James 2:22

βλέπεις …: as these words are the deduction drawn from what precedes, it is better to take them in the form of a statement, and not as interrogative. ἡ πίστις συνήρ γει : this implies a certain modification, with regard to πίστις, of the earlier position taken up by the writer, for in James 2:21 he says: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works?” no mention being made of faith; while here faith is accorded an equal place with works; cf. Galatians 5:6, πίστις διʼ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουμένη, concerning which words Lightfoot says that they “bridge over the gulf which seems to separate the language of St. Paul and St. James. Both assert a principle of practical energy, as opposed to a barren, inactive theory”. On συνήργει see Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Gad. iv. 7, “But the spirit of love worketh together with the law of God …” (Charles). καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίστις ἐτελειώθη : it is obvious that “faith” is used here in the highest sense, not merely as an attitude of mind, but as a God-given possession. It must, however, be further remarked that if the Judaism of the Jewish-Christian writer of this part of the Epistle had been somewhat less strong, the words under consideration would probably have been put a little differently; for according to the purely Christian idea of faith, works, while being an indispensable proof of its existence, could not be said to perfect it, any more than the preaching of the faith could be said to perfect the preacher's belief; though works are the result and outcome of faith, they belong, nevertheless, to a different category.