What does it mean that the body without the spirit is dead (James 2:26)?

James taught extensively about the implications of faith in Jesus Christ. In James 2:14–26, he emphasizes the intrinsic connection between one’s faith and one’s actions. Genuine saving faith will move us to do more than merely offer sympathetic words to someone in need; it will prompt helpful actions (verses 15–17). James gives the example of two Old Testament believers, Abraham and Rahab. These two vastly contrasting figures demonstrated the reality of their faith through obedience to God and righteous works (see verses 21–25). James concludes, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (verse 26).

The word translated as “body” (sōma in the original Greek) in James 2:26 refers to the flesh-and-bones physical structure of an organism or human being. The “spirit” is pneumatos in Greek, a word that means “wind or breath” and is understood as the internal soul or the spiritual, life-giving essence of a person—the intangible, immaterial existence.

Genesis 2:7 states that God formed the first human being by breathing “the breath of life” into his body, “and the man became a living being.” This pairing of body and spirit produced a living person. When a human dies, the spirit or soul leaves the body and returns to God, while the body decomposes back into the earth (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Psalm 146:4). Thus, the body without the spirit is dead. It is simply a bag of bones—no longer a living, breathing person but a corpse.

Just as the human body is inert and incapable of movement without the spirit, one’s faith is considered dead and ineffective without corresponding actions. A person who professes to have faith in Jesus but has no outward signs of that faith has “faith without works”—a “dead” faith (James 2:26). His lack of good deeds reveals an unchanged heart. He is spiritually lifeless.

Merely claiming to believe without living out that belief is meaningless. But genuine faith will result in transformation. One’s devotion to the Lord will show through loving, compassionate, righteous deeds. Saving faith has the power to change one’s life. Warren Wiersbe describes such faith as “dynamic faith,” or faith that “is not intellectual contemplation or emotional consternation; it leads to obedience on the part of the will. And this obedience is not an isolated event: it continues throughout the whole life. It leads to works” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2, Victor Books, 1996, p. 355).

James is not saying believers are made righteous by their works (cf. Romans 3:28; 4:1–25). Instead, he is teaching that our actions are the evidence of salvation. An authentic salvation experience by faith in Jesus will inevitably result in good works (cf. Ephesians 2:10). Jesus taught that His true disciples would be recognized by their fruits and that only those who produced “good fruit” and did God’s will would enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:16–23).

Understanding that the body without the spirit is dead helps us know why faith and good works are inseparably linked. A dead body cannot move, and a dead faith cannot produce. It is stationary, inert, and ineffective. A living body is active, just as a living faith is alive, sure to perform righteous, God-honoring deeds.

In essence, James wants readers to understand the importance of putting one’s faith into practice. It is not enough to simply believe. It is not even enough to profess our faith in words. We must reflect our faith by bringing it to life, letting it be seen in how we live and in everything we do (see Matthew 5:14–16; 1 Peter 2:12; 2 Peter 1:5–8; Titus 2:7; 3:8, 14).

Believers are saved by faith alone, but saving faith does not exist alone. It is accompanied by deeds that prove the genuineness of faith. Like Abraham and Rahab, we must do something with our faith. Martin Luther said of faith, “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith; and so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises; it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them. He who does not these works is a faithless man” (cited by R. Kent Hughes in James—Faith that Works, Crossway Books, 1991, p. 122).