Criswell Theological
Review 1.1 (1986) 3-29.
Copyright © 1986 by The
THE CHRISTOLOGY OF JAMES
ROBERT B.
SLOAN
To
do research on the book of James is to weary of reading Luther's
dictum about its being a "right strawy epistle." That remark not only
tells us more about Luther than it does the book of
James, but it has
influenced the interpretation of this epistle since
the time of the
Reformation. The book has become
better known for its omissions
than its affirmations. Indeed, the latter are
tacitly feared as anti-Pauline
and thus more often defended than declared. To be sure,
what is not
(apparently) in the book of James may be at first striking.
There is no
mention of the cross, Christ's triumph over the
powers of evil, the
resurrection, the gift of the
Spirit, or baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Most
noticeable perhaps among the omissions in this NT book are
frequent references to Jesus and His
Christological titles.
But James must be appreciated in its
own right. It does not show
its best colors against the background of a
Lutheran-style Paulinism.
The
so-called problems of the theology and/or Christology of the book
of James are, it seems to me, more matters of the
paradigms and
methods with which it is examined than its
supposed sub-Christian
qualities. Seen, for example, in connection with other
NT books such as
Matthew
and Hebrews (to say nothing of Paul under a better light) the
book of James acquires a better field from which its
own hues may be
perceived.
Though given the form of an epistle
the book of James is frequently
referred to as Christian wisdom literature.
However that may be in
terms of genre questions, it is certainly clear that
James has a very
practical orientation. That is, James is concerned
not so much with
evangelistic questions as with
issues related to the practice of the faith.
Because
of its orientation, therefore, the theological implications of the
book are often more implicit than explicit. Though
implicit, however,
4
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
the traditional theological views of the book are
nonetheless very real.
One
does not have to look very long or very hard at the sometimes
casually expressed theological categories and/or
allusions in James to
realize that this book is certainly worthy of a
rightful place within the
canon of sacred books which comprise and reflect the
earliest (and
normative) Christian and apostolic theology.
I. James and Early Christian Theological Traditions
Though often assumed and not clearly
expressed, it is clear that
the practical exhortations in James are undergirded by the earliest
categories and theological traditions of the
apostolic church. Though
by no means exhaustive, the following observations
should suffice to
suggest the underlying theological structures
that are operative for the
author of this epistle.
The Use of Traditional
Texts, Illustrations and Phrases
James shares with a number of other
NT writers the use of the
Abraham stories as a model of faith/obedience
(2:21-23).
Paul of
course makes extensive use of the covenant promises to
Abraham (and
Abraham's subsequent trust) in Romans 4 and
Galatians 3.
The author
of Hebrews likewise finds in Abraham a very
congenial model of faith,
obedience and hope (6:13-20; 7:1-10; 11:8-12,
17-19). Of course,
Abraham
as a model of faith was not unknown in Judaism, and that
alone, it could be argued, is sufficient to account
for James' use of it.
But,
as we shall see later, James' use of the Abraham stories seems to
represent a dialogue with an already existent
Christian use of Abraham
as a model of faith. In this connection it is
interesting to note that both
Jas
2:23 and Rom 4:3, in their quotation of Gen 15:6 ( ]Epi<steusen de<
]Abraa>m t&? qe&?, kai>
e]logi<sqh au]t&? ei]j dikaiosu<nhn),
agree in reading
(against the LXX) }Epi<steusen de< for kai> e]p. While Philo also has
the
same reading, what we may in any case be
encountering here is the
traditional Christian variant of the text.
As a further example of the
Christian use of OT texts in James, it
may be noted that the use of Lev 19:12-18
throughout James1--though
having no doubt its own unique nuances--is in a common
vein with the
use of that same passage in Matt 5:43-48, and
especially 22:39 (par.
Mark
12:31). With regard to the latter passage (Matt 22:39, par. Mark
12:31),
it should be noted that the commandment to "love your
neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18) is
referred to as second only to the
l
See L. T. Johnson, "The Use of Leviticus 19 in the Letter of
James," JBL 103
(1982)
391-401.
Sloan: THE CHRISTOLOGY
OF JAMES 5
commandment of the Shema (Deut 6:4, 5). The
exegetical tradition
whereby Lev 19:18 and Deut 6:4, 5 were combined
may no doubt be
attributed to Jesus himself. Not only, however, was the connection not
lost in either the Matthean
or Markan traditions, but neither apparently
was it lost in James who likewise affirms, though
in separate (but not
unrelated) passages, the theological implications
for the Christian of
both the Shema (2:19) and the second commandment (2:8).
Another example of traditional
Christian exegesis in James is
found in the joint use of the Rahab
and Abraham stories. Though it is
difficult to tell whether there is any literary
dependence between James
and Hebrews, the clear fact is that both made use
of Josh 2:1-16 by
way of alluding to Rahab
as an OT model of faith.2 Though issues
related to literary dependence, dating, origin
and the definition of
faith/hope are very complex, what seems
nevertheless to be clear is
that the use of both Abraham and Rahab
as models of faith is to be
attested only in Christian traditions, i.e., Heb
11:8-12, 17-19, 31; Jas
2:20-26.
James also shows a number of early
Christian exegetical affinities
with 1 Peter. In quoting rather literally the Septuagintal reading of Prov
3:34,
Jas 4:6 agrees with 1 Pet 5:5 in substituting qeo<j for the LXX's
ku<rioj. This particular minor
agreement (followed apparently by the
author of I Clem 1:30), though theologically
insignificant in terms of
the meaning of the text, again illustrates the
affinity of James with other
early Christian materials. Similarly, Jas 5:20 and 1
Pet 4:8 reflect a
common early Christian interpretive/sermonic use of Prov 10:12, where
we read, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love
covers all transgressions." The
common interpretive and exegetical traditions
reflected in James and
1
Peter are evidenced again in 1:10, 11 and 1 Pet 1:24 where the former
clearly alludes to, and the latter explicitly
quotes Isa 40:6, 7. Finally, we
may note merely in passing that the use of Amos
9:12 in Acts 15:17
seems to have found further Christian use in Jas 2:7.
While not
exhaustive, the above instances of OT use by James
in common with
other traditional uses of those same passages in
primitive Christianity
reflect at a deep level the thoroughgoingly
Christian frame of reference
within which OT Scripture was appropriated by James.
Not only in the use of Scripture
does James show itself to be of a
piece with other early Christian theological
communities, but it is also
heir to (and perhaps also the ancestor of) a number
of phrases and
2 Discussion of dating
and literary dependence with respect to James and Hebrews
maybe found in B. W. Bacon, "The Doctrine of
Faith in Hebrews, James and Clement of
James,"
JBL 67(1948) 339-45; and D. A. Hagner, The Use of the Old and
New
Testaments in Clement of
6
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
expressions that seem to have been part of the
common theological
stock of early Christianity. Though the similarities
of James with other
NT
books are too numerous to delineate exhaustively,3
the following
parallels of thought and expression between James
and the Pauline and
Petrine traditions of the NT will demonstrate
the congenial nature of
the theology of James within the framework of early
Christianity.
First, taking the two traditions
together, we may note that (as
P.
Davids in his recent commentary has shown4)
there is a rather
impressive similarity of thought and language that
exists between Jas
1:2-4
and Rom 5:2b-5, on the one hand, and 1 Pet 1:6-7 on the other.
Rom 5:2b-5 Jas 1:2-4 1
Pet 1:6-7
3. knowing
that 3. knowing that 7.
so that the
tribulation the testing of testing
of
produces per- your faith your faith,
severance produces more precious
perseverance than gold which
4. and persever- perishes
ance a tested 4. and
let per-
character, and severance have through
testing
tested character a mature
result by fire,
hope.
5. and hope
does
not disappoint may be found
so that you may to result in
because the love be mature
and praise and
of God has been complete
lack- glory
and honor
poured out within ing in nothing. at the revela-
our hearts through tion of Jesus
the Holy Spirit Christ.
who was given to us.
Also,
James shares with Pauline and Petrine traditions the
common
early Christian expression often found in baptismal
and/or ethical
contexts regarding the "putting off" of
sin and/or the old way of living
(1:21;
Rom 13:12; Eph 4:22;
3 The dated but still
masterly work of J. B. Mayor, The Epistle at St.
James: The
Greek Text with
Introduction Notes and Comments and Further Studies in the Epistle at
St. James, 3rd. ed. (London: MacMillan, 1913), may profitably be consulted regarding
the literary relationship of James to other parts
of the NT and, indeed, to earlier (both
biblical and non-biblical) materials. See
especially LXXXV-CXXVII.
4 P. Davids,
The Epistle at James: A Commentary on the Greek
Text (NIGTC;
even the English translations suggest an impressive
similarity of thought and language.
Sloan: THE CHRISTOLOGY
OF JAMES 7
three traditions speak of a glorious crown to be
received (1:12; 1 Cor
9:25;
1 Pet 5:4; see also Rev 2:10, 3:11).
Considering the Pauline traditions
alone, the following (randomly
chosen) parallels of thought and expression may be
noted. First, both
Paul
and James are convinced that it is the poor and lowly who have
received the mercies of God (1 Cor 1:27; Jas 2:5). Second, though the
cross and resurrection are not explicitly mentioned
in James, they are
surely implicit in the reference in 1:18 to the gospel
as "the word of
truth" (lo<g& a]lhqei<aj), which reference
moreover is quite common in
the traditional Pauline literature and may be noted
in 2 Cor 6:7
(without the article, as in James), Coll:5; Eph 1:13; and 2
Tim 2:15.
Third,
it may be noted that Jas 1:18 refers to the people of God as "first
fruits" (a]parxh<) and thus is of a piece with similar expressions in the
Pauline
literature whereby the people of God are either said to possess
"the first fruits of the Spirit" (Rom 8:23; cf. 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5; Eph 1:14) or
are themselves as missionary products called
"first fruits" (Rom 16:5;
1
Cor 16:15; cf. Rev 14:4). Fourth, both James (2:10)
and Paul (Gal 5:3)
speak of the holistic demand that is related to the
keeping of the law.
Regarding the parallels of thought
and language between James
and 1 Peter the greetings of both works refer to
the scattered people of
God
(1:1; 1 Pet 1:1). Second, both traditions think of the Christian as
both free and a slave (1:1, 1:25, 2:12; 1 Pet 2:16).
Finally, while we
observed above the common use of Prov 3:34 in both Jas 4:6 and 1 Pet
5:5,
what also deserves to be noted is the immediate exhortation in both
subsequent contexts for the believers to submit to
God while at the
same time resisting the devil (4:7; 1 Pet 5:6, 8).
Further parallels of
thought and language between James and other NT
materials could be
adduced, but these are enough to demonstrate
that James moves
comfortably in the world of expression that was
broadly characteristic
of primitive Christianity.
The Use of an Epistolary
Greeting
The form of an epistle was the most
popular form of early
Christian literary communication. Though on every other
ground the
book of James would seem not to be an epistle, the
very fact that what
in other regards appears to be something akin to
wisdom literature
and/ or an early Christian sermon is put within the
form of a letter
reflects the consciousness on the part of the
writer that he himself is
within an established literary tradition. Other
literary forms were
available to our author. He chose, however, to
address his readers via
the form of an epistle and thus placed himself within
a common
(indeed, the most popular) genre tradition of early
Christianity.
8
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
Faith as an
"Entry" Term
Recent works by E. P. Sanders5
and H. Raisanen6 have popularized
questions of "getting in" (or
"entry") and "staying in" ("maintenance").
That
is, Sanders and Raisanen have pointed to, especially
with regard
to the "righteousness" word group in the
NT, the differences between
Judaism
and Christianity with regard to what it takes to enter into the
people of God and what is required to remain a member
of God's
chosen ones. If it is true, as Raisanen
has suggested, that "faith" was
likely not used in Judaism to refer to the experience
of "entry,"7 then
the use of "faith" in Christian
literature as a word closely related to the
beginning of and/or entry into Christian
experience is a uniquely
Christian term. In this respect it must
be noted that "faith" in James is
often used as a "maintenance" term (1:3;
2:1, 5). However, not only do
these so-called "maintenance" references
presuppose faith as an entry
experience, but there are some passages which use
"faith" in exclusively
that way (i.e., as an "entry" term). The
discussions of "hearing" and
"doing" (1:1-29) and the relationship of
"faith" and "works" (2:14-26)
are central in this regard. The "hearing"
that is but temporary--like a
man who "looks at his natural face in a
mirror," but quickly forgets
what he looked like upon turning away from the
mirror--is "self-
deluding" and "worthless," being
the opposite of the "humble receiving"
of the word of truth which alone can
"save" (1:21-26). Thus, it is
exactly like the "faith" of 2:14-26
that is merely professed, but "has no
works," and thus cannot "save" (2:14).
The faith that saves is the faith
that humbly receives "the word of truth"
(1:18, 21) and proves itself by
works to be that of a "doer of the word";
which is why our author can
argue in the intervening passage of 2:1-13 that
"your faith in our Lord
Jesus
Christ, the glorious One," cannot be expressed with elitism.
Instead,
the readers must show themselves to be "fulfillers" of the
"royal law" (2:8) just as the genuine "doer"
is the one who looks intently
at the "perfect law" (1:25); as we will
see below, both expressions, the
"perfect law" and the "royal law ," are tied
together in synonymity by
the mutually qualifying expression, "the law
of liberty" (1:25, 2:12).
The
basic point to be made here, however, is that for James the faith
5 Sanders' thought can be
best traced out in four of his works: "Patterns of Religion
and Rabbinic Judaism: A Holistic Method of Comparision," HTR
66 (1973) 455-78; Paul
and Palestinian Judaism (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977); "Paul's
Attitude toward the
Jewish
People," Union Seminary Quarterly
Review 33 (1978) 175-87; and Paul,
the Law,
and the Jewish People (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983).
6 H. Raisanen,
"Galatians 2.16 and Paul's Break with Judaism," NTS 31 (1985)
543-53.
7 Ibid.
546.
Sloan: THE CHRISTOLOGY
OF JAMES 9
that "saves" is a "humble
receiving" (of the "word") which is defined in
terms of "doing" and "works."
Such a faith is, to use Sanders' termi-
nology (about which I actually
have some misgivings) the experience
of both entry and maintenance.
Early Christian
Eschatology
The eschatology of James is not
unlike other expressions of early
Christian
eschatology (which have both present and future elements)
in that the blessings of heaven are already being
experienced--"blessed
is a man who perseveres under trial"--and yet
await a final con-
summation--"he will receive the
crown of life"--no doubt at the
"coming (parousi<a) of the Lord"
(1:12; 5:7). In this regard, the same
imminent expectation of the Lord's return that is
to be found throughout
the NT (Mark 13:33-37; Rom 13:11,12; 1 Pet 4:7)
maybe attested also
in James (5:8). Nor is the early Christian
connection between ethics and
eschatology (Matt 25:31-46; 1 Cor
15:58; 1 Thes 4:18; Phil 3:17-21;
3:4ff.)
missing in James, for the references in 5:7, 8 to the imminent
return of the Lord are precisely for the purpose of
exhorting moral
perseverance on the part of the
readers. In addition, the early Christian
belief that final judgment will be based on works8
(cf. Matt. 25:31-46;
Acts
17:30, 31; Rom 2:5-16, 14:10-12; 1 Cor 3:13-15; 2 Cor 5:10, 9:6,
11:15;
Gal 6:7;
3:8-13;
Rev 20:11-15) is also strongly implied in James (4:11, 12;
5:1-5,
9).
The Use of Dominical
Sayings
The authoritative status of the
sayings of Jesus was a common
perception in primitive Christianity. The very
existence of the gospels
and the communities out of which and for which they
were produced
is rather straight-forward evidence of the fact
that the words of the
Master
assumed an authoritative role and function within the earliest
Christian fellowships. The gospel of Matthew,
especially, reflects (and
no doubt also encouraged) the extensive use of the
sayings of Jesus
within the earliest periods of Christian confession.
The fact that
Matthew
is regarded as--if not the first--then at least the most wide-
spread and extensively used of the four gospels in
early Christian
worship reinforces this point.
Though it was a commonplace in NT
studies of several decades
ago to remark the paucity of references to the
ministry and teachings of
8 See the recent and
excellent work of K. Snodgrass, "Justification by Grace--To the
Doers:
An Analysis of the Place of Romans 2 in the Theology of Paul," NTS 32 (1986)
72-93, on this very interesting dimension of NT soteriology/eschatology.
10
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
Jesus
in the epistles of the NT, it is now thought entirely possible that
the sayings of Jesus were so integral a part of
early Christian catechism
and instruction (perhaps even a part of
evangelistic instruction) that
they may have been presumed as familiar to many in
the various
churches.9 How far that assumption
may be pressed, however, is not
certain. What is clear, at any rate, is that the
epistles of the NT are not
entirely without reference to the sayings of
Jesus and their presumed
authoritative status. For example,
the use of the sayings of Jesus in the
literature of the Pauline churches has been
frequently observed (see 1
Cor 7:10, 9:14, 10:33 [par. Mark 10:44], 11:24, 25;
1 Thes 4:15; cf. also
traditions contained in the Sermon on the Mount
upon Rom 12:1-15:7
has been often noted.10 Outside the
Pauline traditions we may note that
Mark
13 and the apocalyptic sayings of Jesus reflected therein have
certainly influenced the Revelation,11
and Acts 20:35 (reporting words
of Paul) explicitly cites an otherwise unknown
saying of the Lord.
Finally,
covering a wide range of NT traditions, we may observe, as
suggested by many,12 that the
"stone" passage of Rom 9:32, 33; Eph
2:19-22,
and 1 Pet 2:4-10 are based upon the exegetical uses of Isa
8:14,
28:16 and Ps 118:22 as established already by Jesus and reflected
in the synoptic traditions (Matt 21:33-46; par.
Mark 12:1-12; Luke
20:9-19).
James is by no means an exception to
this common early Christian
practice of employing the sayings of Jesus. It is
to be noted, of course,
that James nowhere explicitly cites a saying of
Jesus as such, but the
words of Jesus are so very clearly woven into the
very structure of
J
status of the dominical sayings for the author of
James and his readers
was an unquestioned assumption. James' use of what
we call the
Sermon
on the Mount (Matt 5-7) is so well known as scarcely to need
9 G. B.
Caird, The
Apostolic Age (London: Duckworth, 1965) 73-82; also, C. F. D.
Moule, The
Birth of the New Testament, 3rd rev. and rewritten ed. (San Fransicso:
Harper and Row, 1982) 177-99.
10 So F. F. Bruce, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans (Tyn NT.;
Eerdmans, 1963) 228; Paul: The Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Paternoster, 1977) 96;
cf.
W. D. Davies, The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount (
1977) 398f.
11 G. R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation (NCB;
1974) 129ff.
12 R. N. Longenecker, Biblical
Exegesis in the Apostolic Period (
Eerdmans,
1975) 202-4.
The "stone" passages have also received excellent treatment in
K.
Snodgrass, "1 Peter 1l.1-10: Its Formation and Literary Affinities," NTS 24 (1977)
97-106;
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants [WUNT 27;
Tiibingen: J. C. B. Mohr
(Paul Siebeck), 1983].
Sloan: THE CHRISTOLOGY
OF JAMES 11
demonstration.13 Leaving aside the less
certain instances of James'
employment of the Jesus traditions found within the
Great Sermon, the
following represent rather clear-cut instances
wherein those sayings of
Jesus
have found expression in the teaching material of
James. Though
the allusions are clearer when looked at in Greek,
the following side-
by-side comparison of even the English texts of
the relevant passages
from the Sermon on the Mount and James makes clear
the similarities.
Sermon on the Mount James
(Matt 5-7)
5:3:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2:5:
. . . did not God choose the poor
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. of this
world to be rich in faith and
heirs of the kingdom. . . ?
5:7:
Blessed are the merciful, for they 2:13:
for judgment will be merciless
shall receive mercy. to one who has shown no mercy;
mercy
triumphs over judgment.
5:11,12: Blessed are you when men 1:2; 5:9, 10: Consider it all joy, my
revile you, and persecute you, and say brethren, when you encounter various
all kinds of evil against you falsely, on trials. . ./Do not complain, brethren,
account of Me./Rejoice, and be glad, against one another, that you your-
for your reward in heaven is great, for selves be not judged; behold, the
so they persecuted the prophets who Judge is standing right at the door./
As -
were before you. an example,
brethren, of suffering and
patience, take the prophets who spoke
in the name of the Lord.
5:34-37:
But I say to you, make no 5:12:
But above all, my brethren, do
oath at all; Neither by heaven. . ./or not swear either by heaven or by
earth
by the earth. ..or by
Nor
. . . by your head. . . /But let your yes be yes, and your no, no; so that
statement be, "Yes, yes" or "No,
no" you may not fall under
judgment.
and anything beyond these is of evil.
6:19:
Do not lay up for yourselves 5:2, 3: Your
riches have rotted and
treasures upon earth, where moth and your garments have become moth-
rust destroy, and where thieves break eaten./Your gold and your silver have
in and steal. rusted; and their rust will be a witness
against you and will consume your
flesh like fire. It is in the Last Days
that you have stored up your treasure!
6:24:
No one can serve two masters; 4:4,
8: You adulteresses, do you not
for either he will hate the one and know that friendship with the
world
13 Mayor,
James LXXXV-LXXXVII.
12
CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL
REVIEW
love the other, or he will hold to one is hostility towards God? Therefore
and despise the other. You cannot whoever wishes to be a friend of
the
serve God and Mammon. world makes
himself an enemy of
God./Draw near to God and He will
draw near to you. Cleanse your hands,
you sinners; and purify your hearts,
you double-minded.
6:34:
Therefore do not be anxious 4:13,
14: Come now, you who say,
for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to
for itself. Each day has enough trouble such and such a city, and spend a year
of its own. there and engage in business and make
a profit."/Yet you do not know what
your life will be like tomorrow. You
are just a vapor that appears for a
little while and then vanishes away.
7:1:
Do not judge lest you be judged 4:11,
12; 5:9: Do not speak against
yourselves. one another, brethren. He who speaks
against a brother, or judges his brother,
speaks against the law, and judges the
law; but if you judge the law, you are
not a doer of the law but a judge of
it./There is only one Lawgiver and
Judge,
the One who is able to save
and destroy; but who are you to judge
your neighbor?/Do not complain,
brethren, against one another, that you
yourselves may not be judged; behold,
the Judge is standing right at the door.
7:7,
8: Ask, and it shall be given to 1:5;
4:3: But if any of you lacks
you; seek, and you shall find; knock, dom, let him
ask of God, who gives to
and it shall be opened to you./For all men generously and without
re-
everyone who asks receives; and he proach, and
it will be given to him./
who seeks finds; and to him who You ask and do not receive,
because
knocks it shall be opened. you ask with
wrong motives, so that
you may spend it on your pleasures.
7:16,17: You will know them by their 3:10-13,18: From the same mouth
fruits. Grapes are not gathered from come both blessing and cursing. My
thombushes, nor figs from
thistles, are brethren, these things
ought not to be
they? /Even so every good tree bears this way./Does
a fountain send out
good fruit; but the rotten tree bears from the same opening both fresh and
bad fruit. bitter water? /Can a fig tree, my breth-