Wisdom from Heaven
James 3:13–18 | Caleb Suko
What do you think of when you think of a wise man? For many people, this may conjure up an image of an old white-haired man with a cane and a long white beard. Certainly, wisdom can come with age but this is not a given. In this passage, James helps us to see what wisdom in action looks like.
James 3:13–18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
James began this chapter with a warning to teachers that they had better be careful because God holds them to a higher standard both for their words and their ways. Now James ends the chapter by returning to this idea of a teacher. Here, however, he uses the term “wise.” In other contexts, the word Greek word “sofos” can also simply mean “sage” or “wise” man. Thus, the wise man is the teacher that James wrote about in 3:1. Now he will give us an even more detailed look at what it means to be wise in God’s eyes!
Remember that James was speaking to Jewish Christians. They would have been well aware of the Old Testament idea of wisdom that primarily comes from the book of proverbs. We can also do well to look at a few proverbs before we study this passage to see what James really means when he talks about wisdom.
Solomon tells us that wisdom is calling out to us but many people don’t listen. Those who don’t listen will face destruction and calamity However, those who do listen and respond to wisdom will find safety and live in peace.
Wisdom comes from God
Proverbs 2:6
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. …
Wisdom will keep you from sin
Proverbs 2:16
16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
Wisdom can be used to create good things
Proverbs 3:19
19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place;
Wisdom keeps us going in the right direction
Proverbs 4:11
11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
Wisdom builds strong houses
Proverbs 9:1
1 Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. …
Wisdom fears God
Proverbs 9:10
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Wisdom leads to prosperity
Proverbs 19:8
8 The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.
Wisdom is practical
Proverbs 24:3
3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; …
Wisdom brings health and hope
Proverbs 24:14
14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
The greatest wisdom, however, is believing in Jesus Christ and obediently following after him.
1 Corinthians 1:24
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Let’s look now at what else James has to tell us about the wisdom that comes from heaven.
I. What does wisdom look like?
James 3:13
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
Are you a wise person? How can you tell if someone is wise or not? James gives us a quick test to find out if we are wise or not.
Question #1 Does your life show it?
Like any other skill you might learn, wisdom requires real-life application and practice in order for it to be developed.
*Let’s take as an example riding a unicycle. No one ever became a skilled unicycle rider by simply reading books about unicycle riding. On the other hand, no one ever became a great unicycle rider by only practicing. The best riders are those who receive instruction and practice.
Biblical wisdom is like learning to ride a unicycle, you need instruction and practice in order to make it happen in your life. Jesus gives us a good sense of what real wisdom is in the following verse:
Matthew 11:19
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
True wisdom from God is much more than simply knowledge but rather the combination of knowledge with righteous intentions and real-life application of that knowledge.
Bible knowledge becomes wisdom when we take a truth and by faith apply it correctly to specific situations in our lives.
What James is talking about here is not simply the ability to make a good decision but also to carry out that decision in a meaningful way in your life.
What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge?
Knowledge Wisdom
A fact
A truth applied to a real-life situation
Abstract
A specific experience
Amoral
Only used for good
Doesn’t require faith
Always requires faith
Doesn’t require humility
Always requires humility
Doesn’t require a relationship with God
Always requires a relationship with God
We can think of knowledge and wisdom in terms of a computer. You can have all kinds of information stored on a hard drive, i.e. knowledge. However, unless you have a good processor to make sense of that data and make it useful then the knowledge does you no good. The processor is what applies the raw data and makes it useful. Wisdom is a processor of knowledge that God gives us through faith and careful study of his Word.
Earlier James spoke of wisdom being the correct application of truth when he says,
James 1:22
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
The most dangerous thing you can do as a Christian is to listen to the truth and then fail to apply it to your life. The more we learn to ignore the application of truth the easier it gets. Soon we are able to attend church, read our Bibles, listen to sermons, sing worship songs, all without seeing any personal application to ourselves!
II. What wisdom doesn’t look like
14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
Just as the book of proverbs often compares and contrasts the wise and the foolish, so Jame helps us to have a better picture of what wisdom looks like by showing us what it doesn’t look like. This reminds us of how important it is to be observant in our life. To take note of how we are living and how others are living around us. In fact, this is the reason why it’s so important to have a regular time when you can read and reflect on God’s Word with prayer. It is times like these that God uses to open our eyes to certain inconsistencies in our own life.
Here we can think of a sportsman. Can you imagine a runner, a swimmer, a powerlifter, who never ever had anyone examine his own technique, who never looked at videos of his performance to determine where he made mistakes and where he could improve himself? No serious sportsman would get far in his sport without this vital tool of self-examination. If you go to any gym you will see that the walls are lined with mirrors. Of course, some use mirrors to gawk over their bodies, but they are really there to help you analyze your own form.
How sad it is that many Christians go about their lives never taking the time to ask God, “Hey, how am I doing?” They never come to a place where they could look at themselves and recognize a problem, confess it, and ask for help!
Proverbs 14:8
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.
Wisdom that comes from God is not afraid to look at all the imperfections that we have. It’s not even afraid to have someone else look at those imperfections, give an honest opinion and make needed changes.
James is very clear with us, he tells us that there is a certain wisdom that doesn’t come from but rather is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. These are powerful and sobering statements. What could be so bad that it’s demonic? We often think that demonic only has to do with things like paganism, witchcraft, and other evil and horrific activities. Yet James tells us that there are two things that can hide in our hearts and they have a demonic source: envy and selfish ambition.
Please note that he is not saying that you are possessed by a demon if you have these things in your heart. He’s not saying that you need some sort of exorcism, he’s not saying that there are some incantations that will free you from this. What is saying is that common and simple sins such as envy and selfishness can cause great spiritual harm to us because at their root they are demonic in nature. These are the sins that caused Adam and Eve to be expelled from the Garden of Eden. These are FALSE WISDOM!
[Gen 3:6 NIV] 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Satan envied God for his power and majesty. Satan then tempted Eve and caused her to envy God’s wisdom and selfishly desire to become like God. Envy and selfishness always work together. One plays off the other until they grow so big in our heart that they leave no room for true joy and happiness, they squeeze out any thoughts of sacrifice, grace, and love in our hearts. Envy is not satisfied until it gets that one thing that promises fulfillment. Yet, it never gives what it promises and instead of making us happier, it sends us down a slope of ever degrading fulfillment and leaves us bitter and angry.
James will speak to us in detail about how envy destroys us by causing all kinds of quarrels and fights in chapter 4. However, it benefits us to think about the destructive nature of envy and selfish ambition in all areas of life.
How does envy poison your soul?
- It makes you enemies with those who you think have what you want
- It makes you waste your thoughts on things you will never have
- It keeps you from helping and serving others
- It makes you feel like a victim on all sides
- It makes you believe you know better than God
- It makes you harbor secret negative feelings towards others
- It makes you discontent with what God has given you
- It robs you of sleep
- It robs you of joy and peace
- It robs you of what God wants to give you!
Who do people envy today?
- The person who is more attractive than they are
- The person who has more money than they have
- The person who seems more confident than they are
- The person who seems to be more successful than they are
- The person who has found a spouse
- The person who has a “better” spouse than they have
- The person who has anything they don’t have!
This is why the 10th commandment exists:
Exodus 20:17
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Envy is a terrible poison to your soul, if you have envy please get rid of it now!
Selfish ambition
James also tells us that false wisdom contains selfish ambition.
The word James used for “selfish ambition” is ἐριθεία this refers to the actions of a politician who was running for office. It can even be translated as “electioneering.”
Eritheia -used of those who electioneer for office, courting popular applause by trickery and low arts (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
Paul uses the same word in Philippians when he says the following:
Philippians 1:17
17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.
Philippians 2:3
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
There are two things we should note here. One is that selfish ambition doesn’t always have to do with evil things. You can have selfish ambition while you’re doing good things like preaching the gospel. Selfish ambition speaks of our motives. Sadly, even in service to others we can often have hidden motives. We selfishly are looking for what is in it for me!
In Philippians 2:13 Paul helps us to better understand this word. Look at how he contrasts it. “Rather in humility value others above yourself” This is the wisdom from heaven when we stop using others to get our way and start serving others from a pure heart.
Selfish ambition sees others as a way to what I want
And when I don’t get what I want it blames others for it!
Selfish ambition can be hidden for a time but it will always eventually lead to conflict and it will never give you what you want.
How can you get rid of envy and selfish ambition? I think James helps us with that in the next verses.
III. What qualities does wisdom have?
James 3:17
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Now James turns his attention to the qualities of true wisdom. We have talked about the fact that God’s wisdom is truth in action. In reality, wisdom is more than simply doing the right thing, wisdom from God is also being the right thing. That is to say, God’s wisdom produces the right actions because it comes first from a right heart.
James tells us that the first thing we need is purity. Only God can give us a pure heart. King David himself cried out to God, “create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a right spirit within me” (Psa 51:10). The Christian understands that a pure heart can only come through true faith and repentance in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only one who can give us forgiveness and purity, and he does it when we fully and completely put our trust in him as LORD, Savior, and King of all.
Hebrew 9:14
14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Ultimately, the Christian faith relies upon Christ for purity, yet practically we also are called to strive for purity in our daily lives.
Purity goes against the natural way of everything here on earth. The last couple of months have taught us a lot about dirt and mud and the filth that builds up everywhere over the winter in Odessa. I have the privilege of owning a white car and I can tell you that it puts on a brown coat in the winter here. I struggle to keep it clean. In fact, I cleaned it just this week and I noticed something different in my driving after I cleaned it. Over the past couple of weeks, my car had slowly turned from white to a dullish grayish brown color with the lower portions being the darkest and the upper portions the lightest colored. With my car so dirty I didn’t think much about how I drove, I just plowed right through every puddle and mudhole that Odessa has to offer! After I washed it my driving habits changed. If the road was wet I slowed way down. Better yet I tried to avoid wet roads altogether. If there was a puddle I went around. I was very conscious that my car was now white and I wanted to keep it that way!
Let me ask you have you been purified by Christ? Have you placed your faith in him? How are your driving habits? Do you just plow through sinful situations with no thought? Are you accustomed to taking in all kinds of filth online? Are your friends wallowing in the gossip hole and inviting you to join them? How are your driving habits? Are you aware of the cleansing Christ has given you or are you still driving around like you’ve got an old Zheguli covered in mud and dirt?
Purity must come first, it must be a way of life, this is true wisdom! It is that purity of heart that will then lead to wisdom in relationships, work, finances, self-discipline, and all righteous things!
IV. What are the results of wisdom?
James 3:18
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
The result of wisdom from heaven is always peace! Look around our world today and you will find many money makers, problem makers, conflict makers, and troublemakers, but you will find very few peacemakers!
A peacemaker is one who has found peace and now can give peace. A peacemaker is wise and skilled in peace. Unfortunately, very few people even understand the concept of peace.
Some think peace is just the absence of conflict. It’s much more than that.
Some think peace is simply a “peaceful” atmosphere. It’s much deeper than that.
The idea of peace that the Jewish readers of James’ letter would be aware of is Shalom. Shalom is an important concept in both the OT and NT.
- Fullness, perfection, or success
- Personal safety, health
- Wellbeing and prosperity
- Friendship and good interpersonal relationships
- Relationship with God
- Cessation from fighting and war
- Quietness and contentment of spirit
When we think of peace we must think of all God’s goodness and good intentions toward us. Wrap all of this up into one word and you have the concept of peace! Peace is fullness and goodness that comes out of right relationship with God. The peacemaker’s task is not simply to leave in God’s peace but to pass God’s peace on to others, this takes much wisdom.
A peacemaker is pleasant to be around because that peace can not stay inside of him. Others enjoy it when they are in his presence. Jesus was the ultimate peacemaker and that’s why children loved to be around him, they could sense the peace that he had to offer. We can see Jesus offering this peace to us in his great prayer in John 17.
John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
I hope you desire God’s peace in your life, you can have it when you simply put your faith in Jesus Christ! God is calling you to take hold of the greatest wisdom and the greatest peace! He wants us to know his goodness and live his goodness! He wants us to have the wisdom that comes down from heaven.
Conclusion:
Questions for reflection:
- Does my life show God’s wisdom?
- What areas of my life fail to show God’s wisdom?
- Have I allowed envy to poison my heart in any way?
- Do I have God’s peace?
- Am I sharing God’s peace with others?
