Bible Study Notes-(10/26/21) James 1:9-11- Where to Find Your Significance

James – Gospel Motivated Love
Where to find your Significance?
Passage: James 1:9-11
QUESTION: Have you in the past, or do you now struggle with the Significance of your life?
QUESTION: What would you say is the leading cause of this feeling?
Read James 1:9-11
James 1:9 ¶ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
James 1:10 and the rich in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the grass.
James 1:11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
The word “lowly” is often used in the Psalms “to depict a person who is of little significance in the world’s evaluation, even one who is oppressed by the world (see, e.g., Ps. 10:18; 18:27; 34:18; 81:3; 102:17; 138:6).” Douglas Moo
James is encouraging those in the church who are discouraged by the insignificance they feel in this world. We so easily compare our lives with those who have the appearance of success. Their accomplished lives pronounce Significance, while our lives are shamefully shallow. Even two thousand years ago, money was the dividing line between those with prominence and the irrelevant.
When James uses the word “lowly,” he acknowledges that there is a divide within the culture. He reverses the system by pointing us to the more significant reality about our new status, “boast in his exaltation.” James says, “you want Significance? Boast about who knows you. The God of this universe knows you.” When you think about the Significance of that statement, does it matter if anyone else in the world knows who you are?
A God who promises as many times as we fail him can come to him for mercy whenever we need it. His forgiveness of our sin is endless. AND, above all else, our exaltation is finalized when we reach our resurrected bodies. When we stand before the King of Kings, our great high priest, our prophet who foretold all this would be there.
“Since it is incomparably the greatest dignity to be introduced into the company of angels, nay, to be made the associates of Christ, he who estimates this favour of God aright, will regard all other things as worthless.” – John Calvin
QUESTION: Why is living by this truth every day so hard for us? We hear of our exaltation, and yet we would instead choose to be noticed by men. Why do you think this is?
Eph. 1:11 ¶ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Eph. 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Eph. 1:14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
God does not just love you, but he has promised you wealth beyond imagination. You are gaining the inheritance of Christ. All that belongs to Christ gifted to him by the father is yours. You don’t need to bring anything into this relationship with God. You have been exalted, lifted to the place of this status. You are his child. You do not gain this status. You have been lifted into this place by the blood and work of Christ. That is why you can boast in your Significance. God receives the glory and not you.
Applying our “exaltation” together:
The time you spend giving to your church is more valuable than all the money in the world. Here is why? When you give someone the love that comes from the Gospel, you are giving them the power of God. Money can’t buy God’s power. And you can give that to someone.
We should continue to pray that the church would grow in faith through times of trials. This leads us to, with confidence in the promises of God, ask for wisdom in times. These two combined result in finding all of our value within our exaltation from the Father and not by anything we have ever achieved.
This promise is true; our faith will always be weak and distracted if it does not have a healthy dose of God’s word. Additionally, according to the entire purpose of James and compared to Ephesians 4:11-16, our faith will only be as strong as our connection to the body. We need to rely on each other when we lose sight of our Significance in Christ.
QUESTION: How can we as a church lovingly help each other remember our value in Christ? What does this practically look like week after week?
QUESTION: Are there other biblical truths or passages that have helped you see your Significance in Christ?
Closing thought that is a sobering warning from James:

James 1:10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
James 1:11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James reminds us that our desire to find our Significance in wealth and fame is a pursuit that will fade as we try to grasp it in our hands. It is not one is good, and the other is better. Anything outside of our hope in Christ is promised to perish. It is good and healthy to keep these words from James in our hearts and minds to remind us of when we see the world around us, what they are promoting as Significance will only fade. What we hold will endure forever.
PRAISE, PRAYER, AND CONFESSION:
What can you offer to the Father in praise? What is a sin you need to confess?
What is a burden we can carry?
What can we take to our Father in prayer?