James 3:13–18 ¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his 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, of the devil. 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 raise a harvest of righteousness.

The Bible also makes a distinction between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom that comes from above, or heavenly wisdom. If you have and live by the wisdom of this world, which tells you to work only for personal gain,  which has as its source selfish ambition, then these are the kinds of things you can expect: fights and quarrels, never being satisfied, envy and coveting. I have known people who live this way, and it seems to be a miserable existence.

You may want to be wise, but be careful about the wisdom that you seek. The wisdom of this world is not going to do you any good in the long run. It is the tragedy of man’s lost condition since the Fall of Adam and Eve that the divine gift of intelligence is perverted to evil uses. There is a better way. God gives the gift of pure wisdom, heavenly wisdom, wisdom from above.

The wisdom God wants you to have is something He offers and gives to you. It is a gracious gift from our God. Earlier in his epistle, James encouraged his readers to ask for this gift: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all … And it will be given to him (1:5). On our own, we are fools before God. So He reached down from above with the wisdom that we need. Paul identifies the essence of that wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1:24 —  CHRIST…THE WISDOM OF GOD. Just as the wisdom that we need comes from above, so the source of that Wisdom is from above, namely Jesus.

The wisdom that God gives tells you that you are corrupt. It shows you your sinfulness before God and the damnation that you deserve. Yet it also spells out how God has provided for you and for all men a way to escape the punishment you so richly deserve. He graciously sent Jesus to be our advocate. When our Lord came to this earth, He did so for you. His life of obedience to God was for your benefit. Believing God’s promise that the death of Jesus has paid for sin credits that payment to your account. That is the wisdom that you possess through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior. And that wisdom puts a whole new perspective on life in this world.

With the wisdom of God as your possession, you will put it into action. The characteristics that will be seen in those who use the wisdom from above: pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. These will be evidenced in the lives of the followers of Jesus Christ, since you know what God has done for you. This is a stark contrast to those who live by the wisdom of the world!

God is the one who gives the wisdom that you need. He has not kept it hidden, but has plainly and clearly revealed to you in His Word what you need in order to be wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. You have that wisdom as your possession. Use it.