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James 1:12
Blessedis the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Matthew 5:10-12
Blessedare they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…

Luke 6:22,23
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate youfrom their company, and shall reproachyou, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake…

divers.

Hebrews 11:36-38
And others had trial ofcruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: …

1 Peter 1:6-8
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: …

2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

my brothers
The term "brothers" indicates a familial relationship among believers, emphasizing unity and equality within the body of Christ. This reflects the early Christian community's practice of viewing each other as family, transcending social and ethnic boundaries (Galatians 3:28). The use of "brothers" also underscores the shared experience of trials and the collective encouragement to persevere.

when you encounter trials of many kinds
Trials are an inevitable part of the Christian journey, as evidenced throughout Scripture. The phrase "many kinds" suggests a variety of challenges, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. These trials serve a purpose in God's plan, testing and refining faith (1 Peter 1:6-7). The Greek word for "trials" can also mean "temptations," indicating that these experiences can either strengthen faith or lead to sin, depending on one's response. The testing of faith is a theme seen in the lives of biblical figures such as Job and Joseph, who endured suffering yet remained faithful.

“Consider it pure joy…” (James 1:2) is a direct call to choose a glad response rather than a grim resignation. Joy here is not a mood swing but a settled confidence that God is at work.

• Scripture never commands what the Spirit will not empower. The same joy is urged inPhilippians 4:4 and1 Thessalonians 5:16–18.

• Joy flows from knowing trials are purposeful, much likeRomans 5:3-5, where suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope.

•1 Peter 4:13 echoes the theme: rejoicing now prepares us to rejoice “with great joy when His glory is revealed.”

James addresses believers as family: “my brothers.”

• Trials are shared within the household of faith (Galatians 6:10), not faced in isolation.

• Jesus Himself calls those who do God’s will His brothers (Matthew 12:50), assuring us that we belong to Him.

•Hebrews 2:11 reminds us that He is “not ashamed to call them brothers,” anchoring our identity while we suffer.

Notice “when,” not “if.” Trials are certain, and they often appear suddenly: we “encounter” them.

•Acts 14:22 says, “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

• Jesus prepared His disciples with, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).

• This realism guards us from surprise and discouragement; forewarned is forearmed.

Trials come in assorted shapes—physical, relational, financial, emotional, spiritual.

• Peter speaks of being “grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 1:6-7), yet even the assortment is under God’s wise hand.

• Joseph’s experience proves that God can turn every form of hardship for good (Genesis 50:20;Romans 8:28).

• Practical examples:

– Illness that teaches dependence on God

– Job loss that refines priorities

– Persecution that tests loyalty to Christ

– Temptation that strengthens resistance to sin

James 1:2 calls every believer to view inevitable, multifaceted trials through the lens of joyful confidence in God’s sovereign purpose. Because we are members of God’s family, forewarned of hardships, and assured that each variety of trial serves His good plan, we can choose joy—pure, unalloyed, and rooted in faith.

(2)Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.--Better,Account it all joy whenever ye fall into divers temptations--i.e., trials; but even with this more exact rendering of the text, how can we, poor frail creatures of earth, it may well be asked, feel any joy under such? Do we not pray in our Saviour's words, "Lead us not into temptation"? (SeeMatthew 6:13, and Note there.) Yet a little consideration will open out the teaching of Holy Scripture very plainly. The Apostle here is following the same line of thought as that expressed inHebrews 5:14. By use (orhabit,more properly) our senses may be exercised to the discernment of good and evil. The grace of God given to the soul is capable of growth and enlargement, like the powers of body and mind. If either be unemployed, weakness must supervene, and eventually decay and death. And just as the veteran who has proved his armour well, and learned to face habitual danger as a duty, is more trustworthy than a raw recruit, however large of limb and stout of heart, so with the Christian soldier. He must learn to "endure hardness" (2Timothy 2:3), and bear meekly and even gladly all the trials which are to strengthen him for the holy war. Innocence is a grace indeed, and yet there is a higher stage of the same virtue, viz., the purity which has been won by long and often bitter conflict with the thousand suggestions of evil from without, stirring up the natural impurity within. Temptation is not sin. "You cannot," says the old German divine, "prevent the birds flying over your head, but you can from making nests in your hair;" and the soul victorious over some such trying onset is by that very triumph stronger and better able to undergo the next assault, The act of virtue has, in truth, helped to build up the habit, from which, when it is perfected, a happy life cannot fail to spring. The interpretation of our Lord's prayer is rather the cry for help to God our Father in the trial, than for actual escape from it: Lead us not,i.e., where we in our free will may choose the wrong and perish. And there is a strangely sweet joy to be snatched from the most grievous temptation in the remembrance that "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1Corinthians 10:13). . . .

(1) The value of temptation (vers. 2-4).

(2) Digression suggested by the thought 'of perfection (vers. 5-11).

(3) Return to the subject of temptation (vers. 12-18).Verses 2-4.- The value of temptation. Considered as anopportunity, it is a cause for joy.Verse 2. -My brethren. A favorite expression with St. James, occurring no less than fifteen times in the compass of this short Epistle.Count it all joy, etc.; cf.1 Peter 1:6, "Wherein ye greatlyrejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to griefin manifold temptations, that theproof of your faith (τὸδοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως)... might be found unto praise," etc. The coincidence is too close to be accidental, although the shade of meaning given toδοκίμιον is slightly different, if indeed it has any right in the text in St. Peter (see Herr, vol. it. p. 102). Here it has its proper force, and signifiesthat by which the faith is tried,i.e. the instrument of trial rather than the process of trial. Thus the passage in ver. 3 becomes parallel toRomans 5:3, "tribulation worketh patience." With regard to the sentiments of ver. 2, "Count it all joy," etc., contrastMatthew 6:13. Experience, however, shows that the two are compatible. It is quite possible to shrink beforehand from temptation, and pray with intense earnestness, "Lead us not into temptation," and yet, when the temptation comes, to meet it joyfully,Περίπέσητε. The use of this word implies that the temptations of which St. James is thinking areexternal (seeLuke 10:30, where the same word is used of the manwho fell among thieves).1 Thessalonians 2:14 andHebrews 10:32, 33 will show the trials to which believing Jews were subject. But the epithet "manifold" would indicate that we should not confine the word here to trials such as those.

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