What does James 2:5 Mean?

Question

"Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?"

In what sense has God chosen the poor of this world?

Happy and blessed

I have read the context. However, I am interested in hearing what other people think about this passage. That is one reason that I come to yahoo answers.

Answer 1

God likes poor people. Which exactly is why he's allowing genocide in Rwanda.

Answer 2

James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

The poor who must place their faith in God every day for their very survival know who is their ever present help. Because God has been so good to us and provide for our needs, we love him and Praise His Holy Name. We are no led astray by worldly possessions which can even become their god.
Remember what the scriptures say about how difficult it is for a rich man to get into Heaven.

Luke 12:31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Answer 3

In the context of this passage, James is warning the Church to not show favoritism to the rich over the poor, they have been chosen to be heirs of the Kingdom of God as well as the rich. The poor have been given a greater gift of faith, since they do not have riches to distract them.

Answer 4

James identifies the truly rich and urges that love be shown to all impartially. (James 2:5-9) ‘God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.’ This is so because the poor are often more responsive to the good news. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29) As a class, the materially rich oppress others with regard to debts, wages, and legal actions. They speak evil of Christ and persecute us because we bear his name. But let it be our determination to obey “the kingly law,” which requires neighbor love—being equally loving toward rich and poor. (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37-40) Since God requires this, showing favoritism is “working a sin.”

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Answer 5

Let me just tell you, "the poor" does not only refer to those that do not have money.

It is very important to read the scriptures in context. The Bible is a spiritual book, it is not a carnal book. In order to really understand the Bible, you must read the Bible with your spiritual eyes and not your physical eyes.

When you become Born Again, this is when you accept Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to live inside you - then the Holy Spirit will reveal exactly what the scriptures mean.

Prayer is a spiritual thing. If you find that you can't understand a certain scripture then pray to the Father in the name of Jesus for God to reveal what He is saying in the scriptures. (Every word in the Bible is from God).

Remember, the Bible is a SPIRITUAL book, you must read it with spiritual eyes. When you read the Bible everyday then you spiritual eyes open more and more and you will begin to understand Gods thoughts. You will also realise our need for a saviour.

Answer 6

It actually means the people who are "poor in spirit" who are able to accept Gods Gift of Grace Jesus Christ because they have been called by God to hear and understand by their faith in believing the Word of God to serve Him in this age. They know that in order to enter the Kingdom of God they must give up their life and their ways to live for God in His will and His ways. The meek shall inherit the earth. The prideful people of the world are not poor in spirit but rebellious in their spirit towards the Word of God. Not everyone is being called to serve God at this time because it is not in God's plan. God already knows who will accept Him or reject Him. Salvation for most of the world will come during the Great White Throne Judgment after the Millennial reign of Christs' government in the Kingdom of God on earth. Only God knows when and who will be called to serve in this age or in the next age. Eventually, almost all of mankind will come to their repentance of their sins and become joint heirs with Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God........ God will have His way and His plan for His creation will come to pass in His time, not ours.

Answer 7

It means that even the poorest of the poor can still be richer in faith that the richest people of the world. Some people are more fortunate and blessed financially than others.

Answer 8

Well, it seems that the poor of the world seem to trust and love God more frrely than the wealthy. In my experience, the wealthy often feel that they don't need God. Not always, but often

Answer 9

1 Corinthians chapter 2 explains that a lot more poor people than rich nobles came to follow Christ (although some wealthy people did they were exceptional).
It gives cause for concern in our middle class "Christian" society today, doesn't it? I wonder if we don't need to redefine our Christianity in order to bring it more in line with New Testament Christianity?

Answer 10

It means God chose the common people, who many times have much more faith because the rich and powerful tend to rely on their money and position more.

Just see how many times Jesus spoke against the Hebrew authorities.

Answer 11

I would say that being poor has it's advantages. A poor person has to hope for a better life. They can depend more on God , and less on 'stuff'.