James 2:1 - Exposition

The translation is doubtful, two renderings being possible.

Our Lord Jesus Christ . Exactly the same title occurs in Acts 15:26 , in the letter written from the Apostolic Council to the Syrian Churches—a letter which was probably drawn up by St. James himself. The Lord of glory . The same title is given to our Lord in 1 Corinthians 2:8 , and seems to be founded on Psalms 24:7 , etc. The genitive, τῆς δόξης , must depend on κυρίου in spite of the intervening ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ . Similar trajections occur elsewhere; e.g. Hebrews 12:11 , where δικαιοσύνης depend, on καρπόν , and, according to a possible view, Luke 2:14 . Bengel's view, that τῆς δόξης is in apposition with κυρίου ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ can scarcely be maintained, in the absence of any parallel expression elsewhere. Respect of persons ( ἐν προσωποληψίαις ) literally, reception of faces. The substantive is found here and three times in St. Paul's Epistles— Romans 2:11 ; Ephesians 6:9 ; Colossians 3:25 ; the verb ( προσωποληπτεῖν ) only here in Colossians 3:9 ; προσωπολήπτης in Acts 10:31 . None of them occur in the LXX ., where, however, we find πρόσωπον λαμβάνειν in Le Acts 19:15 ; Malachi 2:9 , etc. (cf. Luke 20:21 ), for the Hebrew מינִףָ זשָׂגַ . Bishop Lightfoot has pointed out that, in the Old Testament, the expression is a neutral one, not necessarily involving any idea of partiality, and more often used in a good than in a bad sense. "When it becomes an independent Greek phrase, however, the bad sense attaches to it , owing to the secondary meaning of πρόσωπον as a mask,' so that πρόσωπον λαμβάνειν signifies 'to regard the external circumstances of a man'—his rank, wealth, etc.—as opposed to his real intrinsic character. Thus in the New Testament it has always a bad sense." It is exactly this regard to external circumstances against which St. James is warning his readers; and the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ had himself been known, when on earth, as no respecter of persons ( Luke 20:21 ), would give point to his warning. The plural ( ἐν προσωποληψίαις ) is perhaps used to include the different kinds of manifestations of the sin.