James 1:1 (KJV)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
My interest today is in the “who” of this epistle. We are told clearly that it is to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” The common understanding is that these were:
The Jews of the dispersion
This almost certainly would not have been the case as:
This almost certainly would not have been the case as:
- They would have had no real reason to listen to such an unlearned man as was James.
- They would almost surely have rejected the epistle at his mentioning “the Lord Jesus Christ”
The believing Jews scattered by persecution
This makes the most sense to me, and is, as I understand it, the most common view among students of the Bible. But this view has the difficulty of the mention of twelve tribes. The ten northern tribes have been fundamentally lost since the Assyrian captivity, hundreds of years before Christ.
This makes the most sense to me, and is, as I understand it, the most common view among students of the Bible. But this view has the difficulty of the mention of twelve tribes. The ten northern tribes have been fundamentally lost since the Assyrian captivity, hundreds of years before Christ.
A third view could be a reference to the twelve apostles who are the foundation of the church.
That the passage should be taken as written to local assemblies is obvious from James 2:2. It seems like the largest objection to this would be from those who are afraid of the strong emphasis in this epistle on works. This should not be a problem for a Baptist. We understand that works is in no way related to salvation but is in every way related to the saved.
That the passage should be taken as written to local assemblies is obvious from James 2:2. It seems like the largest objection to this would be from those who are afraid of the strong emphasis in this epistle on works. This should not be a problem for a Baptist. We understand that works is in no way related to salvation but is in every way related to the saved.
- We are saved by grace through faith and
- We are saved to work
To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
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James 1:1 (KJV) To Whom Did James Write?
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