JAMES 1:1-1 THE CHURCH: WHO ARE WE?

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Greetings.

The Jews saw themselves as the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob and as those who had returned to the Promised Land from exile and those who did not. They referred to the majority that lived outside Israel as the Diaspora, or those scattered among the nations. This raises the question of just what population is St. James addressing? The overall understanding of the Church in the New Testament is that it is a continuation or fulfillment of the Old Testament Israel. By addressing the Church as the Diaspora, St. James is reminding us that we are subject to all the pressures, persecutions, temptations and struggles, as well as the promises and redemption, experienced by God’s people since the call of Abram. In addition, as St. Peter wrote, our citizenship is elsewhere; in the true Promised Land (1 Peter 2:11).

In this brief salutation, we are reminded that as a people who are defined by an active belief in Jesus Christ that is manifested by growing obedience to God, we are to live in an alien and unbelieving land in a manner that testifies to the reality and sovereignty of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. All that is said about the people of God in the Old Testament is true for the Church today. Furthermore, although Jesus released us from the Law as the means of salvation, he fulfilled the Law, and therefore, we must strive to adhere to the Law if we are to be a faithful witness to Jesus in the world.

Individually and corporately, the first step in understanding ourselves as the Church is to acknowledge who we are. The Church is a people called by God in order to serve God in the world so that it will provide a contrast model for living to the world that in turn will make God known to all people. We are a community of servants of God and our Lord Jesus Christ who are called by God to live among the nations as a witness to God.

May I do my part, Lord Jesus as your servant, to fulfill the calling of your Church by living in obedience to your will. Through the convicting activity of your Holy Spirit keep me from becoming complacent or being deceived into thinking I have already arrived. Make me ever thankful for your presence in my life, but always driven as to the growth and demonstration of your presence in my daily living. Amen.