James 3:17-18 continued (Heavenly Wisdom)

These are my notes from a sermon series I did through the book of James. It has not been proofed for spelling or grammatical errors. I present it to you as-is.

We are in a series of lessons on wisdom. We have been dissecting James 3 and what God’s Word tells us about natural wisdom (the kind without God) and heavenly wisdom (God’s Wisdom). No matter who you are, you are navigating your life using one of those wisdoms. James is trying to help us understand and apply God’s wisdom to our life.  With that said let’s take a look at James 3:13 where we are told, “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. ¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness” (NLT). James gives us 8 marks that identify God’s wisdom in action. We have already looked at the first two. But let’s review and then take a look at something new.

Purity: If I’m wise I will not compromise my integrity

First, we saw that God’s wisdom is marked by purity. This says, “If I’m wise I will not compromise my integrity.” Verse 17 says, “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure.” This means you have an undivided commitment to God and His ways. You have a pure devotion to God. You are all in. You are sold out. You are dedicated to following Jesus and His Word. As a result you will not compromise your integrity.

Peace Loving: If I’m wise I will not antagonize your anger

Secondly, we saw that God’s wisdom is peace loving. This says, “If I’m wise I will not antagonize your anger.” Verse 17 also says that God’s wisdom is also peace loving. You intentionally work at bringing order, stability, and understanding into a relationship or situation. This doesn’t mean you avoid conflict or tension, but when you need to confront someone you think through the process using God’s wisdom to help you bring peace and order into the conversation.

Gentle: If I’m wise I will not minimize your feelings

A third mark of God’s wisdom is gentleness. This is where you think, “If I’m wise I will not minimize your feelings.” Verse 17 tells us that God’s wisdom is gentle at all times. Even though you might want to hurt someone emotionally, mentally, or physically you operate in the realm of controlled power. Controlled strength. Instead of bringing pain into the relationship you bring comfort. Instead of bringing unnecessary conflict you bring concern. You are gentle in how you speak to people and treat people. This is God’s wisdom in action. This is God’s wisdom being lived out. It’s letting the gentleness of Jesus come through you, even toward those who are not gentle toward you.

Reasonable: If I’m wise I will not criticize your suggestions

The fourth mark of God’s wisdom is being reasonable. This says, “If I’m wise I will not criticize your suggestions.” You don’t immediately criticize someone’s suggestion when they give it to you. You will think about it. You will thoughtfully hear what they have to say. Look again at verse 17, “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others” (NLT). The phrase “willing to yield to others” (eupeithes) is deep in meaning. Take a look at the various translations and paraphrases of the Bible who are trying to catch the meaning of this phrase.

• “willing to yield to others” (NLT)
• “Compliant” (CSB)
• “open to reason” (ESV)
• “sensible” (CEV)
• “approachable” (PHILLIPS)
• “allows discussion and is willing to yield to others” (TLB)
• “able to be counseled” (WYC)

A person living in God’s wisdom is teachable, open to reason, able to be counseled, and not stubborn. The idea is that of a soldier yielding to the authorities above him. It was used to describe someone observing legal and moral standards. To understand this aspect of God’s wisdom you need to think about two things.

Willing to yield means willing to listen

First, willing to yield means willing to listen. This means you put aside your stubbornness and yield to good advice and truth. You are open to reason and you allow for discussion. You will hear what others have to say about a subject. You will listen to your spouse’s opinion about the finances and this is where parents and students listen to one another trying to understand each other.

Are you a reasonable person? Can your family reason with you without getting into an argument with you? The Bible says if you are wise, you are reasonable. You are open to suggestions. You listen to others. You hear what they have to say before you make a judgement.

Look at Proverbs 12:15 which says, “A fool thinks he needs no advice. A wise man listens to others” (NLT). If it’s true, listen and learn from it. If you are wise you will listen to advice and not be so defensive when someone makes a suggestion.

• You are willing to listen to your wife about how to be a better husband. You are willing to listen to your husband about how to be a better wife. You are open to discussion about this.
• You are willing to listen to your parents about what’s important. You are willing to listen to your children about what concerns them. You are open to real discussion about what’s on each other’s mind.
• As a boss… as an employee….

Proverbs 9:9 says, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning” (ESV).

Do you get easily irritated when someone gives you a suggestion about how to do something? Do you get annoyed when your boss tells you how he wants something done? Do you get angry when your parents tell you what they want you to do? Wise people do not criticize people’s suggestions, especially if those people are their authority. Wise people have a submissive, willing to yield, reasonable, teachable, and compliant attitude. They listen to counsel, willing to learn, approachable.

Willing to yield means willing to accept

Second, willing to yield means willing to accept. This is accepting and receiving truth. Acknowledging that they are right and what they say you need to do. You accept their advice and/or authority in this situation. Regarding the military usage of this word, it meant “to be willing to take instructions.” The idea is that when you are under authority you must be willing to listen and apply the instructions. You have a submissive heart about you regarding the authorities in your life.

But another aspect of this is having a submissive heart about you regarding good advice. You are able to recognize good advice when you hear it and you are willing to apply it and are thankful for the good advice.

• With that said listen to Proverbs 26:16 which says, “Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors” (NLT). Even when outnumbered 7 to 1, this person stubbornly refuses to listen to any opinion except his own; nothing will make him change his mind. God’s wisdom is not like that.

God’s wisdom makes you agreeable and easy to live with and work with. Man’s wisdom makes a person hard and stubborn. The compliant person is willing to hear all sides of a question, but he does not compromise his own convictions. He can disagree without being disagreeable.

When God’s wisdom is at work, there is a willingness to listen, think, pray, and obey whatever God reveals. That’s how God’s wisdom works.

Conclusion

Remember, God’s wisdom is more about who than a what. God’s wisdom is based and founded on a relationship with Jesus Christ. God’s wisdom is allowing His wisdom to flow through you. Listen carefully to 1 Corinthians 1:30 which says, “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. ³¹ Therefore, as the Scriptures say, ‘If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord’” (vs. 30-31, NLT). When you make a wise decision its because Christ is living His life through you. You can’t boast or brag about how wise you are, because its not really your wisdom, but God’s wisdom coming through you because of your relationship with Jesus. Wisdom is more of a who than a what.

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