Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 2. Man's place in God's creation 8:3-8
  In view of God's greatness and man's relative lowliness it was marvelous to the psalmist that God would entrust His creation to humankind.8:3-4 In view of the insignificance of mankind compared with the rest of creation, espe...
• The Beatitudes 6:20-23 (cf. Matt. 5:3-10)
  6:20 Clearly Jesus' disciples were the primary objects of His instruction in this sermon (cf. vv. 13-19)."Blessed"(Gr. makarios) in this context describes the happy condition of someone whom God has blessed with His special f...
• Message13
  The Book of James teaches us that faith in God should result in behavior that is in harmony with God's will. The theme of the book is "living by faith"or "spiritual maturity."James' concern was Christian behavior (ethics) as ...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1II. Trials and true religion 1:2-27A. The value of trials 1:2-111. The proper attitude toward trials 1:22. The end product of trials 1:3-43. Help in adopting this attitude 1:5-84. The larger view of circums...
• 4. The goodness of God 1:16-18
  James now defended God before those who doubted His goodness or reliability or who had given up hope in a time of testing and had concluded that this was their "fate."551:16 James wanted his readers to have no doubt about God...
• 4. The external behavior 1:26-27
  James proceeded to explain in 1:26-2:13 what a doer of works (1:25) does.1:26 "Religious"(Gr. threskos, used here only in the New Testament) describes someone who fears or worships God. In particular, it refers to the outward...
• III. Partiality and Vital Faith 2:1-26
  "In the epistle of James, the Holy Spirit has given the church a commentary on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and Sermon on the Plain, a commentary that is rich in applications for daily life."79The similarities appear both in su...
• 3. The inconsistency of favoritism 2:5-7
  James' three questions in these verses all expect positive answers, as is clear in the construction of the Greek text.2:5 Since God has chosen the poor of this world to be the recipients of His blessings it is inconsistent fo...
• 4. The Christian's duty 2:8-9
  2:8 James did not mean Christians should avoid honoring the rich but that we should love everyone and treat every individual as we would treat ourselves (Matt. 7:12; cf. Lev. 19:18). The "royal"(Gr. basilikos) law is royal in...
• B. The Importance of Vital Faith 2:14-26
  Some have seen this section as dealing with a new subject, the relationship of faith and works, whereas the previous one dealt with partiality (vv. 1-13). It seems to me, however, that this section relates to the preceding on...
• 2. The importance of graciousness 3:14-16
  3:14 "Bitter jealousy"and "selfish ambition"are motives that must not inhabit the heart of a teacher or he will find himself saying things he should not. These are attitudes toward others and self that are the antithesis of g...
• VI. MONEY AND PATIENT ENDURANCE 5:1-20
  The final practical problem James addressed involves money. He wrote these instructions to appraise his readers of a danger, to inform them of the ramifications of the problem, and to exhort them to deal with the situation ap...
• A. Warnings for the Rich 5:1-6
  It is characteristic of James' well-balanced style that he opened and closed his exhortations (in 2:1-5:6) with references to the rich. There is also a return in this chapter to encouragement to persevere in the will of God w...
• 3. The consequences of the error vv. 14-16
  vv. 14-15 Jude quoted loosely from a prophecy Enoch gave recorded in the Book of 1 Enoch.62Though God had not inspired that book, He led Jude to quote Enoch's prophecy.63This was a prophecy of God's judgment as it will take p...
• 6. The fourth bowl 16:8-9
  16:8 The fourth trumpet judgment darkened the sun (8:12), but this judgment increased the sun's intensity. There is a definite article before "men"in the Greek text. The men in view are evidently the people who have the mark ...