James 1:9-11

Is the exaltation of the poor a present reality or something anticipated?

James 2:5 says, “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” Here the poor are presently exalted in two ways.

1. The poor are exaltedthrough by God’s sovereign choice to give them faith. This is so not because the poor are closer to faith than the rich, but that God, in electing the weak, makes His enemies all the more foolish (1 Cor. 1:27) and proves the wonders of His love (Deut. 7:7,8).

2. The poor are exalted in that they are heirs of the kingdom. Paul describes believers as “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17).” Although they were once in the family of Satan, God has privileged the poor by making them sons of the most exalted father, and so they are brothers with the most exalted Lord (Ephesians 2).
Heirship is not only membership in a family, but it also looks forward to a future inheritance. Peter describes this inheritance as “imperishable, unfading, and undefiled.” It is an inheritance where thieves do not break in and steal (Matt. 6:21).
The exaltation is therefore present in regards to election and adoption and future in terms of inheritance.

What does the rich boast in?

The rich are compared to the poor in a parallel manner. “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation.” Keeping that in mind, there are two ways the rich might boast that would create a parallel with the poor.

1. The poor boast in exaltation and the rich boast in humiliation. Because opposite objects of boasting are given for each group, perhaps they are reacting to opposite realities. This would mean that the rich are told (in an ironic fashion) to boast in their non-election and their inheritance of God’s wrath. “Let the lowly brother boast in his [election and inheritance], and [let] the rich brother [boast] in his [non-election and non-inheritance].
If this were true, the poor are the audience and the rich are given as a warning of judgment. James does this very thing in chapter 5, in which he condemns the rich, not asking for their repentance, but for the purpose of encouraging the believers who might find themselves envious of the rich (5:7). The audience of 5:7, however, is not the poor believer because friendship with the world is not a serious struggle for them. Those who have perverted their thinking and become envious of the worldly rich are the rich believers (Ch.2).
The problem with this understanding is that James’s book speaks specifically to the rich believers. Chapter two speaks of how the audience has been treating the poor. Chapter three is in regard to brothers making themselves masters of others. It would be inconsistent for James to begin a book that consistently appeals to the rich by appealing to the poor. [Note: The audience of the book is distinguished from the poor in chapter 2. They may in fact not be rich, but the audience appears to want to associate themselves with the rich. For this reason I use the term “rich” to refer to the audience.]

2. The poor and the rich are both told to boast. Because the same command is given, perhaps they are to react to the same reality. This would mean that the rich are told to boast in their election and their inheritance. If this be true then James is speaking of the same boasting from different perspectives.
How is it that James means to relate humiliation to the exaltation of election and inheritance? The answer is found in 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James is saying, “Rich, happily humble yourselves knowing that there is no other way you will be exalted.”
In verse eleven James talks about the destruction of the rich in their pursuits. Verse eleven must then be understood as a warning to the rich believers not to envy the worldly rich. This passage then becomes a microcosm of chapter five, in which the destruction of the worldly rich is announced and the audience (the rich believer) is encouraged to take a very different path.
This understanding of humiliation serves to link verses 9-11 with verse 12. Just as James encourages steadfastness in 5:11 following his demonstration of the destruction of the worldly rich, he also encourages steadfastness in 1:12 following a similar demonstration.

Review
Let the lowly brother boast in his [election, adoption, and inheritance], and the rich in his humiliation [of repentance through which he is adopted and inherited according to election], because like a flower of the grass he will pass away [if he will not stop trying to be a friend of the world]. 11For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the [worldly] rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Note: The wording of this section is an attempt to open the eyes of the rich brother to the wisdom that is from above (which will allow him to take joy in trials [see v.5-8 commentary]). The wealth of the rich leads him to consider things according to earthly wisdom. Boasting in his heart he thus falls into a variety of sins (as James letter explains). James shocks the rich who feel exalted by using that term for the lowly and calling the rich “humiliated.” He does this knowing that for the rich man to reason rightly about what he [James] is speaking he [the rich man] must not consider wealth to be an indication of his standing before God. To this end he presents the rich as a flower, whose every reason for boasting will be burnt up in the fiery hot wrath of the Lord.