"But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless (James 2:18-20).
In his argument about the importance of works as an evidence of faith, James introduces a seemingly inconsistent statement in the discussion when he says, "You believe that there is one God." So I was wondering, "What does the unity of God have to do with faith and works." And then it occurred to me….
The word "one" comes from the Hebrew word "echad", which actually means "compound one" not "singular one". The same word is used in scripture for multiple parts that come together to make one.
And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day. (Gen 1:5)
'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh '? So they are no longer two, but one. (Matt 19:5-6)(Gen 2:24)
The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. (Ezek 37:15-18) And of course…
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one (echad)! (Deut 6:4)
In all these passages the word "echad" is used for the word "one" that is actually composed of multiple parts. One day contains evening and morning. One flesh is composed of man and woman. One stick results from the sticks of Judah and Ephraim. Father, Son, and Spirit are one LORD.
I think James is telling us that our works and faith should be joined together and become "echad" as God is "echad". So we no longer have to choose between faith and works because they are really one.
Scott
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Echad is how unity is achieved between Jew and non-Jew. In Ephisians 2:15 His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace. Also, 3:6, 4:3,4.
Post a Comment