is. The Lord’s recovery is simply the recovery of God’s economy.
Many believers are godly like James. They love God, they trust God, and they pray in faith. But they do not know anything about God’s economy. These believers cannot satisfy God’s desire. The desire of God’s heart can be fulfilled only by those who know God and are godly and who, like Paul, also have a clear view concerning God’s economy in this age.
We have pointed out that James uses many figures in this Epistle: the surge of the sea, the flower of the land, the sun with its scorching heat, the planets, vapor, and a farmer’s longsuffering. James surely was a wise and experienced man. Not only did he have experience in human life, but through prayer he also obtained wisdom from the divine source. Nevertheless, it seems that, by his sympathy with Judaism and compromise with it, he was frustrated from seeing a thorough vision of God’s New Testament economy.
James was the son of Mary, a woman who was pious and godly. Her praise recorded in chapter one of the Gospel of Luke indicates that she had the knowledge of God’s Word, for in her praise she quoted a number of Old Testament verses. No doubt she gave her children, including James, a godly education. James, therefore, was raised in the atmosphere of Judaism. It is likely that James loved Judaism.
The fact that James was sympathetic to Judaism and compromised with it can be seen in chapter twenty-one of Acts. James and the other elders told Paul that there were thousands of Jewish believers who were zealous for the law. From reading this chapter we can see that with James and those in Jerusalem the spiritual sky was not clear. Rather, the sky was cloudy. In the case of James, the sky may have been clouded by his godliness. He was reputed along with John and Peter to be a pillar of the church, and no doubt he was the leading one. But although James was so highly regarded, with him there was mixture and vagueness concerning God’s move. This mixture was also a cause for God’s sending Titus, a prince of the Roman Empire, with the Roman army to destroy the city of Jerusalem, including the temple. If this had not happened, the mixture of Judaism with God’s New Testament economy might have continued for centuries. God, however, would never sanction or justify such a mixture.