1.1 James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the dispersion, greetings.
1.7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
2.1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
3.8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10a from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.
4.7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
4.13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 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. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
5.4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5.7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the advent of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the advent of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
5.13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
1.7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
2.1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
3.8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10a from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.
4.7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
4.13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 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. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
5.4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5.7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the advent of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the advent of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
5.13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
It is interesting to try to decide whether this title is being applied to Yahweh or to the man called Jesus.
Two of the instances, of course, have to apply to Jesus:
1.1 James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the dispersion, greetings.
2.1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
2.1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
Then there is a list of instances which, without some subtle argumentation, could probably apply either to Jesus or to Yahweh:
1.7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
4.13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 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. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
5.13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
4.13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 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. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
5.13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
Next there is a list of instances which, because of their context, probably apply to Yahweh:
3.8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10a from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.
4.7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
5.4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
4.7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
5.4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
"Lord and Father" sounds like a designation for God, not for Jesus; the instance in 4.10 comes right after mentions of God, and thus itself appears to refer to God; and "the Lord of Sabaoth" is a frequent title for Yahweh in the Hebrew scriptures.
Finally, there is one passage in which "Lord" at first appears to refer to Jesus, but which probably has to refer to God instead:
5.7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the advent of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the advent of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
Again, context is key. While "the advent of the Lord" sounds to our ears like the (second) coming of Jesus, James immediately turns around and speaks of prophets speaking in the name of the Lord (refer to Deuteronomy 18.20, for example) and of the Lord who had dealings with Job (refer to Job 38.1, for example). Is James using the bare title Lord both for Jesus and for Jesus' father in the same context with no signal whatsoever of a change in personage? There is one more consideration, as well. This same passage speaks of the Judge standing right at the door; and surely this is God the Father, since we find a chapter earlier:
4.11 Do not speak against 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. 12 There is one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
If there is only one Judge, then the Judge of James 5.9 is most likely God. This reinforces the impression that the Lord whose advent (παρουσία) is under discussion here is Yahweh.
Josephus has examples of παρουσία being used of God (on Sinai and in the tabernacle in the wilderness):
Antiquities 3.5.2 §79-80: 79 So they passed two days in this way of feasting; but on the third day, before the sun was up, a cloud spread itself over the whole camp of the Hebrews, such a one as none had before seen, and encompassed the place where they had pitched their tents; 80 and while all the rest of the air was clear, there came strong winds, that raised up large showers of rain, which became a mighty tempest. There was also such lightning, as was terrible to those that saw it; and thunder, with its thunderbolts, were sent down, and declared the arrival of God [τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ θεοῦ] in a gracious way to such as Moses desired he should be gracious.
Antiquities 3.8.5 §202-203: 202 Now God showed himself pleased with the work of the Hebrews, and did not permit their labors to be in vain; nor did he disdain to make use of what they had made, but he came and sojourned with them, and pitched his tabernacle in the holy house. And in the following manner did he made his arrival [τὴν δὲ παρουσίαν οὕτως ἐποίησεν]: - 203 The sky was clear, but there was a mist over the tabernacle only, encompassing it, but not with such a very deep and thick cloud as is seen in the winter season, nor yet in so thin a one as men might be able to discern any thing through it, but from it there dropped a sweet dew, and such a one as showed the presence of God to those that desired and believed it.
Antiquities 3.8.5 §202-203: 202 Now God showed himself pleased with the work of the Hebrews, and did not permit their labors to be in vain; nor did he disdain to make use of what they had made, but he came and sojourned with them, and pitched his tabernacle in the holy house. And in the following manner did he made his arrival [τὴν δὲ παρουσίαν οὕτως ἐποίησεν]: - 203 The sky was clear, but there was a mist over the tabernacle only, encompassing it, but not with such a very deep and thick cloud as is seen in the winter season, nor yet in so thin a one as men might be able to discern any thing through it, but from it there dropped a sweet dew, and such a one as showed the presence of God to those that desired and believed it.
Refer also to 3.8.5 §203 (in the tabernacle again) and 9.4.3 §55 (to the servant of Elijah).
And the Septuagint uses the cognate verb (πάρειμι) with Yahweh/God as the subject in various places, such as in Isaiah 52.6:
Therefore shall my people know my name in that day, for I am he that speaks: I am present.
(Daniel 7.13 uses it of "one like a son of man," though, too.)
Other passages, without using an actual cognate, certainly speak of Yahweh coming in some sense. Isaiah 19.1:
The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud, and is about to come to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
I see only three relatively clean options here:
- James consistently refers to God the Father as "Lord", and only the name of Jesus Christ (as in 1.1 and 2.1) is enough to make the title apply to anyone else.
- James consistently refers to God the Father as "Lord", and both phrases referring to Jesus Christ as Lord are interpolations ("and of the Lord Jesus Christ" in 1.1 and "in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ" in 2.1).
- James cleanly identifies Jesus with Yahweh, or God; they are the same person. Jesus was an incarnation or avatar, so to speak, of Yahweh himself. (Refer to another thread of mine for more on this topic: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2588&p=58143.)
Ben.
ETA: This thread was inspired by a private discussion with a forum member.
