7.1 - James 1, Seeing God

Welcome to Season 7: Journey Through James!
In this episode, we begin our journey by digging through James 1 for what we can learn and know about God. James' practical instruction and encouragement is rooted in the person of God – how does that expand our understanding of who God is?

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Paul and Noah both preach and teach with the Cedar Park church of Christ in Cedar Park, TX. You can visit our site at: https://www.cedarparkchurchofchrist.org/

Transcript

Noah: 0:30

Well, welcome back to the Stan strong podcast and happy new year, Paul,

Paul: 0:36

happy new year. Wow. 2025 already.

Noah: 0:39

Yeah. It's I think I blinked in somewhere in there, 2022, all happened. All at once. Here we are. But I'm looking forward to this new year for a lot of reasons. And one of those reasons is I am looking forward to season seven here in the Stan Tron podcast. And I'm excited for what we're planning to do with this season in the book of James.

Paul: 1:02

Yeah, we've got a text this time, Noah. And the beauty of that is whoever's listening, whenever you're listening, you always know where we are. You can get to the text for yourself. If you want to read the text before the podcast, you always know where we are, but it's coming straight from the text. And so there's common ground. Everybody can kind of come into this knowing where we're going. We're staying in the book of James.

Noah: 1:26

That's right. So here in this first episode, our plan is to, to dive into James chapter one and, and see what James chapter one tells us about who God is, what we can learn about him from James epistle that is so beneficial in so many ways. And, you know, when, when I think of James chapter one, One of the first things that comes to my mind is that statement near the beginning of the chapter in verse 5 when James says, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly. That is such a, a potent early statement here in chapter 1. That talks about God as the giver, as the source of wisdom. And not only that, but he is an eager source of wisdom. He wants to provide wisdom to his people.

Paul: 2:18

Yeah, I mean, who else are you gonna ask? I mean, when James tells us the reality of our faith being tested, and we go through various trials, and he says, Oh, by the way, count it all joy. So he, he said some pretty hefty, heavy things in verses two, three, and four. So when he says to us, we're going to go through some very challenging, difficult things when our faith is being tested, we're going to need from God. So he says, Hey, God's in the middle of this. God's a part of this. Ask him for the thing that you need when you're going through the trials. And that is the wisdom to see life the way God wants us to see life, especially when our faith is being tested.

Noah: 2:56

Yes. Amen. That is a really important context to this, this promise of wisdom is that it's coming in the, in the context of suffering. It's coming in the context of trials. And I mean, James 1, verse 2 is, and verse 3 are some of the most well known verses in James that counted all joy. Well, how am I going to count suffering as joy? And he goes into that a little bit. But it's in that context that he also says, you're going to need wisdom and you know where to find it.

Paul: 3:28

Yeah. Here's what really helps me know when you're, when you're focusing on God here, remember the God that you're focused on. This is a God that not only gives, but he gives liberally. And he gives the, the King, the new King James says that he also gives without reproach.

Noah: 3:45

Yeah.

Paul: 3:46

You know when we were little kids we had what we called a new week where we could go to dad and it was once a week and we went to dad and I think back then it was like 50 cents. But you'd, you'd go to the candy store and we got to do it once a week and only once a week. And we'd go to the candy store and got, and dad would have each hand to each one of us 50 cents. We could go get candy. Yeah. Well, you know what we did? The new week always was Monday, the first day of the week, school day. And we'd always want to go to the store after school on Monday. And by about Wednesday, we're going to dad with our hand open.

Noah: 4:18

Right.

Paul: 4:18

Ready to do it again. And he would, you kids are, you kids are breaking me. You kids are breaking me. You know, we're coming back. Well, God doesn't do that. He doesn't say to us when we go ask him again for wisdom, like you just asked me two days ago. Right. You know, you're wearing me out by asking me. No, this is a God who not only gives generously, but without reproach, he wants us to ask him.

Noah: 4:40

Yes. He desires that from us and he desires that we do it. from faith. I mean, James is very specific with that. In verse six, he says, let him ask in faith without doubting for the doubters, like the surging sea. And he uses that that image of a ship being tossed in the waves that nautical imagery. But it's interesting to me that we see this description of God where he is this generous, ungrudging giver of wisdom. But he also has an expectation of those who are desiring to receive. And that is that they trust he's going to provide. They have to have this faith. They have to ask, trusting that God is this generous God willing to give. It reminds me of the description of the description we see in Hebrews chapter 11. I think it's verse six, if my memory is serving correctly. Whoever would like to please God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. That's, that you have to believe. in his existence, but also something about his character. And you have to trust in that quality of his character. And I think there's an element of that here in what James is talking about. Those who would seek wisdom from God must genuinely believe That he is the source of wisdom and trust that he wants to give it to us.

Paul: 6:07

Yes. You know, just drop down to verse 12, if we're still talking about God and we've been dealing with the testing of our faith. So he says, blessed is a man who endures temptation. For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. So we're back to the character of God. Well, here's who he is. He gives, he gives generously. What is he giving us when we're in faith is being tested. What we ask, we need to be asking for wisdom, asking faith. So we need endurance. You know, we need an enduring faith. Well, God tells us I'm, I'm attaching promises to, to what you're going through. And the God who makes promises is a God who can be trusted to keep those promises. And so he says, crown of life, you endure, you remain steadfast. And here's a promise you will receive the crown of life. Yeah. So, you know, not only is God the source of wisdom, but God is the rewarder of those who have an enduring faith, and he promises this crown of life to those that love him.

Noah: 7:16

Yeah. Yeah. You know, if you read through the text of James chapter one, asking the question, what do I learn about God? You will not find the sentence in James chapter one, God is so good. But it is, it's in every verse of the chapter, God is good. And he promises good and I think verse 12, which you pointed to is a, is an excellent encapsulation of that, but he's he, he's also consistently good. There's no variation in that. I mean, we, we know in verse 17, every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the father of lights who does not change like shifting shadows. He's not only good, he's consistently good. Similarly, he's not just consistent, he's consistently good. And I feel like those are two parts of, I mean, if we want to use the word equation, that help us get at this picture of God is so good. He's good and he's good all the time. He's, he's not going to shift or change on you. And that's a really important, if we're going to have faith in him, if we're going to be trusting in him, if we're going to ask for wisdom without doubt and without wavering, we have to know he's good

Paul: 8:36

and he's always good. Yeah, he's good and he's always good. I mean, he's the father of lives, and there's been a lot of discussion about this since we're talking about God. What does James want us to get out of this when he referencing him, references him as The Father of Lights. We get God as Father, but He says He's the Father of Lights. And in that context, when He says He's the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation, New King James, or Shadow of Turning, and the point that you've made is God can be trusted. He can be trusted all the time. Look at Him. He is good. But He can't change for the better. Because He's perfect. You can't say, Well, you know, maybe God will do a better job with this next time. No, there's a constancy to Him. And so, when we're going through what we're going through The fact that we can acknowledge the nature and the character of God is such that he will always do right because he is good and he, oh, this is, oh, I can't believe I'm saying this. Sorry, English teachers. He can't be gooder, but he cannot change for the better because he's perfect. And so. What that means is, this is sourced in God, we're seeing God for who He is. I should never question His love or doubt His goodness. And when am I most vulnerable to do that? When my faith is being tested. Why me, God? Why now? He says, Hey, I'm good. I got this. You need wisdom. Ask me. I care. You, your, your faith will endure. I've making, I'm making promises to you and I don't change.

Noah: 10:17

Yeah. So well, and this is where, so I know this episode we're focusing on seeing God and next episode we'll focus more on how that applies to us and what we draw from James chapter one, but there are some areas where that is so intertwined. That's so connected. And one of those is that this, God's goodness. is also a part of why he created us. I mean, we see that in, in verse 18, his own choice by his own choice. He gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. So there's kind of a double meaning of our creation and our recreation in Christ that where, you know, humanity is the first fruits of his creatures and Christians as the first fruits of, of the, you know, the resurrection of Christ and that kind of thing. But. Either way that you cut that, God is expressing his goodness in his creation, and that has so many implications, therefore, if he's our Father, and he's consistent, and he is our Father. is always good and never fails to be good and there's no way to improve upon him. Well, what are we supposed to be reflecting as his creation? And I think that that can help give some meaning to that idea of father of lights as well. But in the end, we have to recognize God's goodness is intended to be seen. It's intended to be expressed. And it's intended to be understood to at least some extent.

Paul: 11:48

Yeah, no, notice the verse 13 no, I let no one say when he's tempted, I mean, tempted by God, God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he, God himself tempt anyone. I mean, in the context, you know, when. Do we want to falsely accuse God or unfairly put blame where it is not to be placed? If I'm tempted to do wrong, that God is not the source of that temptation. Right. Again, and if I, if I don't see God the right way, then how can I respond? the way he wants me to respond.

Noah: 12:28

Yeah.

Paul: 12:29

So again, you know, exactly. People want to know, how does that fit in this context of chapter one, where he needs to tell us about, and we'll talk about that in episode two, about the temptation, tempted to sin and where that originates and who's to be blamed for that. But it's not God, right? Can't blame God for evil in my life. He is not the source of evil. He is the source of all that's good.

Noah: 12:51

Yes. Yeah. Which is, is further expressed later in the chapter when you see things like in verse 21 where it talks about the implanted word. Which is able to save your souls in contrast to the temptations that God is not the source of what is God the source of? He's the source of salvation from those temptations and he's given he in his goodness He's given a route. He's given his word as As a method as a means of salvation and again that reflects on his goodness He is He's the author of that word, or he's the author of the what First 25 talks about the perfect Law of Liberty that's, that's able to transform us. And again, we, we read those passages and we automatically, I think in a lot of positive ways, start to think, okay, what does that mean for us? But notice what that reflects about the goodness of God that he has provided these things for our salvation and for our transformation.

Paul: 13:55

Yeah. You know, you look how he ends chapter one, and again, we could give a whole context. We didn't give, cause this is not a Bible study on James per se. We talked about that. If you give an introduction to the book of James and who the author is and who he's writing to and exactly what, what they were going through, what their life was like at this point, but then all of a sudden he just ends chapter one. And if you just separate and break the chapter divisions, he starts talking about God in connection to our obligations and responsibilities as it relates to the fatherless.

Noah: 14:32

In

Paul: 14:32

verse 27, pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit the orphans. The pure and undefiled religion, he says, is before God the Father. God was a father to the fatherless. So, James is not just saying, Hey, this is how you need to see orphans. He first says this is how you need to see God. And if God views the fatherless this way, if he is a father to the fatherless, and he has deep concern for those who are orphans, then naturally, I'm in the family of God, and I have been making appeals to God, and understanding he is good, and he always does what is good. He gives perfect gifts. Then if he is a perfect God that shows compassion to the fatherless, how can I do any less? So I know that will come up in the episode two, it sounds like I'm getting into that, but how we see God does in some way influence how we see other people.

Noah: 15:40

Absolutely. I mean, it ought to. If it doesn't. Then I think we're missing a lot of the point of what James is talking about. Something that I think connects with that, something that has been, I don't know, stewing in my mind as I've been reading James 1 in preparation for this study is God's awareness of our physical state, but the fact that he's not limited by that. our physical state is. I think sometimes when we see, when we read verses like at the beginning of James chapter one, where James is saying, Hey, consider it joy. When you experience trials, there's this inclination to read that as like, Hey, you're not allowed to, to suffer. Like when, when you suffer, you've got to, you've got to put on a brave face because you know, really Christians don't suffer in that way. And, and we could go into the truth of the fact that we, we suffer, but not as those without hope. You know, we grieve and mourn, but not as those without hope. But I think we sometimes start to creep into the territory of. God is just a little bit callous towards our physical situation because he's so aware of the eternal reality. Whereas we have a little more trouble being aware of the eternal reality. And so we're that much more aware of whatever suffering we're going through. And I think that when we, when we creep into that territory, we begin to misunderstand God. And this connects, in my mind, to what you're talking about, God being the father of the fatherless, and therefore that, we're supposed to reflect that as well. God is compassionate, and he is aware of the suffering that we face. He's aware of the temptations that we face. He doesn't ignore that. He's not callous to that. But instead, he works through whatever our physical situation is. to help us, to grow us, to mature us, to offer us wisdom. He continues to give us good gifts. He continues to care for us and he continues to work through us and bear fruit in us. And all of those things, when you read through James chapter one, all of those things are there. Whether we're rich or we're poor, James talks about that. We can glorify God in our exaltation or in our humiliation. And regardless of the suffering that we experience or the relief from suffering that we experience, God can work through that. And so this is kind of a big concept, but one thing that is really important for us to remember about God as we read through James chapter one is he is aware of us and he is aware of our, our blessings and our sufferings. And he cares, he's compassionate, but he is also going to accomplish his will through it. And that is a powerful statement to who he is.

Paul: 19:00

Amen. And amen to that for sure. Well, there's, look, I'm glad we're starting with the God side in this because in my estimation, any text that you go through. We, we need to put it in its proper perspective by, by seeing God in this text. I mean, what was James trying to get his readers those at the time that he was writing, you know, late forties, early sixties, AD, what were they going through? What did he want them to see and understand about God? And some of the same things we can make application for us today. Yeah. But there's a difference between what is temporal and what, or especially who, is eternal. Yeah. And especially the rich versus the poor. Those who are poor needed to understand, these rich people that they're going to fade, right? They have fates, but the God who is eternal, who begot you by the word of truth who is on your side see the eternal God and see life from an eternal perspective. And that's hard, especially when your faith is being tested.

Noah: 20:10

Yes, yes it is. But it's that kind of a perspective that will lead to the endurance and the full effect of that endurance. Where God will make us complete, lacking nothing. Yeah.

Paul: 20:23

Well thank you for those that are listening today. I mean, we just, we're kicking off this new season in a new year. And so episode two, Noah is coming Lord willing next week. We're staying in James one. So those who are going to stay with us through this season. Probably a good idea. Read James chapter one, get familiar with it. Cause next week we're going to look at that, at us in this, how James chapter one relates to us. Some applications we need to be making because we're seeing this God in James one that we need to see.

Noah: 20:54

Yeah. Well, I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to this whole season. I I love getting to spend time in the text of God's word and really digging into what it tells us about him and what it means for our lives each day. So thank you again for listening and we hope that between now and next week you will be safe, that you will continue to walk with God, and that together we can stand strong.