INDISPUTABLE COMMANDS, PART IV: JAMES 4:10

Indisputable Commands: #10

Verse 4:10: Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

The command in this verse, humble yourself,1 means to lower an overly inflated opinion we may have of ourselves. Primarily, we must dismiss the false idea that we are on an equal level with God. The fact is that there is a Creator-creature distinction: God is our Creator, which means we are His creatures. This is the attitude of humbling ourselves which James intends for his readers (and us) to understand: that God is the authority of our lives. The command of verse 7 to submit is different, it is a directive for our obedience within His divine order; to humble yourselves is a directive to recognize our position within His divine order.

This attitude of humbling ourselves is not just one-time—it is “in the presence of the Lord.” The word for presence is a compound of two Greek words: in + eye = in eyesight. This pertains to the Biblical fact that God sees all, that “there is no creature hidden from His sight” (Hebrews 4:13; cf. Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 16:17; Zechariah 4:10). We should ask ourselves as Job did:

Does He not see my ways and number all my steps? (Job 31:4)

Therefore, we are always in His presence and our attitude must always be that of being His humble creature.

The latter part of this verse, and He will exalt you, expresses the fulfillment of the conditional command to humble yourselves. The word exalt means to raise or to elevate. A commonly mistaken understanding of this verse has been that God’s exalting of us is exclusively for personal promotion or gain—in employment, in marriage, in wealth, etc. We must remember the formula which Jesus gave in His great sermon concerning the details of life:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

That is not to say God doesn’t provide for our creature comforts, but what James has primarily in mind in this verse is a rise in a position of spiritual prosperity. This principle he has already established in 4:6 with the quote from Proverbs: “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”2 Jesus Christ is our example of humility and what it takes to be exalted. The writer of Hebrews aptly instructs what our motivation should be:

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. (Hebrews 12:2; cf. Acts 2:33; 5:31)

Now this promise of being exalted means that we will be able to enjoy His greater grace provision (4:6) in time and eternity. But what is this greater grace provision and what are its features?

First, God’s grace is His “favor conferred freely, with no expectation of return, and finding its only motive in the bounty and free-heartedness of the giver."3 The believer first encounters God’s grace at the point of salvation: “For by grace you have been saved...it is the gift of God.”4 For there is no greater love than this, when we consider that He accomplished this even though we were His enemies (Romans 5:10).

Secondly, the apostle Peter declares that our knowledge of God and Jesus Christ is paramount to partaking in His grace provision:

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:2–3)

Peter further stipulates the timing of God exalting the believer,

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. (1 Peter 5:6)

At the proper time essentially means “in His wisely appointed time.”5 We can be assured that when the proper time comes—now or in the future—that it will fulfill His divine purpose for our spiritual good (Romans 8:28).

Therefore, it is imperative for the believer to dedicate time and energy in the study of His Word, understanding that He decides what needs we really have “pertaining to life and godliness” and not necessarily our “selfish ambitions” (3:14, 16) or personal “pleasures” (4:1). For the “Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8).

It is equally important for believers to humble themselves and seek forgiveness of sin in order to maintain their fellowship with the Lord. Self-humiliation may be difficult for the proud person. But we should remember that “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

In contemplating His greater grace provisions, are we comforted by what Paul tells us?

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

---

1 The word yourself is ‘built’ into the Greek verb humble.

2 Proverbs 3:34

3 Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Eerdmans, 19.17.

4 Ephesians 2:8

5 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1 Peter 5:6.

 

© 2022 David M. Rossi

INDISPUTABLE COMMANDS, PART III: JAMES 4:9

 Indisputable Commands: #6-9

 Commands #6, #7, #8 → Verse 4:9a: Be miserable and mourn and weep

It may seem strange that these three words are commands, but in reality, they represent divine discipline intended to bring the believer to the place of recognizing and repenting of their sin. James’ readers would have understood divine discipline from their previous knowledge of Judaism. W.E. Oesterley stated:

It was a recognized tenet in Jewish theology that self-inflicted punishment of any kind was a means of reconciliation.1

By ‘self-inflicted’ Oesterley is referring to the divine discipline which they invite upon themselves for their transgression against God. The Psalmist points this out,

Then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes.(Psalm 89:32)

In the previous verse, James’ readers were instructed to confess their sins; these commands (disciplinary measures) are intended to encourage them to repent and confess. True repentance of sin means that believers are convinced (changed their minds) that what they have done is sin.

The three commands of the first part of verse 4:

·        Be miserable: The Greek word used is the only time it occurs in the New Testament. It indicates how they should endure hardship or distress, tormented and ashamed of their adulterous relationship with God.

·        Mourn: this refers to lamenting with a great regret of their sinfulness.

·        Weep: the command implies “not only the shedding of tears, but also every external expression of grief.”2

What we as believers should derive from these commands is that there should be sufficient evidence of a repentant spirit and a heightened awareness of our transgressions against God. Barnes notes that,

The language here used shows that the apostle supposed that it was possible that those who had done wrong should voluntarily feel sorrow for it, and that, therefore, it was proper to call upon them to do it.3

There is a sense in which we might get caught up in this in a legalistic manner. The apostle John states that confession of sin is a simple matter of naming our sins to God (1 John 1:9). He never mentions preconditions like being miserable, mourning or weeping. It is simply name your sins to God and “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So the question is: how do we reconcile these Biblical principles presented by James and John?

First, what John states is the absolute standard of God: He will forgive upon our confession. It should be understood that there are no qualifications or prerequisites attached other than our naming of the sin. I have heard it said that it doesn’t matter how you feel about your sin—almost as if we could be nonchalant about our sinning against the Lord. To a certain degree this is true—that how we feel about our sin is not the issue in confessing our sins. The Lord does not imply that unless we demonstrate misery, mourning and weeping He will not forgive. Fellow believer beware! This does not give us a license to sin indiscriminately.

However, the confession and forgiveness which John discusses is based upon the context of 1 John where he describes our relationship with the Lord as walking “in the Light” and “having fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7). He does not advocate this as a cold and meaningless relationship. Our relationship with God must be on a rational and personal level: He is holy, gracious and just in His disposition with us; therefore, our relationship with God should be based in our love of Him. The Lord Jesus stated this:

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)

 Secondly, James is outlining the consequences if they fail to recognize and confess their sins. Misery, mourning and weeping is the divine discipline they will experience for their dismissive attitude toward sin. And since these are commands in the Greek, it is assured that they will endure this punish if they continue in their sinful ways.

The author of the epistle to the Hebrews declares that there is consolation to be had in the midst of divine discipline—we are still considered a ‘son’ whom He loves.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:5–6)

Command #9 →Verse 4:9b: Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

I remember a frowning child being told to “turn that frown upside down into a smile.” In a similar sense, this is what this command is all about—only in the reverse. The adulterous believer is directed to exchange their laughing and joyous moods for sincere mourning and gloom concerning their damaged relationship with the Lord—essentially, to wipe the smile off of their faces and stop the laughter and merry-making.

The point which James is making is that sin of any type breaks the believer’s relationship with God, and that the believer needs to demonstrate that they are sincerely ashamed of their sinful conduct. That is the meaning of gloom: being shamefaced, “hanging down of the eyes like the publican in Luke 18:13.”4

The deeper a sinner gets into their rebelliousness, the greater the enjoyment they experience. However, this is only temporal, because there is always that nagging reminder that what they are doing is wrong and detrimental to their Christian life.

---

1 Oesterley, W.E. (1990). The Expositor’s Greek Testament (Nicoll, W. Robertson, ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 4.461.

2 Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). AMG Publishers, G2799.

3 Barnes, Albert (1884–1885). Notes on the New Testament: James to Jude (R. Frew, Ed.). Blackie & Son, p. 75.

4 Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Broadman Press, James 4:9.

 

© 2022 David M. Rossi