Godly & Ungodly Wisdom

Godly and Ungodly Wisdom

James 3:13-18

In these passages of Scripture James contrasts godly wisdom with ungodly wisdom. There are three verses that describe the type of wisdom believers are to live by (12, 17-18) and three verses that describe the wisdom the world lives by (14-16). To some people, wisdom simply means knowledge. When God speaks of wisdom, however, He speaks of the skill of godly living. The book of Proverbs is full of instructions for godly living. It seems that schisms and rifts had begun to develop in the early church. Certain people and groups were elevating themselves above others based on knowledge. It could have been that many of these people were the teachers that James warned in 3:1. James intention in these passages is to humble his hearers. It’s to get them to stop and recognize that wisdom has far more to do with submission to God than anything else. It was well known to the Jewish people that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of knowledge. They were also quiet aware of the fact that the most powerful and intelligent men on earth could not even be compared to the power and wisdom of their great God. Jeremiah said in 10:7 “Who would not fear Thee O King of nations, for to Thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like into Thee.” Let’s look at the description of godly and ungodly wisdom that James gives.

Ungodly Wisdom. Wisdom has to do with life. It’s a mindset. It’s “truths” and principles that a person follows because they believe them to be the best way to experience joy in life. However, when those “truths” and principles are contrary to God’s word, trouble follows. That’s when a person lives by ungodly wisdom. Notice what James says about ungodly wisdom.

*It doesn’t come from God. He says that in verse 15. He says it “descendeth not from above”. James said in 1:17 that ever good gift comes from above. Ungodly wisdom is not one of those good gifts. God’s wisdom has come down to us. It has been revealed to us through His Spirit and His Word. It isn’t natural, it isn’t instinctive. It is revealed to us through the Scripture and through the Spirit. It has to be received. That’s why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”. The wisdom of God is uncommon in our world because a person must receive it from God. We are born with the wisdom of the world. We are reborn into the wisdom of God.

James now shows us how the wisdom of the world relates directly to the three greatest enemies that believers have: the world the flesh and the devil.

* It is earthly. That is, ungodly wisdom is rooted in worldliness. Worldliness focuses on the here and now. It has no thought for eternal things. Worldliness urges us to make this life and its pleasures our priority. This world has a whole system. It has philosophies and ideas that contradict God’s word. Truth is relatives, wrong is right, and right is wrong. Basically this world teaches us to live in such a way that we get the most pleasure. If we have to step on others, do hurtful things, engage in ungodly acts, that’s all ok because the ultimate goal is to please ourselves. Worldly wisdom is rooted in the false idea that we should do as we please with no fear of any repercussions.

*It is sensual. This relates to the flesh. More directly, it refers to the carnal nature of man. Man, in his unredeemed state is capable of incomprehensible sin. There is no limit to the depravity of the unredeemed heart. Jeremiah said our hearts are desperately wicked (Jer.17:9). Worldly wisdom gives an “Amen” to the desires of our wicked hearts. The flesh wants to be pleased with sinful things. Worldly wisdom justifies wicked desires. The flesh cries out for the pleasure of sin and worldly wisdom justifies the act.

* It is devilish. This of course relates to the devil. Satan promised Eve wisdom in the garden if she disobeyed God. He told her that if she ate from the tree of life she would have the knowledge of both good and evil. Even now Satan, as the god of this world, blinds the minds of people (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan and the fallen angels are busy filling minds with the wisdom of the world. Satan is a deceiver. He deceives with knowledge that masquerades as truth and wisdom. It’s an effective tool he uses to keep people from coming to Christ and to lead people into sin.

Now let’s look at verses 14 and 16. They both speak of envy and strife. Verse 16 teaches us how to know if we are being led by the wisdom of the world.

*We will be envious. In verse 14 he describes it as “bitter envying”. James is talking about severe jealousy. Jealousy is a result of worldly wisdom. The world’s wisdom teaches us that we are to be number one. Therefore, if we are not then we get jealous. We get jealous of whoever number one is. This attitude causes us to look down on people. It causes us to dislike people. It causes us to be depressed because we aren’t getting what we think we deserve. The bottom line is that worldly wisdom leads to an inflated ego. It leads us to a place where we believe we should have what we want when we want it.

*We will have strife in our lives. “Strife” is a word that is used to describe a person that elevates themselves. In verse 14, James speaks of strife in the heart. A heart full of strife is the result of worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom will cause us to isolate ourselves from others for gain. We will be cutthroats if that means having our needs met. To be more practical, we will find ourselves arguing with others, losing friends, and offending people on a regular basis.

*We will have confusion in our lives. “Confusion” means “unsettled”. James already told us that without wisdom we are double minded and like a wave tossed to and fro (James 1:5-8). Without God’s wisdom our lives will not have stability. The world’s wisdom is not a strong foundation to build on. It will continually shift. It will continually crumble. Therefore our lives will be shifting and crumbling on a regular basis if we live by it.

* We will have every evil work in our lives. Now I don’t mean that everything evil that could possibly happen will happen to us. I think what James means is that when we live by the world’s standards we open ourselves up to the vilest of things possible. That being evil actions we engage in as well as the terrible consequences that follow those actions. Nothing good comes from worldly wisdom. Only evil comes from it.

In verse 14 James identifies a result of worldly wisdom. He says that those who live by worldly wisdom should “glory not”. In other words, they shouldn’t be boasting about their wisdom. Remember that James is talking to people in the church. These are likely people that claimed to be believers. Yet they were living by the standards of the world. James said that such people were “lying against the truth”. That is, they were contradicting the gospel with their lifestyle and with their words. They had no reason to be arrogant. They should be ashamed of themselves. Too often people who claim to know Christ not only contradict the gospel with their lives, but they do so arrogantly. They live by the worlds standards and do so without any guilt or shame at all. James recognizes this as a result of worldly wisdom. It should be rejected.

Godly Wisdom. In verse 13 James says the same thing he says in 2:14-26. Godly wisdom is proven, not by what we know but by what we do. Knowledge is revealed by our character. James, as he likes to do, begins with a question. “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?” is the question has asks. Then he goes on to answer that question. So let’s consider some qualities of godly wisdom.

Godly wisdom affects our behavior. James says we are to show our wisdom by our “good conversation”. “Conversation” means behavior. He goes on to explain in more detail what that behavior looks like.

Godly wisdom is meek. Meekness is gentleness. Worldly wisdom leads to arrogance and strife. Godly wisdom leads to meekness and gentleness. The word for meekness is used to describe strength under control. It is evidenced when a person submits their own will to the rule of Christ. Galatians 5:23 tells us that Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit. Jesus described Himself as “Meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). The Bible says the meek will inherit the earth as well. The meek person is controlled by God’s Spirit, resembles Christ and represents they type of people who make up the kingdom of God. Therefore the proud are not under the Spirit’s control, do not resemble Christ and will not inherit the earth. The proud are not meek because they have rejected the wisdom of God for the wisdom of the world.

Godly wisdom is pure. Notice James tells us that godly wisdom first and foremost leads us to purity. He’s talking about being free from the contamination of sin. James is saying that wise people live righteous lives. Jesus told us that the pure in heart would see God. John tells us that when we have the hope of eternal life within us we purify ourselves (1 John 3:3). The first thing godly wisdom will do is lead us away from unrighteousness. If we live in unrighteousness we are not living according to the wisdom of God.

Godly wisdom is peaceable. The wisdom of the world leads to strife. The wisdom of God leads to peace. Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9). Truly wise people don’t start fires; they do what they can to put them out. Strife and division break their hearts. They want unity and love. It is the wisdom of the world that causes us to argue and take sides. Godly wisdom has in its heart a desire for reconciliation and grace.

Godly wisdom is gentle. The word used for “gentle” here means “mild, patient”. Godly wisdom is mild mannered. It isn’t rude or impatient. It is submissive. It endures wrongdoing with a Christ like attitude.

Godly wisdom is easy to be entreated. This phrase means “teachable”. Godly wisdom doesn’t lead to a” know-it-all” attitude. It will enable us to accept rebuke when we need it. Or it will allow us to change our position by recognizing we are wrong.

Godly wisdom is full of mercy. Jesus tells us in Matt. 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful”. Godly wisdom will not lead us to condemn, but to extend mercy. Mercy is to take away another person’s misery. Worldly wisdom is only concerned about self. Godly wisdom is concerned about others. It feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, visits the sick all to take away the misery of another person.

Godly wisdom is full of good fruits. This is just speaking generally of all that godly wisdom leads to. It leads to all types of righteous behavior. It overflows into the good fruit that characterizes a believer’s life.

Godly wisdom is without partiality. We dealt with that in 2:1-13. Godly wisdom leads us away from prejudice and partiality. It enables us to love and serve all types of people.

Godly wisdom is without hypocrisy. It doesn’t say one thing and do another. Godly wisdom does not lead to hypocritical living. No matter how much we say we know, what we do determines what type of wisdom we really have.

v.18 This verse is a beautiful description of the person that lives according to God’s wisdom. The seed being sown is God’s wisdom. God’s wisdom leads to peace. We have peace with God and with others when we live according to God’s word. The righteous life we live then plants seeds of righteousness in others lives. Therefore, the cycle of righteousness will continue. James is saying that we secure a harvest of righteousness by living according to God’s wisdom. We change the world by living according to God’s wisdom. We will not make a godly impact on the world if we are being driven by the world’s wisdom. We are all sowing seeds. Either seed of the worlds wisdom or seeds of God’s wisdom. Let’s make sure we are sowing the right ones.

Thoughts to Consider

1. Our world is full of intelligent fools.

2. Worldly wisdom convinces us that this world is the priority.

3. Godly wisdom is revealed by what we do, not what we know.

4. Godly wisdom is what will bring people to Christ.