22. But be doers of the Word and not merely hearers of it, deluding yourselves,
23. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer of it, he is like a man observing the face of his mortal, physical birth (created being) in a mirror.
24. For he observes himself, and is gone, and immediately forgets what he was like.
25, But he who has bent over to look into the perfect law of liberty, and has stayed by it, since he has not been a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.
Verse 22
The Word ‘Be‘ Has a sense of Keep on striving to be doers of the Word
The word be has a continuative sense, as in Keep on striving…In the Hebrew sense (Vulg. factores) it is more like an adjective. It can be compared to doer of the law, or law-abiding.
The Word
The Word is the gospel as taught by Jesus, then practiced and proclaimed by his followers (Matthew 7:21, 24).
Hear
In Hebrew, ‘hear‘ often implies hearing the Bible read. But here it probably refers to any oral religious instruction. This was taken for granted in the synagogue and elsewhere. To merely hear was not enough. The lesson must enter into the hearer’s heart and mind.’
Verse 23
Like a Man Observing His Mortal Face in a Mirror
In these verses, James 1:22-25, the contrast is between a hasty, forgetful glance and an attentive, sustained study. Does the man see a picture of a mortal, physical face glimpsed in a mirror, or the ideal pattern of each immortal soul for the time being inhabiting the mortal flesh? In verse 23, the man notices his face in a mirror, and at once he is gone. He forget what his face was like.
The Contrast of the Physical (Mortal) Birth With the Spiritual Birth
Haste is contrasted with studiousness, and physical is contrasted with spiritual. Adamson adds mortal to the adjective physical, (his mortal, physical birth), and translates it as created being. This man does not perceive has face as part of the cosmos or cosmic law. He merely sees the face he was born with.
The Greek genesis can be translated as existence. This can mean the creation of the universe, and therefore, include the birth of an individual man. Adamson argues that something so personal as our face is more associated with the notion of our personal incarnation than it is with the kosmos. He believes that James would not use a cosmic meaning to teach this vital truth.
Verse 24
Observes and Forgets
For Greek translators, the words observes and forgets add drama to this verse. According to Adamson, who understands their importance, these words are gnomic aorists. However, his explanation on page 83-84 may leave most English readers wondering if it’s important. For readers who just want to understand James’s lesson, he is speaking of men of the normal sort who do not care much about remembering their face.
Verse 25
Look
The verb look (observes in verse 24) can mean a superficial look, or it can be a mental and spiritual study. In verse 24, it is a literal look; in verse 25 it is a mental and spiritual study. The two men are not necessarily looking in the same way at the same thing. The words bent over imply a deliberate intention to look with serious attention. There is a desire and effort to look at something that is partially concealed (See Ephesians 3:10).
Adamson argues that James is thinking of the Word/Law, and not of a man’s face. (He doesn’t cite his reasons for this interpretation, as opposed to the effort to know one’s self.) The Word presents a picture through sermons and Christian teachings of the way God wants us to live (and fulfill) with his grace. The second man not only hears the Word/Law, but he gives it sustained attention throughout his life. It’s as if he were poring over God’s design for living and trying to fulfill it in thought, word, and deed. He cites John 13:14 on the blessedness of doing God’s will.
James 1:22-25 and The Law of Liberty
In his introduction on page 33, Adamson discusses the law of liberty mentioned in verse 25. He calls it the basis of the Christian faith.
The ‘law of liberty’ is an idea prominent in Plato and in Stoicism; it is found also in later Jewish writings, including Qumran, and Philo makes considerable use of the Stoic term empsychos nomos (‘ensouled law’), and its underlying concept of law as necessary to freedom in the life of man: indeed the same idea is familiar to the OT and the rabbis. From the first it is fundamental to Christianity, in the teaching of both Christ and his disciples, and conspicuously in that of James and Paul: thus, for example, Jas. 2:8 offers men the grace of sonship in the kingdom of Christ, by virtue (1:18) of the regenerating word of truth. This creates in the Christian a new positive norm, not of God’s command only but of his love, not less but more inspiring than before the Incarnation.
(Adamson p. 33)