The Meaning of James 1:20 Explained

James 1:20

KJV: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

YLT: for the wrath of a man the righteousness of God doth not work;

Darby: for man's wrath does not work God's righteousness.

ASV: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  the wrath  of man  worketh  not  the righteousness  of God. 

What does James 1:20 Mean?

Study Notes

righteousness
.
righteousness of God
The righteousness of God is neither an attribute of God, not the changed character of the believer, but Christ Himself, who fully met in our stead and behalf every demand of the law, and who is, but the act of God called imputation Leviticus 25:50 ; James 2:23 , "made unto us. . righteousness" 1 Corinthians 1:30 .
"The believer in Christ is now, by grace, shrouded under so complete and blessed a righteousness that the law from Mt. Sinai can find neither fault nor diminution therein. This is that which is called the righteousness of God by faith."--Bunyan.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ; Romans 4:6 ; Romans 10:4 ; Philippians 3:9 ; Romans 3:26

Verse Meaning

An angry response to temptations does not advance the righteousness in character and conduct that God is seeking to produce in the believer.
"The policy James condemns is one of seeking to promote the cause of freedom by politically motivated and engineered violence (an endeavor to be brought into the discussion at James 4:1-3)." [1]

Context Summary

James 1:19-27 - Doers, Not Hearers Only
Keep your mouth closed when you are angry; the inner fire will die out of itself, if you keep the doors and windows shut. In James 1:18 we are taught that God's truth is the agent of regeneration; in James 1:21 it is the means of deepening our consecration. It is a blessed thing, when not only the words, but the Word of God is engrafted on the wild stock of our nature.
The one and only way of making holy impressions permanent is by translating them into Christian living. It is not enough to see ourselves reflected in the mirror of God's Word; we must so continue, not as hearers who forget, but as doers that perform. Many appear to think that blessedness results from hearing, and are always on foot to attend new conventions. No; the true blessedness accrues from doing. The heart of our Christian faith is purity, the stainless garb of the soul, and thoughtful ministration to the widow and orphan-but these are possible only through the indwelling of Christ by the Holy Spirit. [source]

Chapter Summary: James 1

1  James greets the twelve tribes among the nations;
2  exhorts to rejoice in trials and temptations;
5  to ask patience of God;
13  and in our trials not to impute our weakness, or sins, to him,
19  but rather to hearken to the word, to meditate on it, and to do thereafter
26  Otherwise men may seem, but never be, truly religious

Greek Commentary for James 1:20

The wrath of man [οργη ανδρος]
Here ανηρ — anēr (as opposed to γυνη — gunē woman), not αντρωπος — anthrōpos of James 1:19 (inclusive of both man and woman). If taken in this sense, it means that a man‘s anger (settled indignation in contrast with τυμος — thumos boiling rage or fury) does not necessarily work God‘s righteousness. There is such a thing as righteous indignation, but one is not necessarily promoting the cause of God by his own personal anger. See Acts 10:35 for “working righteousness,” and James 2:9 for “working sin” (εργαζομαι — ergazomai both times). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for James 1:20

James 1:21 Superfluity of naughtiness [περισσείαν κακίας]
A translation which may be commended to the attention of indiscriminate panegyrists of the A. V. Περισσεία is an unclassical word, and occurs in three other New-Testament passages - Romans 5:17; 2 Corinthians 8:2; 2 Corinthians 10:15. In all these it is rendered abundance, both by A. V. and Rev. There seems to be no need of departing from this meaning here, as Rev., overjoying. The sense is abounding or abundant wickedness. For haughtiness Rev. gives wickedness, as in 1 Peter 2:1, 1 Peter 2:16, where it changes malice to wickedness. It is mostly rendered malice in both A. V. and Rev. In this passage, as in the two from Peter, Rev. gives malice, in margin. Malice is an adequate translation, the word denoting a malevolent disposition toward one's neighbor. Hence it is not a general term for moral evil, but a special form of vice. Compare the wrath of man, James 1:20. Naughtiness has acquired a petty sense in popular usage, as of the mischievous pranks of children, which renders it out of the question here. [source]

What do the individual words in James 1:20 mean?

[the] anger for of man [the] righteousness of God not produces
ὀργὴ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δικαιοσύνην Θεοῦ οὐκ ἐργάζεται

ὀργὴ  [the]  anger 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ὀργή  
Sense: anger, the natural disposition, temper, character.
ἀνδρὸς  of  man 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἀνήρ  
Sense: with reference to sex.
δικαιοσύνην  [the]  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: δικαιοσύνη  
Sense: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
ἐργάζεται  produces 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐργάζομαι  
Sense: to work, labour, do work.

What are the major concepts related to James 1:20?

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