James Chapter 1 — Commentary on Verse 12

    Blessedisthemanwhoperseveresundertrial,becausewhenhehasstoodthetest,hewillreceive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

    Here the apostle concludes the previous teaching with a general sentence. I will deal with it very briefly.

    Blessed. That is, already blessed. They are not miserable, as the world views them. It is in contrast with the world’s judgment that the apostle says Blessed.

    Is the man. The word used here usually only applies to males. Some people, including Aquinas, have misinterpreted this Scripture. Throughout the letter we will observe that our apostle delights to use this word for both sexes. In verse 23, Amanwholooksathisface… means a man or a woman, for it corresponds to the Hebrew word, which includes women as well as men.

    Whoperseveresundertrial. That is, a person who patiently and constantly endures. The wicked suffer but do not endure; they suffer unwillingly, with complaints and blasphemies. But the godly man perseveres; that is, he bears the affliction with patience and constancy—without complaining, fainting, or blaspheming. Enduring is meant in a good sense—as in Hebrews 12:7, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.”

    Trial. Affliction is called a trial, as before. In itself it is a punishment for sin, but to the godly it is but a trial—just as death, the king of terrors, is in itself the payment for sin, but for those who endure it death is the gate to eternal life.

    Whenhehasstoodthetest. This word is often translated “approved”: “approved by men” (Romans 14:18); “to show which of you have God’s approval” (1 Corinthians 11:19). So here, he is made or found approved—that is, sound in the faith; this is a metaphor taken from the proving of metals by fire.

    He will receive. That is, freely, for though no one is crowned without striving (see 2 Timothy 2:5), yet we are not crowned asaresultof striving. In many places Scripture says that God will give every man according to his work, yet not asarewardfor this work; for such passages only imply that as evil works will not remain unpunished, so neither will good works be unrewarded.

    Thecrownoflife. Often in Scripture the gifts of God are pictured as crowns, sometimes to show the honor that God puts on creatures (e.g., “You … crowned him with glory and honor,” Psalm 8:5) and sometimes to show the all-sufficiency of God’s love. His love is like a crown; so Psalm 103:4 says, “He … crowns me with love and compassion.” However, usually this applies to the heavenly state.

    (1)      This shows partly its honor, as a crown is an emblem of majesty; and so it shows that regal dignity which we have in Christ: “I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me” (Luke 22:29). Christ, who left us the cross, also left us his crown. One of Christ’s legacies to the church is his own cross; therefore Luther says, “The church is heir of the cross.” So Christ says here, “I confer on you a kingdom.” This is one reason why heavenly glory is expressed as a crown.

    (2)      This shows its complete fullness. A circular crown is an emblem of plenty and infinity. There is something on every side, and it has no end. So, Psalm 16:11 says, “You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

    (3)      This shows that it is given after striving. It was a reward for conquest. There was a crown given to those who ran a race. The apostle alludes to this in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.… They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” In the races and games near Corinth, the reward was only a wreath made of flowers and plants that soon faded; but we run for a crown of glory that lasts. Or as another apostle states it, “the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:4).

    Now you see why heaven is pictured as a crown; sometimes it is called “a crown of glory,” to show its splendor, and sometimes “the crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8); sometimes it is called “the crown of life,” as in Revelation 2:10 (“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life”), because it is a living crown that will flourish for all eternity.

    ThatGodhaspromised. This is added partly to show its certainty—we have the assurance of a promise—and partly to show the reasons for the expectation—not by virtue of our own merits, but God’s promise. There is no particular promise mentioned, because it is the general drift of the whole Word of God. Even in the law, mercy is promised: see Exodus 20:6.

    Tothosewholovehim. This is a usual description of the people of God. But why those who love him rather than those who serve or obey him or some other description?

    (1)      Because love is the sum of the whole law and the hinge on which all the commandments turn. The Decalogue is abridged into this one word. Therefore Paul says that “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

    (2)      Because love is the basis for our interest in Christ. Faith gives us a right to possess the promises, and love demonstrates this. Therefore love is often specified as the condition for the promises, as in 2:5—thekingdomhepromisedthosewholovehim. He does not say, “fear him” or “trust in him,” though these graces also are implied, but chiefly to those who love him. Similarly, Romans 8:28 says, “In all thing God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Here the love of God is made the consequence both of the effectual calling and of election.

    (3)      Because patience is the fruit of love. He who loves much will suffer much. Therefore, when the apostle speaks about enduring temptations, he encourages them with the crown of life, promised to those who love God; a man would not suffer for him unless he loved him.

    Notes on Verse 12

    Note1. Afflictions do not make the people of God miserable. There is a great deal of difference between a Christian and a man of the world. The latter’s best state is vanity (see Psalm 39:5); and a Christian’s worst state is happiness. He who loves God is like a die; throw him high or low, he still lands on a solid square. Sometimes he may be afflicted, but he is always happy. There is a double reason for this:

    (1)      Outward misery cannot diminish his happiness. A man is never miserable until he has lost his happiness. Our comfort lies to a great extent in the choice of our main happiness. Those who say in effect, “Happy are the people who are in such a case” (see Psalm 144:12-15)—that is, where there is no complaining in their streets, sheep bringing forth thousands, barns full, oxen strong for labor, etc.—may soon be miserable. All these things may disappear at a change of providence, just as Job lost everything in an instant. But those who say, “Blessed [happy] is the people whose God is the Lord”—that is, who count enjoying God as their happiness—when they lose everything, they can still be happy because they have not lost God. Our afflictions reveal our state of mind; when we see outward crosses as the greatest evil, God is not our main happiness. There are great evils that are soon felt by an ungodly heart; yet the prophet, like all believers, says, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:18). In the greatest lack of earthly things there is happiness, and comfort enough in God’s covenant.

    (2)      Sometimes afflictions increase as they bring more comfort and a further experience of grace. God seldom afflicts for no reason. Such dispensations leave us either better or worse. The children of God profit from them, for God recompenses outward losses with inner enjoyments: “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (2 Corinthians 1:5). That is, inner comforts can increase with outward sufferings. Learn, then, that people may be happy whom men count miserable. The world judges according to outward appearances and therefore is often mistaken. Salvian says, “A godly man’s happiness, or misery, is not to be judged by the world’s sense, but by his own; his happiness and yours differ.” The apostle Paul says, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

    Note2. The sweetest afflictions are those that we endure for Christ’s sake. James says, Blessed isthemanwhoperseveresundertrial—that is, persecution for religion’s sake. There is comfort in corrections: “Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law” (Psalm 94:12). Note that when the discipline is from the Lord, there is comfort in it. Corrections aim at the mortifying of sin, and so are more humbling; but trials aim at the discovery of grace, and so are more comfortable. Corrections imply guilt; either we have sinned or are likely to sin, and then God takes up the rod. But trials come to us so that the world may know our willingness to choose the greatest affliction instead of the least sin; and so they bring us more joy. So then, when you are called to suffer for Christ, take comfort; it is a blessed thing to endure evil for that cause. Only be sure that your hearts are upright—that your suffering really is for Christ and that your hearts are right with Christ.

    (1)      That it is for Christ. It is not the blood and suffering that makes the martyr, but the cause. The glory of our sufferings is marred when there is evil in them (see 1 Peter 4:15).

    (2)      That your heart is right with Christ. There is no blessedness in sufferings that are born when our hearts are far from Christ. But you may suffer cheerfully when you appeal to God’s omniscience for your uprightness, as in the Psalms: “God … knows the secrets of the heart.… Yet for your sake we face death all day long” (44:21-22). Can you appeal to God who knows our secrets and say, “For your sake we are exposed to such hazards in the world”?

    Note3. Whenhehasstoodthetest. Note that before a crowning, there must be a trial. We derive no profit at all from the affliction—neither grace nor glory—until there is wrestling and exercise. For the sake of grace, the apostle teaches clearly, “discipline … produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). Trials do not earn us heaven, but they always precede it. Before we are brought to glory, God will first wean us from sin and the world: see Colossians 1:12.

    Note4. It is good to contrast the glory of our hopes with our sufferings. Here we have trials, but we look for a crown of glory. Paul says the inner man is strengthened when “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). A straight comparison of our hopes with our sufferings makes them seem light and easy. So our Saviour tells us, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). So then, make use of this heavenly wisdom; consider your hopes—the glory of them, the truth of them.

    (1)      Their glory. Two things trouble men in their sufferings—disgrace and death. See what provision God has made against these fears: he has promised a crown against the ignominy of your sufferings, and against temporal death a crownoflife. A man can lose nothing for God that is not abundantly recompensed; the crown of thorns is turned into a crown of glory, and losing a life is the way to save it (Matthew 10:39). Thus, it is good to contrast our hopes with our sorrows, and not to look only to the present dangers and sufferings, but to the crown—thecrownoflife that is laid up for us.

    (2)      Their truth. It is not only a crown of glory that you expect but “the crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8), which the righteous God will definitely bestow upon you. Although God makes the promise in grace, his truth, which is often called his righteousness in Scripture, makes him carry it out. Every promise is built upon four pillars: God’s justice or holiness, which will not let him deceive; his grace or goodness, which will not let him forget; his truth, which will not let him change; his power, which makes him able to accomplish.

    Note5. Lastly, no enduring is acceptable to God that does not arise from love. The crown that God has promised, he does not say is “for those who suffer” but for thosewholovehim. A man may suffer for Christ—that is, in his cause—without any love for him, but it is worth nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). Vicious people who die in a good cause are like a dog’s head cut off for sacrifice. So then, do not think that suffering will excuse a wicked life. Note that Christ says last of all, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness” (Matthew 5:10), intimating that a martyr must have all the preceding graces. First, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” “blessed are the pure in heart,” etc. and then “Blessed are those who are persecuted.” First, grace is required, and then martyrdom. See also the notes on James 2:5.