Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 1:22

Verse 22 22Be ye doers of the word. The doer here is not the same as in Romans 2:13, who satisfied the law of God and fulfilled it in every part, but the doer is he who from the heart embraces God’s word and testifies by his life that he really believes, according to the saying of Christ, “Blessed are they who hear God’s word and keep it,” (Luke 11:28;) for he shews by the fruits what that implanting is, before mentioned. We must further observe, that faith with all its works is included by... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 1:23

Verse 23 23He is like to a man. Heavenly doctrine is indeed a mirror in which God presents himself to our view; but so that we may be transformed unto his image, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18. But here he speaks of the external glance of the eye, not of the vivid and efficacious meditation which penetrates into the heart. It is a striking comparison, by which he briefly intimates, that a doctrine merely heard and not received inwardly into the heart avails nothing, because it soon vanishes... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 1:25

Verse 25 25The perfect law of liberty. After having spoken of empty speculation, he comes now to that penetrating intuition which transforms us to the image of God. And as he had to do with the Jews, he takes the word law, familiarly known to them, as including the whole truth of God. But why he calls it a perfect law, and a law of liberty, interpreters have not been able to understand; for they have not perceived that there is here a contrast, which may be gathered from other passages of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:19-27

Deeds, not words. 1. The right spirit for the Christian is the receptive ; ready to hear, and to receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is to be as the seed falling on the good ground (comp. Matthew 13:3 , etc). A heathen philosopher has noted that man has two ears and only one mouth ; showing that he should be more ready to hear than to speak. 2. A receptive spirit is not alone sufficient. Action must follow. Holy Scripture is a mirror, in which a man may see... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:19-27

The law of the new life. "Ye know this, my beloved brethren;" viz. that ye have been begotten again by God. But now, from this vantage-ground, he presses the necessity of a consistent life. They have espoused, by God's grace, a new ideal of character and conduct; let their whole life show forth its power. This is the topic of the whole passage, and it divides itself very naturally into the related subjects of—meekness, self-knowledge, and practical religion (see Punchard, in Bishop... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:22

They are not merely to receive and hear the Word; they must also act upon it. Compare St. Paul's teaching in Romans 2:13 , "For not the hearers ( ἀκροαταὶ ) of a law are just before God, but the doers of a law shall be justified." ἀκροατής occurs nowhere else except in these passages. Deceiving your own selves ( παραλογίζειν ); to lead astray by false reasonings; only here and in Colossians 2:4 . Not uncommon in the LXX . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:22-25

Hearers and doers. The writer has said in James 1:21 that the wise hearer is a " receiver " of the Word, and he now proceeds to emphasize the fact that he is also a "doer" of it. " Receiving " represents the root of the Christian life, and "doing" indicates its fruit. I. THE INJUNCTION . ( James 1:22 ) Very many hearers of the gospel are not sufficiently upon their guard against the dreadful danger of being " hearers only." Some, when the service is over, seldom think... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:23-24

Illustration from life, showing the folly of being led astray. His natural face ( τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ ); literally, the face of his birth. The expression is an unusual one, but there is no doubt of its meaning. In a glass ; rather, in a mirror , ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ : cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12 , δἰ ἐσόπτρου . The mirror of burnished brass. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 1:24

Observe the tenses; literally, He considered ( κατενόησε ) himself , and has gone away ( ἀπελήλυθε ), and straightway forgot ( ἐπελάθετο ) what he was like (compare note on James 1:11 ). read more

Group of Brands