Earthly Wisdom and Heavenly Wisdom - James 3:13-18

[Music] we're continuing on in our study now through the book of James this letter that James by the inspiration the Holy Spirit wrote to early Christians and to us because it very definitely speaks across the centuries dealing with timeless themes about a living faith and as we're going to see in this particular section starting in the middle of James chapter 3 beginning at verse 13 we're gonna see how it also deals with what I would call a living wisdom as well as a living faith what do I mean by that what let's take a look at verse 13 here where it says who is wise and understanding among you let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom now if we recall at the beginning of James chapter 3 the author addressed those who were teachers or at least who wanted to be teachers among the people of God he told those teachers that they had a special responsibility after all it says here in verse 1 I'm reading from James chapter 3 my brethren let not many of you become teachers knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment then James went on to talk especially about how teachers and really everybody in the body of Christ should have a special concern about how they speak and what a powerful force the words we use can be so now he seems to be making a bit of a transition where before he was emphasizing the idea of having a living faith faith that's demonstrated by the life now I would say James is talking about this idea of having a living wisdom let's be honest about this you you can't tell how much faith a person has just by looking at him from the outside as I've said before there's not like some faith ohmmeter on the forehead or a light that turns from red to green when a person has a lot of faith but the same is true about wisdom you can't tell necessarily how much wisdom a person has just by looking at them nothing really changes particularly on a person's forehead or anything like that you might think that someone it's a wrinkled forehead has more wisdom but it's not necessarily so look here's the idea simply put it's that wisdom is shown by the way we live also and that's what James is really getting out here check it out here verse 13 I'll read it again who is wise and understanding among you now what's very interesting is according to some Bible commentators this phrase the person who is wise and understanding according to some Bible commentators this was a technical term among the Jewish people for someone who is a teacher it may very well be that in verse 13 James is coming back to the same theme that he started the chapter with speaking about those who considered themselves teachers among the people of God and so he says you consider yourself wise you want to be considered a teacher now look at the middle of verse 13 let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom hey let's remember this it's a point that James makes that I think we really have to consider wisdom is not mere head knowledge real wisdom and real understanding are going to show in our life they're gonna show by our good conduct again as I said before wisdom and faith are kind of together in this they're both invisible inner qualities if a person considers himself to be wise and understanding as James says right here then we expect that invisible inner quality to be evident somewhere in the life and how do you judge if a person has that kind of wisdom will notice what James says there in verse 13 he says let him show by his good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom true wisdom is evident first of all by the way you live by your good conduct you live a life full of good conduct obedient living it shows you to be wise you know sometimes we think that the smart people are the people who seem to get away with things but the smart people are the ones who know how to skirt the rules and at least for a time they seem to be the winners because of it listen the Bible tells us that true wisdom is shown by good conduct I bet you've heard this illustration before but it's pretty good illustration the ID being simply that our Bibles are something like please don't take this analogy too far but our Bibles are something like owner's manuals for our life you buy a car and it has an owner's manual it tells you how to care for the car what's good about the car with the features of the cars how you can get the most out of the car there's a sense and again don't take this analogy too far but there's some sense in which the Bible is an owner's manual for life it tells you how to get the most out of life now sometimes we think that we can get more out of life by disobedience by bad conduct that isn't wisdom true wisdom knows that the best life we can live the path to that best life is shown by our good conduct and like the second thing that James adds here in verse 13 that our works are done in the meekness of wisdom true wisdom is also evident by our meek manner in other words those who do good works in a way designed to bring attention to ourselves that shows we lack true wisdom if it's all about bringing it back to us and showing how wonderful we are and proclaiming our greatness to everybody listen that person lacks wisdom not only do they lack good manners not only they lack class they lack wisdom and so true wisdom is going to be shown by good conduct and it's gonna be shown by some humility in life now James is not done talking to us about wisdom let's pick it up here now at verse 14 of James chapter 3 here we read but if you have bitter envy and self seeking in your hearts do not boast and lie against the truth this wisdom does not descend from above but is earthly sensual demonic for we're envy and self seeking exists confusion and every evil thing are there well versus 14 15 and 16 tell us a lot about the character of earthly wisdom what we might almost call dead wisdom James was talking about dead faith a little bit earlier in the letter well you could say this sort of describes dead wisdom this dead wisdom or earthly wisdom it's marked by what look at verse 14 bitter Envy and self seeking by the way that's the opposite of what James is talking about in verse 13 what was verse 13 telling us about good conduct and the meekness of wisdom opposite to that is what we find in verse 14 bitter envy and self seeking and again those kind of people are also going to boast and lie against the truth that's why in verse 14 James tells us do not boast and lie against the truth anybody who shows bitter Envy anybody who shows this kind of self seeking they should not deceive anybody especially they should not deceive themselves about their supposed wisdom the wisdom that they show is earthly it's sensual it's demonic their wisdom is more characteristic of the world the flesh and the devil then it actually is of God and again we get back to this point this wisdom is not wisdom at all notice how he begins verse 15 this wisdom does not descend from above again this wisdom it's dead wisdom it's not real wisdom at all it is earthly sensual and demonic I like how the Old English commentator Adam Clarke defined each one of these terms earthly he said earthly has only this life in view it doesn't think about the eternal sensual is sort of animalistic in the way that it only has the gratification of the passions and the bodily desires in mind and then thirdly it's demonic Adam Clarke said it's inspired by demons and maintained the soul by their influence in other words it's within the interest of demonic spirits to promote this kind of earthly wisdom this dead wisdom among us this wisdom that's really just sort of a matter of the mind instead of being shown by Good Conduct and the meekness of wisdom the result of this is found in verse 16 did you notice what he said there look at verse 16 he says for we're envy and self-seeking exist confusion and every evil thing are there this is the result the fruit of human earthly wisdom you want to know what the product of human earthly wisdom is it's confusion and every evil thing wasn't I know about you when I look around the world today when I look at so many lives so many nations so many problems so many crises in the world today wouldn't you say it's confusion and every evil thing that's because the vast majority of the world even some of those who name the name of Jesus Christ they live on this earthly wisdom this dead wisdom this wisdom that is not wisdom at all that is the fruit of earthly wisdom the wisdom promoted by the world the flesh and the devil now listen it may be able to accomplish some things maybe it can make money maybe it can become famous maybe it can become popular but the ultimate result of that earthly wisdom is always going to be confusion and every evil thing now in contrast to that check out verses 17 and 18 I love these two verses I think you're going to be excited by them as well look at verses 17 and 18 we read this but the wisdom that is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle willing to yield full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace and let's take apart these two verses because this is like a field full of gold right here down at our feet first of all verse 17 he says but again drawing a contrast to the earthly wisdom that was described in verses 14 15 and 16 but the wisdom that is from above God's kind of wisdom some kind of wisdom that we get from heaven that kind of wisdom what are its characteristics again go back to the previous verses what are the characteristics of the earthly dead wisdom well its earthly sensual demonic self seeking confusion every evil thing those are the things that mark the dead wisdom the wisdom that isn't wisdom let's take a look at the things that mark that are the fruits or the product of the wisdom that comes from heaven first of all it's pure no according to Burdick who's a pretty good commentator on the book of James Berdych says that this purity is not really a reference to sexual purity but it's really sort of the absence of any kind of sinful attitude or motive it's good motives it's it's some it's genuine it's authentic first it's pure that's God's kind of wisdom in action secondly it's peaceable it's not looking to stir up trouble it brings goodness it brings Shalom to know that great word from the Old Testament peace the Hebrew word for peace Shalom you see when we think of peace we usually think of it in terms of just the absence of conflict if two parties are not fighting against each other than they have peace that's not the idea of Shalom peace in the Hebrew Scriptures in Hebrew culture Shalom is not only the absence of conflict but it's the promotion of good of health of good things for the world and good things for society that's what Shalom is all about so it's pure then peaceable James writing from a Jewish culture I'm sure he had that idea of Shalom in mind then he says it's you're peaceable notice the third thing in the list in verse 17 it is gentle now I like what William Barclay has to say about this word gentle he says this quote it is impossible to find an English word to translate this quality Matthew Arnold called it a sweet reasonableness and it is the ability to extend to others the kindly consideration we would wish to receive ourselves that's what gentleness is it's sweet reasonableness it's a person who's reasonable who's sensible who follows what Jesus called or what we call Jesus said it we call it the golden rule what's that I should treat other people the only that I want to be treated that's gentle that's sweet reasonableness that is a mark of the wisdom that comes from heaven and not only that let's keep looking at this list here in verse 17 first pure then peaceable then gentle then willing to yield Wow that's one we usually don't think about you know isn't it funny most the time we think that godly people are very non compromising in other words they're not willing to yield now everybody understand me on this certainly there are areas in which we should not compromise we shouldn't compromise when it comes to the gospel we shouldn't compromise when it comes to the integrity of the Scriptures we shouldn't compromise when it comes to morality when it comes to what the Bible tells us about you know how we should live and and what God's commands are oh no there are plenty of places where we should not compromise but if a person is just generally stubborn if a person is just never willing to yield that is not a mark of heavenly wisdom God's wisdom a living wisdom because right here in James chapter 3 verse 17 it says that God's kind of wisdom the wisdom from above is willing to yield have you ever thought about that again let me read you what different commentators have said about that phrase willing to yield Adam Clarke said it means not stubborn or obstinate another commentator James Moffat said that it is the opposite of stiff and unbending then finally William Barclay said that true wisdom is not rigid but is willing to listen and skilled in knowing when wisely to yield I like that definition skilled in knowing when wisely to yield now listen we don't want to be a compromising people when it comes to the gospel two essential doctrines to the person and work of Jesus - the fundamentals of morality as is explained to us in the scriptures we get all that but you know just a lot of the natural give-and-take that we have in daily life the things that aren't matters of Scripture or the gospel or things these things we should be a little more willing to yield we shouldn't be so stubborn we shouldn't be so obstinate that is a mark of heavenly wisdom so so far we've talked about gentle willing to yield an excuse me let me go back to the beginning first pure then peaceable then gentle then willing to yield we've gone through four here's number five full of mercy the wisdom that comes from heaven does not judge others strictly on the basis of law but it will extend a generous hand that is full of mercy just like Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven verse two the Sermon on the Mount that this letter of James makes so many allusions back to the Sermon on the Mount in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that the same measure in which you measure to others that's what God is going to measure to you so if we are full of mercy to other people showing that kind of heavenly wisdom God will be full of mercy to us that is heavenly wisdom number six this wisdom is full of good fruits about this this wisdom from above can be seen by the fruit it produces by its results this wisdom it isn't just the inner power to think about things and talk about things if I could say this in the right way and again I hope nobody understands me in an incorrect way but this isn't the ability just to talk about things like philosophers this is a way that has results it's full of good fruits now I'm not saying that to be down on philosophy there's a place for thinking there's a place for just you know discussing great thoughts but listen it's got to come down to where the rubber meets the road true wisdom that comes from above is full of good fruits and notice now this is number seven on the list it is without partiality it isn't prejudiced it isn't discriminatory we've already talked about that in the book of James but now he's bringing back the idea God's wisdom is without partiality God is no respecter of persons he doesn't judge people on the basis of their race on the basis of their class on the basis of their nationality he doesn't judge people on the basis of their ethnic background on and on and on we could have no no and when we reflect the wisdom that rules in heaven we will be without partiality now number eight he says this wisdom is without hypocrisy what's that well hypocrisy is pretending to be something that you're not when we act in our own character we are without hypocrisy and that is God's wisdom now again I love this idea without partiality and without hypocrisy number seven and eight on our list that that speaks of people who are real upfront they're authentic have you ever thought about that that you know there's a lot of talk in the world today or at least valuing of the idea of authenticity that we should be real people listen godly wisdom wisdom that comes from above real wisdom living wisdom what does it produce it produces authentic people not people who live double lives now people have one thing on one side and no real living authentic people and then finally he says here check it out here in verse 18 he says now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace again don't we see so many illusions back to the Sermon on the Mount you remember one of the Beatitudes blessed are the peace makers well here James is talking about those who make peace they will see the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace I love this the result of heavenly wisdom of living wisdom of real wisdom it's like fruit that the wise person casts all about them in their life now think about it when you have a person who lives this way when you have a person who lives full of purity peaceable nough centel 'no steeled full of mercy good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy that person is spreading good things around them everywhere that they go people want to be around people like that now think about this for a moment if there was any person who walked this earth who exemplified this wisdom more than anybody else who do you think it was of course you know the answer to that it was Jesus Jesus himself Jesus lived this kind of life Jesus perfectly exemplified these things and no wonder that people wanted to be around Jesus this kind of life is magnetic this kind of life is authentic this kind of life spreads good things wherever it goes now if Jesus is the perfect representation of it and as I look at these eight qualities and measure my life against them can I tell you something I find that I don't measure up how about you do you find that you sort of lack in those things as well well no wonder because we do lack but you know what I take great comfort in I take great comfort in the fact that the one who lived these things out perfectly Jesus Christ he he lives within me isn't that a thrilling thought Jesus lives within me the one who perfectly lived these things out and so I can just say simply yes thank you Jesus yes thank you living me and lived through me to live out this heavenly wisdom you see if I need this wisdom in me it means I need Jesus in me I need to abide in Jesus I need to put my focus on Jesus I can't achieve these things by gritting my teeth and just trying harder no I need to let Jesus fill my life and live these things in me and through me that will show real wisdom real faith is shown by the believer as James has discussed elsewhere so is real wisdom brother and sisters I think God wants you I think God wants me I think he wants each and every one of us to have a living faith and he wants us to have a living wisdom wisdom if I could put it this way wisdom that's really wise not foolish wisdom but real wisdom at the end of it all and again if I could quote something from Jesus again in Matthew chapter 11 verse 19 jesus said it's a phrase that is a little bit mysterious that she said but I love that he said it he said wisdom it's justified of her children what did he mean by that you'll be able to see true wisdom by the results by a godly life by this peaceable fruit of righteousness that has shown and sewn everywhere I know God wants that for me I know he wants it for you so let's keep ourselves focused upon Jesus Christ let's run to Jesus every time we fail or fall short in one of these eight areas because I'm so grateful that not only does Jesus live this life in me not only says he show me by his own life but perhaps even more importantly Jesus Christ paid the penalty of sin for every time I fall short of the wonderful standard I'm forgiven in him I'm empowered by him I walk forward and I want to show it I know you did to the peaceable fruit of righteousness I wanted to be sown in peace in my life and through my life I hope it's that way for you as well next time together we're going to begin where we left off starting at James chapter 4 I hope you'll join us [Music]

Channel: David Guzik

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Keywords: James, Book of James, Letter of James, Bible, New Testament, Wisdom, Earthly Wisdom, Heavenly Wisdom, Living Faith, David Guzik, Guzik

Id: ReKSHb5YPZw

Length: 25min 14sec (1514 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 13 2019