King James Version
James 2
26 verses with commentary
Warning Against Favoritism
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
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<strong>My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.</strong> James forbids holding the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons (<em>prosōpolēmpsiais</em>, προσωπολημψίαις). The gospel unites believers across status lines; showing favoritism contradicts Christ's glory. The term literally means receiving fac...
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II.
(1) **My brethren.**—The second chapter opens with some stern rebukes for those unworthy Christians who had “men’s persons in admiration,” and, doubtless, that “because of advantage” to themselves. (Comp. Jude 1:16.) The lesson is distinctly addressed to believers, and its severity appears to be caused by the Apostle’s unhappy consciousness of its need. What were endurable in a heathen, or an ...
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19. Hope is found represented on coins by an anchor.
**sure and steadfast--**sure in respect to us: steadfast, or "firm" [Alford], in itself. Not such an anchor as will not keep the vessel from tossing, or an anchor unsound or too light [Theophylact].
**which entereth into that--**that is the place
**within the veil--**two images beautifully combined: (1) The soul is the ship: the world the ...
Read full commentary →For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; assembly: Gr. synagogue
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<strong>For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;</strong> James imagines a gold-ringed man (<em>chrysodaktylios</em>, χρυσοδακτύλιος) with bright clothing entering the assembly (<em>synagōgēn</em>, συναγωγήν) alongside a poor man in vile raiment. The vivid scenario shows favoritism in action. The church is no...
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(2) **For if there come unto your assembly** (literally, *synagogue*)*.*—This is the only place in the New Testament where the Jewish word is used for a Christian congregation.
**A man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel.**—Better, *a man golden-ringed, in bright apparel.* Roman satirists had much to say upon the fops and dandies of their time, with “all their fingers laden with rings”; some, if w...
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20. The absence of the Greek article requires Alford's translation, "Where. As forerunner for us (that is, in our behalf), entered Jesus" [and is now: this last clause is implied in the 'where' of the Greek, which implies being IN a place: 'whither' is understood to 'entered,' taken out of 'where'; whither Jesus entered, and where He is now]. The "for us" implies that it was not for Himself, as Go...
Read full commentary →And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: in: or, well, or, seemly
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<strong>And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:</strong> Showing deference (<em>epiblepsēte</em>, ἐπιβλέψητε) to the well-dressed while telling the poor person to stand or sit underfoot reveals a heart enslaved to worldly honor. The commands "sit thou here" and ...
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(3) **And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing** (or, *bright apparel*)*.*—Look on him, that is, because of his fine appearance, with undue respect and consideration.
**And say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place **(or, as margin, *well*); **and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool.**—The sidesman or elder in charge of the church finds a stall for t...
Read full commentary →Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
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<strong>Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?</strong> By acting this way, believers become judges (<em>kritai</em>, κριταί) with evil thoughts (<em>dialogismōn ponērōn</em>, διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν). The verb "are ye not divided" (<em>diakrithēte</em>, διεκρίθητε) indicates wavering between God's standards and the world's. Partiality is a theological judgment,...
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(4) **Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?**—Or, as the sense, fully expressed, would be: “My brethren, if you acted thus, did you not doubt in yourselves, and become by such false and unfaithful discrimination judges of and in your own evil thoughts? Did you not lose the idea of brotherhood, and become contentious as to supremacy of self and place—serving...
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CHAPTER 7 He 7:1-28. Christ's High Priesthood after the Order of Melchisedec Superior to Aaron's.
**1. this Melchisedec--**(He 6:20; Psa 110:4). The verb does not come till He 7:3, "abideth."
**king ... priest--**Christ unites these offices in their highest sense, and so restores the patriarchal union of these offices.
**Salem--**Jerusalem, that is, seeing peace; others make Salem distinct, a...
Read full commentary →Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? of the: or, of that
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<strong>Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?</strong> James reminds them that God has chosen (<em>exelexato</em>, ἐξελέξατο) the poor (<em>ptōchous</em>, πτωχούς) of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom promised to those who love Him. Divine election often fa...
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(5) **Hearken, my beloved brethren.**—With complete change of manner the Apostle writes now as if he were speaking, in brief quivering sentences, appealing to the hearts which his stronger words may not compel.
**Hath not God chosen . . .?**—There is, then, an election on the part of God. It were folly to deny it. But this passage, like so many others, gives the reason for that choice. “The poor o...
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**2. gave--**Greek, "apportioned"; assigned as his portion.
**tenth ... of all--**namely, the booty taken. The tithes given are closely associated with the priesthood: the mediating priest received them as a pledge of the giver's whole property being God's; and as he conveyed God's gifts to man (He 7:1, "blessed him"), so also man's gifts to God. Melchisedec is a sample of how God preserves, ami...
Read full commentary →But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
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<strong>But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?</strong> Yet James says, "ye have despised" (<em>atimasate</em>, ἠτιμάσατε) the poor. Ironically, the rich oppress (<em>katadynasteuousin</em>, καταδυναστεύουσιν) them and drag them (<em>helkousin</em>, ἕλκουσιν) into courts. Favoring abusers betrays family loyalty. The verbs evoke violence ...
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(6) **But ye have despised the poor.**—Better, *ye dishonoured the poor man*—*i.e.*, when, as already mentioned (James 2:2-3), you exalted the rich unto the “good place” of your synagogue. Thus whom God had called and chosen, you refused. “It is unworthy,” observes Calvin on this passage, “to cast down those whom God lifts up, and to treat them shamefully whom He vouchsafes to honour. But God hono...
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**3. Without father, &c.--**explained by "without genealogy" (so the Greek is for "without descent); compare He 7:6, that is, his genealogy is not known, whereas a Levitical priest could not dispense with the proof of his descent.
**having neither beginning of days nor end of life--**namely, history not having recorded his beginning nor end, as it has the beginning and end of Aaron. The Gree...
Read full commentary →Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? blaspheme: or, revile, or, slander
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<strong>Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?</strong> These powerful people blaspheme (<em>blasphēmeousin</em>, βλασφημοῦσιν) the worthy name by which believers are called. To show them favoritism is to honor blasphemers of Christ's name. James ties social partiality to theological compromise.<br><br>Reformed believers treasure the name of Christ; honoring those who m...
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(7) **Do not they blaspheme . . .**—To “blaspheme” is to hurt with the tongue, and includes all manner of evil speech; but a more exclusive use of the word is with regard to things divine, and particularly the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost (Matthew 12:31). A moment’s reflection will show, unhappily, that this is alluded to in the text.
**That worthy name by the which ye are called?**—Bet...
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**4. consider--**not merely see, but weigh with attentive contemplation, the fact.
**even--**"to whom (as his superior) Abraham even paid tithe (went so far as to pay tithe) of (consisting of, literally, 'from') the best of the spoils (literally, 'the top of the heap"; whether of corn, the first-fruits of which, taken from the top, used to be consecrated to God; or of spoils, from the top of whi...
Read full commentary →If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
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<strong>If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:</strong> James commends fulfilling the royal law (<em>nomon basilikon</em>, νόμον βασιλικόν) according to Scripture: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Leviticus 19:18). Love is royal because it comes from the King and governs His kingdom. Partiality violates this law by wi...
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(8) **If ye fulfil the royal law.**—Better paraphrased thus, *If, however, ye are fulfilling the Law, as ye imagine and profess ye are doing, the royal law, according to the Scripture, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye are doing well; but *. . . . Mark the touch of irony in the defence which St. James puts into the mouths of his hearers. It were certainly a sweet proof of neighbourly a...
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**5. sons of Levi--**namely, those alone who belonged to the family of Aaron, to whom the priesthood was restricted. Tithes originally paid to the whole tribe of Levi, became at length attached to the priesthood.
**according to the law--**sanctioned by Jehovah (He 9:19).
**of their brethren--**with whom, in point of natural descent, they are on a level.
**though, &c.--**Though thus on a ...
Read full commentary →But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
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<strong>But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.</strong> If you show partiality (<em>prosōpolēmpteite</em>, προσωποληπτεῖτε), you commit sin (<em>hamartian ergazesthe</em>, ἁμαρτίαν ἐργάζεσθε) and are convicted as transgressors. Favoritism is not a minor faux pas but a legal offense before God. The law exposes partiality as rebellion against...
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(9) **But if ye have respect to persons . . .**—Translate, *But if ye respect persons, ye work sin, and are convicted by the Law *(*i.e., *at the bar of conscience) *as transgressors.* The first principle has been broken, and not a mere detail. *De minimis non curat lex:* the laws of men cannot concern themselves with trifles; but the most secret soul may be proven and revealed by some little act ...
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**6. he whose descent is not counted from them--**not from "the sons of Levi," as those "who receive the priesthood." This verse explains "without descent" (Greek, "genealogy" in both verses, He 7:3). He who needs not, as the Levitical priests, to be able to trace his genealogy back to Levi.
**received--**Greek, "hath received tithes."
**blessed--**Greek, "hath blessed." The perfect tense impl...
Read full commentary →For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
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<strong>For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.</strong> Whoever keeps the whole law yet stumbles (<em>ptaiē</em>, πταίῃ) in one point is guilty of all. The law is a unified expression of God's character; breaking part violates the whole. This undercuts self-justification that tolerates favoritism while boasting in other virtues.<br><br>Reformed th...
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(10) **For whosoever shall keep . . .**—Better, *have kept the whole Law, but shall have offended in one, has become guilty of all.* As a chain is snapped by failure of the weakest link, so the whole Law, in its harmony and completeness as beheld by God, is broken by one offence of one man; and the penalty falls, of its own natural weight and incidence, on the culprit.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. The principle that the blesser is superior to him whom he blesses, holds good only in a blessing given with divine authority; not merely a prayerful wish, but one that is divinely efficient in working its purport, as that of the patriarchs on their children: so Christ's blessing, Lu 24:51; Ac 3:26.
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. he that: or, that law which
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<strong>For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.</strong> He who said, "Do not commit adultery" (<em>mē moicheusēs</em>, μὴ μοιχεύσῃς) also said, "Do not kill" (<em>mē phoneusēs</em>, μὴ φονεύσῃς). If you commit no adultery yet kill, you become a lawbreaker. James ties social sins ...
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(11) **For he that said . . .**—All men have favourite vices and indulgences; and most
“Compound for sins they have a mind to
By damning those they’re not inclined to;”
forgetful that the same Lawgiver has laid His restrictions upon every sort and kind. Not that we can believe all sins are the same in their deadening effect upon the soul, or, further, in their punishment. The point which St. James...
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8. Second point of superiority: Melchisedec's is an enduring, the Levitical a transitory, priesthood. As the law was a parenthesis between Abraham's dispensation of promise of grace, and its enduring fulfilment at Christ's coming (Ro 5:20, Greek, "The law entered as something adscititious and by the way"): so the Levitical priesthood was parenthetical and temporary, between Melchisedec's typically...
Read full commentary →So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
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<strong>So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.</strong> James charges, "So speak and so do" as those who will be judged by the law of liberty (<em>nomou eleutherias</em>, νόμου ἐλευθερίας). Speech and action must align with the freedom-giving gospel. Judgment according to the law of liberty means believers are accountable for how they steward grace.<br><br>Refo...
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(12) **So speak ye, and so do**.—The writer has shown how unsuspected sins lead quickly to a violation of the Law, and in concluding this part of his Epistle he returns to the warning against an unguarded tongue, with which he commenced in chap 1:26.
**The law of liberty.**—The term is only found here and in James 1:25, and seems one of which James the Wise was peculiarly fond. What, however, did ...
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**9. as I may so say--**to preclude what he is about to say being taken in the mere literal sense; I may say that, virtually, Levi, in the person of his father Abraham, acknowledged Melchisedec's superiority, and paid tithes to him.
**who receiveth tithes--**(Compare He 7:5).
**in Abraham--**Greek, "by means of (by the hand of) Abraham"; through Abraham. "Paid tithes," literally, "hath been ti...
Read full commentary →For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. rejoiceth: or, glorieth
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<strong>For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.</strong> Judgment without mercy (<em>krisis aneleos</em>, κρίσις ἀνέλεος) will be shown to the merciless; mercy triumphs (<em>katakauchaetai</em>, κατακαυχᾶται) over judgment. Those who refuse to show mercy betray that they have not grasped God's mercy. Conversely, mercy displayed evi...
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(13) **For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy.**—Better, *For unmerciful judgment shall be to him that wrought not mercy.* Here again are the clearest echoes of our Saviour’s words (Matthew 6:1-2, *et seq.*)*, *and a reference, we can hardly doubt, to His well-known parable (Matthew 18:21-35); and we must remember, further, that “the unforgiving temper, apart from all ...
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**10. in the loins of his father--**that is, forefather Abraham. Christ did not, in this sense, pay tithes in Abraham, for He never was in the loins of an earthly father [Alford]. Though, in respect to His mother, He was "of the fruit of (David's, and so of) Abraham's loins," yet, being supernaturally, without human father, conceived, as He is above the natural law of birth, so is he above the law...
Read full commentary →Faith Without Works Is Dead
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
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<strong>What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?</strong> James asks, "What profit" (<em>ophelos</em>, ὄφελος) if someone says he has faith (<em>pistin</em>, πίστιν) but lacks works (<em>erga</em>, ἔργα)? Can that faith save him? The rhetorical answer is no: a profession devoid of obedience is counterfeit. The issue is not faith plus...
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(14-26) FAITH AND WORKS.—We now enter on the most debatable ground of the Epistle; a battle-field strewn with the bones and weapons of countless adversaries. It is an easy thing to shoot “arrows, even bitter words”; and without doubt, for what seemed to be the vindication of the right, many a hard blow has been dealt on either side—so many, indeed, that quiet Christian folk have no desire to hear ...
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**11. perfection--**absolute: "the bringing of man to his highest state, namely, that of salvation and sanctification."
**under it--**The reading in the oldest manuscripts is, "Upon it (that is, on the ground of it as the basis, the priest having to administer the law, Mal 2:7: it being presupposed) the people (He 9:19, 'all the people') have received the law (the Greek is perfect, not aorist te...
Read full commentary →If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
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<strong>If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,</strong> James illustrates with a brother or sister lacking clothing (<em>gymnoi</em>, γυμνοί) and daily food (<em>leipomenoi trophēs</em>, λειπόμενοι τροφῆς). Faith encounters tangible needs, not theoretical scenarios. The familial terms emphasize church responsibility toward one another.<br><br>The scenario exposes hypocrisy: ...
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(15) **But** (the word should be added, for it continues an argument) **if a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food**—*i.e., *the food for each day, not that which suffices for one, or for a present distress; the case is rather of worst and direst want, so that the heart untouched by the spectacle of such misery must be hard indeed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. For--**the reason why Paul presses the words "after the order of Melchisedec" in Psa 110:4, namely, because these presuppose a change or transference of the priesthood, and this carries with it a change also of the law (which is inseparably bound up with the priesthood, both stand and fall together, He 7:11). This is his answer to those who might object, What need was there of a new covenant...
Read full commentary →And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
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<strong>And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?</strong> Saying, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled" (<em>thermainesthe</em>, θερμαίνεσθε; <em>chortazesthe</em>, χορτάζεσθε) without supplying necessities is empty. Words devoid of deeds betray hypocrisy. Blessings withou...
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(16) **And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled.**—Is it unlikely, knowing as we do the style of the rugged Apostle, that he was drawing other than from the life? Perhaps it was a scene in his own experience during that very famine foretold by Agabus (Acts 11:28-30).
There would, however, seem to be a worse interpretation of the words, beginning so softly with the Eas...
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13. Confirming the truth that a change is made of the law (He 7:12), by another fact showing the distinctness of the new priesthood from the Aaronic.
**these things--**(Psa 110:4).
**pertaineth--**Greek, "hath partaken of" (the perfect tense implies the continuance still of His manhood).
**another--**"a different tribe" from that of Levi.
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone . alone: Gr. by itself
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<strong>Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.</strong> Faith without works is dead (<em>nekra</em>, νεκρά). James pronounces verdict: such faith lacks life, like a corpse lacking breath. Works are not the cause but the evidence of life. Living faith inevitably breathes obedience.<br><br>This complements Paul's teaching that we are created in Christ for good works (Ephesians 2:...
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(17) **Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.**—Better, like the margin, *is dead in its own self.* If to be childless among women were a curse in Israel, so to be barren among God’s graces is the condemnation of faith in Christendom. And St. Paul, in substantial harmony with this assertion of his brother Apostle, declares (Romans 2:13) “Not the hearers of the Law are just befo...
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**14. evident--**literally, "manifest before the eyes" as a thing indisputable; a proof that whatever difficulties may now appear, then Jesus Christ's genealogy labored under none.
**our Lord--**the only place where this now common title occurs without "Jesus," or "Christ," except 2Pe 3:15.
**sprang--**as a plant, and a branch.
**Judah--**Ge 49:10; Lu 1:27, 39 (Hebron of Judah, where Lightfo...
Read full commentary →Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. without: some copies read, by
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<strong>Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.</strong> James imagines an interlocutor: "You have faith, I have works. Show (<em>deixon</em>, δεῖξον) me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Faith is visible through actions; without works, it cannot be demonstrated.<br><br...
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(18) **Yea, a man may say . . .**—The bearing of this verse is commonly misunderstood; its words are those of scorn, uttered probably by some enemy of the faith—Jewish or Pagan—and are another instance, like that of the unruly tongue, by which those outside the pale of Christianity may and will judge us within. James 2:18-22 are all the speech of this practical opponent of first century solifidian...
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15. Another proof that the law, or economy, is changed, namely, forasmuch as Christ is appointed Priest, "not according to the law of a carnal (that is, a mere outward) commandment," but "according to the power of an indissoluble (so the Greek) life." The hundred tenth Psalm appoints Him "for ever" (He 7:17). The Levitical law required a definite carnal descent. In contrast stands "the power"; Chr...
Read full commentary →Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
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<strong>Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.</strong> Believing God is one (<em>heis estin ho Theos</em>, εἷς ἐστιν ὁ Θεός) is orthodox monotheism, but even demons (<em>daimonia</em>, δαιμόνια) believe and shudder (<em>phrissousin</em>, φρίσσουσιν). Intellectual assent without obedience aligns us with demonic faith—accurate but unredeemed.<br...
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(19) **Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well.**—Better thus, *Thou believest that God is One; thou doest well.* He is the formal object of faith derived from knowledge, whether by sense, intuition, or demonstration; you are theologically correct, and may even declare your internal faith by external confession—well, indeed.
**The devils also believe, and tremble.**—They *shudder* in...
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**16. carnal ... endless--**mutually contrasted. As "form" and "power" are opposed, 2Ti 3:5; so here "the law" and "power," compare Ro 8:3, "The law was weak through the flesh"; and He 7:18, "weakness." "The law" is here not the law in general, but the statute as to the priesthood. "Carnal," as being only outward and temporary, is contrasted with "endless," or, as Greek, "indissoluble." Commandmen...
Read full commentary →But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
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<strong>But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?</strong> James addresses the foolish man (<em>anthrōpe kene</em>, ἄνθρωπε κενέ), asking if he wants to know that faith without works is barren (<em>argos</em>, ἀργός). The adjective means idle or useless. Empty claims need rebuke; James confronts complacency head-on.<br><br>Reformed theology values pastoral admonition: mere ...
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(20) **But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?**—“Vain,” *i.e.*, empty and useless. Some copies have a word which means idle, fruitless, workless, in place of that translated “dead”; but the sense is the same either way. “If,” says Bishop Beveridge, “I see fruit growing upon a tree, I know what tree it is upon which such fruit grows. And so, if I saw how a man lives, I kn...
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**17. For--**proving His life to be "endless" or indissoluble (He 7:16). The emphasis is on "for ever." The oldest manuscripts read, "He is testified of, that Thou art," &c.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?</strong> Was not Abraham justified (<em>edikaiōthē</em>, ἐδικαιώθη) by works when he offered Isaac? James references Genesis 22 to show faith's obedience. Abraham's earlier justification (Genesis 15) was by faith; here, works demonstrate that faith. The verb can mean declared righteous or vindi...
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(21) **Was not Abraham our father justified by works . . .?**—St. James now addresses his two examples from familiar history in force of his plea for active faith. The first is the marvellous devotion and trust of Abraham (Genesis 22) *when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar;* that boy himself the type of God’s dear Son, who bore, like His meek ancestor, the sacrificial wood up the long weary...
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**18. there is--**Greek, "there takes place," according to Psa 110:4.
**disannuling--**a repealing.
**of the commandment--**ordaining the Levitical priesthood. And, as the Levitical priesthood and the law are inseparably joined, since the former is repealed, the latter is so also (see on He 7:11).
**going before--**the legal ordinance introducing and giving place to the Christian, the antity...
Read full commentary →Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Seest: or, Thou seest
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?</strong> You see that faith worked together (<em>synērgei</em>, συνεργεῖ) with works, and by works faith was perfected (<em>eteleiōthē</em>, ἐτελειώθη). Faith and works cooperate; obedience matures faith. The process transforms belief into tested trust.<br><br>Reformed sanctification teaches that obedience gr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Seest thou how . . .?**—Better taken simply, and not as a question, *Thou seest how, *&c.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. For, &c.--**justifying his calling the law weak and unprofitable (He 7:18). The law could not bring men to: true justification or sanctification before God, which is the "perfection" that we all need in order to be accepted of Him, and which we have in Christ.
**nothing--**not merely "no one," but "nothing." The law brought nothing to its perfected end; everything in it was introductor...
Read full commentary →And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
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<strong>And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.</strong> Scripture was fulfilled: "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6); and he was called the friend of God (<em>philos Theou</em>, φίλος Θεοῦ). Abraham's later obedience confirmed earlier fait...
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(23) **The scripture was fulfilled.**—Namely, that earlier declaration of God (Genesis 15:6) when the childless Abraham, with only a Syrian slave for his heir, trusted in the divine promise that his own seed should be as the number of the stars of heaven.
**Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.**—He proved his faith by obedience, when he freely gave back to the Giver...
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20. Another proof of the superiority of Christ's Melchisedec-like priesthood; the oath of God gave a solemn weight to it which was not in the law-priesthood, which was not so confirmed.
**he was made priest--**rather supply from He 7:22, which completes the sentence begun in this verse, He 7:21 being a parenthesis, "inasmuch as not without an oath He was made surety of the testament (for, &c...
Read full commentary →Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.</strong> You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith only—meaning faith alone is never alone. Works vindicate faith before observers. James summarizes his argument: genuine faith necessarily produces deeds.<br><br>Reformed theology resolves James and Paul by distinguishing the cause (faith alone) from...
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(24) **Ye see then how that by works . . .**—Observe that St. James says a man is not justified “by faith *only,” *putting the adverb in the last and most emphatic position. He never denies Justification by Faith; but that fancied one of idle, speculative, theoretic faith, with no corresponding acts of love.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?</strong> Likewise Rahab the harlot (<em>pornē</em>, πόρνη) was justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way. Gentile, female, marginalized—yet justified by faith demonstrated in courageous action. Rahab shows that genuine f...
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(25) **Likewise also . . .**—The second example, brought forward in strange and complete contrast to Abraham, “the father of many nations,” is that of Rahab, the harlot, who received and sheltered in her house at Jericho the two spies sent out from the camp of Israel (Joshua 2). The evil name of the poor woman’s unhappy trade cannot truthfully be softened down to “innkeeper,” nor even “idolater.”
...
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**22. surety--**ensuring in His own person the certainty of the covenant to us. This He did by becoming responsible for our guilt, by sealing the covenant with His blood, and by being openly acknowledged as our triumphant Saviour by the Father, who raised Him from the dead. Thus He is at once God's surety for man, and man's surety for God, and so Mediator between God and man (He 8:6).
**better--...
Read full commentary →For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. spirit: or, breath
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.</strong> As the body without the spirit (<em>pneumatos</em>, πνεύματος) is dead, so faith without works is dead. The analogy underscores inseparability: spirit animates body; works animate faith. Without action, faith is a corpse.<br><br>Reformed spirituality insists on union of doctrine and life. James conclu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **As the body without the spirit . . .**—A closing simile of much force, *As the body without the spirit, so faith without works.* But the term “without” is hardly strong enough to represent the Greek “apart from.” Of our own human wisdom we had been rather inclined to say that works were likest to the body, and faith to the breath or animation thereof. “The Apostle’s view,” says Alford, “see...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
23. Another proof of superiority; the Levitical priests were many, as death caused the need of continually new ones being appointed in succession. Christ dies not, and so hath a priesthood which passes not from one to another.
**were--**Greek, "are made."
**many--**one after another; opposed to His "unchangeable (that does not pass from one to another) priesthood" (He 7:24).
**not suffered t...
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