James Teaches Consistent Christian Living

James 1:17-22; 2:14-17; 4:13-17; 5:12

GOLDEN TEXT: “Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”—James 1:27

THE church of the Gospel age is Scripturally termed the “church of the Firstborn,” and in the first portion of our lesson today is spoken of as a firstfruits unto God of His creatures. (Heb. 12:23; Jas. 1:18) The two thoughts are in full accord; firstborn ones imply later born ones, firstfruits imply later fruits. Thus does the Lord draw our attention to the fact that, while His plan has had its most gracious beginning with the elect of this Gospel age, His favor will not end with these, but ultimately will proceed to all the families of the earth, in accordance with His great oath-bound Covenant with Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” The firstborns constitute a seed class. Christ is the Head or first of this firstborn company. But it will not be complete until the last member of the body of Christ shall have been passed over from the earthly to the heavenly life and nature.

The beginning and development of the new nature is likened by the apostle to the beginning and development of human life. As in the one case there is a begetting and then a birth, so also in the other. The saints are said to be begotten of God through the Word of truth. (I Pet. 1:3; I John 5:18; James 1:18) That is, they receive the first impulse of the divine life from God through His Word. When they hear the call, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy [ransomed, justified—and therefore] acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1), in that very act the spiritual life is begun. Such find themselves at once thinking and acting as the new (transformed) mind prompts, even to the crucifixion of the human desires. From the moment of consecration these are considered by God as “new creatures.”

Thus to these embryo “new creatures” old things (human desires, hopes, plans, etc., pass away, and all things become new.

The embryo “new creature” continues to grow and develop, as the old human nature, with, its hopes, aims, desires, etc., is crucified. These two processes progress simultaneously from the time consecration begins until the death of the human and the birth of the spiritual results. As the Spirit of God continues to unfold, through His Word, more and more of His plans, He thus quickens our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11), enabling them to render Him service. But in due time we will have new bodies—spiritual, heavenly, adapted in all respects to the new, divine mind.

The apostle follows with the argument that since the brethren are new creatures in Christ, have been begotten and their new life started by the Word of God, it would be inappropriate thereafter to follow their own ideas, or to express their own thoughts, except as these are in accord with the Lord’s Word. He says, “Wherefore”—how obvious and important is the apostle’s observation that—“the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19,20) And since we as new creatures are wholly devoted to the accomplishment of the righteousness of God, both in ourselves and in others, let us resolve to follow this exhortation of the Apostle James, to be alert, attentive students of the Lord’s Word, seeking in every experience of our life to be guided not by our own or the ideas of other human beings, but only by the Word of God. Thus we shall place ourselves in line with the prayer of our Master who said, “Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy Word is truth.”

Our Golden Text presents a similar thought to that of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:27. Both apostles would impress upon us the importance of keeping ourselves unspotted from the world.

In Psalms 45, the church, as the King’s daughter, is represented as presented at the marriage in a clean linen robe, richly embroidered—the embroidery, we believe, representing the development of character on the part of all the faithful. The robe would represent the imputed righteousness of Christ, we understand, and is the basis of any good works which we can perform, and even then, before we can accomplish anything, we must have and must follow the pattern given us by our Lord. This garment must be spotless, clean and white—“without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” (Eph. 5:27) If we would be accepted as a member of His bride, we must “be diligent that we may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”—II Peter 3:14

QUESTIONS:

What is implied in the expressions “firstborn” and “firstfruit”?

To what does the apostle liken the beginning and development of the Christian life?

Should Christians, as “new creatures,” attempt to follow their own ideas and plans? If not, why not?

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