James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18

-----Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. [14] But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. [15] This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16] For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. [17] But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. [18] And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Meekness and Wisdom.

-----In the first part of the chapter James corrected his readers’ harsh condemnation of others by demonstrating that those who are condemning and unmerciful will receive and deserve the greater condemnation. He now tells those who are spiritually discerning (wise) enough to judge others that they must demonstrate such competency through humility and good works. James’s makes this exhortation because his readers neither had good works nor meekness. Despite a lifestyle that ignored personal holiness, particularly in their use of the tongue, they arrogantly considered themselves to be religious (James 1:26, 27).

Jealousy and Selfish Ambition.

-----Verse 14 reveals that the reason for the wicked behavior of James’s audience is that they were jealous and selfishly ambitious. James’s readers are jealous of the “worldly rich,” as I have called them (see commentary on James 1:9-11). That is why in two places (1:10 and 5:1-6) James uses the impending judgment upon the worldly rich to motivate his readers to persevere. Their jealousy toward the rich led them to pervert judgment against the poor (2:5, 6). It also led to quarreling, which James addresses in chapter 4.

-----The ambition that James speaks of is his audience’s desire for earthly gain. James calls this ambition “selfish.” This implies that there is unselfish ambition. The difference between the two types of ambition is important. Selfish seeks its own good from another source than Christ. Not only is this ambition idolatry, it also is destructive to everyone involved. Unselfish ambition, however, seeks its own good from Jesus. Jesus continually encouraged his listeners to be ambitious: seek treasures, be shrewd, be violent for the kingdom, and so on. When one is ambitious for Christ it is not selfish, although it is self-serving. When one seeks to live this life in anticipation of enjoying Christ they benefit those around them in many ways, most importantly by pointing them toward Christ.

Destructive Wisdom

-----James then lands a heavy blow against their religious pride. He informs these people who thought they were religious that their wisdom was at best from earth and at worst from hell. James understood (even if his audience did not) that they were not really concerned about righteousness. After all, if they had been, they would have been more concerned with correcting their own sin than in correcting others. James saw that they were not motivated by love, but by desire for worldly status.

----- Imagine the indignation of such people. They had deceived themselves into thinking that they were doing God’s work. They see wickedness in the lives of others and they correct it. They must have considered it ridiculous that James would say they were acting in a way that corresponds with devilish wisdom, when they were working to stop wicked behavior. James, however, says that their judging of others was leading to quarreling and other wicked behavior. They were actually creating more wickedness through their actions.

-----No one should doubt the extent that unworthy desires can affect the intellect. They had so deceived themselves in their desire for earthly prominence that they came to view their standing before God in a way that completely contradicted the evidence. While they were violating justice and leading those in the congregation to more sin they believed themselves to be righteous and executors of righteousness.

Wisdom From Above

-----James then turns to address the qualities of one who is capable of true spiritual discernment, all of which James audience was lacking.

-----First Pure. Those who are wise from above consider personal holiness to be their first priority. There is nothing that grieves them more than their own sin. James’s audience ignored their own purity (James 1:22-24).

-----Then Peaceable. Those who are wise from above take after their redeemer, The Prince of Peace. Next to righteousness, they consider peace to be of supreme value. (Hebrew 12:14) James’s audience was quick to stir up strife (James 1:19-20).

-----Gentle. Those who are wise from above fear the Lord. Realizing how Christ has been gentle with them even though they are by nature repugnant to him, they strive to handle others gently, lest they should stir up the Father’s anger against them. (Matthew 18:28) James’s audience reproved others harshly (James 2:13).

-----Open to Reason. Those who are wise from above take reproof quickly. Because they know their hearts they are quick to question their intent. (James 1:19) James’s audience ignored the reproofs of scripture (James 1:26).

-----Full of Mercy. Those who are wise from above, because of god’s infinite mercy to them, overflow with the desire to forgive offenses. (Matthew 18:21-35) James’s audience was unmerciful.

-----Full of Good Fruits. Those who are wise from above give evidence of the indwelling spirit through their manner of life. (Galatians 5:22) James’s audience’s twisted understanding of justification by faith allowed them to be confident in their salvation despite their fruitlessness (James 2:14-26).

-----Impartial. Those who are wise from above rejoice in truth and justice. Perversion of justice is an aversion to their character (Deuteronomy 16:19).

-----Sincere. Those who are wise from above do not feign religion. James’s audience loved the world under the pretense of loving Christ (James 4:4)

-----James reiterates that only through these things can a body of believers grow in righteousness.