James 1:3-4

KNOWING THAT THE TESTING OF YOUR FAITH PRODUCES ENDURANCE: ginoskontes (PAPMPN) hoti to dokimion humon tes pisteos katergazetai (3SPMI) hupomonen: (Romans 5:3,4; 8:28; 2Co 4:17) (Ro 2:7; 8:25; 15:4; Col 1:11; 2Th 1:4; 3:5; Heb 10:36; 12:1; 2Pe 1:6)

Knowing - The Greek reads more literally "because you know".

Paul records a similar truth in Romans 5...

And not only this, but we also exult (word study) in our tribulations (word study), knowing that tribulation brings about (same verb James uses - katergazomai) perseverance (hupomone - same word used by James); 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope (word study);5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Ro 5:3, 4, 5 - see notes)

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Commenting on "knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" Steven Cole explains that...

We should understand a reassuring truth in trials: “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (Jas 1:3). There are two aspects to this reassuring truth:

A. God is sovereign over every trial. The verse implies that God is using the trials for His purpose. He is not sitting in heaven saying, “I didn’t want that to happen, but now that it has happened, let’s see how we can make the best of a bad situation!” Scripture is clear that God is sovereign over everything, from the rain and snow that fall (Job 37:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13), to seemingly random events (the lot, Prov. 16:33), to the events of nations (Ps. 22:28; Acts 14:16; 17:26). On the personal level, He ordained all of the days of our lives before we were ever born (Ps. 139:16). He fashions our hearts (Ps. 33:14, 15) and orders our steps (Ps 37:23; Pr 16:9; 20:24). There are some radical Arminians (“Open Theism”) who try to get God off the hook when it comes to trials, saying, “This was not in His plan.” They argue that God does not control (or even know in advance!) the choices we make. But the Bible affirms that God is sovereign over birth defects (Ex 4:11), natural disasters (Ge 6:17; Jon 1:4), and even over the evil things that people do, although He is not responsible for their sin (Ge 50:20; Ex 4:21; 1Ki 22:23; Is 10:5; Acts 4:27, 28). It robs people of comfort and creates a very scary world, where evil is out of control, to deny God’s sovereignty over trials, because it denies that He is purposefully working those trials for our ultimate good. The hymn writer had it right:

Every joy or trial falleth from above
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love
We may trust Him fully all for us to do.
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.
Refrain
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
(Frances Havergal, Play Like a River Glorious).

B. God is using the trials to test our faith to produce endurance.

Testing is like the refining of a metal: it produces a better product through the process. “Endurance” is the better translation here. It means to stand fast or persevere. R. C. Trench (Synonyms of the New Testament [Eerdmans], p. 198), says that the Greek word translated “patience” is used with respect to persons, whereas “endurance” refers to things. Thus the man is patient who is not easily provoked or angered by difficult people, whereas the man endures who does not lose heart under great trials. We might call it “spiritual toughness” (Hughes, p. 19). Picture an athlete who pushes himself to build up strength and endurance for an upcoming race. If it’s a 10k run, he may start with 5k and gradually extend his distance and speed. If he’s serious about winning, he will be running farther than 10k before the race, so that the race will seem easier than what he is conditioned for. In the same way, when we endure trials by faith, our faith is stronger for the next trial. We know that we can endure, because we’ve already been through previous trials. And when we endure trials by faith, with joy, it brings glory to our Lord and Savior. Thus when we encounter trials, we should adopt the radical attitude of counting it all joy. We should understand the reassuring truth, that our sovereign God is using it to develop enduring faith. (Steven Cole - James 1:1-4 A Radical Approach to Trials - Excellent Resource - His Sermons are highly recommended) (Bolding added)

Knowing (1097) (ginosko) means to acquire information through some modality, as through sense perception (hearing). It means to get to know, come to understand, to ascertain. It can speak of certainty gained through experience. Ginosko refers to knowledge obtained by experience or "experiential knowledge". Ginosko is the knowledge one can have but something else has got to happen first. In other words this knowledge is not a given but is something that I can know every day of my life if something else is there.

The sense of ginosko seems to be that they were to continue recognizing this truth, for they had already passed through trials and experienced the effect on the endurance of their faith. The present tense speaks of the fact that the readers had continual knowledge of the truth about the value of trials. In other words they were not ignorant of the truth James was explaining and yet they were still called to keep on realizing it in their personal experience.

Testing (1383) (dokimon from dokimazo from dokimos = proved, tried as metals by fire and thus purified, in turn from dechomai = to accept deliberately and readily, receive) describes both the process of determining the genuineness of something (in this case of our faith) or the result, this latter specifically referring to the genuineness of something (our faith) as the result of testing.

The verb dokimazo describes putting someone or something to the test with a view of determining whether it is worthy of being approved or not, the test being made with the intention of approving if possible. Dokimazo was used of the act of examining candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

Thomas Manton explained that...

Trial is not only to approve, but to improve.

The genuine element in the faith of James' readers would be proven by a process similar to that of metal refining and ultimately would be found to be something more precious than even these precious metals. The trials would lead to a purging and purifying of this faith.

Johnstone explains that...

Affliction lets down a blazing torch for him into the depths of his own nature—and he sees many things which he little expected to see. He finds his faith weak where he thought it strong, his views dim where he thought them clear. (R Johnstone. Lectures Exegetical and Practical on the Epistle of James)

Peter in the only other NT use of dokimon reminds tried saints that

that the proof (dokimon) of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested (dokimazo) by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7-notes)

As Matthew Henry says

the faith of good people is tried, that they themselves may have the comfort of it, God the glory of it, and others the benefit of it.

J. Vernon McGee adds

When God tests us today, He puts us into the furnace. He doesn’t do that to destroy us or to hurt or harm us. But He wants pure gold, and that is the way He will get it. Friend, that is what develops Christian character. At the time of testing, the dross is drawn off and the precious gold appears. That is God’s method. That is God’s school. We don’t hear that teaching very much in our day. Rather, we are being taught to become sufficient within ourselves. Oh, my friend, you and I are not adequate; we are not sufficient, and we never will be. We simply come to God as sinners, and He saves us by His grace through the blood of Christ. Then He wants to live His life through us. He tries to teach us this through our trials. He is drawing us closer to Him. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Roger M. Raymer writes that

Knowledge alone cannot produce the great joy of experiential security and freedom from fear in the face of persecution. God’s omnipotent sovereignty needs to be coupled with human responsibility. Christians are responsible to respond in faith. Faith turns sound doctrine into sound practice. Faith acts on the content of theology and produces conduct that corresponds to that content. Faith makes theological security experiential. The Apostle John wrote, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1Jn 5:4). This kind of faith or living hope can enable believers to rejoice even when they are called on to suffer grief. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor or Logos)

Genuine faith is indestructible. Job suffered more intense "multi colored trials" in one day than probably any other individual in history and yet he was able to say

Though He slay me, I will hope (wait for) in Him. (Job 13:15)

Wiersbe comments that

This is one of the greatest declarations of faith found anywhere in Scripture, but it must be understood in its context. Job is saying, “I will take my case directly to God and prove my integrity. I know I am taking my life in my hands in approaching God, because He is able to slay me. But if He doesn’t slay me, it is proof that I am not the hypocrite you say I am." (Wiersbe, W. Be patient. An Old Testament Study. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)

Later Job declared

He (God) knows the way I take. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:10)

God knew that Job was in the furnace of affliction, but it was a furnace of God’s appointment and was not because of Job’s sin. Furthermore, God would use Job’s affliction to purify him and make him a better man. This is not the only answer to the frequently asked question, “Why do the righteous suffer?” but it is one of the best, and it can bring the sufferer great encouragement.

Warren Wiersbe aptly describes the process of divine testing writing that

When God puts His own people into the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. He knows how long and how much. (If we rebel, He may have to reset the clock; but if we submit, He will not permit us to suffer one minute too long. The important thing is that we learn the lesson He wants to teach us and that we bring glory to Him alone.) We may question why He does it to begin with, or why He doesn’t turn down the heat or even turn it off; but our questions are only evidences of unbelief. (Job 23:10) is the answer: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come come forth as gold” (NKJV). Gold does not fear the fire. The furnace can only make the gold purer and brighter." (Wiersbe, W. Be Patient. An Old Testament study. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were literally tested by an "extremely hot...furnace of blazing fire". The Babylonian furnace proved their faith to be real and burned away the ropes that held them, setting them free. King Nebuchadnezzar in utter astonishment observed

four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm & the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. (Da 3:22)

In their "multi colored fiery trial", they also came to experience the companionship of a fourth Person in the fire Who many consider to be “the Son of God” Who provided just the right "color" of grace to meet their need. (Da 3:12-30)

A dark hour makes Jesus bright.
--Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Gold is tested by fire
Man is tested by adversity

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F. B. Meyer (Our Daily Walk, Feb 21) on The Refiner's Fire...

NOTHING IS harder to bear than the apparent aimlessness of suffering.

They say that what breaks a convict's heart in gaol (Ed note: a prison) is to set him to say carry stones from one side of the prison to the other, and then back again!

But we must never look upon the trials of life as punishments, because all penalty was borne by our Lord Himself.

They are intended to destroy the weeds and rubbish of our natures, as the bonfires do in the gardens. Christ regards us in the light of our eternal interests, of which He alone can judge. If you and I knew what sphere we were to fulfill in the other world, we should understand the significance of His dealings with us, as now we cannot do.

The Refiner has a purpose in view, of which those who stand beside Him are ignorant, and, therefore, they are unable to judge the process which He is employing.

Dare to believe that Christ is working to a plan in your life. He loves you. Be patient! He would not take so much trouble unless He knew that it was worth while.

"We do not prune brambles,
or cast common stones into the crucible
or plough sea-sands!"

You must be capable of some special service, which can only be done by a carefully-prepared instrument, and so Christ sits beside you as the Refiner, year after year, that you may miss nothing. Whilst the Fire is hot keep conversing with the Refiner. Ponder these words: "He shall sit as a Refiner and Purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:3) The thought is specially suitable for those who cannot make long prayers, but they can talk to Christ as He sits beside them. Nicholas Hermann tells us that, as he could not concentrate his mind on prolonged prayer, he gave up set times of prayer and sought constant conversations with Christ. So speak with Him, then, in the midst of your daily toil. He hears the unspoken prayer, and catches your whispers. Talk to Christ about your trials, sorrows, and anxieties! Make Him your Confidant in your joy and happiness! Nothing makes Him so real as to talk to Him aloud about everything! PRAYER: Let the Fire of Thy Love consume in me all sinful desires of the flesh and of the mind, that I may henceforth continually abide in Jesus Christ my Lord, and seek the things where He sits at Thy right hand. AMEN."

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From Moody's Today in the Word -

Trials have an uncanny way of revealing what's inside a person. Consider the behavior of some passengers aboard the doomed luxury liner Titanic. As the great ship was sinking and the few lifeboats were being filled, the command on deck was ""women and children first."" According to one survivor, most of the men and older boys obeyed the order. But some men ran back to the ship's staterooms and changed into women's clothing in an effort to gain a seat on a lifeboat. The crisis brought out the worst in these men. What about us? When God sends trials our way, do we respond in fear or in faith?" (Excerpt from Today in the Word)

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Good timber does not grow in ease;
The stronger wind, the tougher trees;
By sun and cold, by rain and snows,
In tree or man, good timber grows. --Malloch

God wants to use our difficulties to make us better--not bitter.

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The testing of your faith produces patience (James 1:3).

One of the delights of my carefree days of childhood was flying a kite. What happy, peaceful hours I enjoyed with that soaring paper bird tugging on the string anchored to my finger! But if that kite could have talked, it might have said, "Look how high I'm flying and how gracefully I'm floating through the sky. And I'm doing all this in spite of that aggravating boy down there hanging onto the end of the string. I don't need that. Look, I have a tail and broad wings, but that pesky kid is hanging onto that cord as if he expects me to lift him into the wind. Why, if I didn't have the handicap of this string he is holding, I could fly up and reach the moon. If only I were not tied down in this irritating way."

Sometimes when flying my kite I would be distracted and I'd let go of the string. The kite would go wobbling down and become tangled in the branches of a tree. What might that proud paper bird have said then? If it had been an honest kite, it would have admitted, "The very thing I thought was tying me down was holding me up."

Likewise, much of our Christian growth and spiritual progress can be credited to our trials and testings, which so often make us fret. If God were to remove the restrictions that go with these difficult experiences, our lives would be wobbly and weak like that wandering kite. "The testing of your faith produces patience," James said. These testings are the rewarding restraints of One who desires to see His children soar to spiritual heights. —P. R. Van Gorder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Adversity is only sand on your track to prevent you from skidding.

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The testing of your faith produces patience (James 1:3).

While visiting an inlet of the sea that reached deep into land, leaving a sheltered bay, I noticed that the pebbles on that protected beach were rough and jagged—not smooth and polished. But out on the open shore where fierce waves break over the rocks, the pebbles were sleek and round.

The same is true of Christian character. Just as the harsh treatment of the ocean waves makes the rough stones smooth, our trials, difficulties, and testings can produce in us the luster of Christian maturity. When circumstances become difficult, we can rest assured that God has only one design in view—the perfection of our character. That's why the psalmist could testify, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes" (Ps. 119:71-Spurgeon's note). Echoing that statement, Scottish pastor Samuel Rutherford declared that he "got a new Bible" through the furnace of adversity. The Scriptures took on fresh meaning for him when his faith had been tested and his character enriched.

The popular idea that bad things happen because we are being punished is contrary to what God says. The Word of God indicates that troubles can be a badge of honor for the Christian. Through them we can see that God is at work in us to produce the patience that James said would help us become mature, lacking nothing (James 1:4). Through the rough seas of trouble, God "rounds" the stone of our character and conforms us to the likeness of His Son. —P. R. Van Gorder (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

God sends trials not to impair us but to improve us.

Torrey's Topic
Afflictions made beneficial

In promoting the glory of God -John 9:1, 2, 3; 11:3,4; 21:18,19

In exhibiting the power and faithfulness of God -Ps 34:19,20; 2Co 4:8, 9, 10, 11

In teaching us the will of God -Ps 119:71; Isaiah 26:9; Micah 6:9

In turning us to God -Deut 4:30,31; Neh 1:8,9; Ps 78:34; Is 10:20,21; Ho 2:6,7

In keeping us from again departing from God -Job 34:31,32; Is 10:20; Ezek 14:10,11

In leading us to seek God in prayer -Jdg 4:3; Je 31:18; Lam 2:17-19; Ho 5:14,15; Jonah 2:1

In convincing us of sin -Job 36:8,9; Ps 119:67; Lk 15:16-18

In leading us to confession of sin -Nu 21:7; Ps 32:5; 51:3,5

In testing and exhibiting our sincerity -Job 23:10; Psalms 66:10; Pr 17:3

In trying our faith and obedience -Ge 22:1,2; He 11:17; Ex 15:23-25; Deut 8:2,16; 1Pe 1:7; Re 2:10

In humbling us -Deut 8:3,16; 2Chr 7:13,14; Lam 3:19,20; 2Co 12:7

In purifying us -Eccl 7:2,3; Is 1:25,26; 48:10; Je 9:6,7; Zech 13:9; Mal 3:2,3

In exercising our patience Ps 40:1; Ro 5:3; James 1:3; 1Pe 2:20

In rendering us fruitful in good works -John 15:2; Heb 12:10,11

In furthering the gospel -Acts 8:3,4; 11:19-21; Php 1:12; 2Ti 2:9,10; 4:16,17

Exemplified
Joseph’s brethren -Genesis 42:21
Joseph -Genesis 45:5,7,8
Israel -Deuteronomy 8:3,5
Josiah -2 Kings 22:19
Hezekiah -2 Chronicles 32:25,26
Manasseh -2 Chronicles 33:12
Jonah -Jonah 2:7
Prodigal’s son -Luke 15:21

Hiebert observes that James'

mention of faith in his opening sentence (Jas 1:2,3) makes it clear that, for James, faith is central to the Christian life and is its true energizing principle. It has been said that Paul was the apostle of faith, John the apostle of love, and James the apostle of works, but this simplistic analysis fails to do justice to all three of them. It is a misinterpretation of the thrust of the epistle of James to say that his chief concern is works. For James, there can be no vital Christianity apart from a living faith. James is concerned with the fact that Christian faith is more than mere profession. Throughout the epistle, his concern is "to impress on his readers the fact that Christianity is not a faith merely, but through the power of faith, a life."' A saving faith is a living and active faith; it proves that it is alive by what it does. The reality of a living faith is demonstrated by its reaction under adversity "Faith is such a vital matter to the children of God that it must be put to the test, first in order to prove that it is genuine, and second, to purge and strengthen it."' The central thrust of the epistle of James is his treatment of various tests of a living faith. "The testing of your faith" (v. 3) may well be taken as the indication of its theme. (D Edmond Hiebert - James. Moody)

Your faith - This phrase again supports the premise that the readers are genuine believers (cp "my brethren").

Faith (4102) (pistis) is synonymous with trust or belief and is the conviction of the truth of anything, but in Scripture usually speaks of belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. Note that this discussion of pistis is only an overview and not a detailed treatise of this vitally important subject. Those interested are directed to respected, conservative books on systematic theology for more in depth discussion (eg, Dr Wayne Grudem's book Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine is an excellent, uncompromising, imminently readable resource for the lay person. See especially Chapter 35 which addresses the question "What is saving faith?" in an easy to understand manner.) Much of this "definition" deals with the general word group for faith (pistis = noun, pistos = adjective, pisteuo = verb)

As pistis relates to God, it is the conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things well as the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. As faith relates to Christ it represents a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Stated another way, eternal salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ and no other way.

Maclaren writes that

Faith is the hand that grasps. It is the means of communication, it is the channel through which the grace which is the life, or, rather, I should say, the life which is the grace, comes to us. It is the open door by which the angel of God comes in with his gifts. It is like the petals of the flowers, opening when the sunshine kisses them, and, by opening, laying bare the depths of their calyxes to be illuminated and coloured, and made to grow by the sunshine which itself has opened them, and without the presence of which, within the cup, there would have been neither life nor beauty. So faith is the basis of everything; the first shoot from which all the others ascend...Faith works. It is the foundation of all true work; even in the lowest sense of the word we might almost say that. But in the Christian scheme it is eminently the underlying requisite for all work which God does not consider as busy idleness...

Your work of faith. There is the whole of the thorny subject of the relation of faith and works packed into a nutshell. It is exactly what James said and it is exactly what a better than James said. When the Jews came to Him with their externalism, and thought that God was to be pleased by a whole rabble of separate good actions, and so said, ‘What shall we do that we might work the works of God?' Jesus said, ‘Never mind about Works. This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent,' and out of that will come all the rest. That is the mother tincture; everything will flow from that. So Paul says, ‘Your work of faith.'

Does your faith work? Perhaps I should ask other people rather than you. Do men see that your faith works; that its output is different from the output of men who are not possessors of a ‘like precious faith'? Ask yourselves the question, and God help you to answer it. (Read full sermon on 1 Thessalonians 1:3)

Wayne Grudem defines faith that saves one's soul...

Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. This definition emphasizes that saving faith is not just a belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save me... The definition emphasizes personal trust in Christ, not just belief in facts about Christ. Because saving faith in Scripture involves this personal trust, the word "trust" is a better word to use in contemporary culture than the word "faith" or "belief." The reason is that we can "believe" something to be true with no personal commitment or dependence involved in it. (Grudem, W. A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine Zondervan) (Bolding added)

RELATED RESOURCES ON FAITH

Miscellanies on Faith-- Jonathan Edwards

The Spirit Working Faith -- A. W. Pink

True Faith -- A. W. Pink

Fact! Faith! Feeling! - F B Meyer

The Nature of Faith -- Thomas Watson (Interesting)

A Godly Man's Faith -- Thomas Watson

Three Men in Fetters -- Jim Ehrhard from Pilgrim's Progress

Faith’s Way of Approach -- Charles Spurgeon

Genesis 17:1,2 - Life, Walk, and Triumph of Faith - C H Spurgeon

Job 13:15 Faith Tried and Triumphing - C H Spurgeon

Job 23:6 The Question of Fear and the Answer of Faith - C H Spurgeon