THE FACES OF WISDOM

TEXT:  James 3:13-18(NIV)

By: Genesis Leonor Fernandez

13 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.

The above  scripture is a comparison between wisdom which is godly and one that is earthly--mentioned in verse 17—the wisdom from heaven is pure, peaceable, gentle and so forth and in verse 15— the wisdom which is earthly, natural and demonic.  Let’s note that what James is saying is what the Old Testament wisdom literature refers as divided into two kinds, the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God. Men might claim they have wisdom. But what kind, is it the wisdom of men or the wisdom of God? There's a great difference. In fact, in verse 13 James says, "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him prove it by his good behavior manifest through his deeds with an attitude of meekness." So if you claim to have wisdom and you claim that that wisdom is from above, the burden of proof is by the behavior manifested in you.


Notice again back at verse 13, he says, "Who is wise and understanding?"
I think basically these two words are  synonymous and put there for emphasis. But they do have a shade of difference in their meaning. This is the only time in the whole New Testament these two words appear together. The simple distinction is that wisdom probably relates to the application of principles whereas understanding relates to the understanding of those principles or the knowledge of those principles. One would have more impact on the mind and one might have more impact on the conduct.
Three Ways to Show Wisdom. v.13  

1. Good Life  ( Generally)

It's a general statement, good conduct. We could even translate anastrophes as lifestyle . And then the word "good.” means lovely, beautiful, winsome, attractive, noble, excellent, a very common New Testament word.
You claim to have the wisdom of God? Then show it by your good behavior, by your excellent lifestyle, by your attractive action. That's general. In other words, if you have the wisdom of God, it's going to come out by the way you live.

2.: Good Deeds (Specifically)

And now he goes from the general to the specific. And he identifies the specifics of daily life, those individual behaviors, those separate acts that he calls works, deeds. Here James focuses on the minutiae of life.

3. Humility and Meekness (Attitudinally)

We could say he says you must demonstrate that you have the wisdom of God not only generally and specifically, but attitudinally, because at the end of verse 13 he says, "All of this will be done in the meekness of wisdom." In other words, true wisdom has a meekness. What James is saying is if you have the wisdom of God, far from arrogant, you'll be meek. This is wisdom's meekness. Beautiful thought. It isn't arrogant at all.

Where did James get this? I mean, what's the basis of all of this? What foundation underlies it? Here, James  is a Jew writing to Jews so he assumes their Old Testament understanding. And since we can't assume that for ourselves as Gentiles far removed from the Jewish context, we needed to fill up a little bit of our understanding. Remember that the wisdom of the Old Testament was basically initiated by the fear of the Lord. Do you remember that? The fear of the Lord is the..beginning of wisdom. Wisdom begins in fearing the Lord.  To fear the Lord is to have a reverential trust in Him. When the Old Testament says "fear God, fear the Lord," it is a call to salvation, it is a call to reverential trust, to commitment in which a person turns from sin in faith to God and has a hatred of evil and a love of obedience. 

So, when a person put his faith in God, he was ushered into the sphere of wisdom. And then became really the student of divine wisdom who lived that wisdom out. True wisdom, we saw, comes from God. It is given to one who comes into relationship with Him. And all of us who know God in a personal intimate way have received from Him that wisdom. Now let me say that again. All of us who know God through Christ in a personal way have received the wisdom of God. And that wisdom of God is manifest in the life of a true believer. Every true believer will manifest the wisdom of God.

James brings us to the text. First of all, let's look at false wisdom, verses 14 to 16. He begins by analyzing the worldly wisdom that is not of God. It has no relationship to God. It has no obedience to God. It has no knowledge of God's truth. He goes under the surface of this worldly wisdom to tell us several things about it.
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.

I.FALSE WISDOM:

A.) MOTIVATION  of False Wisdom v14

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.V.14
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with diligence for out of it are the issues of life." So he's looking into the heart and as he looks into the heart, he sees what motivates the person. And there are two things that motivate.

1.Bitter envying

A better translation would be "bitter jealousy.“ Pikron” in the Greek means harsh or bitter. It is used of bitter undrinkable water. The word "envying" or the word "jealousy" is zelos. It is used here in a bad sense and it means an evil jealousy. It is the idea of a harsh bitter self-centeredness that produces a resentful attitude toward everybody else. 

2.Selfish ambition

A personal ambition that creates rivalry or a party spirit or antagonism. First you start with bitter jealousy and that creates the attitude of competition and conflict. And selfish ambition generates a party spirit and a bitterness toward others. In  politics it is used with people who in selfish ambition tried to seek high political office, attaining their person goals at any cost no matter what they had to do to other people to get there.

B). CHARACTERISTICS of False Wisdom V.15

15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
What wisdom that doesn't come from heaven? The wisdom that is bitter, jealous, selfishly ambitious, self-centered, self-focused, without humility, without love,  just consumes on its own desire...that wisdom is not from above

Now he gives us three words to describe the wisdom that is false.  Earthly, Sensual, Demoniacal.

C).RESULTS of False Wisdom  v.16

16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

1.Disorder

Gk word,akatastasia, it means confusion coming out of instability, chaos. Earthly wisdom will never produce harmony, it will never produce love because earthly wisdom is, first of all, proud, self-seeking, self-serving, self-indulgent, it destroys intimacy, it destroys love, it destroys unity, it destroys fellowship, it brings discord, it brings chaos.

2. Evil work. 

Every worthless and vile thing. It contemplates evil. R.C. Trench has a good word on this...it contemplates evil not from the aspect of its active or passive malignity but rather from its good for nothingness the utter impossibility of any true gain ever coming from it. Did you get that? So out of human wisdom comes disorder, chaos, confusion and absolutely no good at all.

II. TRUE WISDOM

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.

1. MOTIVATION of True Wisdom V17

1. Pure.
The word implies sincere moral spiritual character.  It has more to do with the spiritual integrity moral sincerity-- free from bitter jealousy, free from selfish ambition, free from arrogant self-promotion. So the basic pure heartedness is the motive of the believer. It's not a heart of pride, it's a heart of purity.
 

B.)CHARACTERISTICS of True Wisdom

The motive, purity.. here are the qualities that will be characteristic of true wisdom. 

1. Peaceable -Gk.eirenikos, peace loving, peace promoting. 

The wisdom from God is not creating confusion. It is not creating disorder. It is not self-promoting. It is peace loving, peace making. It doesn't come to a compromise with truth, but it makes peace.

2.Considerate- gentle

That is steadfastly gentle, with an attitude of humility, an attitude of courteousness, an attitude of kindness, an attitude of patience, an attitude of consideration without hatred, without malice, without revenge. 

3.Submissive-easy to be entreated 

Gk.Eupeithes means they're willing to yield, willing to yield, not stubborn, easily persuaded, teachable, compliant. 

4.Full of mercy 

This really means a concern for people who suffer manifested not only in forgiving people who have wronged you but in reaching out to people with compassion who are in suffering.

5. Without partiality. 

That's the only place in the New Testament this term is used. It means it's unwavering, it's undivided in its commitment. There's no vacillating. There's no shifting. There's no turning one way and then turning another way. It's consistent, no partiality.

6.Without hypocrisy

Utterly sincere, genuine, not phony, not fake, no pretense, no mask.

C.)RESULTS of Godly Wisdom  v18

The fruit of righteousness.

True wisdom here is equated with Righteousness. The fruit of righteousness. Righteousness is equated with true wisdom because wisdom is righteous living. "And the fruit of this righteousness is sown..." Now that's a strange picture...fruit is sown. Usually seed is sown. But on the other hand, fruit harvested becomes seed for the next crop, doesn't it? The fruit of righteousness is resown in peace by them that are making peace. 

And let me just summarize in closing thought...wisdom equals life style. The entry into wisdom is through faith in God through Jesus Christ. We are saved into wisdom. Once we come into wisdom, then Scripture becomes the source of wisdom, the Holy Spirit becomes the teacher of wisdom. What a wonderful thought. What a wonderful truth. And if we lack any wisdom, we can ask of God. So we have entered the sphere of wisdom. We possess the revelation of wisdom. We are indwelt by the teacher of wisdom. And whatever application of wisdom we lack, we may ask God who gives and holds back nothing.

Unity through Humility

(Phil 2:1 -11)

By: Bro. Kevin Lee De Guzman

 

Let me just share to you a story. Last March of this year, I got the chance to go home to the Philippines. During that time, the youth group in our church were organizing a National Youth Camp. Participating were the different youth ministries of our churches in different regions of our country, from Luzon to Mindanao. I used to be one of the organizers of these activities during my youth. I was the program coordinator. But then when I got invited to this Youth Camp to be one of the staff, I asked my self, "What will be my part?". They said that my presence would already a great help. When I arrived at the camp site, I really didn't know what to do. All of the tasks for planning that involves thinking and making ideas were already taken by the new generation of youth officers. Then one guy approached and asked me, "we need help on building the tents. "  It was summer, the sun was scorching hot and was very humid. I thought, "finally, I can be of help." And so the  15 tents were built. Then in the evening after dinner, there were more than 250 plates and other kitchen utensils to be washed. "Where are the officers?" I asked. Someone answered that they were having a meeting for the activities tomorrow and some were practicing for the praise and worship. So i helped that same guy who asked me to build the tents, wash the plates and the other utensils. Then it struck me. "Why am I the one doing this things? I am too good for this. " Ego and pride started to cloud my mind. So I asked this teenager I was helping, "what's your ministry in your church?" From his answer, i found out that he can play musical instruments and that he is actually the youth president of our church district in Southern Bicol. "Why are you doing this, shouldn't you be there planning with them or practicing with the worship team?" I asked with the intention of breaking  his spirit. Then he answered, "God already called people who wants to be part of the planning, singing, playing the instruments and leading. There are even more than enough who wants to volunteer for those tasks. If I will not do what we are doing right now, who would?" I felt a pinch in my heart. But then I challenged him again, "Aren't you getting tired of these tasks?" He answered almost instantly with a smile on his face, "Well I would have been tired, but God brought you here to help me." I was left speechless.

 

Humility. As believers, some of us thought that we've learned all about it, yet everyday we are still challenged to put our own interests last while not thinking highly of ourselves. How hard is it for us to put other's best interest before our own? Going back to the story, the youth camp would have not been a success if there are no one who had in his heart the best interest of the majority. If nobody was prepared to do the physically challenging task because of ego and pride, do you think the youth camp would be able to accomplish its objectives? They had the same intent and purpose. Their eyes were focused on one prize. They were willing to humble theirselves to reach their goal.

 

 

When everyone in the church values everyone else’s needs and desires above his or her own needs and desires, the result will inevitably be unity.( Phil 2:1-11) And if we are united, we reach our goal.

 

These eleven verses consist of two main sections.  

 

The first section (v.  1-4), contains exhortation to unity and humility.  In verses 1-2, Paul issues his appeal to unity.  This appeal is based upon the clauses describing four shared experiences of the Philippians.  In verses 3-4, Paul issues his appeal to humility.  This appeal is to regard other more highly than their own selves. 

 

In the second section (v. 5-11), Paul illustrates the kind of humility to which he is exhorting the Philippians by the example of the condescension of Christ. In verses 5-8 a series of clauses are strung together which detail Christ’s humble descent from the throne of God to the death of the cross.  Verses 9-11, however, leave the example of the humiliation of Christ to glory in His new highly exalted position as the enthroned Lord over all creation. 

Three points:

 

I.  Having unity means having the same mind, same love, being one-souled, the same intent and purpose. V. 1-2

 

One-souled. People sharing the same identity because they are in Christ, hence mutually supporting what God reveals through faith. ( Strong's Concordance)

 

II. Humility, looking out for the interests of others,  promotes unity. V. 3-4

 

In this context, humility, tapeinophrusune in greek, means lowliness of human pride, having a deep sense of one's moral littleness, that quality of mindset of having a humble opinion of oneself. (Strong's Concordance)

 

III. Follow the example of Christ's humility. V. 5-8

 

Conclusion:

 

God wants to see his followers walk in unity.  The means to that unity is a humility that regards others as more valuable than one’s self.  We are urged to follow the example of Jesus who although was at the same level with God, allowed himself to be stripped of that position in order to become man and die on the cross to purchase our salvation.  

Since none of us possess such position (being in the same level with God) as did the preincarnate Christ, none of us will ever have to humble ourselves to the extreme which He did. Therefore, we should be all the more willing to humble ourselves in a way that is by far inferior to the humiliation which He experienced.

BUILDING A SAFE, SOUND AND SUBSERVIENT WAY OF LIFE ON A SOLID FOUNDATION

Matthew 7:13-29

By Marlene Barcial

Evey Christian believer ought to keep in mind that we are just pilgrims passing through this barren land. Actually we are travellers moving time to eternity. This old earth is not our home. The million dollar question we need to ask our self is “Am I heading the right direction?”  Is this the right way? Pastor Hagee once said there are two ways to live: the right way and the wrong way.How could I know that this path I am heading to be the right way? Let us examine and study what the Lord is teaching us in Matthew 7: 13-29.

1. The way to eternal life is narrow and difficult but is safe at the end. We must enter the only gate that leads to eternal life.

13 "Enter by the narrow (channel, canal, sound) gate; for wide is the gate and broad(wide, general, comprehensive, extensive) is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life (ZOE), and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13 (NLT-New Living Translation)

 

You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide for many will choose the easy way.

Two gates mentioned here contradict each other

Narrow Gate [constricted]	Wide gate [roomy or spacious]
Leads to construction or eternal life [Zoe]. The only gate going to God’s Kingdom	Leads to destruction or eternal death. The gate going to Hell
The way is difficult or hard/tough. Safe –slow moving (Takes patience)-waiting with the good attitude	Easy Way and highway/ flat, level or even. Dangerous-so fast ( instant)
Few will find it	Many will find it
Only option or no other way	Many options, detour or alternative route, self-way, others way

We must choose or decide which gate must we to enter. One way is easy, the other way is difficult. One gate leads to destruction, the other gate lead to eternal life. To enter the "narrow gate," we must leave  our "self" behind; on the other hand, to enter the "roomy way," means there is no limit to the baggage or the work of the flesh—self-righteousness, pride, hatred, envy, selfish ambition, gossip; dissensions, factions, discord, and so on. The "narrow gate" which is only God ‘way is the very opposite of these works of the flesh.

The "narrow road’ and "narrow gate" has to do with one’s everyday living—our relationship to God and to one another. It is the works of the Spirit versus the works of the flesh. Paul, no doubt, resonated the thoughts of our Lord Jesus when he expressed himself to the Galatians: "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Galatians 5:16). These Revealed truths compel obedience to God’s way.(http://www.freedominchrist.net/biblical%20studies/new%20testament/gospel%20of%20matthew/the%20narrow%20gate.htm)

Why the Narrow Gate- Narrow entrance? It is a strait gate, for we must bow [signifies humility], or we cannot go in at it; we must become as little children. We must travel a narrow way; the body must be kept under discipline in the Lord. Changing ourselves and others with our own strength or without the help of God, is like disciplining outward behaviour but still remains the same inside. This means that ourcorruptions [dishonesties, vices] must be mortified; daily temptations must be resisted and our callings must be done that are against our preference but must be the preference of the Lord. We must go through much difficulty if we want to enter the narrow gate.(http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/matthew/7.html?p=7)

2. The way to eternal life is established on sound Doctrines [Complete and thorough]. We must be warned about false doctrines

15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Fruit is the result or what you produced from the work or effort you’ve done. This is the evidence that people can see or the things what God is looking for.Warning for us: Beware of False Prophets (False Professing Christians). A prophet who led people away from the living God was a false prophet. The way to tell false teachers from teachers of truth is by their fruits. Fruits here refer to more than their deeds [works they do for to be seen of men]; it includes doctrine or teaching. These are teachers who promote erroneous ideas like man made wisdom, rules and regulations. Thus they will lead people astray in their faith in Jesus. By this you know: One test of whether a person is led by the Holy Spirit is whether that person’s beliefs agree with the truth of God’s Word.”It is written.” The same thing as well, you will know if he is a true Christian. Don’t just believe people who they say ‘I pray’ but you cannot hear them praising God!

3. The way to eternal life is centred on submission, obedient, compliant,and subservient to Christ. We must submit our will to the will of the Lord

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

LORD; LORD: twice mentioned by Jesus. He is pointed out that those who called Him by this title of respect acknowledged submission to Him through obedience. However, many people ignored His teaching and will not practice them in their lives.Theyare those who are endangering themselves to destruction. We must be careful to do all for the Lord and makes sure that the Lord really tells us to do them. God requires us total submission to HIM…proving that we totally trusting him.

Conclusion:
24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

The way to eternal life is basedon a solid ground or foundation.

The Key Difference in the two houses is not their external appearances. Pharisees and scribes may seem to be as righteous and religious as the inheritors of the kingdom. The key in the story is the foundations. The HOUSE on the rock pictures a life founded on a proper relationship to Christ. It will stand the test of Christ’s judgment, but the house on the sand will fail the test.Pastor Adrian Rogers also said that “Faith that cannot be tested is faith that cannot be trusted.” 1 Peter 2:6 talks about the Chief Corner stone: Jesus is the foundation stone from which the placement of all other living stones in the spiritual house.

All the above that I mentioned are the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the sermon of the mount. These teachings are difficult to follow but with the help of the Holy Spirit these are possible. These are the admonitions of our Lord Jesus that if we want to follow Him, we should take up our cross daily…not sometimes but daily. Without taking up our own cross we cannot follow Him.