1 Cor. 2:6-9 - Not Nature’s Wisdom

6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." (See Note 1, below)

Worldly Wisdom Does Not Bring us to God

V. 6 - “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature” - One of several common misconceptions about Christianity, our faith, is that it is ‘brainless belief”, or simply emotional responses. The opinion is that smart people, intelligent people, educated people would not be sucked into the Christian belief system. They have too much going on to “need to be saved”. The worldly wise seem to believe they have control over their lives and future. The poor and uneducated are drawn to the hope that Jesus gives because they don’t know better.

Paul is refuting that train of thought. He is not writing to the ignorant, but to those who have turned to the Lord, and received His wisdom. As you go through life and grow in knowledge and wisdom, the decisions you make based on that acquired information should tend to keep you out of trouble. You don’t run through a stop sign - not only because you know the law - because you have learned it can save your life. You don’t whack a bee’s nest with a stick - for good reason! You don’t draw against the Lone Ranger, you don’t spit into the wind... Paul is writing to “mature” people, people having wisdom with respect to God.

“A wisdom, however, not of this age” - The wisdom of which Paul speaks is not from the learned or powerful of this world. The college professors, political leaders, and religious leaders do not normally turn to faith in God and Jesus seeking solutions to the problems of this world. Many firmly believe they have the solutions. Unfortunately, many of these solutions lead to further decadence and destruction of human society.

V. 7 - “We speak God’s wisdom in a mystery” - I suspect that most of us think of ‘mysteries’ in terms of detective novels or TV shows. A crime has been committed. The detective needs to figure out “whodunnit”. Quite often, the reader or viewer, doesn’t know and is invited by the author to solve the mystery along with the hero of the story. How many times have you said, “Yeah. That’s who I thought did it” before the end of the book or episode. You caught the hints the author dropped along the way.

That is not exactly the concept of ‘mystery’ in the Bible. God has determined, from long ago, how the world would be saved. Sometimes it is a total shock to discover what He has done, how He did it. The ‘mystery’ is God knew all along what would be needed, but we didn’t. Sometimes God even told us that He would send a savior who would take away the sins of the world. The mystery comes about because we are surprised at what transpired. Yet, when we take time to study the Bible we can see that Jesus fulfills the mission to save us from our sin. The information was always there, but was a mystery to us because we did not believe God.

“To our glory” - God decided that we would receive Jesus’ glory when we believe in Him. We are not glorious on our own, by our own power or doing. We will be glorious because He is glorious, and we are His! This is God’s plan - His predestined outcome - and we benefit from it.

V. 8 - “The wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood” - Not only the ‘age’ in which Paul lived - the first century anno domini - but all ages. Read the Old Testament, especially the historical books. You just shake your head in wonder - God spoke to these people, and they said they would do all that He instructed. About 37 seconds later, they were openly disobeying and defying the Lord! Look at our age - do you see the leaders of this age understanding and obeying the Lord?

“For if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” - We know that not all of the leaders rejected the Lord. There were a couple of the Jewish leaders that believed. Pontius Pilate came close to understanding, “I have found no guilt in this man.” (Luke 23:14). However, he caved to the pressure of the Jewish leaders. The spiritual leaders, of all the people at that time - the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the High Priest - should have recognized the Messiah. They had been waiting for 1000 years. They had been studying the scriptures. They knew the Messiah was coming. They even asked, “Are you the one?”

V. 9 - “Just as it is written” - The following sentence is quoted (paraphrased, actually) from Isaiah. See the following: “For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.” (Isa. 64:4) "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.” (Isa 65:17) “And it will be said in that day, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.’" (Isa. 25:9)

Nothing you’ve heard, nothing you’ve read, nothing you’ve seen, nothing you can imagine matches what God has planned and done. Those who love the Lord will wait to see what He will do. What God has done is completely beyond imagination, even those who love Him and wait for Him! And I suspect that the things to come, the new Jerusalem, the new earth, are completely beyond all that I can dream of . See 1 Cor 2:9.

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Note 1: I think that verses 2:6-16 probably should be treated as one long paragraph, but that generates a very very long study section. So I divided it into three sections: verses 6-9, verses 10-13, and verses 14-16.

1 Cor 2:1-5 - Christ, Crucified

 Chap. 2 Outline 

• 2:1-5 - Christ crucified 
• 2:6-9 - Wisdom 
• 2:10-13 - Revealed 
• 2:14-16 - Natural Man

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1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Know Jesus Christ

V. 1 - “When I came to you” - Paul was in Corinth at least twice, in his second and third missionary journeys (about 51-52 A.D., and 55 A.D., respectively). He spent about 18 months in Corinth (Acts 18:11), left there to go to Ephesus where he lived for three (3) years.

“I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom” - It would have been relatively easy for Paul to debate - having been a student of a famous rabbi teacher, Gamaliel, a Pharisee. He spent years studying the Law, debating. I am pretty sure Paul could have out-argued anyone, anywhere.

V. 2 - “I determined to know... Jesus Christ” - After Paul’s encounter with  the Lord on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-10), he went to Arabia to be taught about and by Jesus. Paul says elsewhere that he was there about three years (See: Gal. 1:17). This portion of Paul’s life does not seem to be clearly defined, other than he spent some time in the Sinai of Arabia, came back and then went to Damascus for three years. There may have been about six years between Paul’s conversion on the road and when his missionary ministry got into full swing. After that, it was event filled! (See: Acts 13-28.) This is an amazing declaration! Paul the primo debater, skilled in arguing fine points of the Law, forgoes all that and focuses on one person: Jesus Christ.

“Him crucified” - Paul taught the message he himself was taught by God (“proclaiming the testimony of God.” - (1 Cor 2:1). God taught - from Abraham to Moses to Jesus - that sin could only be covered by the death of an innocent. From Moses’ time up until the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, sins were forgiven by a sin offering, burnt on the altar in the Tabernacle or temple. The sacrifice of the lamb or goat or bull was for sins committed.

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, sinless. He died for our sin - not sins, the things we’ve done - but because of our sin nature, inherited from Adam and Eve.

V. 3 - “weakness... fear... trembling” - Paul was not over-confident. He was determined to rely on God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the gospel. Why would he fear? Paul did not fear the Lord, but may have feared failing to preach the message of salvation in Christ clearly. (See: 1 Cor. 3:13, 15:1; Acts 15:7; Rom. 1:16) I believe Paul feared failing to preach and teach adequately the salvation through Jesus Christ. He did not want to fail in his calling.

V. 4 - “my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom” - Paul’s goal was to show who Jesus Christ is. Many people have no knowledge of Jesus Christ. Some only know him as swear-word phrase. Some have never even heard the words, “Jesus Christ”. He had no plans to debate the relative merits of one religion over another (which was part of his formal training). Jesus came to offer you a better life, a better hope, future and not calamity. I love the verse from Jeremiah, “ ‘For I know what I have planned for you,' says the LORD. 'I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.’ ” (Jer. 29:11) And Peter tells us to share the hope that is in us! (1 Pet. 3:15) “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

”demonstration of the Spirit and of power” - The power of the Holy Spirit, working in lives is the best witness.

V. 5 - “your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men” - The wisdom of men has given us the Greek and Roman gods, the Hindu gods, the Buddha’s godless faith, social justice warriors, worship of nature but not nature’s God, political parties, feminism, and a worship of science.

“Power of God” - Salvation comes from God, not by man’s efforts or deep thoughts. We cannot work our way to God; we cannot generate the faith unless He calls us. God calls to our hearts and minds. We can respond in faith or not; we do not need to generate the faith, nor can we generate the faith - it is a gift from God. See the following:

“LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” (2 Chron. 20:6)

“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.” (Job 12:13)

“One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God.” (Psa. 62:11)

“You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!” (Psa. 68:35)

“You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” (Psa. 77:14)

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.” (Dan. 2:20)

Jude, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ catches all of that in this wonderful doxology, (one of the most beautiful verses in the Scripture):
"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24, 25)

1 Cor 1:26-31 - We Cannot Boast

26 Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position.
27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong.
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something,
29 so that no one can boast in his presence.
30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

No One Can Boast in Front of God

V. 26 - “Think about the circumstances of your call” - Look through the Gospels in the New Testament. Note how many times Jesus sought out the kings, governors, and religious leaders. Did He go to the Roman rulers? Did he make a plea to the king in Jerusalem? No. Jesus went to the working men and women. He talked to women! He talked to a Samaritan woman! She was truly the ‘underclass’, so despised by other Samaritans she was forced to get water from the well when no one else was there. Do you think fishermen like Peter, James and John were upperclass? He talked with lepers (maybe even lower than Samaritans). He talked with beggars, and the lame, and the sick. He came to seek and save the lost! (See: Luke 19:5-10)

The church of believers in Jesus Christ is aimed at all who would believe. The rich, the famous, the powerful often do not see the need for salvation. The offer is there just as for the poor, or just plain folks, but the rich, famous, and powerful cannot see their own need. They have the money they need to buy what they want; they are known by everyone, perhaps their fame counts with God; their power gets them what they want when they want it. Blinded by self-aggrandizement, their absolute failure to meet God’s standard blows by them like a 100 mph fastball. They are blinded by themselves, and cannot see their need.

Perhaps that is one of the weaknesses of the church in the United States. We are a rich nation, many of us do not know the need for salvation - we have it all!

V. 27-28 - “God chose...” - The way of God, the way of Jesus, forces you and me to recognize we are helpless in face of God’s glory and righteousness. We are as useful as dirty rags in cleansing ourselves to be presented to God. It must be done for us. It has been done for us. Praise God that Jesus died for my sin. That I cannot work for my salvation is ‘foolish’. What is it worth then, if I have not earned it? How can this faith be worth much if its leader/founder was executed as a criminal and could not save Himself from that humiliation?

Look at this list: God chose: foolish, weak, base, and despised things. The world looks at these things and judges them useless for salvation.

V. 29 - “so that no one can boast in his presence.” - This is the key, no one can say, “I did this!”

V. 30 - “He is the reason” - The NASB version translates it as “by His doing you are in Christ Jesus”. Everything that is needed by us, those who are saved, who would be saved, is completely supplied, provided, and empowered by our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been transferred from the “domain of darkness” (Col 1:12).

“Wisdom... righteousness... sanctification... redemption” - The wisdom of God has been fully covered in the previous verses. (See verses 26-29 above) The next three words, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, all have distinctly religious implications. ( Not exclusively, of course, but primarily.)

Righteousness - Being set apart as holy and pure - having a pure heart, a pure life, living and doing what is right before God. It is part of God’s divine nature - his holiness, his absolute perfection. Christ also demonstrates this characteristic.

Sanctification - The dominant idea is separation from the secular and sinful, and setting apart for a sacred purpose. In the OT, things, places, times, people were sanctified, i.e., consecrated to holy purposes - usually only in a ceremonial and legal sense, to remind the Jews of the need for spiritual cleansing and the grace of God. In the NT, people are called to consecrate themselves to God, that is the inward cleansing work of God and Holy Spirit.

Redemption - The idea is to purchase an item or person. A slave could be redeemed by a family member - a purchase price was paid. A home or land could be redeemed - again purchase price is paid. God gave the Jews the formula for the redeeming price, based on Sabbath year, or Jubilee year. God has stepped into our lives to save us. Jesus paid the price for our salvation by dying on the cross. The price was deemed acceptable because God raised Him from the dead to live forever - which we get to share. The advantages of redemption by God is that it is freely offered to all; however it works only for those to choose to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

V. 31 - “Let the one who boasts...” - This is a quote from Jeremiah, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD.” (Jer. 9:23-24)

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End of Chapter

 

1 Cor 1:18-25 - Wisdom

18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 
19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent." 
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching.
22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,
23 but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Christ is the Power and Wisdom of God

The section of 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16 compares worldly wisdom (or, fleshly wisdom) with spiritual wisdom.

1:18-25 - Foolishness vs. wisdom 1:26-31 - God shames the worldly wise 2:1-5 - Spirit and power 2:6-9 - Wisdom in a mystery 2:10-16 - Wisdom revealed by the Holy Spirit

V. 18 - “The message about the cross is... foolishness” - Verse 18 compares the response of two kinds of people to the gospel - those who do not choose to believe and have faith, and those who do. It is binary. There is no ‘almost believe’, or ‘kind of believe’. I used the term ‘choose to believe’ to impress that you get to make the decision. We are not coerced. We are not tricked or scammed. God says, "Here are the facts. Here is the truth. Do you accept to believe in Me?”
That decision is available to you until you die; your decision is then validated.

If you choose not to believe, there is no salvation. God’s method of saving you from sin made no sense to you, it was “foolish” to believe. God loves you - but you reject that offer of love. He has a wonderful plan for your life - but you want to do it yourself. Jesus said there was no other way to God - but you insist you can find a way on your own. He has provided a way - but that is “too simple”. All these “excuses” add up to the same thing - you choose not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“[The message about the cross is]... power of God” - The other side of the binary choice. You accept His offer of love. You want to know the plan He has for your life. (See: John 10:10b) You believe Jesus is “the only name under heaven by which man may be saved.” (Acts 4:12) You accept that your way is fraught with danger and death, so you seek relief or help. (See: Pro 14:12)

The same power that raised Jesus Christ from death to life is now yours because of your faith in Him. That power brings peace to your soul; brings comfort and solace during trials and troubles. (See: John 14:27) You now have power to love the unlovable. His power gives you a future and a hope. (See: Jer 29:11, Pro 24:14, John 14:21, 23)

V. 19 - “For it is written” - The following sentence is quoted from Isa 29:14. The passage in Isaiah is fascinating. God is speaking to the rebellious people of Israel. He has given them all the information in His book (or scroll). But the people have excuses. “The book is sealed!” “I can’t read!” God accuses them of worshipping by rote - going through the motions. He is going to do wonderful, exceedingly marvelous things for them!

The things God will do is going to confound the wisest among them. The smart people will have no explanation of what Christ has done for us.

V. 20 - “Where is the wise man... expert in the Mosaic law... debater of this age?” - Paul has thrown down the gauntlet; issued the challenge. If you are so smart, why don’t you have an answer that actually challenges God?

Tell us, O wise men, how do you eliminate sin, cleanse a soul, make people perfect? What no answer? Explain, please, scribes and Pharisees - where does the Law take away the sin? Stand before God, and prevail with reasoned logic that will subdue His claim to make you acceptable to a Holy Lord God. Demonstrate how we can be sinless and holy by our own power!

“Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?” - No answer to that claim? No learned person, no religious rules and procedures, no forceful arguments can bridge that expanse between sin and holiness. It is not your sinful actions that condemn you, they are simply manifestations of a deeper spiritual problem. You have a sin nature. God has the answer - man does not, can not. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:5-6 )

V. 21 - “in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God” - Mankind cannot know God by its personal effort. All the education in the world cannot provide enough learning so we can personally know God. We may have a collection of data about God. For example: We may watch hours of news on TV, and read newspapers or magazines, listen to various podasts about President Trump. You have tons of information about the president. On the other hand, you don't live with him, talk to him, nor ask him why he does certain things. You do not know President Trump. This is neither and apology for the president, nor an accusation of him, but an acknowledgment there is a vast gap between knowing about someone and knowing them. There must be a personal revelation to begin to know that person. God has revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ.

Turn to Genesis, chapter 3. If Adam or Eve had truly known God they would have believed Him when instructed to not eat from that one tree.

“God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching” - People will be saved when they hear the truth of the gospel; that is, saved by faith in Jesus. There are those that think it is foolish to talk of being saved by God and not by their own power. That is the ‘fooolisihness’ that Paul preaches, that Christian preachers, teachers, and believers talk about. There is a way that leads to life, as Paul says in Romans, “But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:8-14)

There it is, boiled down: You hear the Gospel. If you believe the Gospel, you are saved by faith in Christ. You learned about salvation in Christ when told about it. (Okay, not exclusively by hearing, but generally.) You can now preach the Gospel so others can be saved. It may seem silly that such an important facet is transmitted to each other by preaching and telling.

Part of the message of salvation is telling others what Christ has done for you, personally. “Jesus Christ has done this for me. My life has changed because Jesus saved me from sin”, etc. “Believe by the foolishness of preaching.” Your life belongs to Christ. He has paid the the price for your sin. Because of that, you are commissioned by the Lord to share that message of salvation. You have been saved. Share that information with those around you. Amen, and Thank You.

V. 22 - “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom” - Neither group of people are particularly ‘bright’ when it comes to salvation, and dealing with God. Go figure! Jews demanded “signs” for proof of God’s calling or blessing (See: Jdg 6:17; 1 Sam. 14:10; 2 Ki. 20:9; Matt. 12:38, 16:1). God also gave them “signs” as a reminder to the people that He was with them, always. The Greeks are well known for philosophy and wisdom - Plato, Socrates, Aristotle (the really famous ones. Type in ‘list of Greek philosophers’ into your web browser, whether “DuckDuckGo” or “Google” to see a long list!

V. 23 - “but we preach about a crucified Christ” - Paul’s message is straightforward: Salvation is in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Christ died for our sin. He paid the penalty so we do not have to do so. Belief in Jesus is the criterium. No other task, no other duties - believe and be saved. No philosophical discussions, no logical conundrums to work out. By your faith place your life in His hands; by your faith accept His grace freely offered to you.

“a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” - Jews were hyper-focused on obedience to the strictures of the Law. It is no surprise that the “Talmud” is many, many volumes (think quantity of volumes like the Encyclopedia Britannica) and the “Torah”. The ‘Law’ had become more than the last few chapters of Exodus, plus a large portion of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

Why was Jesus a stumbling block for the Jews? Did He violate the Law? Did His followers flaunt their disregard of the Law? That Christ is the fulfillment of the Law, meant that the Jews no longer needed to be so strictly obedient to the Law (nor do we). This had to be a slap in the face for them. The anchor of obedience to the laws no longer held them in check. They had to seem adrift. The idea that salvation comes through belief in lieu of obedience was a scandal to the Jews.

The concept of Jesus’ sacrifice taking away the penalty for sin made no sense to the Greeks. It was not “logical”.

V. 24 - “To those who are the called” - Discovering Christ as Savior is not accidental. (Kinda  like: “I was just walking down the road and I tripped over this guy I didn’t even see until I fell over Him...”) No. Jesus calls each one of us. (See: Luk 5:32; Matt 2:17; Acts 2:39) The call to come to Him is universal, and yet, it is very personal. You are not ‘a face in the crowd’. Jesus knows each person, cares for each person. He speaks to each heart, individually. He came to save me! He came to save you! He says, “Come to Me and be saved!” (See: Matt 9:13, 11:28, 19:21).

“Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” - Only God can conquer death. Only God can give life, both physical and spiritual life. Only God through the wisdom of God do we come to God through faith in Christ. It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who saves us and not we ourselves. It is not by our effort, our wisdom, our intelligence, our skill that our souls can be saved from death. It is Jesus Christ by the will of God - period.

V. 25 - “wiser than human wisdom... stronger than human strength“. The wise men (and women) can plan and calculate; can critique God’s method and declare it ‘silly’. But His ‘silliness’ is wiser than our wisdom; wiser than any human’s wisdom. If we try to work our way into God’s presence, there will always be a slip-up, a mistake, an “Oops!” along the way - we are not perfect, nor can we be perfect. Perfection is required to dwell in the household of God. He has provided that in Jesus Christ.

God’s weakness - Jesus allowed Himself to be lead to the cross and crucified for us. He was not captured and forced to be executed. It was not weakness that lead Him to trial before Pilate! He was not helpless when nailed to the cross. He was fully aware of the death He was to endure. Think on that. He knew how bad it was going to be. I am reminded of the videos of the victims leaping from the top floors of the Twin Trade Towers in New York on 9/11. I turn away and shudder. These people knew they were falling to their death, but believed it could not be as bad a dying the flames and rubble of the towers! Jesus knew it was going to be bad, and did it anyway!

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1 Cor. 1:4-9 - You were made rich in Christ

4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus.
5 For you were made rich in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge -
6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you -
7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

You Do Not Lack Any Spiritual Gift

V. 4 - “I always thank my God for you” - Paul must have had a HUGE prayer list! He mentions someone in almost every letter he wrote.

“Because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus” - By God’s grace we have been gifted with eternal life. His grace washed away all of the sin that would keep us from Him. There is a hymn that has these words: “Grace. Grace. God’s grace. Grace that is greater than my sin.” The most wonderful thing is: this saving grace was given. We do not earn it. We cannot buy it. We may be searching for it, because we know something is not right in our lives - something eternal and spiritual. We might not even be able to identify the problem, or be willing to agree there is a problem.

God knows this and offers a permanent solution - Jesus Christ. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ) Grace is freely given to us. Don’t get the idea this gift can be treated like a child’s Christmas present - to be accepted, put down, and on to the next gift. This gift cost Jesus His life sacrificed on the cross. He does not expect us to treat it lightly. We may not comprehend that we are His, completely His when at first we hear of and accept salvation.

V. 5 - “For you were made rich in every way” - This sentence is linked to verse 7, like so: You were made rich (v. 5)... so that you do not lack any spiritual gift (v. 7). Verse 6 is a parenthetical thrown in explaining why they are so enriched.

“in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge” - These riches - speech and knowledge - (from the Holy Spirit) were given to you. The reason the gifts were given is so you would be fully equipped to be a fully functioning believer.

In some ways, this is the theme of the letter: “You have been given everything you need by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. You should not be having these problems as a church or as an individual believer.”

We see a similar theme in Hebrews 8:10-12, “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, 'Know the Lord,' since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer."

Three things why the new covenant is better, why the church should not be having the problems like those in Corinth.

1. God will teach us. 
2. We will know the Lord. 
3. He will not remember our sins.

V. 6 - “the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you” - Paul repeats the testimony later in this letter. “For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received - that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,” (1 Cor 15:3). This testimony, also: "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31) And, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9)

V. 7 - “so that you do not lack any spiritual gift” - God has provided all you need in and through Christ. Individuals may not be so equipped with every spiritual gift, but the church body is. We see here the riches we have been given.

“as you wait for the revelation” - He will return in power and glory. We wait eagerly for this event. I just read an excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Letters and Papers from Prison”, saying we should be blessed with what God has given us each day, and not always looking past these blessings, believing heaven will be so much better than this. I like this sentence, “But, to put it plainly, for a man in his wife’s arms to be hankering after the other world is, in mild term, a piece of bad taste, and not it God’s will.” We wait eagerly for Christ to return, it will be glorious, but He has blessed us beyond measure here on earth. Wait eagerly, but be aware of the blessings we have in this life, and give God the glory for His blessings.

V. 8 - “He will also strengthen you to the end” - As you wait for Christ’s return, you are not alone in this wait. God has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deut 31:6, 8; Heb 13:5; John 14:18) He, Jesus Christ, came that we might have abundant lives - not just get by. (John 10:10; Eph 3:20 , 2 Pet. 1:11) The “peace of God” and “peace with God” are powerful, and are ours, in abundance.

Between now and that moment, you will live your life on earth. And as you do, you will falter, stumble, and commit sin. Those sins are also forgiven, because all have been forgiven. That is not the point of this statement. Jesus will strengthen you so as you live your life committed to Him, depending on Him, and so guide you away from sinful behavior. You will be guiltless when you face the Lord on that day, because you are in Christ. Christ and the Holy Spirit will speak to you, guide you, help you live a more godly life. See also, “...train yourself for godliness. For physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come." (1 Tim 4:7-8)

“so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” - Isn’t that a given?! On the day of our Lord (see: Rev. 19:11-18, 20:11-21:8; 22:1-7) all will be judged. (ALL!)  If your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life, your judgment has been taken by Jesus - He has borne the penalty for your sin. You are justified! You are righteous in His righteousness! However, this does not mean you now have free rein to live and do as you please. Believers will be judged for their behavior as Children of God. This is not saying they will lose their salvation. There will be weeping (tears) in heaven - God will wipe away every tear. Why is there crying in heaven, since this is paradise and we are with the Lord forever? We will know what we should have done as Christians while we lived on earth. We will know we did not please the Lord. He as forgiven us, but we know - without a doubt - that we have failed. Thank God we are forgiven - Jesus has taken the penalty for that also. He is our comforter.  

V. 9 - “God is faithful” - He is not capricious. He has promised and He will deliver. By His grace you have been given salvation in Jesus Christ; you have been made spiritually rich; given all the knowledge you need to live for Him; and He will empower you to live for Him.

***

1 Cor 1:10-17 - End Your Divisions

10 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, to end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose.
11 For members of Chloe's household have made it clear to me, my brothers and sisters, that there are quarrels among you.
12 Now I mean this, that each of you is saying, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," or "I am with Cephas," or "I am with Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Paul wasn't crucified for you, was he? Or were you in fact baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name!
16 (I also baptized the household of Stephanus. Otherwise, I do not remember whether I baptized anyone else.)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless.

Stop Arguing With Each Other

This section of this letter, verses 1:10-19, Paul addresses some quarrels and divisions in the Corinthian church, and the same theme is repeated in 2:3-9. Paul had a “target-rich environment” when dealing with this congregation’s problems. Some of the issues Paul addressed in this letter are:

• Divisions among members based on pastor or evangelist; 
• Worldly wisdom; 
• Fleshly behavior; 
• Immorality; 
• Airing differences before non-believers; 
• Marriage; 
• Idols and Arrogance; 
• Husbands and wives; 
• Communion; 
• Spiritual gifts, 
• including Tongues; and 
• Other Doctrinal issues.

***

V. 10 - “I urge you, brothers and sisters” - After the opening of the letter, Paul gets right to it. He is not invoking his own reputation, or bragging that he was called by Jesus (It would be easy to imagine Paul could say, “You know that Jesus spoke to me on the road to Damascus. Jesus Himself called me, and taught me!” But, he doesn’t do that.)

Paul is not commanding them to get along with each other; he is not demanding. He is asking, begging, urging them to put aside differences.

"by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" -  This mantra, "by the name of..." is not placing some 'magic formula' on the name "Jesus Christ". It is a recognition of an authhority, that the speaker (in this case, Paul) is not stating an opinion or feeling. He is conveying what the One in power is stating as the desired outcome. For example, if someone you know is from the United States government comes to you, and tells you this is what the President wants; the President has asked him to convey this. You immediately pay attention. Essentially you are being addressed by the United States, the power and authority is behind the one speaking to you.

“end your divisions, and to be united by the same mind and purpose” - This is fairly straightforward - stop arguing with each other. It is damaging your witness to the world. Paul is not advocating a ‘Stepford Wives’ mechanical recitation of dogma. He is urging them to focus on the correct and proper issues. 
Remember, Jesus prayed that His followers, the church, would become 'one', just as He and the Father were one. (John 17:17, 20-21)

V. 11 - “members of Chloe's household have made it clear” - Nothing is known about Chloe - this is the only place she is mentioned. I assume Chloe was a Christian in Corinth. She and people in her household  had contacted Paul about the problems that had arisen in the Corinthian church. She was sufficiently well-known in the church there that Paul was able to refer to her directly, not just as the wife of so-and-so. Women are shown throughout the New Testament as significant and valuable witnesses to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, not second-class members.

“there are quarrels among you” - These disagreements are disrupting the church body. As we will see in other chapters these quarrels are not doctrinal in nature.

V. 12 - “Now I mean this” - And so it begins. From this point in this letter to the end of chapter 13 Paul deals with the quarrels stirring up the church.

“I am with...” - Three prominent apostles or missionaries in the early church - Peter. Paul, and Apollos. Of course we know that Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, were the main leaders of the church in Jerusalem. Paul was chosen by Jesus - see Acts 9:1-22. Apollos was a convert (as were they all) and a dynamic preacher/teacher who was taught and trained by Priscilla and Aquila. (Acts 18:24-28).

Is this the beginning of denominations? People were claiming the preacher/teacher they prefer has the one true message. That’s like saying, “I only listen to J. Vernon McGee;” or, “Pastor Gene Curtis is the best!”; or “You think he is good? You should listen to Dale Ebel.”

“I am of Christ.” - Paul may have left the reference to Jesus Christ last in his list because Jesus is the most important one to follow.

V. 13 - “Has Christ been divided?” - The answer is, “No!” This is the key. Christ is one, not many. He himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ) And Peter preached, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 )

Paul emphasizes this in the next two questions: “Was Paul crucified ?”, or “baptized in the name of Paul?” He may be preaching the gospel, but Paul is not the gospel. Jesus said, “Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (See: Luke 24:46-48 )

V. 14-16 - “I thank God that I did not baptize any of you...” - (Except Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas) Paul fully understood that salvation was in Jesus, and in Jesus alone. He wanted no one to claim they were saved through him.

V. 17 - “For Christ did not send me to baptize” - Called to be a missionary. See: Acts 9:15-16.

“To preach the gospel” - See: 2 Cor 10:16: Gal 1:16. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He took the penalty for your sin upon Himself, was resurrected and ascended into heaven.

“not with clever speech” - The message is simple and straightforward. There is salvation in no one or nothing else by which you can be saved. Philosophical discussion, sociological explanations, parsing semantics do not clarify, or make the gospel clearer. Faith in the grace given you. Grace because you cannot earn salvation, cannot work it out. Faith because you trust the Lord to do what He promises. Salvation is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (See: Col. 1:27)

“So that the cross of Christ would not become useless” - If a preacher/teacher focuses his message on anything that makes salvation an admixture of “Christ plus...” he diminishes the sacrifice of Jesus. A diminished Christ is a failed salvation - His death for you becomes useless to you. You don’t believe solely in Him, you are not, cannot be, saved. It is a binary equation.

***

1 Cor 1:1-3 - From Paul…

Introduction: Although labeled “First Corinthians”, this may not be the first letter Paul had sent to the church in Corinth. In verse 5:9, he refers to a letter sent earlier.

Chap. 1 Outline 

1:1-3 - Hello. It’s Paul 

1:4-9 - Enriched in Jesus 

1:10-17 - Divisions 

1:18-25 - Wisdom 

1:26-31 - God’s Wisdom

***

1 From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother,
2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord 8Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! (NET)

From Paul - Grace and Peace

V. 1 - “From Paul,... and Sosthenes” - Paul announces who is writing the letter, and based on other letters in the NT, this seems to be way letters were written in the 1st century A.D. (See Note 1)

The identity of Sosthenes is a little cloudy. There is a man with this name mentioned in Acts 18. Paul was in Corinth about a year and a half. The Jews there were upset that he spoke of Jesus Christ in the synagogue. They took Paul up to the Roman governor (proconsul) of Corinth to complain about Paul teaching in the synagogue. The governor kicked them out since their complaint was a religious disagreement, not civil or criminal. He just didn’t care!

I don’t know if there was more than one synagogue in Corinth, because two men, Crispus and Sosthenes, were identified as ‘ruler’ or ‘president’ of the synagogue. Crispus (Acts 18:8) was the leader when Paul started preaching in Corinth, and became a believer after listening to Paul. Sosthenes (Acts 18:17) was leader during the kerfuffle before Gallio, the proconsul appointed by Rome for Corinth. (Maybe a year-and-one-half later) The Jews were furious and beat Sosthenes after Gallio would not listen to their complaint (Acts 18:11-17). Perhaps the Jews were upset that Sosthenes did not force Paul to leave or quit preaching in the synagogue.

It is not clear, maybe the Sosthenes who was beat up by the Jews is the same man mentioned here in the letter to the Corinthian church. This would mean he accepted Christ as Lord and Savior through Paul’s ministry and remained with Paul when he left Corinth. (See: Acts 18:1-18.)

“Called to be an apostle” - An ‘apostle’ is one sent, a messenger, specifically called by the Lord Jesus Christ. There is, or was, a limited number of apostles - no more than 13 to 15. The original twelve disciples called to walk and learn with Jesus, and Paul. The twelve was reduced to eleven soon after Jesus was crucified. It is a unique office of the church.

Paul was accosted by Jesus on the road to Damascus. This is amazing, since it was several days, maybe months after the resurrection of Jesus. See Acts 9:3-7 and following. Paul is struck to the ground by the brilliance of Jesus' presence (No one else in the group saw anything). Paul knew it was God, the Lord, speaking to him. Then Paul was taught by the Lord Jesus, and was 'called' to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. 'Called' is one of those particularly Christian words, or concepts. Pastors are 'called', missionaries are 'called'; but what does it entail? I think it is one of those things that cannot be described, but you know it when you get it. There are people who are singers, musicians and they are not satisfied unless they are singing and making music. People who are 'called' to the ministry know that they need to serve the Lord, wherever that may be.

V. 2 - “to the church of God” - Here are four phrases used to identify the group of believers in Jesus Christ.

1. Church of God 
2. Sanctified in Christ Jesus 
3. Called to be saints 
4. Who Call on the Name of Jesus

While these are synonym phrases, each emphasizes something slightly different. Paul here draws our attention to holiness of the church - believers of Jesus Christ who is God. (This is the ‘first identifying characteristic’.) 
The culture then was saturated with gods. The Jews have a God. The Greeks and Romans had gods - a plethora of gods. In Corinth, one of the major cities in Greece, there were temples to Aphrodite and Apollo, and others. We would not identify some of the religious practices as ‘holy’, but as ‘immoral’, considering the proliferation of temple prostitutes.

There is no doubt the followers of God were expected to be ‘holy’, abstaining from immoral practices. God is holy, and His believes are also holy, so the church of God is a holy gathering.

“Sanctified in Christ Jesus” - Basic definition: ‘sanctification’ is separation from the secular and sinful, and setting apart for a sacred purpose. In the Old Testament - things, places, times, people were sanctified, i.e., consecrated to holy purposes - usually only in a ceremonial and legal sense, to remind the Jews of the need for spiritual cleansing and the grace of God. In the New Testament, people are called to consecrate themselves to God, that is the inward cleansing work of God and Holy Spirit. (Second identifying characteristic)

So, sanctified in Christ Jesus means the church, and the people who make up the church, have been spiritually cleansed and set apart in Christ Jesus from the world. The church of God has been made holy to God by the sacrificial death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5) (ESV)

I think there are no “reluctant saints” - saints against their will. Jesus calls us to follow Him. Compare the reluctant man: “Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” (Luke 9:61), to the man who responded positively to Jesus’s call: “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ ” (John 1:43-49)

“Called to be saints” - They are saints, not because of what they have done, but because of who they are in Christ Jesus. This not about character, or behavior, but about being claimed by God as His own, about being consecrated (sanctified) by Him for Him. He calls you to be His. He sacrificed Himself for you. It is a special and individual relationship. At the same time, saints are the collection of believers, all of whom are God’s own. We do not earn our way into ‘sainthood’ - which seems to be a very Catholic Church view. It is none of our own doing, but Christ’s. (Third identifying characteristic) 

“with all those in every place” - Primarily addressed to the believers in Corinth, this letter is intended to a wider audience. All those - i.e., everyone who is a Christian.

“Who call of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” - Those who say, “Jesus, I am yours,” those who submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. “Call on the name” does not mean speaking His name in order to get His attention. I am Jesus’ own possession. He is my master, my Lord, and my God. (Fourth identifying characteristic)

V. 3 - “Grace and peace to you” - Paul includes this combined blessing in every letter he wrote, and almost every letter in the New Testament has this greeting. It is almost unknown in the Old Testament. The closest we see is : "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The LORD bless you and protect you; The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."' (Num. 6:23-26).

Two thoughts: (1) not the grace of salvation, but grace upon grace - the Holy Spirit living in control of the life, living by faith. (2) the peace of Christ - John 14:27 -  “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.”

---

Note 1: "NET" = New English Translation

;

First Corinthians - Introduction and Outline

 Written by: The Apostle Paul

When: about 54-56 A.D. Most likely during the third year of his stay in Ephesus, per most dictionaries or commentaries. 

Message and Purpose:Main theme: “All believers belong to the Lord. Jesus is Lord: believers are His possession. Whatever the issue, the answer was always addressed with a reminder of the Lord’s authority over them...

Paul’s purpose in writing: This first letter to the Corinthians was to motivate the Corinthian church to acknowledge the Lord’s ownership of them and the implications this had in their lives. Key topics Paul addresses in this overarching theme of the ownership and authority of the Lord include:

• Christian unity, 
• morality, 
• the role of women, 
• spiritual gifts, and the resurrection... 

Paul gave specific solutions to specific problems, but the underlying answer to all these problems is for the church and its members to live Christ-centered lives. It all comes down to living under the lordship and authority of Christ, the head of His body (the church).”

***

Note: My intent was to have each section of verses of the chapter in italics, with discussion following. If there were significant phrases or words, these are handled separately, and will be shown italicized and bold. Verses quoted as reference or explanation will be italics with the address bold.

Please forgive fractured grammar, and partial sentences. These were notes written as I thought and prayed during the study. The truncated written thought was fully developed in my mind, or so I like to believe.

ISSUES COVERED IN 1 CORINTHIANS. 
• Denominations (Divisions) Based on Personalitiy, e.g., pastor or evangelist
• Worldly wisdom - 1:19-31 
• Spiritual wisdom - ch. 2
• Fleshly Behavior - 3:1-23 
• Stewardship - ch. 4 
• Immorality - ch. 5 
• Airing differences before non-believers - 6
• Lack of Moral Purity - 6
• Marriage/Husbands /Wives - 7
• Idols and Arrogance - 8, 10
• Support of Missionaries - 9
• Communion - 11
• Spiritual Gifts - 12, 14
• Tongues - 14
• Doctrinal Issues - 15

 

Outline of Paul's First Letter to the church in Corinth
Chap. 1 1:1-3 - Hello. It’s Paul 1:4-9 - Enriched in Jesus 1:10-17 - Divisions 1:18-25 - Wisdom 1:26-31 - God’s Wisdom	Chap. 9 9:1-6 - Support Paul & Barnabas 9:7-11 - Soldiers & Oxen 9:12-18 - My Reward 9:19-23 - For Gospel’s Sake 9:24-27 - Discipline to Win
Chap. 2 2:1-5 - Spiritual Wisdom and power in Christ crucified 2:6-9 - Wisdom in a Mystery 2:10-16 - Wisdom revealed by the Holy Spirit	Chap. 10 10:1-5 - Our Ancestors 10:6-11 - Examples for Us 10:12-13 - Temptation is Normal 10:14-22 - Idols Are Not All that Important 10:23-33 - Do All to Glory
Chap. 3 3:1-9 - You Are Fleshly 3:10-15 - Built on Christ’s Foundation 3:16-17 - Temple of God 3:18-23 - You Belong to Christ	Chap. 11 11:1-2 - Imitators of Christ 11:3-7 - Spiritual Hierarchy 11:8-16 - Praying Men & Women 11:17-19 - Who is right; who is Wrong 11:20-26 - Communion 11:27-34 - Lord’s Supper
Chap. 4 4:1-5 - We Are Servants 4:6-8 - Fools, Do not be Arrogant 4:9-13 - Working to build you up 4:14-21 - Admonishments	Chap. 12 12:1-3 - Be Led by the Holy Spirit 12:4-7 - Holy Spirit is for your Benefit 12:8-11 - Spiritual Gifts 12:12-13 - Baptized into the Body 12:14-20 - Body 12:21-25 - Care for Every Member 12:26-31 - Seek Greater Gifts
Chap. 5 - Rules For harmonious living 5:1-5 - Immorality and Arrogance 5:6-8 - Clean Out 5:9-13 - Keep the House Clean	Chap. 13 13:1-3 - Without Love 13:4-8 - Love is... 13:9-13 - When Perfect Comes
Chap. 6 - Rules for harmonious living 6:1-8 - Going to Court 6:9-11 - Inheritors of the Kingdom 6:12-13 - All Things Lawful 6:14-20 - In the Body of Christ	Chap. 14 14:1-5 - Prophecy vs. Tongues 14:6-9 - Understandable Tongues 14:10-14 - Language must have meaning 14:15-19 - Spiritual Gifts 14:20-25 - Tongues 14:26-33 - Edification 14:34-35 - Keep Quiet 14:36-40 - Do Things Properly
Chap. 7 7:1-6 - Marry or Immorality - your choice 7:7-9 - If Possible 7:10-16 - Married to an Unbeliever 7:17-24 - As You Were 7:25-35 - Demands of Marriage 7:36-38 - Virgin Daughters 7:39-40 - Widows and Re-Marriage/td>	Chap. 15 15:1-2 - Hold Fast 15:3-8 - Gospel 15:9-11 - Labor 15:12-19 - Christ is Risen 15:20-28 - Christ Reigns 15:29-34 - Baptism 15:35-41 - Resurrected 15:42-49 - Perishable vs. Imperishable 15:50-58 - Flesh & Blood
Chap. 8 8:1-6 - Sacrifice to Idols 8:7-13 - Use Knowledge Wisely	Chap. 16 16:1-9 - Offerings 16:10-12 - Timothy Coming 16:13-14 - Be Ready in Love 16:15-18 - Shout Outs 16:19-24 - Closing

***

Note 1: Most of the New Testament writings, which comprise the Holy Scripture of the Church, were written between 45-70 A.D. The last writing was the Revelation to John, believed to have been written about 90-95 A.D. Most of the letters by Paul, Peter, etc., were written before the any of the Gospels. First Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians may have been the first of the church writings. I use ‘may have’, and ‘probably’ because we rely on information and confirmation of scripture by church fathers and leaders who lived many, many years after the beginnings of the Christian church. The Gospels were written by men who had either met Jesus personally, or got ‘first-person’ evidence from men who had spent time with Jesus. All of the letters were written by men who knew Jesus personally. Paul is a special case, in that he had a personal encounter on the road to Damascus, and then was taught by Jesus for a period of time. 

James 5:19-20 - Conclusion

19 My friends, if any of you wander away from the truth and another one brings you back again,
20 remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner's soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

Support Each Other

James closes out his letter. Like much of the rest of this letter, he does not waste a lot of words, he just stops.

V. 19-20 - “if any of you wander away from the truth” - Look back a couple of verses. He tells us to pray for each other, and our sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other, and you will be healed. Committing sins is wandering away from the truth. For me, ‘wandering’ is more than an occasional ‘oops, I messed up’, but a change from following Jesus to ignoring or opposing Him.

“another one brings you back again” - This is Christians looking out for each other, helping each other, encouraging and correcting. We remind each other the path that Jesus has called us to walk. The writer of Hebrews said, “And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25)

“whoever turns a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner's soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.” - Powerful words, here! I do not think this is saying that Christians can lose their salvation. It seems to say that, I will admit. If I am a believer and then decide to turn away, my life will not be satisfying (pleasant, happy, etc.).

James jumps from bringing a struggling Christian back to obedience, to saving sinners. Saving a Christian from judgement is totally different from saving a sinner from Hell. Actually we humans can do neither. We can bring another into the presence of Christ, and help them see that salvation and fulfillment comes only from Christ.

Forgiveness for a Christian’s errant behavior means that the believer can live empowered by the Holy Spirit. A ‘fallen’ Christian cannot not be empowered by the Holy Spirit, unless and until he confesses and repents of his sin and asks the Spirit to fill and control him. This is the same way that a non-Christian receives the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior - confessing sin, believing and accepting Jesus as Messiah and Savior given by God the Father to us. Neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit forces themselves upon you, your soul and spirit.

In Conclusion:

I am reading a book by Eric Metaxis, “Letter to the American Church”, in which he compares the Christian church in America to the German Christian churches in pre-World War II. He notes that the German churches had taken the concept of ‘saved by faith alone’ to the point that ‘works’ were anathema. They had ‘forgotten’ that our faith must be lived out, our lives demonstrate the efficacy of our faith.

That point is what the letter by James is about - your faith is shown in how you live. The letter by James was not universally accepted by church leaders - it took a long time to be accepted into the New Testament canon. Why? Because the letter does not emphasize ‘faith alone’. It does remind us that our lives must demonstrate our faith in Christ.

---

End of Letter

James 5:16-18 - Pray For One Another

16 So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.
17 Elijah was the same kind of person as we are. He prayed earnestly that there would be no rain, and no rain fell on the land for three and a half years.
18 Once again he prayed, and the sky poured out its rain and the earth produced its crops.

The Prayer of a Good Person

V. 16 - “So then, confess your sins to one another ” - Continuing on from the previous paragraph in which we are urged to share our needs openly with fellow believers: James had just said that when we pray for one another, bodies can be healed, sins can be forgiven. He goes further than sharing our ailments with other Christians.

Share your spiritual burdens, sins, with other Christians. This is amazing! Do I really want to tell anyone my sins, my failings? What will they think of me? Will they shun me? Many of us have trouble confessing to the Lord - even though He already knows, being omniscient! Amazingly, I think 'Yes' that is what we are to do - confess to another believer. This does not mean stand up in church and tell all. Have someone who can be a confidant, someone with whom you have established a relatlionship. Get alone, pray and share you plight. Have that person pray with and for you. Keep it private, just between you and the other. You can easily convince yourself that what you did isn't all that bad, and maybe you don't need to confess. Confessing out loud moves it from conjecture to the reality of facing your failings.

James is saying that confessing your sins to other Christians will bring about cleansing. I do not believe that the Christians have anything to do with bringing about the forgiveness - that comes from the Lord, and only the Lord. Confessing your sins is agreeing with the Lord that you have wronged Him, that you need forgiveness. It is not just admitting you have sinned  (although that is a significant part of confession). If you will not admit you have done wrong, then you will not seek forgiveness from the Lord. Your stubborn, sinful self stands in the way of the spiritual healing we all desperately need.

James is also speaking about Christians getting along with other Christians. Anger and bitterness can destroy the unity of the church. If you have offended someone; go, confess and ask for forgiveness. If someone has offended you, forgive them. That can 'cleanse' the bad feelings that can destroy a church. 

A sermon heard recently emphasized the ‘speaking out’ as a means of ‘releasing’ the issue. I think this aspect ties in closely to Rom 10:9, 10; “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” We see that speaking about the issue, whether it is confessing a sin or confessing that you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that act shows you have made a decision. You have announced it to the world, and have made the commitment to go through with your decision.

“pray for one another, so that you will be healed” - What are the truths about prayer emphasized here? Accountability - we are not ‘accountable’ to fellow Christians (our behavior may have a positive or negative effect on Christians around us - but we answer to Christ alone). Speaking about your sin brings it out into the open, you cannot deny you said it or did it. This is similar to confessing Christ as Lord and Savior. Saying it cements it in your heart and mind. See: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.” (Rom 10:9-10)

Confession leads to cleansing by the Lord. See also: 1 John 1:8, 9 - “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

“The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.” - Being supported in our prayers for healing - physical and spiritual - by another believer buoys us up. Knowing that we are supported by Christians around us, gives us some confidence when we come to the Lord. We know, or at least should know, that when we pray he hears us. See: “This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15) But on the other hand, if there is a cloud of witnesses praying with us, isn’t that a plus? (No. I do not think that God will hear a crowd praying over, or before, a single voice lifted to Him. He hears all of our prayers.) However, having other Christians praying with us, echoing our pleas, helps us to think we are on the right track with our requests. When others pray with us we can feel that we are not alone, and be encouraged.

V. 17-18 - “Elijah was the same kind of person as we are.” - The King James Version translates this to read "like passions as we..." Elijah is given as an example to de-mystify him (i.e., if he can do it, so can you!) We often elevate the prophets, like Elijah, Isaiah, or Jeremiah, putting them on ‘pedestals’, thinking we could never be heard by God as those prophets were heard.

What are the truths about prayer emphasized here? Believe in God, believe also in Jesus Christ.  (See also: John 14:1) It does not take massive faith in Jesus to seek Him to work in and for you. See also Matt. 17:19, 20  “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said,  Why were we not able to send it out? And he says to them, Because of your little faith: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Be moved from this place to that; and it will be moved; and nothing will be impossible to you.” Requiring a 'massive' faith before you do anything for the Lord is closely related to requiring works to make you 'good enough' for Jesus to want to save you. That line of thinking is a form of heresy in which we can be good and God will then find us acceptable - which flies in the face of Rom 5:8.

As mentioned earlier in comments on James chapter 4: Motivation is the key. Prayer is not magic: i.e., You ask, therefore, you get. James is teaching us that we are to focus our prayers on Christ and what He has planned for us. When we are attuned to His plans, our prayers will be asked according to His will, not our selfish desires. He is not saying personal prayers are wrong, just personal prayers for self pleasure, wealth

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James 5:13-15 - Prayer

As James closes out the letter in the next few verses, he gives a series of directions, (not necessarily commands), but advice on living together in the Christian family of believers. This is the first of a series instructions that end the letter, on how to live while waiting for Christ’s return.

He deals with:

• praying for the sick in health and circumstances (vs. 13-15); 
• prayer for those who are struggling in their faith (vs. 16-18); 
• and helping those who struggle in their faith to return (vs. 19-20).

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13 Are any among you in trouble? They should pray. Are any among you happy? They should sing praises.
14 Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord.
15 This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven.

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V. 13 - “Are any among you in trouble? .” We see here in verses 13 and 14 James addressing the church body. (Key words: “any”, “anyone”) Looking back to chapter 4, verses 2-3, James is addressing the similar problem - i.e., asking with the wrong motives; but perhaps in this case, they are not praying enough, or at all. I think James had Paul’s admonition in mind when he wrote this advice. Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phi 4:6)

Both James and Paul combine supplication and praise. This would not be too unusual for Jewish believers because they have the Psalms to learn from. David often cried out to God for help, and included praise to God for His love and mercy.

A number of years ago, I was taught the acronym ‘ACTS’ as a guide for prayer.

“A” - Adoration - singing praises to God. Praise is an important part of prayer.
“C” - Confession of sin to God, that we might be cleansed of sin and guilt
“T” - Thanksgiving - for all that the Lord has done and will do.
“S” - Supplication - speaking our requests to God.

Why is praise important to prayer? Praise helps us to focus on God, His majesty, His power, His love for us. Praise helps to prepare our hearts and minds to make our requests in the proper attitude - requests to the all-powerful, and all-loving God of the universe. We can bring nothing to Him but our worship of Him. We have no standing to make demands. We only have the privilege of asking as a child of the Most High God.

V. 14 - Are any among you sick?” - Prayer for times of sickness. It is entirely appropriate to ask for the church elders to come and pray for a sick person.

“church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil” - Any church member can pray for healing for another - this is not limited to the church elders. We may assume the elders are people in the church that have demonstrated a long-standing faith and obedience in Christ. These would be the local leaders of the church.

“Anointing with oil” is not a common practice in the modern church. What is the purpose of the oil? Several of the commentaries indicated that olive oil was considered medicinal. They did not have the advantage of modern medicine with antibiotics, etc. I do not know if there is any healing power in olive oil, but it is mentioned several times in scripture for this purpose (See: Mark 6:13 - healings; Isa 1:6 - wounds soothed; Luk 10:34 - wounds bandaged.) Anointing with oil was also a symbol of God’s blessing being poured out on a leader or a needy person.

"in the name of the Lord" - This is similar to ending prayers with “in the name of Jesus”. As noted above: asking in “Jesus’ Name” is appealing to God’s grace and mercy based on the price Christ paid for our sins. We appeal to the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We are not appealing to all three of the Godhead just in case one of them is not listening to our prayers. We do not need to get them to pay attention.
We are saying, “If You, O Lord, are willing, please heal this believer!” We do not know God’s will and purpose in the ‘micro-details’ of our lives. In the big picture, God wants all to believe and accept Him as Savior. Praying in the ‘name of the Lord’ always reminds us that we are totally dependent upon Him for life and breath and health. This is to focus our attention on the Lord, rather than on ourselves our abilities, our labor,  our circumstances, our science and health system? (See also: John 16:23-26. - I think this statement means when we ask Jesus we are talking directly to God. Jesus is not an intermediary through whom we must funnel our prayers. We speak to Jesus, we speak to God Himself.)

V. 15 - This prayer made in faith will heal the sick ” - In this prayer session, the sick person asks the church elders to pray for him. The prayer of faith, by the elders, appeals to God and Jesus to heal. The healing comes from God, not the elders. (See note 1, below.)

“the sins they have committed will be forgiven.” - This is about prayers of intercession for the sick. The elders pray for the sick person, and two things happen - the sickness is healed and their sins are forgiven. We know from Luke 5:18-26, when a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus. The first thing Jesus did was to forgive the man’s sin. The Pharisees were incensed, “How dare you!” Jesus asked then which was easier, forgiving sins or healing a broken and sick body. Don’t both take intervention from the Lord God? If Jesus has the power, ability to forgive our sins, does he also not have the power to heal our bodies?

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Note 1: I will admit I do not completely understand this verse (5:15). The statement is that the prayers of the elders will bring God to action who will heal the ill or injured person. If the elders pray, and the person is not healed, what is the problem? Did the elders not have the faith required? That last question is most likely the wrong question. I have heard people say that prayers are answered with a "Yes", or "No", or "Not Now." Both the 'No' and 'Not Now" brings us to the point of deciding if we will have faith in the Lord and trust Him. It is not a very robust faith if it is active only when I get the things I want - that is the behavior of a spoiled child.
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James 5:12 - Say What You Mean; Mean What You Say

In the next few verses as James closes out the letter, he gives a series of directions, not necessarily commands, but advice on living together in the Christian family of believers. This is the first of a series instructions that end the letter, on how to live while waiting for Christ’s return

He deals with:

• honesty and reputation (v. 12); 
• praying for the sick in health and circumstances (vs. 13-15); 
• prayer for those who are struggling in their faith (vs. 16-18); 
• and helping those who struggle in their faith to return (vs. 19-20).

***

12 “Above all, my friends, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only ‘Yes’ when you mean yes, and ‘No’ when you mean no, and then you will not come under God's judgment.”

Let Your Word Be Your Bond

V. 12 - “above all” - James is saying, “In addition to all the issues just discussed in this letter, include the following in your life in Christ.”

“Do not use an oath” - This is not about foul language, but appealing to a ‘higher power’ to guarantee a promise. It seems that it had become a common occurrence for someone to say, “I swear by all that is holy that I will…” or, (I swear by God that what I said is the truth.” It had become a Jewish custom of swearing oaths, unnecessary and improper; basically using God in an oath appeals to His involvement.

Here is an example of ‘swearing’ from our court system: “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” (I think in our degraded society, this question is no longer asked, especially using a Bible and the name of the Lord.)

I got the following from a commentary by Matthew Henry: “The true nature of an oath is, by our speech, to pawn the reputation of some certain or great thing, for the averring of a doubted less thing; and not (as is commonly held) an appeal to God or other judge."

Don’t use God, His Name, or His Son as a guarantor of your commitment or pledge. Your personal reputation must be evident to those around you based on the way you act and live. There should be no question when you say you will do thus or so. “You said it, that settles it.” (Note 1) A handshake is all the contract needed because you are trustworthy.

How is this different than praying in Jesus' name? An ‘oath’ is asking a higher power to guarantee the result. Asking in “Jesus’ Name” is appealing to God’s grace and mercy based on the price Christ paid for our sins. For that reason alone, we should be aware to not use Jesus’ Name when asking for frivolous things, for wants and desires and pleasures. I do not mean it is a sin to ask for ‘wants’ to be fulfilled, but God is not a piggy bank to be raided to get what I want.

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Note 1: I think that is a quote from an old Walter Brennan TV series “The Guns of Will Sonnett”.

James 5:7-11 - Don’t Be Frustrated

7 Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains.
8 You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.
9 Do not complain against one another, my friends, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear.
10 My friends, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering.
11 We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion. (GNB)

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Up to this point James has dealt with specific problems the church was having. He closes the letter with several paragraphs in which he discusses some of the same topics that concern us. For example: how long will it take for the Lord to return? We are ready for Him, now!

He counsels patience, it is God’s timing, not ours. Don’t let the frustration of waiting, and waiting, and waiting, cause you to snip at other believers. Keep your life simple, clinging to the Lord. Don’t over-promise. Help each other in their troubles. Pray for each other. Confess your sins to each other. Baring your troubles to each other does not absolve you, or cleanse you, but it does keep you honest and centered on Jesus.

Jesus has promised eternal life with Him. He does not promise an easy life while you live on earth. The early church suffered, a lot! When you experience hardship, what enables you to be patient and wait for God?

***

In this section of the letter, one of the most frequently mentioned words is patience. He deals with patience among friends, and how they deal and talk with each other. In some ways, the patience referenced here is more passive than that mentioned in chapter 1. We are waiting for the Lord’s return, which has not been announced, yet. James also notes that the Old Testament prophets are worthy of imitation. Why? Because they knew, or believed the Messiah was coming, maybe even imminent. But they had the same time frame we do - unknown to us, and known only to the Lord.

***

Subjects of Patience are brought up in the following verses:

• Waiting for Lord's return. (v. 7)
• Strengthen hearts.  (v. 8)
• Fellow believers.  (v. 9)
• Prophets.  (v. 10)
• Job.  (v. 11)

James gives us several examples of patience:

• The Farmer who must wait for God (See 5:7); 
• The prophets who showed attitudes of faithfulness and obedience (v. 5:10); 
• And Job, who shows us that trials can be used to mature our faith (v. 5:11).

Have Patience. Have Patience. Don't Be In Such A Hurry

V. 7 - “Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains.”

“Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes.” - All right, believers, wait patiently because something big is coming - Lord's return!

“See how patient farmers are” - We can learn from farmers. They must be patient, because they can do nothing to hasten or delay the rains, which they need to irrigate the crops. They were dry land farmers - no circle pivot sprinkler system for them! You might carry water in clay jugs to water a garden or some spices. In some ways, this makes me think of the wheat farmers in Central and Eastern Oregon or Washington. You can drive by thousands of acres of wheat farms in that area. There are no sprinkler systems to water those fields, other than the rains. The farmer can do nothing but wait for the land to produce the planted crop. (See Note 1, below)

V. 8 - “Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.” -

Christ's return: IMMINENT! That’s how they thought, and it added some urgency to their message and lives. We look back at over 2000 years of waiting and go, “Meh!” We shrug our shoulders. We have lost the urgency; we really don’t think it will happen SOON! That is on us. We tell ourselves that if we knew it was next week, or month, or year, that we would get excited and get moving. But since we don’t really believe it is imminent we are lackadaisical.

James is urging us to stand firm in our faith and hope for Christ’s return. Don’t slip into the world’s way. The longer we wait, the stronger the temptation is to doubt Christ’s return, and in some cases to doubt the efficacy of our faith. We may think why should we “establish our hearts”, be resolute, firm, have courage, strengthen, or stand firm?

We need to stand firm and be resolute because we do not know, and we must be ready for His return. Note the 'tone' shifts from passive to more active endurance...

V. 9 - “Do not complain against one another, my friends, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear. “

“Do not complain against one another, my friends” - Because we are waiting, and are not sure of the timing, our patience is tested and may grow weak. Then we begin to grumble at each other, losing patience with each other. If you are suffering persecution because of your confession of faith, some groaning may be appropriate (See: Rom 8:23, Mk 7:34) as we long for His return. Grumbling and sniping at each other is not what we should be doing.

V. 10 - “My friends, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering.”

“remember the prophets” - James brings forth the Old Testament prophets as part of this theme of trials and testing. The Jewish culture would know, and think of the names all by themselves. The Gentile Christians may need a refresher course on the prophets to help them see how these people were given a glimpse of the future coming of the Savior and Messiah, but it was not something they saw during their lifetimes. They did not lose heart. They did not doubt the Lord’s promise of a coming savior.

V. 11 - “We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.”

“We call them happy because they endured” - There were several hundred years between the prophets visions and the advent of the Lord, that is about 500 year gap between the exiles returning from Babylon and Christ’s birth.

“You have heard of Job's patience” - What were they to learn from Job's example? (He endured and was blessed (he was indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit, and was blessed). By implication, we are to hold on to the promise of Christ’s return for us, and our reward will be great also!

James has completed what he wanted to say about testing, temptation, wisdom and generosity - next two paragraphs are the conclusion...

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Note 1: "early and late rains" - most commentators tell us that there are two rainy seasons in Judah/Israel - Fall (the early rain) and Spring (the late rain). Because they did not have irrigation systems or powered farm equipment, they were very dependent on the rains. The early rains moistened the soil so it could be tilled and planted. The late rains provided the needed moisture so the crops would grow ripen and produce. Rain was critical, so the farmers waited, there was little else they could do. Some commentators indicate this is an idiom for first and second coming of the messiah. The Jews waited patiently for the Messiah. Unfortunately, most rejected Him. Which led to salvation for Gentiles as well as Jews - Praise the Lord. Now, we wait patiently (mostly) for the triumphal return of our Lord and Savior.
Note 2: Instead of retaliating or seeking vengeance, what are the poor to do? (hold on, and your reward too, will be great)

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James 5:1-6 - Rich People. Wake Up!

OUTLINE - James Chapter 5 5:1-6 – Rich vs. Poor 5:7-8 - Poor vs. Rich 5:9-11 – Be patient 5:12 - No Oaths 5:13-15 - Pray for the sick 5:16-18 – Pray for one another

The basic sin described in this paragraph is greed. The previous passage (4:12-17) seemed to be aimed at the merchant class, or businessmen. This passage is addressed to the landowner class. James is speaking in these two paragraphs (4:12-17 and 5:1-6) to relatively wealthy people. Some commentaries indicated this part of the epistle was not written to believers. That doesn’t make sense since the epistle was addressed to believers (as were all the epistles). There is nothing essentially evil about money.

Big Idea: Wealth is worthless in the face of judgement, esp., wealth gained at the expense of the poor.

It would be real easy to conclude that being rich is a sin and Christians should avoid being rich! I do not think that is what is being taught here. If we look back through scripture, we see several people who were rich. Note that Abraham was quite wealthy, as was Barnabas in the NT. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus may have been wealthy, and there were several wealthy disciples that support Paul in his missionary journeys. We are warned “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” (1 Tim 6:9-11) (See Note 1)

The problem is not that you own riches, but that the riches own you. Christianity is to be lived in complete dependence on the Lord. This is not a screed against wealth. James is rebuking those people most likely to live independent from God - the rich. Riches can present an additional and significant obstacle the kingdom of God. (See: “ And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I say to you, It is hard for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, It is simpler for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of God.” Matt 19:23-24).

Wallowing in wealth is wicked. See the woe: Luke 6:24. “But unhappy are you who have wealth: for you have been comforted now.”

 James 5:1-6 - Rich People! Wake Up! 

1 And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you!
2 Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths.
3 Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days.
4 You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.
5 Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter
6 You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you. (GNB)

Rich Versus Poor

V. 1 - “And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you!”

“rich people, listen to me!” - There is a great gulf between the rich and poor. We in the United States probably do not understand how blessed we are. I just saw a speech to a college class. The speaker was addressing ‘global warming’, and was making the point that the majority of humans do not care about ‘global warming’. We might wonder how can this be! He made the point that most people on the planet are so poor that staying alive took all of their attention and effort. One of his points: the majority of people do not have indoor plumbing; some don’t have an outhouse either! Are those people are worried about whether the oceans may rise 6”? Who worries about the fate of spotted owls when every waking moment is spent desperately seeking food in order to survive?

That is part of the point being made by James. The rich are focused on riches, with no concern about the needs and desperate situation of the rest of people around them. The poor lived day-to-day, scraping together enough to make it until tomorrow when they would scrape again to meet their needs. Most people did not have multiple sets of clothing - they had enough to cover their backs, period. (Note God warns creditors who take a debtors outer garment as payment for a debt, that the garment had to be given back each evening so the debtor will not freeze at night. Deut 24:12ff).

So whatever concerns a rich man may have, those concerns pale compared to people around them.

“Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you!” - The hyperbole in these six verses is there to grab your attention. You may react with, “Oh. Come on, it can’t be that bad.” Of course nothing James says here applies to us…

The heated language, the stark images, grab you and lead you to consider that your actions may be harmful to others, even though you haven’t sought to harm them. Unintentional sin harms in the same way that being deliberately disobedient harms. God knows that we sin, and has provided salvation from those sins. He also knows we may reject His teachings and instruction, turning our back upon Him and His laws, indicating that we believe His laws do not apply to us. The forgiveness provided by Jesus does not mean we won’t suffer some consequences both here on earth and when we face the Judgment Seat of Christ when He returns.

There will be consequences. The weeping and wailing may come when our actions towards those in need are compared, and we see what we should have done! Then it is noted that our names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life - we are eternally with the Lord! No more weeping and wailing, because bore the penalty for those sins also. He has taken our punishment upon Himself.

We are told in Revelation there will be no weeping and wailing in heaven when all is completed. (See Note 2, below) But there is a lot of weeping, worrying, and crying by those people who have placed their hopes in their money, their businesses, their wheeling and dealing. They stand far off and wail at what is happening (See: Rev 17-19).

If we compare verse 4:9 to v. 5:1, we see James encouraging self-imposed moderation and concern for the poor, leading to repentance; versus the fear and trembling caused by the horror of judgement for those who reject Christ. No Christian should ever have the fear of judgment because of the way they have failed to live for Christ. Our lives are changed by the Holy Spirit to follow and obey Jesus’ teachings. The “miseries” are the realizations that come from looking realistically at the Day of Judgment.

V. 2 - “Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths.” -

Here James posits some of the miseries that will come. What is your greatest fear as a rich person? All your riches are gone. You have nothing to live on. You have no home. Think about the dire warning for those thinking of retiring: have enough put away so you can be independent for as long as you live. You don’t want to run out of retirement funds. Think of the huge business that investment companies and the massive government bureaucracy that supports Social Security (there it is: Security).

Our clothes are part of the costume we assume when we live. What you wear, what you drive, and your home (or homes) all are signs of your ‘wealth’. Watch some TV programs located in early 1900’s, say in London - it is easy to tell if a person is of ‘substance’ with riches and power or is a ‘working stiff’. If a guy steps out of a fancy luxury car, wearing an expensive suit, you immediately form a judgment about his wealth. Certain home addresses are prestigious - signs to us of riches and power (note: you know you can’t afford to live there). The following are verses about clothing and riches: Gen 45:22; Josh 7:21; Jdg 14:12; 2 Kings 5:5; Acts 20:33.

V. 3 - “Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days.”

“Your gold and silver are covered with rust ” - More hyperbole from James! The picture here is wealth will not get you out of judgement. You cannot buy your way out now. You definitely will not after you die. Your riches are worthless, it will lay there gathering dust and rust but you will still be lost. Rust is a symbol of disuse, and an indication of destruction.

“In a these last days” - James reminded them of their inappropriate efforts to accumulate treasures. They are focusing on ‘getting enough’ without paying attention to what is truly important - their relationship with Jesus.

Although this letter is written to a specific group of people. It’s warning should not be lost on us. We must re-examine our focus and efforts. Are we working to accumulate wealth? Are we using our talents and finances to further God’s work here and around. us?Although this letter is written to a specific group of people. It’s warning should not be lost on us. We must re-examine our focus and efforts. Are we working to accumulate wealth? Are we using our talents and finances to further God’s work here and around. us?

***

V. 4 - “You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.”

“You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields” - James is saying the rich in this case are being unjust in dealing with the workers they employ. Did the rich get their wealth by cheating? This does not mean that all rich people cheat those working for them.

“The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty” - God gives instructions to the Israelites (See: Lev 19:13; Deut 24:14-15) regarding the payment of wages earned. Note the wages were to be paid to hired workers at the end of each day’s labor (See: Mat 20:8). If they weren’t paid, it was like cheating them, because they may need that money to live on. These people were day laborers, not slaves.

V. 5 - “Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter"

“Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure.” - The lifestyle of the ‘rich and famous’ is so vastly different than the day laborer. There is no worrying about if you will eat today, or if you will have a bed to sleep in tonight. For a dose of reality, the lifestyle of the average U. S. American citizen is vastly different than most people in the world (note: “most people” do not live in England or Europe - most of those are not in the ‘lap of luxury’. But we in western countries have indoor plumbing; we can go to stores with food on the shelves, we are not required to walk everywhere, we live in heated homes, or with air conditioning).

“Made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter” - The rich live only for themselves, having indulged selves up to the limit. They have taken no notice of the plight of the poor all around them.

V. 6 - “You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you” -

Basically, James is referring to the rich who have used their wealth to oppress the less fortunate. The poor do no resist. What can they do, since what has been done appears to be legal. Some societies had ‘debtor prisons’, or ‘poor houses’, in order to beat it out of you, force your wife, or relatives to come up with the payment. (Does this make any sense: throwing someone in ‘jail’ until they cough up the cash?)

In some ways we might consider that James is reminding these believers the way they used to live that is before they accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. There are consequences that come from the way we live. Eternally, those costs have been paid by Jesus’ death on the cross. His sacrifice was fully accepted by God, as evidenced in Jesus’ resurrection and glorification! But, while we are here on earth, we (the rich) may be reviled, even persecuted for having too much stuff.

Conclusion: James has exposed some of the sins related to wealth (as if we didn’t know them already):

1. Covetousness, (vs. 2-3) - we want what they have, and will do anything to get it; 
2. Oppression, (v. 4) - we want to keep what we have, and will harm others to keep it;  
3. Sensuality and voluptuousness, (v. 5) - Luxury makes people wanton (See Hos. 13:6 - “When I gave them food they were full, and their hearts were full of pride, and they did not keep me in mind.”), we like what we have, and want more of it; 
4. Persecution, (v.6) - going after others to keep them from having what we have.

James also helps us see some of the problems caused by amassing wealth, and can be seenalso in the following scriptures: The worries of the world intrude (Mt 13:22; Mk 4:19): we can become self-satisfied; and not rich toward God (Lk 18:14, 12:21);and, the rich are tempted by riches, and can desire more than is needed to live on (1Tim 6:9). This is a small list, but it gets us thinking…

Which brings us to the question: Is it a sin to be wealthy? Most definitely not (note the previous comment that several Biblical saints were very wealthy). God reminded the Jews, that their riches are from God, to confirm the covenant (Deut 8:17-18); that God provides all you need, working hard adds nothing (Pro 10:22); and He provides a warning - Woe! To those who have gained by cheating (Isa 10:1-4).

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In summary, here are some examples of James uses and warnings about being rich: Jam. 1:10-11 - The riches you have now are not permanent, “You can’t take it with you.” Jam. 2:3-6 - Showing favor to the rich over all others. Jam. 5:1-6 - Depending on your riches will fail when you face judgement day.

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Note 1: Guy H. King; “A Belief That Behaves”; etc.
Note 2: We are also told in Revelation, that believers will face Christ and receive 'rewards' based on our living for Christ here on earth. Some will receive crowns; others will get in by the skin of their teeth.

Historical Background: I believe that each family of each tribe received a plot of land on which to grow crops and animals (See Lev.-Joshua). A large family received a larger plot than an small family. If a family had to sell their plot due to financial stress, the sale was not permanent - the property returned to the family on the Sabbath Year. There may have been instances when a family tragedy wiped them all out, in which case the ‘new owner’ would have no one to whom to return the land. It is also likely that hugger-mugger was afoot at times, and families would be cheated out of land, enriching the cheater. If you had more land than needed to feed your family, you could make money selling your crops and herds to those in need. If you owed money you could not pay, then you could go to work for that person to pay your debt. The property was ‘his’ until the debt was paid; the property reverted back to you when the debt was cancelled.
(Note: There was an instance of some women who were single (unmarried or widowed). They and their plot were assigned to tribe member (not family, but tribe) until such time as the women bore a male child. The plot was then assigned to that male child so as to retain the plot in the family (See Lev/Deut).