1:1 James, a servant. James identifies himself as a slave of God and of Christ. A bondservant (text note) is one purchased and owned by a master or “lord.” This indicates not only humility on the part of the writer but a profound testimony to his conversion to faith in his earthly half brother as his Redeemer (1 Cor. 15:3). James is a servant to both God and Jesus, a crucial theological bracketing.