Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

oth to sacrifice (in authority) and to submit (under authority). The Father sacrificially
tears his Son from his bosom. The Son submits without reservation.
Now the universal picture becomes clear. The created one-and-many spheres require
self-denial in love and practical godliness from all participants. The created
authority structures require self-sacrifice in love and practical godliness for all those in
authority, and submission, also in love and practical godliness, for all those under
authority.
Paul gives us a bird’s eye view of this in both his letters to the Ephesians and the
Colossians. Against the backdrop of the unregeneracy of a darkened heart, he shows
how mankind is epistemologically blind, and ethically debauched (Eph. 4:17-19; Col.
3:5-8). Clearly a new starting point is required, namely the “new man,” that is, the regenerate
heart (Eph. 4:20-24; Col. 3:9-11). With this as foundational starting point,
Paul now instructs the believers to display self-denial in love and holiness in the oneand-many
spheres (Eph. 4:25-32; 5:1-20; Col. 3:12-17), and to display self-sacrifice
and submission in love and holiness in the authority structures (Eph. 5:21-6:9; Col.
3:18-4:1).
We will do well to remember this in our study of the last two sections of the
Epistle of James against the backdrop of the first two sections. The godliness that is
held up as the Christian’s aim and zenith right from the start in Section I and propelled
by the dynamics of love according to Section II, proves to be rooted in self-denial in
Section III, and comes in its full-orbed own in Section IV. The “House of Horrors,”
which is on display in Section III, reflects the “wisdom” (read: “folly”) from below,
and culminates in a bitterly contested war zone, is rooted in “envy and self-seeking
ambition.” It hardly needs much of an argument to recognize that self-denial and selfsacrifice
is the only twofold “antidote.” The “Stage of Life,” which is in the spotlight
in Section IV, portrays ugly warts and running sores, and tops these with the diagnosis
of cancerous and terminal growths, winds up with a genuine and prayerful Godcenteredness.
Once again it needs little persuasion to realize that self-denying love and
self-sacrificial holiness is the double cure.
In short, all of James’ teaching falls into place, when it is understood that only
the human mirror-image of the inter-Trinitarian divine ethics has a genuine future.
Every attempt to come up with an ethics of a different stripe will in the long term
prove to be a miserable failure, however promising it may appear in the beginning.
This explains, for one thing, why James’ blueprint for practical godliness is such a
radical departure from the wisdom of the pagan world, whether Greek or Roman. Paul
indicates this very point in Colossians 2:8 and Ephesians 4:20, in which he contrasts
the all too empty and deceitful philosophy, that endeavors to put the basic pieces of the
puzzle of this world together from “below,” according to the traditions of (fallen) man
with ... the person of Christ! After all, not only does the fullness of the Godhead dwell
in Him bodily (Col. 2:9), but he also dwells in us. This puts at our disposal the hope of
future glory (Col. 1:27), but also all the treasures of present wisdom and knowledge
that are stored up in him (Col. 2:3). This and this alone aligns us with the winning
side!
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