For we all often offend. If any one offend not in word, *he* [is] a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body too.
James has just warned against a rush to teach, and verse 2 gives his reason: we all stumble, most of all in what we say. Yet the same verse sets a standard high enough to describe a fully grown man.
The verb James uses is not a soft one. It starts with the picture of a foot catching on something, and carries it into the moral realm. Older translations render the word "offend"; the ESV has "stumble."
So the Spirit of God turns from the empty eagerness to teach in public to speech in general, which no one can hold down. "For in many things we all offend." The word translated "offend" moves from physical stumbling to moral failure, as in James 2:10. Romans 11:11 already marks that change.
Note the "we all." James puts himself inside it. It should change how we correct others:
So let us remember that in correcting others we may be offenders ourselves, for "we all often offend," even if at times we do so without knowing it. In no way is it so easy to offend as in words.
The verse can be misread in two opposite directions. One reading ends any claim to sinless perfection. The other turns the verse into an excuse.
No saint, no prophet, was flawless or incapable of error. "In many things we all stumble" — I do not say must, but do (James 3:2).
The distinction between do and must matters. Another writer warns against the opposite error:
Beware of the dreadful error of saying that the Christian must sin. God has made the fullest provision for him, so that he need not sin. When he does sin, it is because he chooses to sin, and not because he had to.
Verse 2 backs up the caution about teaching in verse 1. Speech shows what is inside a person, so the eager teacher stands in real danger.
James wants humility in speaking, and that we should not be many teachers. When we do not know ourselves, it is far easier to teach others than to govern ourselves. Now the tongue is the most direct index of what is in the heart. We all fail in many things, and if we take it on ourselves to teach others, our offenses are even more serious.
The word does not mean a man with no sin. It means one who has grown up, and that growth usually has a cost.
One who in this way does not offend is "perfect" in the sense of mature, and able to control his entire body. This ought to be true of a teacher, and indeed of every experienced believer. But usually it is not true without some painful experience.
The picture raises a question, and the answer sends us back to verse 1:
As we think about ourselves, or as we look at others, we may well ask: where is this perfect man who is in complete control? Where indeed? We do not know him. But it should teach us to be slow to take the place of a master. It is entirely right that the man who wants to be master of others should first be master of himself.
James chooses the word "bridle" with care. Holding something in check is not the same as taming it.
A believer, by the power of the Spirit of God, may "bridle" his tongue, that is, put it under restraint; and this is a serious responsibility. But let no one persuade himself that he has tamed his tongue. Anyone who does will almost certainly find out by experience that it is still "a restless evil, full of deadly poison." So it needs constant guarding and restraining.
So where does the restraint come from? Not from resolutions we make after the damage is done.
Who then can control the tongue? "No man" can do it, but Christ can. We have only to look to Him in simple faith… How often have we suffered from some blunder of the tongue and then resolved to control that unruly part of us better next time. But our resolution proved to be like the morning cloud that passes away… Why was this? Simply because we took the matter on in our own strength.
- Stumble — the word moves from a foot catching a stone to moral failure. James says "we all," and he includes himself. No one reads this verse from above others.
- Do, not must — the verse states a fact about every believer, not a necessity. The Christian who sins does so by choice.
- Speech first — the tongue shows most directly what is in the heart. Teaching others is easier than governing yourself.
- Perfect means grown — the man who does not offend in word is mature, not sinless. That maturity usually comes through painful experience.
- Bridle, don't boast — you can hold the tongue in check, but never tame it. No man controls it; Christ can. Resolutions made in our own strength fade like morning cloud.
Behold, we put the bits in the mouths of the horses, that they may obey us, and we turn round their whole bodies.
James points to an everyday sight. A rider slips a small piece of metal into a horse's mouth, and the whole animal turns. Size and power are two different things. The real question is who holds the reins on our tongue.
The force of the image lies in the gap between the bit and the animal. One writer measures that gap plainly:
The bit is a very small article when the large bulk of a horse is considered, yet by this simple contrivance a man gains complete control and, when once the animal is broken in and docile, it suffices to turn about its whole body.
The horse is not only mild-tempered ones. The point holds even where the animal has a will of its own, and what is governed is not just the head:
It would be an obvious mistake to doubt the power of an object because its size is small. Such are the bits we put into the horses' mouths. The animal may be wild and headstrong, but this usually brings it to obedience. And it is not only the mouth or head that is controlled: "we guide their whole bodies as well."
James is arguing against a common excuse — that a small fault deserves small concern. The bit answers it:
He shows that it may seem a little thing to man, but we must not excuse what is wrong because it may appear to have a little source. He proves that the smallest things are often the ones that govern far larger bodies.
A bridle is what you use on a creature that will not listen. One writer draws out what that says about us:
It is true that we ought not to be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding, and which must be held back by bit and bridle, or they will not come near to you (Psalm 32). But that is restraint, and it shames us when we need it, as in the case supposed here. Our joy is to walk in the spirit of obedience and to know God's guidance in the way we should go, counselled by Him with His eye upon us. But if restraint is needed, He knows how, and He does not fail to restrain and to chastise.
James is not really talking about horses. One writer draws the line straight to the tongue:
Even so the tongue is a little member which, if a man can control it like a helmsman, he can govern the whole body. If it is not bridled, the tongue can become the way we express the vanity of our hearts. We use it to condemn others and exalt ourselves, for it can boast "great things."
The reverse is just as true. A bit only works while someone is holding the reins:
But if the horse driver or the helmsman gives up control, and leaves the horse or the ship to its own devices, then tragedy is practically certain. In the same way, the tongue, if it is not controlled by its owner, can do terrible damage rather than exert a great influence for good.
Later in the chapter James says no one can tame the tongue. So this verse is not a call to willpower:
Who then can control the tongue? "No man" can do it, but Christ can, and we have only to look to Him in simple faith. This implies both the sense of our own utter helplessness and His all-sufficiency… How often have we suffered from some blunder of the tongue and resolved to control that unruly tongue a little better next time? But our resolution proved to be like the morning cloud that passes away.
Another writer traces our speech back to the heart:
If no man can restrain the tongue, the grace of Christ can do it. The inner man on one side is under the yoke of the Lord, and is meek and lowly in heart. Christ fills the heart, and the tongue follows the impulses of the heart, so the speech will express this meekness and lowliness… It is very useful to see that the tongue shows what is working within, just as the hands of a clock show the hidden workings of its wheels.
- Small. The bit is tiny beside the horse, yet it turns the whole animal. Power does not follow size.
- Steered. The least thing can govern the largest, so no one may excuse a fault because its source looks small.
- Restrained. A bridle is for a creature that will not listen. It shames us when God must hold us back instead of guiding us with His eye upon us.
- Released. Let go of the reins and the tongue does more than drift. It can do terrible damage.
- Held. No one can tame the tongue by resolution. Christ fills the heart, and the speech that flows out turns meek and lowly.