Title: Wisdom from God

Text: James 1:1-8

Date: 2-22-04.am

Thesis Statement: Everyone would like to have wisdom. The wisdom of God, or biblical wisdom is not just more knowledge. Biblical wisdom is part of a person’s character that creates within them the desire as well as the ability to not only think, but to act and respond to situations in a Christlike manner. How do we attain this kind of wisdom? That’s what James writes about in verses 5-8 of chapter one.

James 1:1-8

1       James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings.

2       Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

3       knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

4       And let endurance have {its} perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5       But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6       But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

7       For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

8       {being} a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (NAS)

As we said before James is a book about practical faith, faith that does something. Practical faith is faith that serves, practical faith is faith that is strengthened by trials. Remember how Paul described practical faith in 2 Cor 4:8-9: afflicted, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. That kind of faith produces endurance which we describes as a patient, steadfast, firm, unwavering, strong and complete faith because that kind of practical faith uses trials as stepping stones to growth. In verse 4 James instructs us to continually allow endurance to produce it’s perfect work which is to make us Christlike. James says the results of allowing perseverance to complete it’s work is so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. That’s his way of saying you become spiritually mature, or develop a spiritually mature faith.

In the same context of facing trials James writes in verse 5: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

In this case the “if” in the phrase, “But, if any of you” is a first class condition in the Greek. That means it is assumed to be true. James is saying I know some of you do in fact lack the wisdom necessary to apply the truth of what I’m telling you about facing trials. It’s written in such a way to imply that his readers need to examine themselves and see if they in fact lack wisdom and if so they must seek it from God.

To better understand what James means we first need to understand wisdom as James uses it in this verse. Sometimes this verse is taken out of context and used in the context of knowing God’s will. In other words a person might say I’m trying to determine what God’s will is for a particular situation and someone will say to them or they might think of this verse themselves and say well the Bible says if you lack wisdom ask God and he will give it to you so you can know what He wants. But that’s not what this verse says.

The Jewish view of wisdom understands it as a character trait or a quality of a person’s character. That’s the perspective James writes from. It’s not a philosophical concept concerned with having special knowledge of the will of God or even having a greater amount of specific knowledge. For James wisdom, like faith, is practical. One of the foremost Greek Scholars Dr. A. T. Robertson calls wisdom the practical use of knowledge. Dr. F.J. A. Hort describes it as the endowment of heart and mind which is needed for right conduct in life (The Epistle of St James quoted in James: Faith that Works, R. Kent Hughes p.27). James describes biblical wisdom for us in verse 17 of chapter three: “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” (NAS)

James uses seven terms to characterize wisdom in that verse and all seven describe the practical nature of biblical wisdom.

The first characteristic of biblical wisdom is purity, the word describes purity of heart which includes moral purity and ethical purity, not only knowing what is right and what is wrong, but acting accordingly in all areas of life. As peter wrote in 1 Pet 4:3 you’ve spent enough time in the past living like those who don’t know God.

Secondly biblical wisdom is Peaceable; this has to do with right relationships. The wise Christian is concerned first of all about his or her relationship with God, that they are in right standing at all times before God. They make every effort to walk in humility with God, being in submission and obedient. That means we make every effort not to let sin come between us and our Lord. We strive to avoid deliberate intentional sin and seek to be repentant when we fall short of the mark of holiness. The other area of concern is to be rightly related with others – believers and non-believers. Heb 12:14 says: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy. . .” Peace here is not simply a matter of tolerance, it is the opposite of selfish ambitions and envy James mentions in 3:14, 16.

The third characteristic is that it is gentle. It is the ability to extend to others the same consideration you want to receive. It is practical application of what we refer to as the “golden rule.”

Fourth, biblical wisdom is reasonable - It is not stubborn or hard headed, but is submissive. James talks about submission to the Lord in 4:7. Paul and Peter both write of our need to be in submission to civil authorities in Rom 13 and 1 Pet 2:13; Hebrews tells us about submission to spiritual leaders; Paul writes of submission in marriage and also of submission to one another in the body of Christ. Biblical wisdom is the willingness to listen and know when to yield to of others.

The fifth characteristic is mercy. This is compassion for any person in trouble, not just emotionally but actively with a willingness to help. Mercy means not holding sins against others in a judgmental or self-righteous way. That doesn’t mean excusing sin, but it’s means not looking down on others with a superior attitude but looking at them with an attitude of forgiveness and being willing to lovingly assist them in getting back on the right track. It also refers to generosity, seeing someone in need and assisting them in meeting that need. James uses an illustration in verses 15 and 16 of chapter two when talking about faith that applies equally to this characteristic of wisdom.

Sixth biblical wisdom is that it is unwavering. It stands firm on the precepts and the truth of the Word of God. The person who possesses true biblical wisdom is not confused and torn and tossed by what Paul calls every wind of doctrine but takes his or her stand on the solid rock of God’s revelation. The wise person doesn’t try to make the Bible fit their life or life style but allows God’s Word to mold and shape their life.

The last characteristic of biblical wisdom is that it is without hypocrisy. The wise person is honest in all their affairs, never pretending to be what they aren’t. In the Greek theater a hypocrite was a person who played more than one role and they changed masks when they changed roles. A Christian is one 24/7. The wise believer doesn’t wear the mask of righteousness on Sunday and the mask of unrighteousness every other day. They don’t profess and act faithful and true when around other believers or people they know and then act like the world when they are in a different environment.

These are the characteristics of biblical wisdom. As James wrote: “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” We can clearly understand from this definition that biblical wisdom or Christian wisdom is about lifestyle. It is about having a divine perspective of life that enables us to face every situation we encounter, good or bad, with joy. But that’s a tall order. After looking at that it’s easy to see why James implied that some of his readers lacked wisdom. We all need that kind of wisdom.

That’s why James tells us that kind of wisdom can only come from above from God. You can’t gain it any way other than by asking God. We have an advantage over James’ original readers because God has given us a completed copy of His revelation which wasn’t available when James was written. But even with His word we also have to seek His understanding, we through the continual constant habit of prayer, Bible Study, worship and yielding to His Spirit for guidance and understanding. In order to live wise in this world we have to willingly seek and submit to God allowing Him to mold us into His divine image so that we develop a lifestyle characterized by biblical wisdom. James makes it clear that God is willing to give us this wisdom all that’s necessary for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3) if we are willing to ask Him.

The stipulation is that we ask in faith without doubting. He’s not talking about a person who is a nonbeliever. It’s clear here he is writing to believers, and he isn’t talking about temporary doubts that all of us wrestle with from time to time. James is talking about the person who’s mind isn’t convinced God’s way is always the best. The person who’s allegiance wavers between following God and following the world, who discipleship and commitment to follow the Lord is half-hearted. This is a person who has trusted Christ, but spends no time in developing that relationship yet expects to reap the full benefits of that relationship. We could call them carnal, or back-slidden or just immature. This is a person who isn’t really seeking a change of mind that leads to a life-style change but a quick fix, a way of temporary escape. This describes a person who wants to use God for their purposes, rather than being used by God for His purposes. James makes it clear this kind of person shouldn’t expect to receive anything until they stabilize or anchor their faith in full commitment.

Do you need wisdom from God this morning? Most of us do. The question James asks us is one of examination. Do you need the wisdom of God, are you willing to seek it from God, and are you willing to examine your relationship to see if you are wavering between a complete commitment of your life to Him and if you are you willing to commit yourself to Him completely? Will you allow Him to mold you and make you into His likeness a complete, mature wise believer? Are you will to let Him have His own way in your life?