1:1 – Salutation – James is the half brother of Jesus Christ.  Jesus was virgin born therefore making then stepbrothers.  He identifies himself as a “slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The word slave here does not carry with it the negative connotation we associate with slavery today.  Instead, he was proud to belong – body and soul – to God and to Jesus Christ.  He made himself the rightful property of Jesus.  In Acts 15:13; 21:18, he is described as the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

James is addressing his letter to the twelve tribes, identifying his audience as Jews.  He further mentions they are scattered among the nations, as part of the Jewish Dispersion.  In vs. 2:1 he designates his readers as “believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ,” which further identifies them as Christian Jews.  Possibly, these Jews were members of the Jerusalem church who fled after Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 8:1,4; 11:19-20).  James was their spiritual leader if they were the scattered Jerusalem church.  He writes this letter with the authority he would have over them, and full knowledge of their needs.

1:2-4 – Trials and Temptations

1:2 – “Trials” – not a pleasant topic – but with the wholesome effects they can produce, there is reason to rejoice.  In some versions, James mentions trials of various kinds.  They could be external such as persecution, or they may be internal, like temptations to sin.  People, objects, and circumstances that can try one’s faith surround us.  By seeing God’s deliverance in our lives and on our behalf, we are built up in our faith.  It can result in “pure joy.”

1:3 – We can rejoice because, if we have true faith, we will develop “perseverance.”  This is a spiritual stamina that makes one capable of standing firm “in the midst of the storm.”  This can only occur as a result of struggling against difficulty and oppression.

1:4 – If we are to mature, we must endure trials and remain faithful.  Faith must persist and not give up!  The goal is to be “mature and complete.”  This creates a balance of all the graces and strengths needed for the Christian Life.  God is still in control, orchestrating everything we go through.  What we decide to do in the face of adversity is up to us.

1:5-8 – Asking and receiving wisdom from God

1:5 – God offers help to those who lack wisdom during their trials.  He is still speaking on the subject of trials here as he keeps on track with verse 4.  God doesn’t want us to lack anything, so if we lack wisdom we should ask Him.  In vs. 4, when perseverance is complete we would not lack any of the needed virtues and strengths.  However, vs. 5 takes us back to before perseverance is complete, when we may lack wisdom in the situation.  God is speaking of the kind of wisdom written about in the Proverbs – (Pr. 1:2-4; 2:10-15; 4:5-9).  God wants to give us the wisdom we need to make it through the various trials we will face, knowing the trials are good for our walk of faith and will strengthen us and build us up in our relationship with God.  If we know the trial or situation will be for our good and result in our growing maturity in Christ, we will have a different approach to the situation.  We will not sin like the world, blaming God and acting in disbelief.  He knows when we lack wisdom and only requires that we ask for it repeatedly – util we received it.  It is God’s promise to give “generously, without finding fault.”

1:6 – Although God is willing and desires to give what is requested, a lack of faith in the one asking can hamper receipt of God’s promise.  We “must believe and not doubt.”  We must be confident that God will give us what we ask for if it is promised by God Himself.  Doubt demonstrates our unbelief and our wavering between two opinions. One minute we think the “yes” of faith; the next minute we think the “no” of unbelief.  This is graphically explained in James as a  “wave of the sea.”   A wave is tossed by the wind and one moment there’s the crest, and the next moment there’s the trough ( up and down – yes and no – positive and negative).  Our prayers will move God to respond when we pray with consistency and in unwavering faith (even if we have to pray again and again until we really believe what we are praying for is happening).  This does not mean we can pray for anything we “want,” but we can certainly ask for wisdom in the midst of our trials and believe He will give it to us and we will received it.  James uses illustrations from nature to make several points (see: 1:10-11, 17-18, 26; 3:3, 5, 7, 11-12; 5:7, 17-18).  This is similar to Jesus’ teachings.  He also referred to nature and life around Him for illustrations. 

1:7-8 – “That man” – refers to the doubting person in a derogatory way.  He is further criticized as being “double minded” or double soul.  One mind says, “I believe,” and another mind says, “I don’t believe.”  If we are like this when we pray then we are really like this all the time – we are unstable in all we do.  Indecisiveness negates effectiveness.   A person like this will not “received anything from the Lord.” Contrast this to the father asking for healing for his son in Mark 9:24.  He was not vacillating in his faith, but rather recognized a deficit in spite of his desire to believe and his profession of belief.  He also wanted help for his level of faith to believe more.  He did set his heart to believe.  Mark 9:25-27 – Christ responded to his faith and healed his son which also increased his faith  - as he asked.  God will give wisdom to those who ask with this kind of faith and enable them to persevere in times of trial.