Revisiting the idea of perfect and complete in James 1

This week we revisit the first chapter of James. This first chapter is packed with life applications and this week we look at James' admonitions from a different vantage point. James 1.1-8

Introduction

One of the many blessings that I get out of the preparation and presentation of each week’s study is spending several hours in God’s word. I have always said, and still believe, that I get more out of the study than anyone else. But at the same time, there is a very real risk that I can move too quickly over passages that need more exposition, taking for granted that others look at passages the same way. As I regularly try to remind you and myself, what I tell you is only food for thought. None of us can understand God’s word like Jesus did. Scripture tells us that we know in part and prophesy in part.

After a series of discussions I had over the last week with different folks who attend the study and were present last time, I have decided to spend some additional time on the verses we covered last week, in the hope that one, I can be clearer about my thoughts, and two, that clarity will be beneficial to those of you who are here tonight. In particular, I want to talk a bit more about trials, endurance, perfection, spiritual wisdom, double-mindedness, and how these relate to all believers.

I believe that the Lord is trying to get His children’s attention in these last days and one of the things that He seems to me to be stressing right now is the need to His children to be committed to Him. Pastor Furrow [Calvary Chapel Tucson] will be starting the Epistle of James shortly. We have already started. Pastor Lazovich [Calvary Chapel, Sierra Vista, AZ] is teaching [for three weeks in Tucson] on the importance of faith and commitment in the Book of Daniel; and Pastor Fusco [visiting pastor from Crossroads Community Church, Vancouver, WA] taught last weekend about the importance of transformation in our lives, the church, and the world, transformation that begins when we present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable, to God, which is our reasonable service [Romans 12:5]. 

Now this is certainly not a new teaching but an old message – that from the beginning God has called those who would be in relationship with Him to trust and obey Him. So it was with Adam and Eve, with Abraham and Sarah, with the patriarchs, with Moses and the children of Israel, with the prophets, with Jesus and His disciples - and so it is with us today. God desires that we know Him – know His ways – and that we trust Him and look to Him regardless of what is going on in our lives. 

James – the writer of the book James 1.1

We see this right from the start of James 1, in how James introduces himself. James describes himself, not as the half-brother of Jesus, as we might expect or be tempted to do in his place, but rather a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. How we introduce ourselves is often how we desire to be seen and known. Do you introduce yourself to others as an elder at the church, as a prayer warrior, as an evangelist, as a caregiver, as a PHD, or as an employee of Raytheon? Notice how James introduces himself, notice what matters to James and how he wants others to see him - he is a slave by choice to God and to Jesus and he calls Jesus his lord, the one whom he will obey.

And this is, in my opinion, how we ought to see ourselves – we are and ought to be willing servants of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has redeemed us from sin and death and we belong to Him. And if we desire one day, when we are called into His presence for a reckoning – for it is appointed once for man to die and then comes judgment [Hebrews 9:27] - to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23), then we need to remember who we are and who He is. That we are His unprofitable servants, doing only what was our duty to do (Luke 17:7-10), and He is the Son of the Living God, God Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth.

From the outset then, James wants us to see ourselves as servants of God by choice. In Jesus’ day, the life of a servant was often difficult. Don’t think of Michael Caine as Alfred in the Batman movies, but rather of a slave, because in the Roman world, servants were seen as the property of their master. They were bought and sold like chattel, although they could become people if set free. A servant’s master might be kind and treat them well, or cruel and abuse them, but the servant had to obey nevertheless.

In the ancient world, servants washed their master’s feet, and the feet of his guests; they prepared their master’s meals, served him, and cleaned up after him, and they worked in and around their master’s house. And I am quite certain that they did not enjoy everything they were called upon to do. We could say that some of the things servants were called to do would have felt like trials or hardships. And we could say that to be a successful servant, you needed to make up your mind that you were going to do what you ordered to do, even when you might not enjoy it. 

I believe the Epistle of James calls believers to have the mind of a bondservant, of a successful slave. Indeed all believers are bondservants of God and our Lord Jesus Christ and what it takes to be successful in such a relationship is for us to make up our mind to be obedient. Over time, we will encounter various trials and tribulations that will make us question whether being obedient to God is the right thing. We need to make up our minds to follow Him regardless, just as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah purposed in their hearts that they would be obedient to God, even there in Babylon in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, no matter what that obedience might cost them.

Trials Precede Perfection – James 1.2-4

When we experience various trials in our life - and it is a promise that we will have tribulation in this world - James encourages believers to try to find joy in those trials, enduring through them, and letting endurance in the face of those trials have its perfect result, that believers will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Let us look more closely at what James is saying when he says that through endurance in the face of trials believers will be made perfect and complete.

In English, we use the adjective “perfect” in a variety of ways: for example, we talk about a pitcher throwing a perfect game in baseball, finding the perfect pair of shoes to match a new dress, receiving a perfect score on an exam, seeing a Model T Ford in perfect condition, and enjoying a perfect cup of coffee. Now perfection with regard to pitching a baseball is very different than perfection in a cup of coffee. And one person’s perfect cup of coffee – served piping hot, with just the right amount of cream and sugar - might not be perfect at all for the person who drinks her coffee iced and black. “Perfect” means different things in different contexts, and sometimes different things to different people in the same context. Furthermore, there is an important distinction between the process of being perfected and the state of being perfect. While we are being perfected (in the process of being perfected), we are not yet perfect. We are not perfect until we reach the end of the process of being perfected.

I believe that if we hope to understand what James is getting at, it is critical for us to understand what he is describing as perfect and what “perfect” means in this context. In verse 4 James applies “perfect” first to “work” (“let patience have its perfect work”) and then to his brethren, to his fellow believers (“that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”). That first use of perfect in verse 4 is not saying that patience or endurance is perfect per se; rather, I believe that James is giving believers this advice: “Allow patience do its work of perfecting you.” As we persevere in the face of trials, that perseverance works to perfect believers, to make them more mature Christians.

For many of us, trials are not only the very thing which brought us to God in the first place, but also what strengthens the faith we have in God. Other believers are more fortunate; they make a lasting commitment to God from the start and are able to be obedient without double-mindedness. Truly I say to you, blessed are such believers, but I suspect probably few and far between.

Most believers I suspect experience some trial or other in their lives and more often than not, especially when we are new in the Lord, fail that test. Perhaps we see a brother of sister in Christ doing something questionable and are quick to first judge them and next condemn them, only to find out that they were not guilty of any sin in the first place. Perhaps our judgment and condemnation even caused them to leave the church or shook their faith in God. Hopefully we can learn from our failure and when we experienced a similar situation in the future, behave with more love, grace, and mercy.

Or perhaps we receive an unexpected and unwanted notice from the IRS informing us that we owe money for income we forgot to claim and realize we have no money to pay our debt. Do we prayerfully lay the debt at God’s feet, asking Him to help us, as Pastor Daniel Fusco shared with last weekend, or do we take matters into our own hands, perhaps panic, and take out a loan against our vehicle to repay the IRS. Now we have wiped clean one debt at the cost of incurring another, which carries with it a far higher interest rate…

These sorts of trials are commonplace in our lives. If you’re not coming out of one you’re probably on your way into one. If you’re not in the midst of one, you probably will be soon. Such trials either exercise our faith in God, our willingness and ability to be obedient to Him, and wait on His timing, or, like Abraham and Sarah, cause us to bring in the maidservant and conceive the child of promise through works of our flesh. 

In verse 4 James uses two different Greek adjectives here, which at first glance may seem to us to mean the same thing but to the Greeks referred to different aspects of perfection:

1. Telios – [perfect] is used to indicate that the quality of something is perfect: (of sacrifices) whole and without blemish; perfect, in the sense of reaching the limit of one’s ability; complete, in the sense of having reached the end; mighty or efficacious; full-grown or mature; undivided, especially of the heart; completely obedient, in the sense of doing the whole will of God
2. Holokleros – [complete] is used to indicate that the quantity of something is perfect; complete in all its parts, quantitatively complete

As I read the definitions of telios, I could not help but think immediately of Jesus Christ. Jesus was after all our perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, without spot or blemish, who lived a sinless life [Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21]. And Jesus lived His life in such a way that His loyalties were not divided. He was in perfect obedience to the will of His Father [John 6:38], even in the face of the terrible suffering of the cross [Luke 22:41-42]. Interestingly Scripture tells us that Jesus’ perfect obedience was developed over time, through the things He suffered (through trials!?), which helped to perfect Him. In Hebrews 5:6-11 we read:

6 As He also says in another place:

"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek";

7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek,"  11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Jesus completed the Law in the sense of fulfilling every part of it [Matthew 5:17-18]. When it comes to perfection, Jesus is our model. His life is our example and it is to His image that we seek to be conformed.

Our God is holy and pure [Leviticus 11:44-45; 1 John 1:5] and He cannot look with favor upon sinful things and sinful beings [Habakkuk 1:13]. We call those people and things which are without sin and set aside for use by God “sanctified,” and refer to the state or process of being made sinless or set aside for God’s use as “sanctification.” Because Jesus had learned obedience and had lived a perfect, sinless life of obedience, His sacrifice upon the cross was accepted by God, who raised Jesus from the grave through the power of the Holy Spirit, glorified Him, and seated Him at His right hand.

Although scripture clearly tells us that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God [Romans 3:22-26], the good news is that God has provided two ways by which believers are sanctified. We all have our positional sanctification, which is a result of saving faith in Jesus, whereby the perfect righteousness of Christ both is imputed to us and placed upon us, so that when the Lord looks at us He actually sees Jesus there. Our positional sanctification is not progressive – it does not develop over time - but is instantaneous through grace.

We find a great summary of our position in Christ in Ephesians 1:3-14:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

In this passage in Ephesians we learn that as a result of Christ, we:

1. Are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
2. Are holy and without blame before God.
3. Are predestined to adoption as sons.
4. Have redemption through Jesus’ blood, the forgiveness of sins.
5. Know the mystery of God’s will.
6. Are predestined that we should be to the praise of His glory.
7. Are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.

At the same time we also all have our conditional sanctification, which is an ongoing process by which believers are matured – or perfected - during our walk with God here on earth. This conditional sanctification reflects the fact that believers are no longer who they used to be before they were saved, and are not yet who they will become when they are glorified standing face-to-face with Jesus in heaven, but are rather somewhere in between. Thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit within us, we learn to struggle against and gradually overcome our sin nature and to do the will of God more and more. We are in the process, not of being conformed to this world, but of being transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God [Romans 12:2]. During the process of sanctification, we are not perfect, but we are being made more perfect, more like Jesus, the one who was perfect.

Listen to what the Apostle Paul has to say about sanctification in Philippians 3:

1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ  9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Notice in Galatians 3 what Paul tells us concerning our conditional sanctification:

• He counts the things of the flesh as rubbish in order to gain Christ, our pearl of great price [Matthew 13:45-46], and be found in Him, that he might obtain to the resurrection from the dead (i.e., to eternal life).
• Paul has not already obtained eternal life nor has he been perfected, but in order to get there, he forgets the past and presses on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ.
• He calls those who are perfected or mature to have this same mind, this same perspective.
• He calls his brethren in Christ not to set their minds on earthly, fleshly things as they walk, but to recall that their citizenship is in heaven and wait for Jesus to transform their bodies so that they will be conformed to His glorious body.

I believe that Paul’s remarks in Philippians 3 shed light on what James is saying about being made perfect and complete in James 1:4. As I read the Epistle of James as a whole, James is talking to believers about their conditional sanctification, about behaviors believers need to adopt (or allow to happen) as they press on toward the goal. James gives his brethren a series of instructions, which, if they follow them, will help them develop into more mature Christians, more closely conformed to the image of Christ. Here at the start of chapter 1, James gives them four keys ingredients - endurance in the face of trials, spiritual wisdom, and single-mindedness - which work together to help believers become spiritually mature.

Scripture shows us that God uses to refine us, to purify us like gold or silver [Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:3], and to bring us to rich fulfillment. In Psalm 66:10-12 the Psalmist writes:

10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

                                    

We read in Scripture how God twice placed Job in Satan’s hand and how Jesus permitted Satan to sift Peter like wheat. James 1:13, which, Lord willing, we will get to someday, tells us that God does not Himself tempt anyone; instead it is our own lusts which actually tempt us. As I think about this verse in light of the example of Job, Peter, and Jesus Himself, I believe what is actually saying may be that God does not tempt, encourage, or compel anyone to do evil. Scripture tells us that when we are tempted, God always a way out [1 Corinthians 10:13], and that He will not tempt us beyond our endurance [Isaiah 42:3]. However, God does permit, and even orchestrates, circumstances in our life which tempt us, for example, to show favoritism, to use His name in vain, or to gossip about one-another. And He does so not because He does not know what we will do, because He does to the end from the beginning, but rather so we will learn what is in our hearts and become more and more closely conformed to the image of Jesus. We are not becoming Christ but we are becoming Christ-like. Endurance in the face of trials helps bring about in our lives the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Wisdom and purpose of mind James 1.5-8

I take spiritual wisdom to be another way of referring to the Holy Spirit, since it is the Spirit of God which knows the things of God. If that is true, then spiritual wisdom can be seen as foundational for our walk with the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit that stirs up our spirit in the first place and gives us a spiritual perspective on our life, that we are sinners in need of a savior. Having been stirred up by the Spirit, we make a commitment of faith regarding the saving work of Jesus on the cross and we are saved by faith through grace. We receive the Spirit within us, Paul tells us in Galatians 3:2, not by the works of the Law but by the hearing of faith. And once inside of us, the Holy Spirit begins to strengthen our faith, since the Spirit both teaches us all spiritual things and brings to mind the words of Christ, and since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God [Romans 10:17].

We do not understand God’s word as Christ did, but because of the insight of the Spirit, the word of God ceases to be foolishness to us and becomes the power of God [1 Corinthians 1:18]. We begin to understand the character and promises of God and our faith in Him increases. As we endure each trial that comes our way, and see how God never leaves us or forsakes us, and how He refines us through the trials, it becomes easier and easier to trust Him more completely and wholeheartedly. And it becomes possible to begin to see trials as something good and beneficial for our maturity as believers. When we develop this perspective, we can then begin to rejoice, not in the pain or the discomfort associated with the trial itself, but in the knowledge and belief that God is conforming us to the image of His Son through the trial. We mentioned last week how trials lead to perseverance or endurance, perseverance to proven character, and proven character to hope, and hope never fails [Romans 5:3-5].

But if endurance is to do it work of maturing us as believers, we need to be single-minded in our approach not only to trials, but to God in general. We need to have a heart which is undivided toward God. Recall that two of the aspects of the Greek adjective telios, which is used to refer to qualitative perfection, were having of an undivided heart and being completely obedient toward God. Single-mindedness is one of the characteristics of the spiritually mature Christian. And in order to be single-minded, we need to make a conscious commitment to be obedient to the things God calls us to do. Like love, being single-minded involves a conscious decision. Because God is God, because He spoke the heavens and the earth into existence, because He loves us and has a plan for our lives, because He is trustworthy and faithful, we decide that He is worthy and we become His willing servants.

Single-mindedness is crucial but if you are double-minded, do not fear, there is still hope for you. My recommendation to you is to seek God in prayer and ask Him both to strengthen your faith and to reduce your doubt and unbelief. Read and meditate on His word daily if possible. And step out in faith and let God show that He is God. In this light, I think of Pastor Pat Lazovich’s recent teaching on Daniel 1. When Daniel and his three friends were ordered to eat from the King’s table, they refused because they did not want to be defiled by foods that the Law had prohibited. The chief steward of the King was hesitant, because he feared that his life would be jeopardy if Daniel and his three friends looked worse than the other young men they were with.

Daniel 1:11-16

11 So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants." 14 So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

15 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. 16 Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

Daniel and his friends take God at His word. God has told them not to eat certain unclean foods. They refuse to eat these foods and trust that God will keep them healthy. And at the end of the 10 days, Daniel and friends appeared better and fatter in flesh than the others. When we step out in faith and test God, we will see that He is faithful and trustworthy and being single-minded will come easier to us.

Summary

Remember that our maturity is a process, which happens over time, and that it happens at different rates for different people. Do not despair if you are struggling with double-mindedness – remember that He who began a good work in you will complete it [Philippians 1:6]