The Wisdom That Comes From Above

Last week, the preaching was beneficial for the whole church. It allowed God to manifest Himself in the heart of each person and to help us understand our spiritual condition, and especially our fleshly condition and the fragility of all our hearts, starting with myself.

Introduction

This week, we are going to look at the continuation of chapter 3 in the book of James. It is the continuation of the passage that concerns the tongue, because James tells us that words and actions are linked and walk by the same Spirit, or by the same flesh.

If the word is good, the works that go with it are also the fruit of that word, and therefore a blessing. However, when the words do not go with the works, they lead in the opposite direction, that is to say toward destruction and curse, which comes from the evil one.

“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.” v.13

The one who is wise and understanding brings good fruits, that is to say good conduct with gentleness and wisdom. It is a direct consequence of the words that are expressed in concrete actions and visible to all, but especially to God Himself. Know-how is important, but here the passage shows us that our way of being must absolutely correspond to the manifestation of our words.

What then is this wisdom that comes from above? Before anything else, this wisdom can be manifested only when the Spirit dwells in us, this power that regenerates our soul, sets us apart, gives us this abundant life, and transforms us into the image of Christ. Then, this Spirit who lives in us pushes us, if we give Him space and submit ourselves to Him, to have this communion with God the Father.

Proverbs 1 reminds us what wisdom and understanding are according to God and says to us: “To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and integrity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, A wise person will hear and increase in learning, And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a saying, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

When King Solomon speaks of listening, he speaks of listening to the Word of wisdom, not to all the words that do not reflect the character of God. He is talking about listening to the texts he writes for the wisdom of men, revealed by God Himself for the good of His people.

Understanding is the ability to grasp these words of wisdom, those revealed by God and inspired by the Holy Spirit, centered not on man or on humanism, but on God. When Solomon mentions the word “understand,” it summarizes what intelligence is, according to God: to understand what the Word and the Scriptures say.

Thus, the wise man will increase in his knowledge and, as a consequence, the acts that will be manifested will have the same skill and impact, not according to the systems and interests of the fallen world, but according to what comes from above. This is the practical wisdom that glorifies God.

“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.” v.14

In Scripture, when there is a comparison, there is often a contrast between good and evil, between what comes from God and what does not, what comes from the Spirit and what comes from the flesh. Here, the word “but” shows that there is an opposite and a logical continuation of events.

A heart with bitter jealousy and a selfish ambition comes from the the heart is the place of our identity, of our thoughts, of our senses. In some translations, it speaks of quarrels, personal interest that is not God’s. 

This interest is often motivated by personal ambitions, together with behaviors seeking personal glory or taking risks to reach a goal which creates conflict, distortion, or quarrels.

The end of the verse says not to lie against the truth, that is to say, not to justify or excuse a fleshly behavior, nor to deny honesty before Christ, but rather acknowledge our weaknesses.

Paul writes in Romans 13:13–14: “Let’s behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

Jealousy or personal ambition remind us of the story of Cain and Abel, when Cain killed his brother out of jealousy. The church, since its beginning, has suffered from these realities, as in Corinth and many others.

To “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” means to let Him reign in our lives, to prune us, to shape us, and to purify us by the power of His Spirit. It means submitting to Him alone and not to our emotions or our personal understanding, not to our senses, that is to say to our feelings, but to what Christ sees in us, in our heart, through His Spirit who lives in us.

This will lead us to walk according to His good pleasure, letting ourselves be guided by Him alone, the Lord and Master of our lives.

“This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.” v.15

Human wisdom, earthly wisdom, is based on foundations that are not Christ, nor those of the apostles who built the Church with the same foundation as ours today. James says that earthly wisdom is fleshly, that is to say guided by our desires and our will.

But the strongest word is “demonic,” meaning influenced by the devil, leading in a direction opposed to God, toward sin, division, confusion, oppression, and distance from God and from brothers and sisters, preventing the blessing and the graces that come with it.

James also says in chapter 4 verse 7-8: “Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Let us be aware that we have the victory. Let us keep in mind that the devil can only attack us from the outside but cannot reach our heart if we humble ourselves before God to be guided according to His holy will.

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” v.16

James repeats these words to underline the importance of not walking according to the flesh, and even more on the collective level, as the church of Christ.

Disorder and every kind of evil action are the direct consequences of a lack of submission to the Spirit of God. When God reigns in a place, His character appears and manifests itself, to bear fruit that remains for His glory.

Only the Spirit of God can transform us, help us grow individually and collectively. This wisdom and understanding cannot be bought or learned by our own strength: it is only by the powerful action of the Holy Spirit who lives in us that we will be victorious over the actions of our flesh.

Paul warns us strongly by saying that the flesh often leads him to do the opposite of what the Spirit would want. We are weak and powerless before temptations, attacks, and the disappointments of our hearts. It is up to us to humble ourselves, to submit to the Holy Spirit who wants to guide us.

But we must also be aware that the Spirit will only be able to do so if we give Him room to work. Like Paul, let us submit to the Holy Spirit and consult Him to be guided on the path of sanctification and the will of God.

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy.” v.17

Now James lists the benefits of the wisdom led by the Holy Spirit, the wisdom that comes from above.

It is pure: it is not like the wisdom of the world, which is selfish and corrupt. Purity means living with true integrity, as God desires. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the pure in heart.” Purity is the foundation, the condition of the heart, because it reflects God’s character and prepares the other aspects of wisdom.

It is peace-loving: true wisdom seeks harmony and reconciliation. Jesus calls us to be peacemakers.

It is gentle: to be gentle is not to be weak, but to know how to control one’s strength. Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit, and Jesus gave the example by saying He is “gentle and humble in heart.”

It is reasonable: being reasonable means being ready to listen, to make reasonable concessions, without abandoning the truth.

It is full of mercy: God is merciful; it is one of the major attributes of His being. As legitimate children of God, we must reflect His character, especially through forgiveness and reconciliation between brothers and sisters.

It is full of good fruits: to bear good fruits refers to Jesus’ teaching about the tree and its fruit. If the actions are bad, the consequences will be bad. If the intention is not good, the fruit will not be good.

It is without partiality: James refers here to impartiality, because the church also suffered from favoritism between rich and poor.

It is without hypocrisy: sincerity means being authentic and honest. True wisdom aligns our actions with the truth of God and strengthens trust within the community.

“And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” v.18

The fruit of righteousness can only be sown when the wisdom from above is put into action by the Holy Spirit. This righteousness is God’s, not ours, but the one that God has placed in the human heart so that it may be visible and powerful on earth. The righteousness of God is not judgment against His children, but uprightness, order, love, humility, and forgiveness.

Seeking peace is a personal and collective action. The verse says “those,” which means that some have this intention and others do not. This action must not be motivated by a heart with bitter jealousy, envy, personal ambition, but by the powerful action of the Holy Spirit, in love and humility, for the common good, the edification, and the maturity of the church of Christ.

Conclusion

In this passage, James shows us two opposite paths: the path of human wisdom, the wisdom of the world, and the path of the wisdom that comes from above, the wisdom of God.

The first is the spirit of the world, or of error, which guides by the senses, the flesh, by emotions, and by illusory and temporary passions; a human wisdom with personal interest before that of others, which always ends up producing disorder and evil.

The other path is the path of the Spirit of God, walked by His children, and to which we must be the most attentive. It is the wisdom that comes from above, which builds, which strengthens the Church, which seeks to reflect the character of God, and which allows us to live in peace with our brothers and sisters, as well as with those who need Christ.

The Apostle John says to us: “We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6)

Yes, it is not always easy to live in a world filled with human reasoning and personal interests. But God calls us above all to be closed to Him and to love Him, the only true God, with all our heart, and to love our neighbor in actions and in truth. And for this, He gives us the Holy Spirit, who shapes us patiently into the image of Christ, our supreme example. It is up to us to seek wisdom, peace, and gentleness; it is up to us to choose each day which spirit we will allow to guide our heart.