I have started out with comments on the five possible translations that Scot McKnight enumerates, and then have supplemented it with some additional suggestions made by others. It would be helpful before you proceed, if you could read this verse in the context of what follows in the biblical text.
1. “our Lord Jesus (glorious) Christ”
2. “our glorious Lord, Jesus Christ”
As far as I am aware, there are no responsible Bible scholars who have proposed either of these variations: the first one in which 'glory/glorious' modifies Christ and the second which takes it to modify Lord instead. Adamson feels that the latter “imposes an intolerable strain on the order of the two nouns.”
3. “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ”
Davids, after proposing yet another understanding, ends up by endorsing this translation. But Adamson responds, “This interpretation is arbitrary: such a genitive with a proper name is at least doubtful, while such parallels as 1 Cor. 2:8; Eph. 1:17; Ps. 29:3; Acts 7:2 are hardly relevant.”.”
Tasker agrees with Adamson's objection as he states, “Others have taken the glory as a genitive of quality, and connected it with the words our Lord Jesus Christ in the sense of 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ'; but this seems an unduly fulsome expression. Even Ropes, who advocates it, remarks, 'it is not an altogether happy expansion of the Lord of glory in I Cor. ii. 8'.”
McKnight also says, “Even though the expression...is unusual, leading some to suggest an interpolation, all the evidence of the surviving manuscripts suggest that this text is original. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a thoroughly Christian expression, but the addition of 'glorious' is unusual and could derive from early hymnic or creedal lines (e.g., 1 Tim 3:16) and it could be a combination of 'our Lord Jesus Christ' with the 'Lord of glory' (1 Cor 2:8).”
4. “our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious one”
Adamson notes that Bengel suggested “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory” and that NEB similarly translated the phrase as “Our Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns in glory.” However, Adamson notes that it is “entirely lacking in evidence to support it.”
And Tasker adds more problems with this reading: “The expression the Lord of glory is found in I Cor. ii. 8 and elsewhere in the New Testament, and presumably means 'the Lord who now reigns in glory'. There is, however, in the Greek text no repetition of the Lord as in A.V., R.V. And R.S.V.; and it is difficult to see why the writer, if he had intended to connect of glory with the Lord, should not have placed the words in juxtaposition. As it is, the glory is found in the genitive case immediately after 'our Lord Jesus Christ'.”
5. “the glorious one, the Lord Jesus Christ”
There are actually several other minor variations on this translation which have been proposed over the years.
Since 'glorious' is the last word in the Greek text, both McKnight and Mayor tend to favor this translation. But even this reading does not entirely determine the interpretation since, as McKnight explains, the glory might (a), as in I Corinthians 2:8 suggest God's own splendor and presence or (b) suggest the future glorification of Jesus Christ after his humiliation on earth. He quotes Sophie Laws: “James is not here concerned with the definition of christology [as in the theophanic view (a)] but with the relation between faith and behavior.”
McKnight concludes that “we are left with the option of leaving two views in balance.” If so, view (a) would stress Jesus' humble position while on earth and shame the Christians into treating the poor better while (b) would remind believers that they will eventually have to answer for their shameful behavior before the now glorified Lord.
In support of (b), Stott says the following: In the Old Testament God's glory or splendor was revealed in nature and history, that is, in the created universe and in the redeemed nation...It is not in the least surprising that, when the New Testament opens, glory should be associated with Jesus Christ... According to the Synoptic Gospels, however, although Jesus' glory was glimpsed at his transfiguration, its full manifestation would not take place until his Parousia and the kingdom which would then be consummated [see Matt. 25:31; Mark 10:37; 13:26; Lk. 9:32; and 2 Pet. 1:16].”
Tasker, after rejecting several other views, endorses this general understanding: “It may well be then that the glory should be taken in apposition to Jesus Christ. He is the glory in the sense that He fully reflected on earth, with the necessary limitations of His incarnate life, the nature of God Himself...for this interpretation, first suggested by Bengel and subsequently adopted by Mayer and Hort, the glory is almost a descriptive title for Christ; and although such a title is not found elsewhere, what is implied in it is a truth unfolded in several passages (see especially Luke. ii. 32; Jn. I. 14, xvii. 5; Heb. I.3).”
“The NIV has done well in...taking the word 'glorious' (doxes) in apposition to, and therefore descriptive of, Christ.” (Blue)
6. “the Lord Jesus Christ, our glory”
Carson: “'Lord' is not repeated in the original before 'glory' and Bengel suggested that the meaning is 'our Lord Jesus Christ (who is) the glory', and that rendering has been accepted by Hort, Mayor and others (cf. Lk 2:32; Jn 1:14; Rom 9:4; Heb. 1:3; 9:5; I Pet. 4:14). A simple emendation would yield the attractive reading: 'the Lord Jesus Christ, our glory'. Mayor quotes evidence to show that the Shekinah, the Jewish name for the divine glory living among men, was used of God and of the Messiah...(cf. Zech. 2:5; 6:13).”
Carson is not the only one who has suggested that small change in the order of the text. For example, Adamson states, “As the text stands, the Greek is hardly the kind one would expect from a writer like James, a circumstance underlined by the various and, in our opinion, unsatisfactory proposed renderings...We therefore propose transference of 'our' to the end of the sentence, making Christ 'our glory.'...This suggestion, made originally by P.B.R. Forbes is viewed favorably also by F.F. Bruce.”
But this is not the only suggested change in the received Greek text which has been proposed, as you can see below.
7. “our Lord Jesus Christ, who is, [that is,] of God”
Hendricksen: “In one of Paul's epistles (I Cor. 2:8) the expression Lord of glory occurs. This is identical to the reference to 'the God of glory' in Stephen's speech (Acts 7:2). Both titles are reminders of the glory of the Lord that settled upon and filled the tabernacle in the desert (Exod. 40:35). A possible interpretation is to take the words of glory and place them in apposition with Jesus Christ: 'Jesus Christ, who is, [that is,] of God.' This interpretation resembles John's testimony about Jesus living among the disciples: 'We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth' (John 1:14). The descriptive adjective glorious in this passage demonstrates contrast between the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and the glitter of earthly riches. The brothers should not look at their fellow man and judge him merely by external circumstances.”
8. “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”
McKnight notes that some Coptic and Syriac manuscripts place “the glory” before “of the Lord Jesus Christ as well as some manuscripts omitting all mention of “the glory.” Adamson comments that “this has found few supporters..; and there is no good parallel for this construction or the order...” And Davids adds that “the reading is unnatural and the emphasis on glory in this context seems to make no sense.”
9. “the opinion of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Adamson notes: “Erasmus made the fascinating suggestion...that doxa [“glory”] should be taken in the sense of 'opinion,' which would connect directly to 'acts of favoritism.” But Adamson says of Erasmus' opinion, “This is thoroughly unbiblical and finds few modern advocates.”
10. “the glorious faith of our Lord Jesus Christ”
L.T. Johnson mentions that some manuscripts “place 'of glory' (tes doxes) immediately after 'faith,' which would then yield the natural translation, 'glorious faith'...The position after 'our Lord Jesus Christ,' however, is to be preferred.”
11. “faith in/of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Then there is the additional problem of deciding which of the above prepositions to attach between “faith” and “our Lord Jesus Christ.” Johnson states, “Many commentators chose the objective genitive, 'faith in our Lord Jesus Christ'.” But his own opinion is: “The subjective 'faith of Jesus Christ' is more likely.”
12. Interpolation Theories
Johnson explains that the “extraordinary separation of the phrases tou kyriou [of the Lord] and tes doxes [of glory] helped generate theories of interpolation [i.e. accidental or purposeful addition of words to the original text]...even though no MS evidence supports such theories.”
In a similar vein, Adamson says, “we reject the idea that 'glory' is an afterthought (R. A. Knox) or a gloss (Spitta, Meyer), even if absent in two miniscules (Marty). Textual evidence and alleged parallels to 'the Lord of Glory' are both palpably weak: why, too, should a Christian editor be content with such a superficial change? That 'Jesus Christ' was originally a marginal gloss, possibly with 'our' added, is equally untenable: no Jewish reader would break up the phrase; further, 'Jesus Christ' ought to have come first or last.”
The conclusion to the above multiple possibilities is that we will probably never know exactly what was in James' mind as he wrote this verse, but fortunately no particular doctrinal point hangs on the solution.