James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings. -- James 1:1

James: A Brief Overview  (James 1:1)

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rough the book of James.

To begin our study of James, we will dig into the first verse and provide a 30,000-foot view of the book as a whole. We hope to gather an understanding of the "forest" before we dig into the "trees."

The Bible is 66 books telling 1 story of God's loyal love and character. Those 66 books are primarily broken into 2 sections: the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 Books). The book of James is one of the 27 New Testament books, specifically one of the letters written to churches and Christians to instruct, encourage, and rebuke.

Author: "James, A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (v.1). This is a humble introduction considering James' extensive resume. James is not only a disciple of Jesus, in fact, he is the half-brother of Jesus. Further, James is known as the "first pastor" as he is recognized as the leader of the Jerusalem Church (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18). Yet, James does not refer to either of these realities and simply refers to himself as "a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ".

Audience: "To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad" (v.1) This language is a designation for believers everywhere. The "twelve tribes" is a nod to the twelve tribes of Israel and refers to all believers who are in Christ that are scattered abroad. Therefore, the instruction from this book is prescriptive to us in our context.

Date: ~45-50 A.D.

Purpose:

"The purpose of this potent letter is to exhort the early believers to Christian maturity and holiness of life. This letter deals more with the practice of the Christian faith than with its precepts. James told his readers how to achieve spiritual maturity through a confident stand, compassionate service, careful speech, contrite submission, and concerned sharing. He dealt with every area of a Christian's life: what he is, what he does, what he says, what he feels, and what he has."- A.T. Robertson

The Book of James focuses on:

• Christian Maturity
• Holiness
• What a Christian is
• What a Christian does
• What a Christian feels
• What a Christian has

As we journey together through the book of James, may we have a faith that works!