Wisdom Contrasted: Part 7 - James 3:17b

Wisdom Contrasted: Part 7 - James 3:17b
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Thursday, 10 April 2008

Picking up right where we left off yesterday, we were looking at James 3:17 and the characteristics that comprise heavenly wisdom. As a quick recap, we found out that the motive for such wisdom is purity, which is then characterized by being peaceable and gentle. Our study today will take a look at three of the remaining five characteristics of heavenly wisdom before we finish up this verse and then prepare to close this portion of study with one final verse. Let us begin, as always, by looking to the Word of God and James 3:17b.

Quote :

James 3:17b (NASB) - ...reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits...

Following gentle, the next characteristic that we find in this verse is "reasonable." In a lot of ways, this is a difficult word for us to translate because its only instance is here; but, not letting that hinder us, it is the Greek word eupeithes (Strong's #G2138 or #G2138b in the NASB dictionary). As we can see, this word is translated as "reasonable" in the text, but it can also be translated as "willing to yield, ready to obey, or easy to be entreated." What does this mean in the context of heavenly wisdom? It can be best looked at as characterizing a person who is willing to yield (to authority) without disruption or dispute. In other words, you could look at this as a soldier who is willing to take orders from his superiors and then do them without complaint; this is also a person who faithfully follows and obeys the rules that are placed before them. For the believer, this is essential because there are many times where the Lord gives us instruction, and it should be our delight to do whatever it is that He requires of us, doing it faithfully and without arguing. This also means that we have a teachable spirit that lacks stubbornness and is easily taught and/or corrected. How else is a Christian going to walk in godly wisdom unless he or she is prepared to obey it without wavering? That is the heart of being reasonable.

Our next two characteristics don't require stepping into the Greek as they are rather self-explanatory in their English renderings. With that in mind, our fourth characteristic is being "full of mercy." To understand this, all we have to do is ask ourselves, what does it mean to be merciful? The answer to that is a rather simple one: it means that we are ready and willing to forgive others when necessary, and also being ready to lend a helping hand. Not only are we to show mercy though, but we are to be full of mercy towards others. This means that we are quick to forgive others when they have wronged us. Much like Jesus told Peter, we need to be prepared to forgive our brother seventy times seven when he sins against us (Matthew 18:21-35), regardless of the offense against us. It also means helping out others as much as we can, when the opportunity presents itself; commands to help the less fortunate are littered all throughout Scripture, and it would be a sin for us to not help those in need when we have the means and resources to do so. To sum up this characteristic, we could say that we need to have a heart and compassion towards others, by fulfilling the second greatest commandment as given by Jesus, loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. Just as God has shown much mercy towards us, we should extend that same measure to others.

Just as we are to be "full of mercy," we are to also be "full of... good fruits." The construction of the Greek in this instance implies that the "full of" applies to the good fruits also. Being that we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the fruits that we are to be displaying are found in Galatians 5:22-23, which include: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As believers, each and every one of these fruits should be found in our lives; and, when we have them in our lives, they are both vehicles for and proof that godly wisdom exists within us. This "good fruits" can also refer to good works or deeds. As we found out in James 2:14-26, a true and living faith is evidenced by good deeds; therefore, someone who is walking in heavenly wisdom is going to have an abundance of good works as evidence of their faith, thus making it true that they are "full of good fruits." And let it be known that these are not just good works for the sake of good works, but these are works that are produced through obedience to God's Word and having Him living inside of us, since we very well know that unbelievers are capable of bringing forth good deeds also. As believers, though, we should have a desire to want to do good to others, which is the good fruits that are being spoken of here. It is these good fruits that stem from purity and godly wisdom.

Are you starting to see the pattern yet that we spoke of in our look at the first portion of this verse? If you haven't, I'm not going to reveal it yet, but allow you to continue to meditate on it until we finish up our look at James 3:17 and the characteristics of heavenly wisdom. At the very least, we can see how this wisdom correlates to just about everything that James has spoken of up to this point in his epistle; he has been teaching us the practical application of heavenly wisdom in chapters one through three, and now we are learning the specifics of it all as we close this chapter. Today, let us take time to make sure that our lives are being characterized by compliance to God's commands, mercy, and good fruits. If not, examine ways that you can make them a part of your life so that you can live out godly wisdom in your life. Until next time, stay before the throne of grace and in the light of Christ!

devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/daily-devotions/04-10-2008.php