<p>3:6- see on James 1:23.</p><p><i>And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body and sets on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna</i>- Our words are as fire, and are to be connected with the fire of condemnation (James 3:5,6), which our words have already kindled (Lk. 12:49). Speaking of the last day Isaiah 33:11 had foretold: &quot;your breath i.e. words, as fire, shall devour you&quot;. See on James 5:3.</p><p>If we may speak in human terms, the speed and power of God&rsquo;s intellect is such that He does not need words as we do in order to reason and reach conclusions. This begins to be reflected by the way in which the Bible is full (fuller than many realize) of the device of metonymy, whereby the cause is put for the effect. The piercing analysis of God is reflected by the way in which He uses this linguistic device so frequently. Much misunderstanding of the atonement has arisen through failing to appreciate God&rsquo;s use of metonymy. Other examples include James 3:6, where &ldquo;the tongue&rdquo; means the words the tongue speaks; and 1 John 5:15, where God hearing our prayers means (see context) that He answers them. Unless we appreciate metonymy, we will come to the conclusion that God&rsquo;s word is making incorrect statements; for example, that mere possession of a tongue means that our whole body is defiled (James 3:6).</p><p>The root of all sin is in our hearts (Jer.17:9), and as the tongue so accurately reflects the heart, it is &quot;a world of iniquity&quot;. God &quot;has set the world in (man's) heart&quot; (Ecc. 3:11), which means that &quot;there is no good in&quot; man (Ecc. 3:12), i.e. in man's heart. The tongue will defile the whole body- the ecclesia, and also our individual lives. Remember how in 2:26 a man's spiritual life is also likened to a body. The tongue defiles the body. This is alluding to the Lord's words in Mt. 15:11,18 that &quot;those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man&quot;. Jesus says our evil desires defile us; James describes our tongue as doing the same, again showing the effective identification of our thoughts and words. We have suggested that &quot;the body&quot; refers to both the ecclesia and the spiritual life of the believers. There are many references to &quot;the body&quot; which cannot be applied to our physical body; most obviously James 3:2 speaks of the body being bridled by control of the tongue. Similarly, every part of the body we have in the Kingdom will be spiritually aware and significant. It is for this reason that abuse of the body we now have is such a serious offence. The word for 'defile' is the same translated 'spot' regarding the need for a believer to keep himself and his spiritual garments unspotted by the world (1:27)- thus equating &quot;the body&quot; and the garments, and &quot;the world&quot; with our evil thinking which leads to our bad works. Remember that God has set the world in our heart, so that there is no good in man (Ecc. 3:11,12). The tongue and the evil heart behind it &quot;sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell&quot; (v.6). We have commented earlier on this. The tongue will be set on fire of Gehenna- i.e. the destruction of the physical body of the rejected at the judgement will be the destruction of his &quot;tongue&quot;, seeing that there is a certain association between our spiritual character and our physical body. The language here implies physical fire may be used to destroy the unworthy saints- an idea supported elsewhere.</p>