But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

James 3:13–18 – Doing the Word: Directions for life to a scattered church from The Letter of James
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 9, 2020 (am)
   

This passage is the nerve-center of this letter. Virtually all the themes James addresses intersect here: wisdom, [humility], good works, jealousy and selfish ambition, good gifts from above, [impartiality], righteousness, peace….

And the subjects of jealousy and selfish ambition, which link this paragraph (13-18) with the next (4:1-3) also show James’ awareness, and perhaps even his use, of some materials outside of OT Scripture that were part of a popular Hellenistic-Jewish moral tradition that traced social ills back to jealousy and envy (Moo 135). In fact, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, a Jewish writing from roughly 100 bc, had a particularly similar collection of thoughts as this section of James’ letter (3:18-4:12). The thought is not that James borrowed directly from this work, but just that our familiarity with this connection could aid our understanding of his point in these verses (Moo 135)—and that he’s talking the people’s language, using familiar words and concepts, and speaking in ways they could understand.

In any case, wisdom is the central subject, the focal point in this paragraph, the second of only two passages where he mentions this topic in his letter that’s labeled as NT Wisdom. Wisdom is one of those virtues that fascinate people. So many who don’t even know God are strongly desirous of feeling wise; we can see it each time a celebrity or an athlete or a politician tries to make a meaningful statement on some moral issue or at some awards ceremony. And those who do know God are insatiably drawn toward wisdom, drawn by His Spirit such that they hunger for it!

This passage contrasts the vices of our flesh, this world, and the devil with the virtues of God’s wisdom, generously [given] to any who will ask without [finding fault] (1:5). Then the next paragraph (esp. 4:1-3) shows what those vices produce if unchecked. Let’s answer just two questions of this text (13-18).

What Does James Want Us to Hear in This Word?

It’s worth noting that James’ teaching here sort of mirrors c.1. There vv.2-4 left us asking, how can I keep my eyes on steadfastness and [maturity], [perfection], such that I count as pure joy the trials that produce them? Here vv.1-12 leave us asking, how can I keep my eyes on the [perfection] and [self-control] that enable me to bridle my tongue and not stumble in what [I say]? And the answer to both is the same: it happens by (asking for and) receiving the wisdom of God (1:5: 3:13-18). In fact, all the virtues James praises in this letter come along with God’s wisdom! They manifest God’s wisdom! 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. Translation: just like true faith (2:17, 26), true wisdom is unmistakable. It’s identified by a flow of good works that are saturated with wisdom’s unique quality, its familiar face, its distinctive aroma: [humility] (meekness).  

And if your life looks or smells differently—if it’s marked by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition—[don’t lie] to yourself! [Don’t] claim wisdom! [Don’t] boast of it! Your actions nullify your boast! Your life is a self-refuting [lie], James would say. Some want to appear wise even though they act like this world. They want to claim wisdom even while they’re living in a self-centered, self-gratifying self-importance that diametrically opposes it! Can’t do it! Jesus said wisdom is justified by her children (Luk.7:35), by her deeds (Mat.11:19). Wisdom is recognized by what she produces: good works [shown] in the [humility] that only wisdom can produce.

So, what does that look like? How else can it be recognized? What are its other distinctive qualities? Well, honestly, it lifts our eyes to heaven, where it comes from! (17) It’s one of those good and perfect [gifts] from above, that [come] down from the Father of lights! (1:17) So, it’s identifiable by more than just its [humble] good works. It is morally pure. It brings inner [peace]. It’s gentle and [reasonable] and full of mercy. It’s utterly impartial, favoring no one unfairly, or self-servingly, or prejudicially. It judges no one on any grounds other than their own actions and attitudes. This wisdom is identifiable by its integrity, its genuineness, its [sincerity] (17). And those who live in this wisdom— spreading it like a sweet aroma, [sewing] it like seeds of peace— will know the [reward] of the [righteous] (18), of those who’ve been set right with God. The anger of man may not produce the righteousness of God (1:20), but the wisdom from above surely will! (18)

What Does James Want Us to Do with This Word?

Well, clearly he wants his readers to turn away from the bitter jealousy and selfish ambition and [untruthful boasting] that is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic (15). Like Paul (2Co.2:1, 6, 13), he recognized that there is something this world calls wisdom that’s not true wisdom, not God’s wisdom, the wisdom that comes down from above (15). Rather, it rises up from the pit of hell and wars against the things of God. It is marked not by the beautiful virtues of true wisdom that we just surveyed (18), but by jealousy and selfish ambition and disorder and every vile practice (16).

And there really is a demonic force at work in our day that acts in just these ways. Yet we can get so familiar with it that we barely even notice it any longer, or see it for what it truly is. My daughter and a friend wanted to get their ears pierced yesterday, with our permission, but they couldn’t do so because their mothers weren’t present with them. But they could have an abortion if they wanted one, even without their parents’ permission. And there is a means in IL by which they could’ve done the same without their parents even knowing. The world calls this wisdom. It is not. It is foolishness of the first order. It is false to the truth (14).

Our children who are feeling confused or frustrated with their gender, not feeling like they identify with or conform to the behaviors typical of their sex identified at birth, these children can receive everything from hormone injections to transgender mentoring through our highly-regarded children’s hospital in Chicago. The world calls this wisdom. It is not. It is foolishness of the highest sort. And it will be recognized as such in time I am confident, not just because it runs contrary to the truth of God’s Word but because it runs contrary to the very nature of His image-bearing creatures as male and female. It’s not the answer to the struggles we’re facing!

There are so many other examples of the difference between what’s called wisdom in this world and what truly qualifies as wisdom from above (15), transcendent wisdom, godly wisdom. Most often we see it out in the world. But it can also seep into the church—jealousy, selfish ambition, moral [impurity], all forms of disorder (16). We in the church can plunge into quarrels and fights (4:1) with pretty much anyone about anything. God help us.

But even when we’re right, we can still so often be wrong. Even when we’re walking in lock-step with the truth of God’s Word we can still miss the good fruits (17) of godly wisdom. We can become so impressed by the clarity of our discernment that we can far too easily diminish or even forget about the painful life circumstances that are so often intertwined with a young girl’s need to consider an abortion, not to mention the potentially equally troubling scenarios that have resulted in the requirement that she have a parent with her to get a piercing.

We can become so outraged by the fact that our medical professionals are willing to risk life-long damage to the bodies and souls of our gender-confused children that we can all but ignore the often traumatic experiences of life and the cruel manifestations of our fallenness that have raised such disturbing questions in the first place.

We can rail against government regulations limiting our church attendance during a pandemic yet still choose to attend a sporting event instead if the right opportunity arises. In fact, many things can interrupt our assembling.

In the midst of our outrage with the fallenness of this world, and our sense righteous duty to respond to it with a God- honoring ferociousness, we can forget entirely that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (1:20), and that 17 … the wisdom from above, the wisdom we’re called to receive (1:5) and to display (13), is first pure, then peaceable. It is gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. We can lose touch with the fact that the harvest of righteousness we so long to receive once our service to God in this world is complete, that harvest is sown in peace by those who make peace. We pursue it by becoming instruments of God’s peace in this world, of His gentle, [reasonable], [merciful], sincere peace!

Conclusion

That sort of wisdom does not flow naturally from our fallen, human hearts! But far too often its flow is impeded even from our forgiven and cleansed hearts that are born again from above (cf. 15), our hearts that are now equipped to count such trials as [pure] joy and to answer them with a request for, and then a display of, God’s wisdom described here. But we are still so encumbered by sin and [selfishness] ourselves—even though we’re being sanctified by His Spirit and Word that are constantly at work within those who believe—that we’re capable of living little better than this world does, and of responding to the trials of our day in a way that resonates far more with what is identified as earthly, unspiritual, and demonic here than with what is identified as from above (15).

But the good news is, all that we lack—all that we see in this passage and long to know and to embrace and to embody, all that fires our imaginations and fills our spiritual tanks to press on to steadfast (1:4, 12) endurance during these challenging days we live in—is still ours for the asking! The wisdom of God is ours for the having from the very One Who reconciled us to Himself at His own cost and promises us a harvest of righteousness as we receive and rejoice in and display His reconciliation in this world that stands so in need of it!

Truly, 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Next Sunday: Whose Friend Are You?, James 4:1–12