Learn How True Faith Trusts Heaven’s Wisdom – James: Faith and Works, part 8
Want to be wise? This message reveals how God’s wisdom teaches us understanding, obedience, graciousness, and offers peace. Plus, learn the 6 truths about God’s wisdom.
How we live reveals the wisdom we choose to believe and follow in our hearts. The wisdom of God is focused on both the present and the future at the same time. The wisdom of God is displayed and revealed in our good conduct. Our profession of faith should line up with our actions and words. True faith trusts heaven’s wisdom. Seek wisdom from above.
Man’s Wisdom vs God’s Wisdom
We have spent several weeks in the book of James, we have learned:
Faith calls us to obey the word of God.
Faith removes favoritism.
Faith is displayed in our works and deeds.
Faith calls us to have a tight rein on our tongue
Today we look at the difference between man’s wisdom and the wisdom of God. Today we will learn that true faith trusts God’s wisdom.
‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness’ (James 3:13-18, NIV).
James begins this section with a simple question. Who is wise and understanding among you?
James is telling us that how we live displays the wisdom that we choose to believe and follow in our hearts. If we are to live a victorious life in Christ, we need the wisdom of God in our hearts. If we are going to live good and Godly lives and display our faith by the deeds we do each day, we need the wisdom that comes from heaven above.
As believers we choose to live by faith in Christ and we need the wisdom of God from heaven every day, in every situation, and every decision we make.
James tells us that there are two types of wisdom:
Earthly: man’s wisdom - rejects God and results in bitter envy, selfish ambition, strife, confusion. It is boastful, unspiritual and refuses to have faith in Christ. It is immoral, full of disorder. It lacks true understanding and imparts hopelessness.
Heavenly: God’s wisdom – it is bestowed on all who will receive it in faith; it is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit. It is also impartial and sincere. The wisdom of God is true wisdom and is available to all who believe in hope and expectation for the future.
Those who display the wisdom of God will display a character of mercy, submission, and peace. They will be people who are sincere and impartial and have pure motives and a pure heart.
James 1:5-8 tells us that if we lack wisdom and are loyal/have faith in God, all we need to do is ask God who give generously. When you ask God for wisdom, ask him in faith and then expect to receive from him.
When James tells us that if we lack wisdom we should ask God, James is referring to spiritual wisdom. Godly wisdom. Wisdom from above.
How To Endure and Succeed in Trials
It is the wisdom of God that we need when we are experiencing trials. We need wisdom and understanding in everyday life to know how we can endure and succeed in the difficulties and trials in life. The wisdom from heaven gives us the ability to see things from God’s point of view. It is wisdom from God’s perspective, so we can make Godly decisions and choices that glorify God.
As believers we are to live by faith in Christ and not doubt. To do that, we need faith in Christ, and we need the wisdom of God. We will spiritually grow and learn to live according to the wisdom of God as it is revealed within the inspired word of God and imparted to us by the Holy Spirit.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
“All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. 3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:2-3).
Want To Be the Best Version of Yourself? You’ll Need God’s Wisdom.
God’s word has plenty to say about wisdom:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).
“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” (Proverbs 16:16).
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-11).
If you want to:
Know God better,
Live a life worthy of the Lord,
Persevere in trials,
Bear fruit in every good work,
Reveal and reverence the Lord,
Grow in wisdom, understanding, and obedience,
You need the wisdom of God in your heart. We need wisdom from above to live for Christ in a fallen world. We need the Holy Spirit to impart and reveal the wisdom of God to our hearts and bring it to memory in times of need.
The wisdom of God is focused on both the present and the future at the same time.
‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ (Jeremiah 29:11).
The wisdom of God is filled with hope and expectation for the future. The wisdom of God looks beyond the moment and to the future in Christ.
Six Truths About God’s Wisdom
James records for us what the wisdom of God looks like in the believer as well as what it accomplishes. The wisdom of God is displayed and revealed in our good conduct. God’s wisdom teaches us understanding, obedience, graciousness. It offers peace. Our profession of faith should line up with our actions and words. True faith trusts heaven’s wisdom; it seeks wisdom from above.
We see that the wisdom of God is:
Pure.
Peaceable.
Gentle.
Reasonable.
Merciful and fruitful.
Impartial and sincere.
1. The wisdom of God is first pure.
It is without corruption. The wisdom from above, Gods wisdom, comes from a pure heart and has no false or sinful motives. This pureness implies that if we are pure in heart, we will have the qualities and characteristics that are shown in someone who—by faith—has invited Jesus into their heart. Only those seeking the wisdom and understanding of God who are living by faith will have these qualities in their hearts and lives. We need the wisdom of God to view life from God’s perspective along with the understanding of how to live a life of spiritual obedience in an ungodly, unspiritual, and immoral world.
2. The wisdom of God is also peaceable.
It causes no division or conflict. The wisdom from above builds unity and is a sure foundation during trials and the storms of life. This peace is a peace with God, and from knowing that the curtain of sin that separated God and man has been torn and removed by Christ’s death and resurrection. The person who has experienced the peace of God through faith in Christ is someone who has the love of God in their heart and who has a loving and peaceable relationship with others. Only a person who has experienced the love and peace of God is able to share that same love and peace with others.
The wisdom of God allows us to have peace in every situation knowing God loves us unconditionally. The world needs to see the love and peace of God displayed. Having the peace of God and viewing situations from God’s perspective will give you the ability to live a life of peace during the storms of life. The wisdom and understanding of God will provide you the platform needed to display the peace of God along with an opportunity to explain the reason you have peace, even in difficult and painful times.
3. The wisdom of God is also gentle.
Being gentle is caring in a loving way for others. It is placing the concerns and needs of others before your own. The wisdom of God will help you see that to lovingly caring for another is in the heart of God; it is the way of life for the believer. Jesus loved and cared enough for you to take your sins upon himself and lovingly calls us to believe and have faith in Christ.
The wisdom of God looks past the hurt and pain someone might be expressing to the reason of the pain, and to bring loving healing to them without expectation of anything in return.
4. The wisdom of God is open to reason.
This means as believers we are to be open to listening. Reasoning is not a way of excusing disobedience. Being open to reason is beneficial to others and ourselves. It means allowing God to be God in your life. It means knowing that, as a believer in Christ, you may not always be right, but God is always true and right.
The person who is wise in the wisdom of God is willing to listen to God and not demand his or her own way, but instead is obedient to the will and plan of God.
Being open to reason is letting go of your own selfish, stubborn way and allowing God by his Holy Spirit to direct you in the way you should go. The person who is unwilling to be open to reason is being willfully stubborn, spiritually unbending. This is similar to the religious Pharisees who refused to listen and refused to believe Jesus to be the Son of God. The wisdom of God helps us to see the error of our ways and to live obedient to the will and plan of God. It means laying aside our worldly understanding and plans and embracing God’s perfect plan. It also means we need to listen to the Holy Spirit and live as a servant of Christ and in obedience to God’s word.
5 The wisdom of God is full of mercy and good fruits.
The wisdom of God teaches the believer to be forgiving and compassionate. The wisdom of God reminds us of the mercy of God that we have experienced. We are to extend mercy as a way of life.
In Matthew 18 we find a story of a king who forgave a servant’s debt of 10,000 talents owed to the king. This saved the servant from going to prison for defaulting on the debt. The king exhibited mercy and forgave the debt. However, as this newly debt-free servant went on his way, he didn’t pass on this mercy that was given to him. He encountered a man who owed the servant a small sum of money. But the servant refused to forgive the debt. The man begged for mercy, but none was given him, and he was placed in prison until he could pay the debt. When the king heard what had happened and that his servant didn’t show another man mercy, the king sent the servant to prison until he paid the entire debt. The wisdom of God is merciful, and it teaches us to be merciful and to bear good fruit.
“because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).
Good fruits are acts of kindness and mercy. Having a Christ-like character of selfless service to God and others is displaying good fruit. Displaying a life of spiritual obedience is displaying good fruit, and having a loving and merciful attitude to all is displaying good fruit.
The seeds of mercy that were sown in your heart, that the Holy Spirit made known to you through God’s word will bear good fruit in your life and in the lives of others as people witness your faith and good deeds. The seeds you sow as you share your faith in Christ will result in a harvest of others coming to the saving knowledge of Christ.
6 The wisdom of God is impartial and sincere.
The wisdom of God helps us to be loving and fair. It helps us to be genuine with people and not take sides. The wisdom of God gives the believer a clear understanding of who we are in Christ. We are sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ. The wisdom of God helps the believer to see that our words and deeds must be in line with one another. Meaning, our profession of faith in Christ should line up with our actions.
The Wisdom of God Leads to Unlimited Love, Mercy, and Grace
The sinner and the saint are both loved by God. Jesus died for whosoever will believe: Jew or Gentile alike. Slave or free. Rich or poor. The religious and the ungodly. We are told that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations (Luke 24:47).
The love, mercy, and grace of God is extended to all without limit to whoever will believe.
The wisdom of God calls the believer to be sincere in attitude in all of life. Hypocrisy has no place in the heart of a believer who lives according to the wisdom of God. In the wisdom of God each believer is guided by the knowledge and understanding of God’s word. The Holy Spirit will teach you as you seek the wisdom and knowledge of God. No one is perfect. We will make mistakes. We will act according to the ways of the world sometimes. We will say and do things that run contrary to the wisdom of God at times. But that is no excuse for us to sin and go spiritually rogue and act according to the wisdom of the world.
As you live increasingly dependent on the wisdom of God, you will live more like Christ than the way of the world. Having the wisdom of God in your heart, you have a choice of whether you act according to the truth and wisdom of God or according to the way of the world. Choose the wisdom of God and repent for the times you have gone and tried your own way, the way of the world. Understand that the wisdom of God leads to eternal life and the wisdom of the world ends in eternal death.
True faith in Christ trusts heaven’s wisdom. True faith chooses to live according to heaven’s wisdom. True faith in Christ seeks the wisdom from God above. Heaven’s wisdom is the wisdom of God, it is revealed in God’s word, and it is made clear by the Holy Spirit as you seek to know God with all your heart.
Allow the wisdom of God to saturate your heart. Listen for the Holy Spirit’s leading as you pray and study the scriptures. As you seek to know God more, more will be given you. Greater understanding and wisdom are yours as you seek wisdom and live according to it. Let the wisdom of God guide you in living the life God has called you to live in Christ the Lord.
Suggested Praise and Worship
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