James 1:9-10 How are the rich to glory in their humble position?

Your complete question was: "In James 1:9-10, the author writes that those who humble circumstances should rejoice in their honored position. Ok, I understand--first shall be last, last shall be first, being in a humble circumstance is a noble thing. However, it then goes on to say that a rich man ought to glory in his humble circumstance. I don't understand--is it tongue in cheek?"
While some take it to be an ironic statement, I think it best to take it straight. Let me share a couple of quotes from two good commentaries on this passage.

Douglas Moo makes the point in The Tyndale New Testament Commentary series, "Two related ideas may be suggested. First, the rich Christian should remember that, however 'exalted' he may seem in the eyes of the world, his status before God is different. He must consciously maintain this perspective on his true, spiritual position in order to experience the blessings of God's good pleasure. . . A second, related, idea is that humiliation may suggest the believer's own identification with Jesus Christ, who 'humbled himself' (Philippians 2:8) and who was considered of no account in the world.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary also says, "The wealthy believer, then, is exhorted to glory "in his low position." Since the context deals with trials, the low position may be a description of the humbling experience of suffering persecution for Christ's sake. The very same treatment that exalts the poor man and gives him a new sense of worth also humbles the rich man. Suffering shows him that, instead of having a lasting lease on life, his life on this earth is no more permanent than "a wild flower" (cf. Isa 40:6-8.) Some interpreters understand James to say that it is the rich man's wealth that passes away, not the man himself (Ropes, p. 148). But it should be noted that the subject of the verb "pass away," is not riches but "the one who is rich." Again, in v. 11b it is the rich man who will "fade away." Suffering and persecution reveal how tentative and short life really is."
Hopefully this information is helpful to you!

What is an Apostle?

Part 2 of Curiouscat's question: What exactly is an apostle (Paul says Jesus appeared to "The Twelve" but neither Thomas nor Judas was there, right?). Was Paul technically the 12th apostle and the replacement for Judas? Was Matthias really an apostle? Andronicus and Junias (Rom 16:7)are also called apostles, but I don't see those names anywhere else in lists of the apostles. There are other places, too, where apostles seem to mean more than twelve.

The term apostles was originally used to refer to the 12 disciples specially chosen by Jesus (Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:13-16) whom He then empowered to go out and preach the good news of the Kingdom of God with signs and miracles as well. Paul later goes so far as to describe the "things that mark an apostle-signs, wonders and miracles-were done among you with great perseverance.(2 Cor 12:12 NIV). Traditionally there were considered to be 12 apostles for the Jewish people and then Paul as the apostle to the gentiles (Romans 1:1-6). Later in the New testament, the term apostle seems to be used in a broader sense.

The word for apostle, apostolos, comes from the classical greek word apostello which means to send. It differs from the word pempo which means to send, in that in apostello the tie between the sender and the sendee is noted while pempo is just a verb for "to send". The term apostello connotes the idea that an envoy has the full powers of, and is the personal representative of the one sending him, in this case God. A close connection between the sender and the recipient is established. But the word used in the text is apostolos which is first a verbal adjective and then a noun. Apostolos was first used to refer to a cargo ship or a fleet of ships that had been sent out. Later it came to refer to a band of colonists sent overseas. It would seem that whenever the term is used there are two ideas that are always present: 1) an express commission, with the full authority of the sender; 2) being sent overseas.

In Acts 14:14, we find that Barnabas and Paul were considered apostles, and probably had been, since their commissioning via prayer, fasting and the laying on of hands (Acts 13:1-4) by the elders of the church that they had established in Antioch and as they were sent out by the Holy Spirit. At this point, in Acts 14, they are planting churches and then appointing elders in each of the churches. They appointed the elders in each church, with prayer and fasting, committing them to the Lord in whom they believed (14:21-23).

Apostles as seen in the New Testament church are those who, after working locally, are commissioned and sent overseas to minister. An apostle is a missionary church planter, a healer, a preacher, and a teacher. They appoint elders in the churches that they plant and work to develop faithful indigenous leadership. Their ministry is characterized by the powerful gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Who wrote the New Testament? Was it the Apostles or someone else later on?

Here is part of Curiouscat's original comment: Wow - I just found this blog and it is great. I have lots of questions. I heard someone saying that the men who wrote the New Testament really weren't who the church says they were and that stuff changed and it was written way after the times described. Who are the writers of the New Testament? Are they apostles? Was the writer of Jude the other Apostle Judas? Was James the same as the Apostle James? Will you help shed light on this?

Yes, for the most part, it was the apostles writing between 40 and 90 A.D.. There are critics of the Bible who are always trying to prove that it is not what it says it is (i.e., the Word of God). One way that they try to do this is to hypothesize that the New Testament was written long after the original eyewitnesses were dead. This argument is just not true. If you are interested in learning more about this, there are excellent scholars who have written about this using historical criticism and textual criticism, the most prevalent of whom is Josh McDowell, who wrote Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which is available in our library (call number is 239).

The writer of Jude was one of the half-brothers of Jesus (Matthew 13:55) and the brother of the James (Jude 1) who wrote James and became the early leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15). James the Apostle, the brother of John, was martyred early on in the life of the church (Acts 12:2). There is no pressing reason to not believe that the persons traditionally named are the authors. Here is an interesting twist . . . the Gospel of Mark, written by John Mark (Acts 12:12,25; 15:37-39; 2 Tim. 4:11; 1 Peter 5:13), probably records the teaching of the apostle Peter to the church in Rome and as such are an apostle's eyewitness testimony. The Letter to the Hebrews does not have an author's name attached. Many think Paul wrote it, others name Apollos, Barnabas, or even Priscilla as possible authors, but in the end we just don't know. If the church was so quick to assign authorship and rewrite the letters, as critics have claimed, then why not simply add a little prescript naming an apostle? They didn't because the church has nothing to hide. The critics have more inconsistency to deal with than the Evangelical scholars who simply acknowledge the truth of God's word. We do know that these books were all considered inspired by God from a very early time. Again, we have a number of great Bible reference works in the church library if you would like to study this further.

How do the rapture and the millennium fit within foursquare doctrine?

Good question! 

Foursquare doctrine is generally premillennial as it was formulated in a time when the Dispensational Premillennial position was the dominant eschatology (end-times doctrine) of Bible-believing Christians. Yet, the focus of Foursquare doctrine is not on the specific timing of the rapture, nor on the essential nature of the millennium (areas of significant diversity of opinion). 

The following is an excerpt from the official Foursquare Doctrinal statement. Note what it emphasizes and what it doesn't! 

  "We believe that the second coming of Christ is personal and imminent; that He will descend from Heaven 1in the clouds of glory with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God; and that at this hour, which no man knoweth beforehand, the dead in Christ shall rise, then the 2redeemed that are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and that so shall they ever be with the Lord; that also seeing that a thousand years is as a day with the Lord, and 3that no man knoweth the hour of His appearance, which we believe to be near at hand, each day should be lived as though He were 4expected to appear at even, yet that in obedience to His explicit command, 5“Occupy till I come,” the work of spreading the gospel, the sending forth of missionaries, and the general duties for the upbuilding of the church 6should be carried on as diligently, and thoroughly, as though neither ours nor the next generation should live in the flesh to see the glorious day. 

Scripture References: 1. (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17); 2.(Titus 2:12,13); 3. (Matthew 24:36,42,44); 4. (Hebrews 9:28); 5. (Luke 19:13); 6. (Luke 12:35-37)" 

We can all agree that Jesus is coming back (suddenly, at a time that we do not know) and that we need to be doing His work until he returns. All other issues surrounding the timing of Christ's return are secondary and should not be dogmatically held grounds for divisiveness. 

The dominant theme of even the Book of Revelation is not a timetable for the return of Christ, but a spiritual encouragement to the Christian believer to "overcome" the idolatry and immorality so rampant in the world, rather than allowing themselves to be overcome by an anti-Christ world-view. Certainly an important issue today!

Where are the 10 Commandments found?

The Ten Commandments are given in two books of the Bible: Exodus 20:2-14 and Deuteronomy 5:6-18. While both are based on the same Scriptures, if you look at a list of Catholic Commandments and compare them to our 10 Commandments, you'll note a difference in the way that the commandments are grouped. While we present them as two distinct commandments, Catholics combine the 1st two commandments and form a single commandment; "I am the Lord your God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make for yourself an idol.” The last commandment is then divided into two - one that forbids the coveting of your neighbor’s wife and another that forbids the coveting of your neighbors goods. Orthodox and Jewish presentations are slightly different, as well. The best place to get a list is to read the Scripture and you can decide for yourself how you might care to group what is written.

Questions?

If you have questions you would like us to address, simply add a comment to this post and we will answer it under its own post...