argos – Ministry of Grace Church

For these things being in you and abounding, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Truth to Learn

We need to be continually growing in our Christian faith.

Behind the Words

The word “being” is the Greek word huparchonta, which means “to begin to be” or “to come into existence.” It is expressed here as a present, active participle, indicating continual action. So we could translate the beginning of this verse as, “For these things are beginning to be to you” or “For you are continually acquiring these things.”

The word “abounding” is translated from the Greek word pleonadzō, which means “to cause to increase.” In the Greek text this word and huparchonta are joined by the equivalent of our English word “and.” The implication is that we should be constantly acquiring these character qualities and consistently building on what we already have.

“Ineffective” is from argos, meaning “not working” or “inactive,” and “unproductive” is from akarpos, meaning “without fruit.”

Meaning Explained

Okay, so why is it so important that we develop these Christian qualities that Peter has been talking about? Why should we work hard at developing faith, morality, knowledge and understanding, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love? Peter says that if these qualities are constantly growing in us then we will neither be idle nor unfruitful.

The last phrase of today’s verse is a little misleading due to an unfortunate translation. The word translated “in” is the Greek word “eis” which means “into” or “unto” implying a result, and the word translated “knowledge” is the word “epignosin” which means complete knowledge or full understanding. Peter is saying that developing these Christian qualities in abundance will result in constant successful efforts in the service of the King, resulting in a complete understanding of Him.

This was the Apostle Paul’s desire in Philippians 3:7-10 where he expressed disdain for the things of this world in favor of knowing Christ,

But whatever things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. But no, rather, I also count all things to be loss because of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them to be dung, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him; not having my own righteousness, which is of the Law, but through the faith of Christ, having the righteousness of God by faith, to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, having been conformed to His death;

Is that your desire, to disdain worldly accomplishments, to know God better, to serve Him more faithfully?

Application

Back in verse five we said: as a Christian you’re either moving forward, or you’re sliding backward. Which direction is your Christian life going? Which way does God want you to go?

In God's service, for His glory,

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is useless?

Truth to Learn

God calls all true believers to do good works.

Behind the Words

“Want” (“will” in some translations) is translated from thelō, which refers to the will of man (the determined will). It is a different word than boulomai (also translated “will”), which refers to the desirous will of man. Thelō includes active volition and purpose instead of just a simple desire. It is sometimes translated as “determine.”

The word “foolish” is translated from kenos, which simply means “empty.” James is most likely referring to a person who is empty of knowledge on this subject. In the New Testament a fool is someone who rejects God’s teachings. Here, James is simply saying that the person is lacking knowledge.

“Without” is the same word we saw back in verse eighteen, chōris, which means “separately, by itself, or apart from.” In other words, saving faith simply does not exist separated from good works.

“Useless” is translated from the Greek word argos, although some manuscripts have the word nekros, meaning “dead.” Argos is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of ergon, meaning work. Hence, it refers to something that is not working, or that is idle and has no effect. It is useless.

Meaning Explained

Back in verse eighteen, James started this path of reasoning by using a hypothetical argument against a saving faith which is not accompanied by works.

But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

James is politely saying to anyone who doubts his assertion, that they are uninformed; they are empty and void of understanding. He simply states once again that faith without the evidence of works is not saving faith (it does not produce new life in Christ). It is useless faith, a faith that doesn’t work!

As pointed out earlier, the Greek word translated “without” really means “separate from.” James is emphatically declaring that true faith does not exist separate from good deeds. A genuine saving faith in the blood of Jesus Christ will always be accompanied by good works. The good works accompany salvation and are the evidence of salvation.

In the next few verses James is going to give a couple of examples of people who proved their faith through their works. In these verses, notice that neither Abram nor Rahab chose the works that became the evidence of their faith. The works were chosen by God for them to do.

Application

Do you ever feel the Spirit of God prompting you to do a good deed? It may be as simple as helping an elderly person who has a physical need, or it may be an opportunity to witness to someone about salvation through Jesus Christ. Whatever it is, your obedience is evidence of your salvation.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: argos

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