13 Earthly and Heavenly Wisdom

(James 3:13–18)

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (3:13–18)

Both Scripture and ancient philosophers placed a premium on wisdom, which, broadly defined, is not simply a matter of possessing factual knowledge but of properly and effectively applying truth to everyday life. Solomon wrote,” Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding” (Prov. 4:7). Some nine hundred years later, the first-century B.C. Roman philosopher Cicero stated that wisdom is “the best gift of the gods” and is “the mother of all good things.” Both men considered wisdom to be the highest and most noble and valuable of all possessions. But it was the Hebrews who clearly understood that true wisdom was not intellectual, but behavioral. Thus, the biggest fool was one who knew truth and failed to apply it. To the Jews, wisdom was skill in living righteously.

But both the Old and New Testaments make clear that wisdom is of two basic kinds, the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God, the wisdom from below and the wisdom from above. In the Old Testament, the words wisdom and wise appear some three hundred times, a hundred of those times in Proverbs alone.

King Solomon sought wisdom above all else:

In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said,” Ask what you wish me to give you. “Then Solomon said,” You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. … So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him,” Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you” (1 Kings 3:5–6, 9–12; cf. 4: 29–31; 5:12; 10:23–24)

Although God’s spiritual wisdom was available to all, including Solomon. The wisdom he asked for and received from the Lord at that time was no doubt primarily related to unusual skill in ruling Israel in practical, everyday living. Solomon needed wisdom to solve economic, military, and social problems, as well as the other decisions resolving matters that constantly arose in the king’s dealing with his own people and with surrounding nations.

The book of Ecclesiastes, which most scholars believe was written by Solomon (see 1:1, 12, 16; 2:4–9), is classified as Old Testament wisdom literature, along with Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon. But the wisdom about which Solomon speaks in Ecclesiastes is clearly human in its perspective. It relates how man sees the world through his own fallen, self-centered, sinful eyes. It reveals the folly, uselessness, senselessness, frustration, and futility of man’s wisdom without God.

Solomon said to himself,” ‘Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.’ And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain” (Eccl. 1:16–18). In other words, human wisdom is totally bankrupt.

The king indulged himself in every sort of pleasure, wealth, extravagant living, human knowledge, laughter, wine, empire building, collecting artifacts, musical entertainment, sexual gratification, personal accomplishments, and even madness and folly (2:1–11). And although he acknowledged that human wisdom excels folly, he concluded that the wise man and the fool suffer the same ultimate fate—death (vv. 1216)! He also makes clear that the foundation and motivation of human wisdom is self. Chapter 2 is replete with references to “my mind,” “my body “and “myself.” At this time in his life, Solomon himself was the center of everything he did and strove for; and he discovered that self never satisfies. Its reward is always despair, hatred of life, hopelessness, and vanity (2:17–23).

Solomon realized that the material blessings he pursued and briefly enjoyed were “from the hand of God” (2:24–25); and when he “saw every work of God, [he] concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, I know, ‘ he cannot discover” (8:17). He knew that human wisdom, accomplishments, and pleasures were dead ends and that the only source of true fulfillment and happiness was found in knowing and loving God (12:1–14). Yet it seems obvious that when he wrote Ecclesiastes he had not given himself to the God he knew was the answer to his deepest needs. If human wisdom was all there was, he was right when he cynically “congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living,” concluding that “better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun” (4:2–3). That is, it would be better not to have been born.

That is not the wisdom the Lord provides and desires for His people. While He led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, He lamented of them: “Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future!” (Deut. 32:29). His concern was for their spiritual wisdom, which would cause them to turn from apostasy back to Himself.

The psalmist declared,” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2:10–11). After Nebuchadnezzar took Judah captive to Babylon, God gave Daniel and his three friends “knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams” (Dan. 1:17; cf. 5:14). That young man of God declared,

Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and power; even now You have made known to me what we requested of You. (Dan. 2:20–23)

Near the end of Israel’s captivity in Babylon, the pagan King Artaxerxes acknowledged that God had given Ezra divine wisdom to lead his people back to Jerusalem, saying,” You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them” (Ezra 7:25).

Job declared that God is “wise in heart and mighty in strength, who has defied Him without harm?” (Job 9:4). Later he asks rhetorically,” Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” and then answers,” Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (28:12, 28). True wisdom, the wisdom from above, is not a matter of how much one knows but of how much one trusts, loves, and obeys the Lord.

The psalmist exulted,” O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all” (Ps. 104:24), and the writer of Proverbs,” The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. … How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver” (Prov. 3:19; 16:16; cf. 4:5–6). Perhaps the most powerful call to true wisdom in the Old Testament is in Proverbs 8. The first twenty-one verses deal with wisdom’s excellence. Verses 1–3 speak of its excellence in appeal; verses 4–12 of its excellence in truth; verses 13–16 of its excellence in what it loves and hates; and verses 17–21 of the excellence of its gifts to those who possess it. The next, and by far the most important, section deals with the source and origin of wisdom, declaring that

the Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. … When He established the heavens, I was there, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, … when He set for the sea its boundary so that the water would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth; then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. (8:22–23, 27, 29–30)

Jeremiah testified,” Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. … It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens” (Jer. 10:7, 12). In the words of Hosea,” Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth” (Hos. 6:3).

In the Old Testament, the phrase “fear of the Lord” was equivalent to “trusting in the Lord,” and referred to saving faith, as is made clear in Hebrews 11. Moses wrote,” You shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. … Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut. 8:6; 10:12; cf. 14:23; 17:19).

Even in New Testament times, the term “God-fearer” was used of Gentile converts to Judaism, who trusted in the Lord to the extent that their knowledge and understanding of revelation from God allowed. Luke refers to the Roman centurion Cornelius as “a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews” (Acts 10:22). In Athens, Paul “was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles” (17:17). Like Jews whose faith was truly in God, Gentiles who were genuine God-fearers inevitably recognized the truth of the gospel when they heard it and received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The New Testament is even more explicit about the source of true wisdom. Paul declared that Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God…. who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). He reminded the church at Colossae that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). In his epistle to the church in Rome he wrote,” Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33; cf. Job 5:9; 9:10; 11:7; Ps. 145:3). He prayed

that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places…. that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:10, 16–19; cf. Rev. 7:12)

Submission to the Holy Spirit is the sure mark of a Christian’s wisdom. In giving instruction for selecting deacons, the apostles commanded,” Select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task” (Acts 6:3). As Stephen, one of those men, was preaching, his opponents “were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (6:10).

In 3:13–18 James offers wisdom as still another test of living faith. The kind of wisdom a person possesses will be revealed by the kind of life he lives (v. 13). Those who possess the wisdom of man, the wisdom from below, will demonstrate by their lives that they have no saving relationship to Jesus Christ and no desire to worship, serve, or obey Him (vv. 14–16). Those, on the other hand, who possess genuine saving faith will manifest the wisdom of God, the wisdom from above (vv. 17–18).

THE TEST OF WISDOM

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. (3:13)

Some interpreters believe the phrase who among you refers only to the teachers, or would-be teachers, addressed in verse 1. But it seems more probable that, like the intervening section on the tongue (vv. 2–12), this section on wisdom (vv. 13–18) applies to everyone in the churches to whom James was writing, true believers and mere professed believers. James is seeking to identify who is truly skilled in the art of righteous living. “In what way are you wise?” he is saying, in effect,” and in what way are you understanding? The answer will reveal not only your inner character but the spiritual condition of your soul.”

It is hard to find a self-professed fool. Most people have an elevated and unrealistically high opinion of their wisdom, although they might not say so. They believe they are just as “savvy” as the next person and that their opinion is usually better than anyone else’s. In this day of relativism, such perception is virtually universal.

Although the two terms seem to be used synonymously here, wise and understanding carry a shade of difference in meaning. Sophos (wise) is a general word, often used by the Greeks to designate speculative knowledge, theory, or philosophy. For the Jews, as noted earlier, it carried the deeper meaning of careful application of knowledge to personal living. Epistēmōn (understanding) appears only here in the New Testament and carries the idea of specialized knowledge, such as that of a highly skilled tradesman or professional.

Let him show translates an aorist imperative, making the verb a command. “If you claim wisdom and understanding” he is saying,” show it first by your good behavior, your exemplary lifestyle.” As with faith (2:17), wisdom and understanding that are not demonstrated in righteous, godly living are devoid of spiritual value.

Second, and somewhat more specifically, James admonishes readers to show their wisdom and understanding by their good (implied) deeds, by all the particular activities and endeavors they are involved in.

Third, believers are to demonstrate wisdom and understanding by an attitude of gentleness. People who are wise in their own eyes are generally arrogant about it, which would be expected, because an elevated self-view is based on pride. As made clear in the following verse, selfish ambition is a common companion of arrogance.

Prautēs (gentleness) and its related adjective praus (gentle) carry the idea of tenderness and graciousness, and can be accurately translated “meekness” and “meek,” respectively. But unlike those English words, the Greek terms do not connote weakness but rather power under control. The adjective was often used of a wild horse that was broken and made useful to its owner. For believers, gentleness is to be willingly under the sovereign control of God. Numbers 12:3 (KJV) describes Moses as “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. “Yet that same Moses could act decisively, and flared up in anger when provoked.

Gentleness is a God-honored character trait, a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23). It is never bitter, malicious, self-seeking, self-promoting, arrogant, or vengeful. James has earlier admonished believers,” Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility (prautēs) receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” (1:21). Gentleness or meekness is to characterize everyone in the kingdom of God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,” Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5). Our Lord used it of Himself, saying,” Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29; cf. 21:5).

In his excellent nineteenth-century commentary on James, Robert Johnstone wrote:

I do not know that at any point the opposition between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of Christ is more marked, more obviously diametrical, than with regard to this feature of character. That “the meek” should “inherit the earth”—they who bear wrongs, and exemplify that love which “seeketh not her own,”—to a world which believes in high-handedness and self-assertion, and pushing the weakest to the wall, a statement like this of the Lord from heaven cannot but appear an utter paradox. The man of the world desires to be counted anything but “meek” or “poor in spirit,” and would deem such a description of him equivalent to a charge of unmanliness. Ah, brethren, this is because we have taken in Satan’s conception of manliness instead of God’s. One Man has been shown us by God, in whom His ideal of man was embodied; and He,” when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously;” He for those who nailed Him to the tree prayed,” Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do “The world’s spirit of wrath, then, must be folly; whilst than a spirit of meekness like His, in the midst of controversy, oppositions, trials of whatever kind, there can be no surer evidence that “Jesus is made of God to His people wisdom.”…

We have here again what may be described as the central thought of this epistle, that where religion [the gospel] has real saving hold of a mind and heart, it cannot from its nature but powerfully influence the outward life; and that the more a Christian has of true wisdom and spiritual knowledge, the more manifestly will his life at all points be governed by his religion [faith]. Talk of orthodoxy and Christian experience, however fluent and animated and clever, does not of itself prove wisdom; the really wise man will “show his work.” (A Commentary on James [reprint; Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1977], 261–62; 259)

FALSE WISDOM

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. (3:14–16)

The wisdom that is of the world, that is based on man’s own understanding, standards, and objectives, is false and ungodly. In false wisdom, man is supreme. False wisdom does not recognize God’s sovereignty, God’s will, or God’s truth. In these three verses James briefly discusses the motivation (v. 14), the characteristics (v. 15), and the results (v. 16) of false wisdom.

THE MOTIVATION OF FALSE WISDOM

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. (3:14)

Motivation is always determined in the heart. That is where both unbelief and belief, sin and righteousness originate. Jesus said to the disciples on the road to Emmaus,” O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25). Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch,” If you believe with all your heart, you may [be saved]” (Acts 8:37), and Paul declares,” If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). The Lord also made clear that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matt. 15:19). It is for that reason that Solomon warned,” Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23).

Of the several sinful motives behind human wisdom, James mentions only two here: The first is bitter jealousy. Pikros (bitter) has the basic meaning of pointed, sharp, prickly, or pungent, and James has just used it in that literal sense in relation to bitter water coming out of a fountain (v. 11). Here he uses it metaphorically to describe the worst sort of jealousy, that which is harsh, sharp, cutting, and destructive, having no concern for the feelings or welfare of those who are its objects.

Those whose lives are based on and motivated by human, ungodly wisdom are inevitably self-centered, living in a world in which their own personal ideas, desires, and standards are the measure of everything. Whatever and whoever serves those ends is considered good and friendly; whatever and whoever threatens those ends is considered bad and an enemy. Those who are engulfed in self-serving worldly wisdom resent anyone or anything that comes between them and their own objectives.

A second and closely related motive behind human wisdom is selfish ambition, which is typically the motive on which bitter jealousy is based. Selfish ambition translates the single Greek word eritheia, which connotes strife, contentiousness, and extreme selfishness. The term originally referred to spinning thread for hire, then more broadly to sewing for hire, then more broadly still to any sort of work or undertaking that was done for personal gain. The idea of ambition is implied here by the context.

Understandably, the word became closely associated with those who sought high political office or other positions of influence and power. It was used of personal gratification and self-fulfillment at any cost, which are the ultimate goals of all fleshly endeavors. It has no room for others, much less genuine humility. It is that ultimate self-elevation rampant in the world today which is the antithesis of what the humble, selfless, giving, loving, and obedient child of God is called to be.

A person whose motives are based on the world’s wisdom is inevitably arrogant. Katakauchaomai, here translated be arrogant, is a strengthened and intensified form of a verb that means to boast. In most of the pagan world of New Testament times, the word had a positive connotation. As today, boasting and self-glorying were the accepted and expected marks of a military or sports hero or of anyone else who was highly successful in some field of endeavor.

But the faithful Christian is not to have such arrogance, which characterizes the absence of divine wisdom. When arrogance is the normal and unabashed attitude of a person, it demonstrates the absence of a saving relationship to God.

A professed Christian who is proud, boasting, self-centered, loveless, and arrogant is a fraud. To claim otherwise is to lie against the truth, to utterly contradict the gospel of Jesus Christ and the clear teaching of all the New Testament. Near the beginning of this letter, James speaks of salvation as God’s bringing “us forth by the word of truth,” and at the end he says,” My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth” (1:18; 5:19, emphasis added), clearly identifying truth as a synonym of the gospel, where true wisdom starts.

There is nothing more characteristic of fallen, unredeemed men than being dominated by self. James is therefore saying that, if a person claims to belong to God and to have the wisdom of God, but his life is motivated and characterized by selfish ambition and bitter jealousy, he is simply lying against the truth. Whatever he might claim, he cannot be saved. He is a living lie.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FALSE WISDOM

This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. (3:15)

Here James briefly presents three of the most distinct and basic characteristics of false, ungodly wisdom, which is not that which comes down from God by revelation and the Spirit. The three great enemies of the believer are the world, the flesh, and the devil, which correspond to the three characteristics of false wisdom that James mentions here. It is earthly (of the world), natural (of the flesh), and demonic (of the devil).

First, such wisdom is earthly, in that it is limited to the present, material world of time and space. By definition, it is restricted to things that man can theorize, discover, and accomplish by himself. It has no place for God or the things of God. It has no place for spiritual truth or illumination. It is a closed system, a circumscribed box, as it were, of man’s own making and choosing under satanic prompting.

As James has just noted, this wisdom is motivated by pride, selfish ambition, arrogance, self-centeredness, self-interest, and self-aggrandizement. It spawns a society whose watchwords are “Do your own thing,” “Have it your way,” and “Look out for number one.” It pervades philosophy, education, politics, economics, sociology, psychology, and every other dimension and aspect of contemporary human life.

Second, false wisdom is natural, sensual, fleshly. It relates only to the fallen, unredeemed man, who is wholly corrupted by the Fall and separated from God. It originates in the “natural man [who] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14). Those who rely on this wisdom are “worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 19). All of their feelings, desires, appetites, standards, and impulses are grounded in a humanistic view of the world and of man, who, understandably, becomes the measure of all things. Such wisdom not only feeds the flesh but also is foolish (1 Cor. 1:20).

Third, false wisdom is demonic. Although it is human, earth-bound, and fleshly, its root source is Satan himself, working through his demonic fallen angels, who rebelled with him against God in ages past. Satan has always promised wisdom to those he tempts, asserting that God’s Word should be doubted and his own accepted, which was the essence of his temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Contradicting what the Lord had told Adam, Satan said to her,” God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). In other words, that archdemon said that if she did what God had forbidden, she not only would not die but would actually become like God. Thus was born the lie that man can be his own god. To the world’s philosophers, religion in general and biblical Christianity specifically are relics of a superstitious, prescientific age that relied on fantasy to explain what had not yet been discovered by man’s own efforts.

Concerned about false teachers in Corinth, Paul warned believers there:

I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. … For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (2 Cor. 11:3–4, 13–15)

The apostle warned Timothy that “the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). The wisdom from below is nothing more than the “foolishness” of demons. Appealing to men’s natural fallenness and sinful inclination to arrogant self-interest, this wisdom deceives them into believing Satan’s lies rather than God’s truth. What they believe to be their own wisdom is really the devil’s.

Only the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of the righteous protect the world from an absolutely satanic and animalistic existence. But when both are removed from earth at the Rapture, Satan and his minions will cause hell to literally break loose (see Matt. 24:15–31; 1 Thess. 4:13–5:11; 2 Thess. 2:1–5). Paul explains,

You know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2 Thess. 2:6–12)

The great demonic delusion that will fall on the remaining, unbelieving mankind at that time will not be anything new but will rather be the full unleashing of the demonic delusion that has gripped unredeemed men since the Fall. The malignant infection that began then will continue unabated until the Lord returns in judgment at the end of the Great Tribulation and ushers in His millennial kingdom. Until then,” evil men and impostors will,” in fact,” proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13).

In his second epistle, Peter assures believers that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Pet. 2:9). Using many of the terms used by James in the present passage, he then describes in some detail “the unrighteous,” those who propagate and live by worldly wisdom.

[They] indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet. These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. (2 Pet. 2:10–19)

Judgment will be still greater for those who have made a profession of Christ and identified themselves outwardly with His church but have not trusted in Him for salvation. “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Peter continues,” they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first” (2 Pet. 2:20). Such people have been exposed to the divine wisdom of the gospel and the way of eternal life, but, in the end, they return to their own human, earthly, and demonic wisdom and the way of eternal death (cf. Matt. 7:21–23).

THE RESULTS OF FALSE WISDOM

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. (3:16)

Reiterating the two motives behind false wisdom, namely, jealousy and selfish ambition, James says that wherever they exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. Both disorder and every evil thing are obviously broad terms that cover a multitude of specific bad results, which there is no need to delineate in detail. But they certainly include anger; bitterness; resentment; lawsuits; divorce; racial, ethnic, social, and economic divisions; and a host of other personal and social disorders. They also include the absence of love, intimacy, trust, fellowship, and harmony.

Akatastasia (disorder) has the basic meaning of instability, and hence came to be used of a state of confusion, disturbance, disarray, or tumult, sometimes even of rebellion or anarchy. Cautioning His disciples about future false reports of His second coming and the end of the age, Jesus said,” When you hear of wars and disturbances [akatastasia], do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately” (Luke 21:9).

James has already made clear that disorder does not characterize God’s people but rather the “double-minded man, unstable [akatastasia]” (James 1:8) and the unredeemed tongue, which “is a restless [akatastasia] evil and full of deadly poison” (3:8). Because “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33), biblical wisdom, on the other hand, brings harmony, unity, peace, and love. All the conflicts, crimes, battles, and wars of the world are evidence of the devastation caused by human wisdom.

Every evil thing is the broadest possible category of the bad results produced by human wisdom. In its better sense, phaulos (evil) means worthless; in its worst, it means vile and contemptible. The noted scholar R. C. Trench comments that the word “contemplate [s] evil… not from the aspect of its active or passive malignity but rather from its good-for-nothingness, the utter impossibility of any true gain ever coming forth from it” (Synonyms of the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983], 317). It is used several places in the New Testament to contrast the works of those who are saved and obedient from those who are unsaved and disobedient (see John 5:29; Rom. 9:11 KJV; 2 Cor. 5:10 KJV).

Pragma (thing), from which we get the English pragmatic, is variously rendered “work,” “deed,” “event,” “occurrence,” “affair,” and such. The idea is that absolutely nothing of any ultimate good results from human wisdom.

If a person professes saving faith in Jesus Christ and claims to have wisdom from God, but has a heart that is proud, arrogant, and self-centered and lives a life that is worldly, sensual, and self-serving, his claims to salvation are false. He is lying against the truth (v. 14).

TRUE WISDOM

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (3:17–18)

The wisdom from above refers, of course, to God’s own divine wisdom, which He graciously bestows on those who trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament equated wisdom with loving God (Prov. 9:10). The New Testament links saving faith and godly wisdom. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said,” Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7:24). The “words of Mine” to which He refers have to do with salvation, with taking the small gate and narrow way that leads to eternal life (v. 14) and having a personal relationship to Him (v. 23). Those who are saved will be the only ones ready for the Lord’s return; and, again, they are referred to as those who are truly wise and sensible. “For this reason,” Jesus said,” you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes” (Matt. 24:44–46). He gave a similar warning in the parable of the ten virgins (25:1–13). There can be no wisdom from above apart from a saving relationship to Jesus Christ, who is Himself “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24; cf. v. 30; Col. 2:3) and who brings sinners into eternal communion with God.

Verses 17–18 of James 3, which focus on God’s divine wisdom from above, are a refreshing and welcome contrast to the verses just preceding. Following the same basic pattern as that for false wisdom, James here gives the motivation (v. 17a), the characteristics (v. 176), and the results (v. 18) of godly wisdom.

THE MOTIVATION OF TRUE WISDOM

is first pure, (3:17a)

Hagnos (pure) carries the idea of being free of contamination or defilement and was used by the ancient Greeks of a cleansing ceremony whereby a worshiper was made pure and worthy enough to approach the gods. On the temple of Aesculapius in Epidaurus is the following inscription: “He who would enter the divine temple must be pure [hagnos].” Even the pagans realized that deity should only be approached with a pure heart. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that, without such purity or “sanctification … no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). This refers to spiritual integrity and moral sincerity.

Hagnos comes from the same root as hagios, which is usually translated “holy.” It is not a stretch, therefore, to say that pure wisdom is holy wisdom. Coming from above, that is, from God, it could not be otherwise. The sixth Beatitude is,” Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). David sought purity of heart, praying,” Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow…. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:7, 10). John assures us that “everyone who has this hope fixed on Him [Jesus Christ] purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). Even when a true believer falls into sin, he can say with Paul,

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man. (Rom. 7:15–22)

The apostle John reminds us,” Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2–3).

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TRUE WISDOM

then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. (3:17b)

The connecting adverb of time epeita (then) is the basis for taking “pure” to be a motive for godly wisdom, rather than a characteristic, of which James proceeds to give a list of some seven.

First, this wisdom is peaceable. Again, James reflects the Beatitudes, this time the seventh: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). The truly wise don’t perpetrate conflict by their selfishness, but produce peace by their humility (cf. Phil. 2:1–4).

Second, godly wisdom is gentle. Epieikēs (gentle) has no satisfactory equivalent in English, but it carries the ideas of equitable, seemly, fitting, fair, moderate, forbearing, courteous, and considerate. A gentle person is humbly patient, submits to dishonor and abuse, mistreatment, and persecution, knowing that “blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth,” and “blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:5, 10–12). Those who are genuinely gentle know that “the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged” (2 Tim. 2:24), humbly and “with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:25).

Third, godly wisdom is reasonable, willing to yield without rancor or disputing. It is teachable, compliant, and not stubborn. It was used of a man who willingly submitted to military discipline, accepting and complying with whatever was demanded of him and of a person who faithfully observes legal and moral standards. This quality reflects the first Beatitude,” Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3).

Fourth, godly wisdom is full of mercy, again very clearly corresponding to a Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7). The believer who is full of mercy evidences his saving faith and transformed life not only by forgiving those who have wronged him but by reaching out to help them in whatever ways are needed. Like the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37), he has concern and compassion for anyone he encounters who is suffering or who needs any kind of support or assistance. He has special concern for fellow believers, for his brothers and sisters in Christ. John implores us,

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. … Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 3:16–18; 4:7–8, 11)

Fifth, godly wisdom is full of … good fruits, which refers to every sort of good work or deed. He demonstrates his genuine faith by his authentic good works (James 2:14–20). A believer is known for doing good and for exemplifying the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23). In all of this, he reflects his “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6).

Sixth, godly wisdom is unwavering. Adiakritos (unwavering) is used only here in the New Testament and literally means not to be parted or divided, hence without uncertainty, indecision, inconsistency, vacillation, or doubtfulness. The word was therefore sometimes used to indicate impartiality, treating everyone equally without favoritism, an important spiritual quality that James has already emphasized (2:1–9).

Seventh and finally, godly wisdom is without hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is one of the sins Jesus condemned most, four times just in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16; 7:5). He repeatedly excoriated the scribes, Pharisees, and other Jewish leaders for their gross hypocrisy and insincerity. He warned His disciples,” Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). When a group of Pharisees conspired to trick Him into criticizing paying taxes to Caesar,” Jesus perceived their malice, and said, ‘Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?’” (Matt. 22:18). A short while later He told a similar group,” Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:27–28). He ended the parable of the wise and evil servants with these sobering words: “The master of that [evil] slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 24:50–51). Peter classifies hypocrisy with malice, deceit, envy, and slander (see 1 Pet. 2:1).

All of these are the virtues of divine wisdom taught in the Scriptures and produced in believers by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23).

THE RESULTS OF TRUE WISDOM

And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (3:18)

This sentence is difficult to translate from the Greek, which literally reads something like,” And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” In the New American Standard Bible the words seed whose have been added, since it is not fruit itself that is sown but rather the seed of the fruit. Seed represents godly wisdom, whose fruit is righteousness.

It is possible that James had in mind the idea of fruit being harvested and then, in part, becoming seed, which is resown in peace, as it were, and produces still more fruit, and so on, in the familiar cycle of growing and reaping.

In any case, the basic idea is clear: There is an inexorable causal relationship between godly wisdom, genuine righteousness, and peace. Godly wisdom produces a continuing cycle of righteousness, which is planted and harvested in a peaceful, harmonious relationship between God and His faithful people and between those people themselves. As Isaiah declared,” The work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever” (Isa. 32:17).

As James continually emphasizes, the person who professes to be a Christian must prove it by his works, his daily living. If he is a true believer, he will possess his Lord’s own wisdom, and that wisdom will manifest itself in righteous, selfless, and peaceful living. He has the revelation of God’s wisdom in Scripture and the teacher and interpreter of God’s wisdom in the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul therefore prayed for the church at Ephesus,” that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). He later admonished them,” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise” (5:15). “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food,” the apostle elsewhere assures us,” will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Cor. 9:10), the righteousness “which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:11).