James returns to the keynote of “all joy” (v. 2) and uses the word “glory.” The positive note of exultation is the mark of the true Christian against the double-minded man. The pessimist is not a representative of Christianity. The true optimist is not, however, blind to the facts of life. He can glory in God in the midst of all sorts of trials and conditions, whether in high or low estate. His joy is independent of earthly estate. The “cotter’s Saturday night” may be as happy as the one in the castle nearby. Class distinctions are no cause for pride in a spiritual democracy like the church of Jesus Christ. We need in Christianity no “princes of the church” in the Roman Catholic sense. Pride of rank among the twelve disciples was a source of grief to Jesus. The rich and the poor are one in Christ Jesus, and all are poor, miserable sinners saved by grace. Johnstone[52] calls this section “Rich Poor and Poor Rich.” That is true and is the probable interpretation here. The humble[53] brother may, after all, be the richest man in the church—rich in grace, in love, in joy, in peace, in righteousness, in fellowship. This is “his high estate,” which rises sheer above hovel or palace. Thank God that this infinite wealth of the spirit is still open to the poor all over the world who find the door of competency closed in their faces. The pious poor is more than a phrase. It is often literal fact. The papyri discoveries[54] bear eloquent testimony to the words of Paul about the membership of the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:26-29). The papyri letters and other documents are chiefly from the middle and lower classes and reflect the actual life of the very people from whom the gospel made most of its converts (fishermen, carpenters, publicans, tentmakers, etc.). There were already some wealthy members of the early churches, men like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Barnabas of Cyprus. There were “not many mighty,” but there were some. There soon came to be large numbers of slaves in the churches when the gospel spread among the Gentiles. But already social problems of an acute nature were on hand when James wrote. In fact, we see such problems in the early chapters of Acts, when Ananias and Sapphira wished to get credit for a generosity that they were not willing to show and when high feeling arose in the distribution of the funds for the Aramean (Palestinian) and Hellenistic widows among the Jewish Christians. At no point are people more sensitive than about money. So the rich brother is to be reminded of his humiliation, “in that he is made low,” placed on a level with the “lowly brother.” They meet on the level in Christ. Each is as high and as low as the other—no more, no less. The rich man is not to glory over the poor man, nor is the poor brother to cringe in the presence of the rich brother. This is the democracy of faith, the universality of Christ.