Thoughts on James: 1:16-18 Part VI

We hear a lot about the words “word” and “truth” in church; a lot of it may seem to be passé to a generation of “image” and “appearance.”

How many times have you heard…

“We need to do what is right and stand for the truth!”

“I believe it because it is the word of God; if the Bible says it, I believe it because it is truth!”

“People in our age do not believe in absolute truth anymore; they spit on and defy the very word of God!”

And so on.

There is a lot to be said about how many people accept truth from the ones who yell the loudest, drive the coolest car, or feed the most orphans in China…however, James makes it clear that the word of truth is how we become a part of God’s purpose and recipients of God’s generosity.

So what is the word of truth?

The Greek for this clause is logo aletheias; immediately the word logo should begin to ring a few bells. This is from the same stem as logos, which is what the Apostle John uses to describe Jesus Christ. So, what James is first alluding to is truth being found in Jesus the Christ. This matches well with Jesus’ own testimony concerning himself:

³¹ Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32 NRSV)   

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NRSV)

But there is also a second part of James’ definition of the word of truth; the word of truth is also the Gospel concerning Jesus the Christ, as the Apostle Paul points out to the Galatians:

⁴ But because of false believers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us— ⁵ we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you. (Galatians 2:4-5 NRSV)

Or to the Ephesians:

¹³ In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴ this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14 NRSV)

Also to the Colossians:

⁴ for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. (Colossians 1:4-6 NRSV)

So then, the word of truth is also the Gospel as well as Jesus Christ. This bodes well with what many people think when they hear the term, word of truth.

Now, there are some who believe that Jesus is the word of truth only, meaning that the only meaningful truth we find is in the person of Jesus and not based on a religious text (e.g. the Bible). The problem with this is that what would we know about the person of Jesus except from the Bible? How would we know how to interpret Jesus person, work, and mission were it not for the testimony of Scripture? Also, Jesus is the embodiment or fulfillment of the Scriptures, as he told some unbelieving Jews:

³⁹ “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf.” (John 5:39 NRSV)

However, there are also those who want to limit the word of truth to the Scriptures and want to make them some sort of moral/religious law minus the person of Jesus. These people are guilty of “bibliolatry” or worshiping the Scripture over the One who inspired the Scriptures. Without applying the person and work of Jesus to the Scriptures, they do not give life but clearly mete out death and damnation.

So then, the word of truth James speaks of is both Jesus the Christ and the Scriptures that point to, reveal, and glorify him; the sum total which is found in the good news about the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

So let’s sum up everything we have been learning in James 1; it is been awhile since we have talked about everything.

1) Trials, temptations, and troubles are to be considered pure joy and they will build up patience and endurance in us if we will trust God, seek his wisdom, and wait them through to their completion.

2) We should not never become conceited about riches or not having riches, but rather we should glory in the truth of who we are and what we have in Christ.

3) God does not tempt us to sin; he is incapable of such things. We sin because we want to and our very nature screams out in rebellion against God. This sin, when it is conceived will only mean death.

4) God is generous however and he does not change his mind concerning his promises. He has purposed to give those who believe new birth through the Gospel of Jesus the Christ, so that he will get the glory from the harvest.

It has been awhile, but we are finally through James 1:1-18, and we are ready for the next part of chapter one. Don’t give up hope; if you endure with joy, you will finish this study.