The Harvest of Heavenly Wisdom
James 3:17-18
James 3:17-18
“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. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”
Here James contrasts the wisdom from heaven with the wisdom of the world. The wisdom of the world is in reality the wisdom of Satan and the wisdom from heaven is of God. As shown in previous studies a list or qualities, or characteristics, is used to describe this lesson on the wisdom from heaven.
The wisdom of heaven is “...first of all pure…” which demonstrates an ordered list with all the other qualities flowing from the first one. The idea of purity describes a person who is innocent and also refers to something free of any defects. The wisdom of God is not tainted, not stained by man’s influence or thinking. The wisdom described here is the same wisdom God promises to give generously in James 1:5 when we ask for it. God wants you to succeed and desires to equip you with wisdom to meet trials with His power and help.
Flowing from this pure, perfect and unblemished wisdom is the quality James calls “peace-loving”. It is the opposite of the
disorder, chaos and destructive qualities of earthly wisdom. The believer possessing heavenly wisdom will find they are at peace with God and in harmony with his Word. This wisdom begins in the relationship with the Lord and flows from there to other believers.
Because the believer is peace-loving they are also “considerate” toward others. Noticed how the qualities of God’s wisdom change our own hearts first and then begin to express godly qualities toward others? To be considerate is also translated as being “gentle” (Philippians 4:5; 1 Timothy 3:3) and is always demonstrated by action. To be considerate is to put the needs of others before your own and to be respectful in your treatment of others.
The believer who exercises heavenly wisdom will also be “submissive.” The King James Version (KJV) and the American Standard Version (ASV) of the bible call this “easy to be entreated” which describes a person who is easily persuaded to change their position or view when presented with the truth. The opposite of submissive would describe a person as stubborn or “stuck in their ways.” A stubborn person refuses to change their position on an issue, holding to their own wisdom and understanding. This attitude is connected to the wisdom of the world but heavenly wisdom is willing to listen and yield to instruction or correction.
The next quality of godly wisdom is being “full of mercy.” James did not simply use the word “mercy” here but instead chose to use the phrase “full of mercy.” The idea here is the believer, under the influence of godly wisdom, has an overflowing abundance of mercy to give others. It is important to understand mercy can only be demonstrated toward others. Mercy must be in you in order for you to give it away. Mercy displays itself through kindness and compassion toward others, specifically to those who are hurting in some way.
In the “Parable of the Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus illustrated the idea of being full of mercy when he told the story of a Samaritan man helping a Jewish man who had been robbed and left for dead. The mercy of the Samaritan was demonstrated by a heart of concern which overflowed in his actions as he took care of the Jewish man’s needs. The story of the Good Samaritan is one of heavenly wisdom as mercy overflows in the form of action.
This next quality is a continuation of mercy and should be read as full of “good fruit” in keeping with the idea of overabundance. Good fruit is another way of saying good deeds, or good works, and carries the concept we studied in James, chapter three, where genuine faith must be put into action. John the Baptist commanded the people to “Produce (good) fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8-10). Jesus said “Make a tree good (speaking of salvation) and its fruit (good deeds) will be good…for a tree (believer) is recognized by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). Wisdom from heaven allows you to make godly decisions that manifest into good works and give evidence of your faith.
The wisdom of heaven is also “impartial” which speaks of a person who treats people with equal concern. The ideal of being impartial flows well with James 2:1-13 where God warns us not to show favoritism in the church. An impartial person is fair and just toward others. Being impartial never considers the outward appearance or circumstances in regards to others but instead looks at the needs of the heart.
The final quality flowing from heavenly wisdom is to be “sincere”. The American Standard Bible (ASV) describes sincerity as a person who is “without hypocrisy”. The opposite of being sincere is to be a hypocrite, a fake, a person who is trying to present themselves in a different light than what they really are. One of the biggest problems kids have with their parents today is hypocrisy. They see their parents acting one way during the week and then acting religious on Sunday. How is your faith? Would you describe yourself as sincere?
Jesus had a problem with this fake religious mentality also. Speaking against the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Israel, he called them hypocrites seven different times. Jesus warned the people saying, “...do not do what they do for they do not practice what they preach” (Matthew 23:3). The idea of being sincere is how you are on the inside, in your heart, is how your are seen by others.
James concludes his teaching on wisdom with a final note of encouraging. He said, “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” The first quality of wisdom was peace-loving and James ends the list of qualities describing the believer as a peacemaker. You cannot be a peacemaker without first being a peace lover.
Peacemakers are peace-loving individuals who sow peace and raise a harvest of righteousness. To sow is a farming term meaning to plant something. In this context the peacemaker is planting all the previous qualities flowing from the peace-loving relationship with God. Planting the qualities of being considerate, submissiveness, mercy, good deeds, impartiality, and sincerity in other people will raise a harvest of righteousness. The qualities overflow from you, take root in other people, and begin to grow. The believer becomes God’s vehicle to produce heavenly wisdom in others.
God sends trials to build your wisdom. Which wisdom will you lean on to resolve the trials? Heavenly wisdom that can raise a harvest of righteousness or earthly wisdom that raises a harvest of disorder and every evil practice?
