Wisdom Contrasted: Part 9 - James 3:18

Wisdom Contrasted: Part 9 - James 3:18
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Wednesday, 16 April 2008

In our study today, we are concluding our look at heavenly wisdom versus earthly wisdom. This marks a bit of a milestone as we will have reached the end of chapter three and will be roughly 60% through the epistle of James. As we close, our study focuses in on James 3:18, the final verse of chapter three, which deals with the fruits of righteousness that come as a result of exercising heavenly wisdom. Let us jump right into our study by opening up our Bibles and reading what the Word of God has to say.

Quote :

James 3:18 (NASB) - And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

At first glance, this verse appears to be somewhat confusing, and it is rightfully so. To understand it in its English rendering, it likely would take a few careful readings, as both the wording and terminology is a bit awkward and redundant. Part of the reason for this is because this is a fairly difficult passage to move from Greek to English as the literal translation is a bit lacking in our English understanding. A very literal rendering of this verse would read something like, "[The] fruit and of righteousness in peace is sown by the ones making peace." As we can see, there is quite a bit lacking from what we would expect in the English, but translations such as the New American Standard or the English Standard Version help us to better understand this by adding words to clear up the meaning, as you can see above. Even with that, though, the passage still requires a bit of work to understand. The one thing that we can take away from this passage that is very clear is that we are looking at the results of heavenly wisdom in the life of the believer, much like we were given the results of worldly wisdom in James 3:16.

As we move forward and take a look at our English translation (NASB), let us first focus in on "the seed whose fruit is righteousness." As we compare with our literal translation from above, we can see that the Lockman Foundation added in "seed whose" to the phrase so that we could better understand it. The reason for doing so is a rather logical one, as we understand, from looking ahead in the verse, that fruit is not what is planted in the process of sowing and reaping. Instead, it is the seed of the fruit that is being sown, which is why those words were added for further clarification. What is the seed sown? Rather simply, it is godly wisdom in the life of the believer. Knowing that, we can now being to wrap our mind around what this fruit is, which is righteousness. When we are living a life influenced by godly wisdom, it produces righteousness within us. What exactly is righteousness? In a very general sense, righteousness is meeting the demands of God's Law; which, is to say, that a believer who has godly wisdom is bearing fruit that is allowing him to mirror the character of God and fulfill His Law.

Continuing on, we see next that this seed is "sown in peace by those who make peace." This is a rather interesting phrase, as it is one that demonstrates a significant relationship between godly wisdom, peace, and righteousness. We have already seen in James 3:17 that being able to live peaceably is one of the characteristics of heavenly wisdom, but we now see that when we sow peace we are producing a righteous character, which also helps to contribute to making us more peaceable. If you don't already see it, the analogy is clearly spelled out in an agricultural setting. Let us use an apple seed as an example. You can start off with one apple seed, and if you plant that seed and care for it, it will eventually grow an apple tree. This apple tree will then bear fruit, which is more apples. When you look at each apple, there are many seeds in just one fruit; and, each of these seeds from these many apples from one tree can go on to create many more trees and apples, in a very exponential fashion. That is to say, as a believer, if we are able to use the seed of godly wisdom by living in peace, we will exhibit righteous character, which then helps us to grow our peace as we "plant" more godly wisdom and continually increase in: 1) godly wisdom, 2) peace (and all other characteristics of godly wisdom), and 3) righteousness. There is no end to it, because as long as we keep sowing, we will continue to reap a harvest. This is a concept that Paul speaks of also in 2 Corinthians 9:10.

This verse is one that also brings us back to the importance of having a faith that is accompanied with works. With this passage, we see a clear indication that for us to grow in godly wisdom and righteousness that it requires some kind of action on our behalf. Any true believer will possess the wisdom of the Lord, and the outworking of this wisdom lends itself to the characteristics of godly wisdom, which eventually results in righteous living. This, again, echoes the words of Paul in Ephesians 5:15, where we are admonished to watch our walk and to walk as wise men, as opposed to those who are unwise (worldly wisdom). And when we are walking in godly wisdom, we cannot help but to live a life that is followed by works of righteousness, resembling a pure religion (James 1:27 & James 2:14-26).

In closing, we can see that there is a drastic difference between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom, both in their motives/characteristics and results. The wisdom of this world can only lead toward lawlessness and disorder, while godly wisdom brings forth righteousness in the life of the believer. Now that we are well informed about the distinctions between the two, let us seek the Lord that much more so that we might put this word of truth into practice in our lives. As children of God, it should be our desire to share His mindset and character traits; just like an infant child mimics their parent's every move, we should be doing the same with our God, which includes walking in His wisdom. It is my prayer that living a life full of godly wisdom would become second nature for all of us and that we would no longer walk in the ways of this world. As we do so, the world will notice a difference and have no choice but to question where our source for wisdom is. Until we break bread again, stand strong and live a life filled with godly wisdom.

devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/daily-devotions/04-16-2008.php