James 2:1

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2:1-13. Illustrating "the perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25) in one instance of a sin against it; concluding with reference to that law (James 2:12) BRETHREN - the equality of Christians as "brethren" forms the groundwork of the admonition. THE FAITH OF ... CHRIST. James grounds Christian practice on Christian faith. THE LORD OF GLORY. So 1 Corinthians 2:8. Since believers, rich and poor, derive their glory from union with Him, "the Lord of glory," not from external advantages, the sin in question is peculi...

This reproof seems at first sight to be hard and unreasonable; for it is one of the duties of courtesy, not to be neglected, to honor those who are elevated in the world. Further, if respect of persons be vicious, servants are to be freed from all subjection; for freedom and servitude are deemed by Paul as conditions of life. The same must be thought of magistrates. But the solution of these questions is not difficult, if what James writes is not separated. For he does not simply disapprove of honor being paid to the rich, but that this should not be done in a way so as to despise or reproach the poor; and this will appear more clearly, when he proceeds to speak of the rule of love. Let us therefore remember that the respect of persons here condemned is that by which the rich is so extolled, wrong is done to the poor, which also he shews clearly by the context and surely ambitions is tha...

1-13 Those who profess faith in Christ as the Lord of glory, must not respect persons on account of mere outward circumstances and appearances, in a manner not agreeing with their profession of being disciples of the lowly Jesus. St. James does not here encourage rudeness or disorder: civil respect must be paid; but never such as to influence the proceedings of Christians in disposing of the offices of the church of Christ, or in passing the censures of the church, or in any matter of religion. Questioning ourselves is of great use in every part of the holy life. Let us be more frequent in this, and in every thing take occasion to discourse with our souls. As places of worship cannot be built or maintained without expense, it may be proper that those who contribute thereto should be accommodated accordingly; but were all persons more spiritually-minded, the poor would be treated with mo...

CHAPTER II. _We should not prefer the rich to the poor, nor show any_ _partiality inconsistent with the Gospel of Christ_, 1-4. _God has chosen the poor, rich in faith, to be heirs of his_ _kingdom, even those whom some among their brethren despised_ _and oppressed_, 5, 6. _They should love their neighbour as themselves, and have no_ _respect of persons_, 7-9. _He who breaks one command of God is guilty of the whole_, 10, 11. _They should act as those who shall be judged by the law of_ lib

MY BRETHREN - Perhaps meaning brethren in two respects - as Jews, and as Christians. In both respects the form of address would be proper. HAVE NOT THE FAITH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST - Faith is the distinguishing thing in the Christian religion, for it is this by which man is justified, and hence, it comes to be put for religion itself. Notes, 1 Timothy 3:9. The meaning here is, “do not hold such views of the religion of Christ, as to lead you to manifest partiality to others on account of their difference of rank or outward circumstances.” THE LORD OF GLORY - The glorious Lord; he who is glorious himself, and who is encompassed with glory. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 2:8. The des

EXPOSITION JAMES 2:1 WARNING AGAINST RESPECT OF PERSONS. JAMES 2:1 The translation is doubtful, two renderings being possible. (1) That of the A.V. and R.V., "Hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons." (2) That of the R.V. margin and Westcott and Hort, "Do ye, in accepting persons, hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory?" According to this view, the section commences with a question, as does the following one, James 2:14. According to the former view, which is on the whole prefe

MY BRETHREN,.... As the apostle is about to dissuade from the evil of having respect to persons, this is a very fit introduction to it, and carries in it an argument why it should not obtain; since the saints are all brethren, they are children of the same Father, belong to the same family, and are all one in Christ Jesus, whether high or low, rich, or poor: HAVE NOT THE FAITH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, [THE] LORD OF GLORY, WITH RESPECT OF PERSONS: that is, such as have, and hold, and profess the faith of Christ, ought not along with it to use respect of persons, or to make such a distinction among the saints, as to prefer the rich, to the contempt of the poor; and in this exhortation many things are contained, which are so many arguments why such a practice should not be encouraged; for faith, whether as a doctrine or as a grace, is alike precious, and common to all; and is the faith of...

THE LORD OF GLORY The Glory, that is, in the sense of (Hebrews 1:3) as taking the place of the shekinah. WITH RESPECT In the presence of Christ the Glory, earthly distinctions disappear....

II. THE ROYAL LAW: FAITH AND WORKS CHAPTER 2 _ 1. The faith of Christ with respect to persons (James 2:1)_ 2. The royal law (James 2:6) 3. Faith must be manifested by works (James 2:14) James 2:1 Here we have the synagogue mentioned, sufficient evidence that these Jewish believers were still gathering together in the Jewish fashion, and were not an ecclesia, an assembly, gathered out. The Epistle to the Hebrews, written many years after the Epistle of James, exhorted them to leave the camp behind and go outside of it (Hebrews 13:13

This paragraph on Servility suits exhortation of Jews incomparably better than that of Christians, among whom not many rich were found for generations. The scene of James 2:2 is the synagogue, best taken in its literal sense; and acts of oppression towards the congregation of God's poor are familiar to readers of the OT. Give up, he pleads, trying to combine with acts of servility the belief in the Lord of Glory. On the theory sketched in the introduction, the name Jesus Christ was added in the margin by an early reader: as the various efforts of translators and commentators show, the words made the sentence almost impossible Gr. when taken into the text. The worshipper in shabby clothes the adjective corresponds to the noun rendered baseness in James 1:21 is contrasted with the gold-ringed man in brilliant clothes (shining wh