Address (see Overview): (1:1)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
 

Endurance: The Benefit of Trials (1:2-4)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Consider – (Grk: hegeomai) a key concept in the Christian faith is to consider, judge or evaluate things from a heavenly perspective. Our very justification before God is based on God's "considering" us to have Christ's righteousness, rather than condemning us for our own sins. Similarly, our sanctification is largely dependent upon applying God's truth to our earthly lives so that we see (i.e. consider) them from the perspective of God's wise sovereignty and His unmerited kindness in Christ…

 

Acts 11:9 – But a voice from heaven answered a second time, 'What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.'

Romans 6:11 – Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:18 – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Colossians 3:5 – Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

To "consider" in this way is to apply Biblical doctrine to the trials of life. This is how God's Word moves from the theoretical to the practical. We must not only "know" the truth intellectually, but we must also see its connection to the events of our daily lives, interpreting, analyzing, judging and forming conclusions about them based upon the truths we know. The Word of God must transform how we think about the world in which we live. We must endeavor to respond to trials and afflictions in a Bible-informed, spiritual way, rather than merely reacting according to our natural, inborn, sinful inclinations.

Romans 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

trials – (Grk: peirasmos) the usual word for "temptations" or "trials", and encompasses both meanings. We will explore this distinction when we examine verses 13-16. In verse 2, trials are meant. God places trials (i.e. difficulties, hardships, testings) in our lives to produce patient endurance (perseverance). To benefit from these trials, we need to respond to them properly, seeing God's providential hand in them and realizing that His purpose is to test and strengthen our faith.

Trials are integral to our earthly existence. There are no heroes when there are no challenges. God uses trials to display and develop the godly character His grace is powerfully producing in our lives.

Even in the Garden, God put a test for Adam and Eve, and although it was the simplest test imaginable, they still failed the test. Our Lord was tested by Satan in the wilderness, but His greatest test was His obedient willingness to go quietly to the cross without complaint. Indeed, James teaches us that our Lord faced the agony of the cross with joy! And so does the author of Hebrews…

Hebrews 12:2 – fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

many kinds – (Grk: poikilos). Trials come in many shapes and sizes. It may be the temptation of fleshly desire, a day of unceasing pressures and crises, the death of a loved one, or perhaps, like the victims at Columbine High School, being threatened at gunpoint to renounce your faith.

Once we have successfully endured a trial, this should not be an occasion for self-congratulation or arrogant pride. We endure by confident faith in God's grace, not by our own strength of will. The next trial could catch us entirely off guard by its type, degree or timing. We will succeed only so long as we trust God for the grace we need, humbly asking Him for the wisdom and strength to endure.

perseverance – (Grk: hupomone) to remain steadfast to your beliefs and principles despite great trials or sufferings. James teaches us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. Without such testing, our capacity to persevere is not developed. God supplies both the faith and the trials as He brings forth patient perseverance in our lives. James says that "Perseverance must finish its work", which means that we must remain steadfast until the trial has passed, in order to become mature in our sanctification.

mature – (Grk: teleios) complete, brought to its intended end, finished, mature. James uses this term twice here in the same sentence. If we wish to be made "perfect, mature, complete", we must let patience run its course, so as to have its "perfect, mature, complete" work.

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Note that sinless perfection is not what James means by "perfect". Rather, he has the idea of reaching Christian maturity—becoming people who patiently remain faithful and obedient, even under trials.

complete – (Grk: holokleros) a compound word from holos (whole, entire) and kleros (lot, part, allotted portion). Literally "complete in all its parts." Whereas teleios emphasizes a completion of the purpose or process, holokleros focuses on the thoroughness of the process.

Prayer: Acquiring Wisdom for Trials (1:5-8)
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

This passage must be kept in its context of perseverance through trials. Trials come in many varieties, and we don't always know how to respond to them properly. James teaches us to seek from God the wisdom we need to endure each specific trial. It is God who sends the trials that test our faith, and it is thus most appropriate that we should seek from Him the wisdom we need to endure the trial.

On verse 5, John Gill writes:

… in the first, and primary sense of the words, it intends wisdom to behave aright under temptations or afflictions. Saints often [lack] wisdom to consider God as the author of them, and not look upon them as matters of chance, or impute them merely to second causes; but to regard them as coming from the hand of God, and as his hand upon them, as Job did; who does not ascribe his calamities to the thieving Chaldeans and Sabeans, to the boisterous wind, and to the malice of Satan, but to God: they [lack] wisdom to observe the sovereignty of God in them, and bow unto it, and be still, and know that he is God, who does all things well and wisely; and likewise to see and know that all are in love, and in very faithfulness, and for good; as well as to see his name, to hear his rod, and him that has appointed it, his voice in it, his mind and meaning, and what he designs by it; as likewise to learn the useful lessons under it, and particularly to take the cross well, to bear it patiently, and even to count it all joy, and reckon it to be right, necessary, and useful: it requires much wisdom to learn all this, and act up to it.
—John Gill's Expositor, on James 1:5.

How does God reveal wisdom to us?  Not usually in an overtly miraculous way, but by giving us a clearer understanding and discernment of the spiritual and moral aspects of the situation and a sensitivity of the conscience to take the appropriate action. This may come to us as a flash of insight, while meditating upon God's Word. Or it may come through the godly advice of a Christian brother, weighed by the Scriptures. God is sovereignly creative in the various means He uses to impart wisdom to us.

ask – (Grk: aiteo) to ask, beg, call for, desire. This is the usual word for "ask" (see Matthew 5:42; 6:8; 7:7-11; 27:58; etc.). We are to ask our heavenly Father for the good things we need to live for His glory, just as a child asks his earthly father for food when he is hungry (Matthew 7:9-10). God promises to answer our prayer for such wisdom because He is honored when we persevere through trials—such a prayer is clearly within His preceptive will.

generously– (Grk: haplos) simply, openly, frankly, sincerely. This word occurs only here in the NT.

he must believe and not doubt – Gill expounds on this…

Ver. 6. But let him ask in faith, &c.] Not only in the faith of the divine Being that God is; but in the faith of the promises he has made; and in the faith of his power and faithfulness to perform them; and in the faith of this, that whatever is asked, according to the will of God, and is for his glory, and his people's good, shall be given.

Nothing wavering; about the thing asked for, whether it is right or no to ask for it; for that should be settled before it is asked for; nor about the power of God to do it; nor about his will, in things he has declared he will do; nor about his faithfulness to his promises; nor at all questioning but what is proper, suitable, and convenient, will be given in God's own time and way.

—John Gill's Expositor, on James 1:6.

like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind – Mature faith is one that has clear understanding and strong convictions. Such a man is steadfast in what he believes and how he lives. James is here describing one who is not well grounded, and is easily tossed about by the trials of life, much as the sea is tossed about by the wind. Compare with …

Ephesians 4:14 - As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

Matthew 6:24 – No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Psalm 86:11 – Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

Other observations:

1. Sometimes we bring trials upon ourselves, by sin or carelessness. But even these trials have been ordained by God for our growth and edification. God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass—even our own mistakes and disobedience.
2. God does not call us to make our trials endure, but rather exhorts us to endure the trials in patient faith and obedience until the time He is pleased to bring the trial to an end. If obedience would deliver us from the trial, then God would have us escape the trial by repentance and obedience. Patient trust and obedience is what God requires of us.
3. God often tests us where we are weakest, in order to strengthen us in that area. However, there is no guarantee that the test will always deal with our greatest weakness. If He is working to develop a particular gift, or to prepare us for a particular trial or ministry, He may instead send the trials that strengthen us in the areas that will be most needed for the trials or ministry that lie ahead.
4. There are no "cookbook answers" for how to deal with the specific trials of life. Each trial is unique, and has its own unique demands. What is appropriate for one trial may be inappropriate for another. (Remember how Moses struck the rock a second time, instead of obediently speaking to it?) That is why we must prayerfully seek wisdom from God when trials arise.
5. Still, James teaches that there are broad, general, basic principles that are common to all trials: We must endure them with faith, patience and obedience, as we joyfully recognize God's hand in the trials of life. God is always ready to provide the wisdom we need if we will simply ask Him for it.
6. God grants His wisdom in a variety of ways—through meditation upon scripture, a timely sermon, the advice of mature saints, a flash of insight, by opening or closing doors of opportunity, or a myriad of other means. God's wisdom may come to us suddenly, or as a growing conviction over an extended period of time. We should never underestimate the creativity and resourcefulness of our infinitely-wise Creator.
7. In any case, godly wisdom will typically involve humbly considering the various factors of the trial, and the various responses available to us, from a spiritual, Bible-informed perspective, and then choosing the path that most honors our Lord.