Heavenly v Demonic Wisdom

Wise Christians Rightly Apply God’s Word to Their Lives

The word for behavior here is “anastrophe” which means “a habitual behavior.”

Wise Christians Refuse Demonic Wisdom

Demonic Wisdom Described:

Bitter Envy

Bitter envy, or bitter jealousy, is to look at someone who has something you have and to be so filled with jealously that they have it and you don’t that you become enraged, or enbittered, towards that person.

One product of that is:

Self-Serving or a “Party spirit.”

While I believe that the root of bitter jealousy is selfishness, James wants us to think of selfishness as a fruit. The word for “self-serving” here is used elsewhere to mean “rivalry” or “a party spirit.”

A party spirit isn’t someone who just wants to party, but a person who sows an “us versus them” spirit in the church by forming factions.

James says that if you’re heart is full of this junk, don’t go around boasting that you’re being led by God’s wisdom. By this, he means that you shouldn’t fool yourself into thinking, “Well if I’m able to get all these people on board, or since I was able to keep that person from getting what they want, I must be full of the wisdom and intelligence James is talking about.”

James responds that that is the exact opposite of what he is talking about. James desires good works displayed with a meek heart, and people like this are displaying destructive works with a deadly mentality.

Now, before we look at how destructive this is, I want us to look at the origin of this wisdom. In verse 15, James gives us three places:

It is earthly.

By this, James is contrasting below from above. In essence, he’s saying, “You think you’re living with wisdom from above, but you’re guided by the ways of the world below.” To think with a worldly mentality isn’t just to go with the flow of those who don’t know God. It is that, but it is also to live life with no thoughts of eternity. You’re only focused on the here and now. Part of that is because:

It is Sensual

By sensual, James means that you are guided about not by Godliness, but what makes you feel good at the time.

It is Demonic

By this, James is either saying, “Hey, the way you’re living is right on par with Satan’s agenda.” Or he could be saying, “The way you’re living is a manifestation of a worldview that originates with Satan.” In essence, this kind of wicked living is influenced by demonic forces.

What is the result of this kind of living? Destruction. Which leads us to our third point.

Wise Christians Recognize Destructive Wisdom

In verse 16, James gives us two destructive fruits of this kind of life.

First, it is disordered or confusing. James uses this word is two other places and it’s translated as “double-minded” or “double-speaking.” In short, James wants you to know that a person who lives a life marked by selfishness is a person who is going to be unstable and restless. And when you get these kind of people in your friend group, on your team, or in the Church, you’ll find that the tumult their experiencing in their own lives due to their selfishness will soon spread to everyone around them like a cancer. Wherever selfish people can embed themselves, they will soon leave a disordered mess behind them.

Second, James wants us to know is that this will result in every evil thing. By this, he means that when you encounter selfish people, you will notice that they will stop at nothing to accomplish what they want. If it’s power, they will conspire to tear down the current leadership. If it’s recognition, they will do their best to one-up others or speak I’ll of others. Whatever it might be, selfish people have no boundaries to what they will do to make sure they get what they want.

Wise Christians Reap Righteous Fruit

Now, James comes back to the way of the wise man. And the first thing he notes is the root of the Christian’s worldview, specifically, purity. As those who were once bound by sin, Christ has purified us in His blood. Because of this, the first fruit that should blossom in our conduct is peace. This is contrasted with James statement in James 1:20

James 1:20 NKJV

20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

This person is not easily provoked. He isn’t going around looking to cause a stir. He is at peace with God and that peace causes him to desire peace with others. This results is gentleness.

This means that there is a sweet reasonableness about them. They are open to reasoning with others. They aren’t know it alls that want to shove their agendas down your throat, but are happy to hear you out. This doesn’t mean they’re soft and willing to compromise on God’s word, but they will bend where the Bible allows for the sake of unity.

Then comes mercy. Mercy here is a willingness to do for others what they don’t deserve. Since Christians have recieved mercy from God that they didn’t deserve, they desire to show mercy to those who don’t deserve it from them.

In the life of this man, what you see is what you get. He desires to do right by his neighbors without favoritism, bias, or hypocrisy because God has done right by him in Christ.

What James wants us to walk away understanding is that when you’re looking for a wise person, don’t look for someone who claims to have all of the answers. Look for the person who lives like God’s word guides them. The person who lives this way, won’t be interested in sowing discord and starting fires, because they know that nothing good comes from that. Instead, they know that if they sow in peace, they will reap a harvest of righteousness in their relationships.