The Crown of Life: James 1:12

This week is a ‘side-bar’ in the study of James. The lesson this week is an introduction to the next post, this week we learn some guiding principles when studying God's word

The Crown of Life: James 1:12

Pastor Robert [Furrow, Calvary Chapel, Tucson] has not only caught up to us but he has left us in his dust [Pastor Furrow taught James on Wednesday evenings while this home group studies James on Friday nights] … By way of reminder, we are still on James 1:12, which reads: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." In all likelihood we will be here for at least this week and next week, before we move on to more of James 1. Last time we met we looked what James says about how we receive the crown of life and touched on several points:

1. The crown of life is given by God to those who endure temptation, are approved by Him, and love Him.
2. Loving God means being obedient to Him, keeping His commandments to love Hm and one another.
3. Loving God requires commitment to Him - we are called to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and James warns us not to be double-minded about the Lord.

How to be Bereans

In preparation for looking at the crown of life itself, and trying to make some sense about what that is all about, we will begin tonight to look at how to be Bereans, how to approach and study the word of God. I realized that while I regularly ask you to be Bereans, I have never talked about what that expression means nor have I ever showed you how to be a Berean. This is my hope and prayer over the next few weeks, that I could help you learn how to study God’s word.

The scripture that forms the basis for my admonition to be Bereans is found in Acts 17:10-11, where we read:

10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Berea, which can also be called Beroea and is today known as Veroia, is a small city on the eastern side of Vermion Mountains (north of Mount Olympus), in southwestern Macedonia. Paul and Silas went to Berea after fleeing from Thessalonica earlier in Acts 17. Luke observes that the Berean Jews that Paul and Silas preached the Gospel to were more fair-minded (or literally “noble-minded”) than those in Thessalonica. The Bereans received the word with readiness (they had a zeal for the word) and checked what Paul and Silas said against the scriptures, i.e., the Old Testament, to see if what they had been told agreed with the word of God they had. When I encourage you to be Bereans, I am encouraging you both to have a zeal for God’s word and to check what you are told against the word of God to that it is consistent with the scriptures that God has preserved for us.

My intent over the next couple fellowships is to show you how I go about trying to determine the meaning of a passage of scripture, in this case the phrase “the crown of life” from James 1:12. This is not the only way to study God’s word; rather it is what works for me.

A Bit About the Word of God

Before we jump into James 1:12, I’d like to take a moment to talk a bit about the word of God and how I think we should approach its study. In general, if we wanted to get to know a person, we would if possible spend time with them, and failing that, read what they had written about themselves and what others had written about them. We do not at this point in time have the luxury of being able to know God or Jesus face-to-face. But praise God, we do have the scrupulously preserved word of God to turn to and the very Holy Spirit of God inside us, to help us understand what we read. Through the word of God, and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can begin to learn God’s ways, His character, the things He values and the things He dislikes. And though I think few of us have the opportunity to speak to God as Moses did, or to Jesus as His disciples could, we all do have the ability to go before the Lord in prayer, pour out our hearts to Him, and commune with Him in the Spirit.

One of the first things that we need to be mindful of is the fact that we cannot understand the word of God, or in fact any spiritual thing, in the same way that we understand something like multiplication. It is not necessary to be a spirit-filled and spirit-led believer to learn your multiplication tables. Instead it is a matter of memorizing your multiplication tables, learning the concept of multiplication as repeated addition, and then practicing, practicing, practicing…

But without the Holy Spirit, we are unable to understand the word of God. Turn with me know to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, and let’s read what the Apostle Paul has to say on this subject in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:14:

1:18 For the message of 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 bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.  27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption —  31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."

2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9 But as it is written:

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Let me call your attention to four very important points in what Paul says here:

   

First, the message of the cross, the Gospel, and, I would argue by extension, all scripture, seems to be foolishness to those who are perishing, to non-believers, those who have not by grace through faith been saved by the blood of Jesus [verse 1:18].

            Second, there are two types of wisdom: earthly wisdom, which is the product of man’s intellect, and godly wisdom, the source of which is God (Daniel 22:19-22, Isaiah 11:2, Romans 11:33, Colossians 2:1-3). Proverbs 2:6 tells us:

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

For this reason James 1:5 encourages us to ask God for wisdom, and it is I believe godly wisdom to which James is referring. The wisdom of the world, regardless of how great and powerful it seems, is nothing compared to the wisdom of God. Through the message of the cross God has destroyed the wisdom of the wise and brought to nothing the understanding of the prudent, so that no flesh should glory in His presence because of earthly wisdom [verses 1:19-31].

          Third, because of the superiority of God’s wisdom, Paul’s message to the Corinthians was not couched in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, in order that the Corinthians’ faith should not be based on the wisdom of men but instead on the power of God [verses 2:1-13].

           And fourth, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God, i.e., the Holy Spirit. Only the spiritual person, the man or woman who has received the Holy Spirit, can receive the things of the Spirit of God. The carnal man cannot receive them, because they are spiritually discerned [verses 2:14].

I believe the message that should we take away from this passage for our study of God’s word is twofold.  First, if we want to understand the things of God, such as His word, then we need the wisdom of God that comes through His Holy Spirit. We should pray God would give us more of His Holy Spirit and that we would be receptive to what the Spirit reveals to us. And if we feel that we lack godly wisdom (and which of us does not?), let us do what James 1:5-6 advises us, and ask God for it in faith, without doubting. Second, when we want to give the message of the Gospel, explain who God is, or just talk about spiritual things, what better words could we employ than the very words God Himself used? For this reason, I encourage you to read, meditate on, and memorize God’s word, so that when you have need of it, the Holy Spirit can remind you of what you have already hidden in your heart. Paraphrase if you need to, but stay close to the word of God.

Let us look at another well-known passage about the word of God found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which reads:

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Here I find that Paul tells us that three important things about the word of God:

First - All scripture is inspired by God through His Holy Spirit, literally God-breathed. Just as God spoke through the prophets in Old Testament times, so too He spoke through those who composed His word. The human authors of scripture all wrote under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit.  And not only that: God’s word also tells us that that God preserves His word from one generation to another. In Psalm 12:6-7 we read:

6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,
Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

Second - This means that not only has God inspired His word, but also that we can rely on God to keep His word intact over time (Psalm 33:11, Psalm 111:7-8, Psalm 119:160), from generation to generation. Since God inspired it and then preserved it, we can rely on the fact that scripture does not contain the words, opinions, and wisdom of men, but the truth of God. It is for this reason that we can be confident not only that the different Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin manuscripts which have come down to us preserved the word of God, but also that that the various English translations of the Bible also do so. If God spoke the universe and all that was in it into being, what could be too difficult for Him?

Third - Scripture is intended to profit or benefit believers in many ways: it provides doctrine, literally “that which is taught,” the principles and truths about God that ought to be believed; it provides reproof, an expression of blame or disapproval, calling man to repent from his sinful ways; it provides correction, showing us how to make right that which was wrong; and it provides instruction in righteousness, revealing how we ought to live as followers of Christ moving forward.

Scripture has what the believer needs to be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Scripture may not be all that we do read, but it is all we need to read from a standpoint of being thoroughly equipped to do what God calls us to do. If we want to learn about God, scripture tells us what He is like.( John 14:7-9)

• If we want to know about eternal life, scripture tells us what that is.( John 17:3-4)
• If we want to know what God says is good, scripture tells us what to do.( Micah 6:8)
• If we want to know what is most important to God, again, scripture tells what He values. (Matthew 22:36-40)

Scripture, some have aptly said, is the owner’s manual for our walk with God.

Some believers interpret 1 Corinthians 1 & 2, 2 Timothy 3, and Paul’s comments in Galatians 1:11-12 as implying that we ought to receive our knowledge of God by direct revelation from the Holy Spirit, without receiving it from men. Such individuals discourage believers to stay away from commentaries and to rely on what the Holy Spirit reveals to them as they study and meditate on God’s word. My personal opinion here, for the little that it is worth, is that this opinion may be misguided. I do not find in scripture a warning to not heed what people say about God. In fact, God commanded the Children of Israel to teach their children about His words and deeds, suggesting that the Lord believed there could be value in the things they would say.

I believe that the Spirit of the Lord is able to work in the minds and hearts of those who write commentaries just as He did in those who wrote the scriptures. Down through the centuries there have been those who sought God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, who were filled by and obedient to His Holy Spirit, who spent their lives reading and studying His word, often in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek manuscripts.

Clearly the value of commentaries varies greatly. Commentaries may contain observations about the word of God which seem inspired by the Holy Spirit, as well as observations that do not. The trick is to distinguish the wheat from the chaff, to glean the nuggets of spiritual truth from the opinions of men. In general, I do not go to commentaries straightaway. I find them to be of most assistance as a starting point for new believers, who may not otherwise know enough of God’s word or how to search it to make a judgment on their own, and when dealing with controversial or unclear passages. And when I do read commentaries, I tend to seek out those commentaries that have stood the test of time, such as those by Martin Luther; John Calvin; Matthew Henry; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown; Adam Clarke; Albert Barnes, John MacArthur; and J. Vernon Magee, to name a just a few of the better-known works. Yet even here it is wise to take whatever you read in a commentary as food for thought, to place it on the back-burner, and check it against the word of God.

Approach God’s Word Properly

Here is another passage of scripture which I believe helps us to approach God’s word properly. In Isaiah 55:8-11 we find God speaking to the Children of Israel through His prophet inviting them to return to Him and the abundant life He promises:

8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

In this passage we see that it is a mistake to believe that God is just like man. Man may be made in God’s image, but God does not think as we think, nor are His ways our ways. One of many differences, which Isaiah 55 emphasizes, is that God’s word does not return void. This is because God’s words have power - when God speaks, what He says comes to pass. This is clearly demonstrated in Genesis 1, which contains the account of how one after another God spoke light, Heaven, Earth, plant life, the stars and the planets, the creatures of the sea, air, and earth, and finally man himself, into being. God’s promises are therefore as good as gold; you can take them to the bank and rely on them.

From the mid-point of the Bible, let us turn to the end, to Revelation 22:18-19, to look at one final passage about the word of God. Here the Apostle John closes his book with this warning about tampering with the word of God:

18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

From John’s warning we see that as we study the word of God, we need to be careful not to add to or subtract from what God says. Once again, could we really ever say it any better than He did? In my own case I know the answer – I cannot. Personally I believe that this warning also implies that we are not to go beyond what scripture says (Proverbs 30:5-6, . 1 Corinthians 4:6-7).  For example, in light of Samson’s great strength and his many problems with women, it is tempting to view him out as a person who failed in his ministry, or at least did not live up to his potential. But to the best of my knowledge, God’s word does not say this. In fact God places Samson in the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11:32-35. It is one thing to say that this is your opinion; it is another altogether to say that the word of God says that Samson is a failure or an underachiever. I know that I for one do not want to be putting words into God’s mouth….

Summary

 By way of summary, here are some guiding principles I try to use when studying God's word:

1. Approach the word of God with humility
   

   1. God's ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts
   2. we can understand God’s word only through His Holy Spirit
      

      1. always ask God in prayer for wisdom and discernment regarding His word before and after you read it
      2. in the end, scripture tells us that we only know in part and prophesy in part (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) therefore, the best anyone can give you is “food for thought”

2. Approach the word of God with care
   

   1. God’s word accomplishes His intent; it does not return back void
   2. be careful not to add to, subtract from, or otherwise misrepresent  God’s word
      

      1. let the word of God and His Holy Spirit do the work
      2. better to say what He says than to say it a new way

3. Interpret scripture in light of other scripture
   

   1. God is consistent and unchanging and so is His word
   2. Use the context of the passage to determine its meaning whenever possible
   3. Don’t rush to an interpretation based on one passage; whenever possible, consider many or all of the related passages
   4. Be skeptical of interpretations that appear to conflict with what other related passages say