James 3:13-18 | Worldliness v. Godliness Notes

Read through the scripture James 3:13-18

Context is King James 3:13-18

Why did James write this letter? (Acts 15:1, Acts 15:13)

James became a prominent leader in the church as the half-brother of Jesus and being individually encountered by Jesus as documented by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:7

The significant incident happened when Paul calls out Peter for shying away from gentiles during a meal in the Letter to the Galatians 2:11

The showdown happens in Acts 15:1-5 when Paul and Barnabbas came down to Jerusalem to meet with the early leaders of the Church who we see in verse Acts 15:13, is James

James decides that the Gentiles (or non-Jewish peoples) be allowed into the Kingdom of God and that they should be informed of that they need to abstain from sinful practices as a means of sanctification (Acts 15:19-21)

His letter is full of wisdom that clearly convicted him as he in his introduction calls himself a servant of Christ, not mentioning at all that he was a brother of Christ (James 1:1)

This lends to the seriousness that James speaks with as he likely had heard many of these sayings from Jesus growing up, we know from Mark 3:31, he had at least heard of the miracles when his mother and Jesus’ siblings urged him to come home. Now he knew they were real and deeply believed every word.

He was so passionately commited to his faith that he was recorded as being killed by the High Priest Ananus by stoning for violating Mosaic law in the year 62 CE.

Worldly Wisdom V. Godly Wisdom

This mornings passage in James 3:13-18 picks up from James clear command at the beginning of James 3

Godly wisdom only comes down from God.

This widom in fact comes straight from the Old Testament as we see when Moses is delivering his law to the people, God had warned Moses then to carefully choose leaders to help to sort out disputes in Deuteronomy 1:13

Illustration of the Plants and Water

Similarly, when we stop to consider what’s driving our thoughts, our actions, or our words, it is important to remember what the source of our reason is: God or the world, and what the outcomes of those sources are as James describes in James 3:14-17.

Worldly Wisdom creates the works of the flesh All the time, every time. It is the nature of the seeds that it comes from.

Peter, after Jesus heals a blind man at Bethsaida, when asked, is the first of the disciples to proclaim Jesus as the Christ in Mark 8:27-29, yet later when he warns the disciples of his death, is strongly rebuked by Jesus when he says he will be killed by telling Peter, the rock, “Get Behind me, Satan!” in Mark 8:33.

My son, has learned very well in his school, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God in Romans 3:23

James continues painting this clear picture by describing in verse 17 the fruits of the spiriit that are evident of Godly wisdom.

It is first pure, always, 100%, not 95%, pure.

#2 it promotes peace, always, right after being pure, it always pushes for peace. Not advancing quarrels or agendas, but looks for solutions for tempers to cool. # 3, it is gentle, which seems ironic coming from James as he’s delivering his facts of life, but let’s also give James credit, he’s not being mean. Just very honest about what happens when we don’t heed Godly wisdom.

#4, Godly wisdom is open to reason, not stuck in a mindset or glued to tradition. Once again, the image of the Jerusalem council is such a great example as I can only imagine how difficult it was for the early Jews to accept the gentiles in.

Patience is a fruit of the spirit so i’m often reminded by my wife and kids and is necessary to teaching with love and not to firm it breaks gentle hearts.

#6 is impartial which Pastor Dave broke down masterfully a few weeks ago on his sermon on James 2:1-13

& #7, which we discussed earlier with the plants, sincere. This word in the Greek is also one that has similar roots in being double-minded or hypocritical. We cannot live lives that are not fully for Christ and expect fruits of the spirit in our harvest when those are not the seeds we’ve planted.

Fruits of the Spirit | A harvest of Righteousness

James in his final verse in James 3:18 actually is referencing back to Isaiah 32:17 to speak hope, prophetically into our future when we follow Godly Wisdom.

The Fruits of Godly Wisdom are Righteousness.

Do you have that today? Are you anxious because the chaos of this world is still winning in your life? Is it time to start planting peace in your hear and in your lives? Will you invite him in today?

Many scholars believe that this last verse was a saying that James was shared from Jesus.