Wisdom, we believe, is a synonym of Logs of the Word, and it refers to that perfection and eternity which is to be found only in God the Father, manifested to the world through His Son, the Lord Jesus, and existing in the world today only through His Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 3:1. ", Adam Clarke on without hypocrisy -Without pretending to be what it is not; acting always in its own character; never working under a mask. When the listener could stand it no longer, he got up and slipped out a It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (Mt. Its "venom" is more deadly than a snake's because it can destroy morally, socially, economically, and spiritually. John Calvin -This slender portion of flesh contains the whole world of iniquity. (Ibid). Oswald Chambers -If a cup is filled only with good water, it cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, no matter how badly it is jarred. ESV James 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. No apology can undo the damage. Dikaiosuneis rightness of character before God and rightness of actions before men. Davids companions suggested that God had delivered Saul to them, and they urged David to kill him (vv.4,10). He cannot speak well who cannot hold his tongue. And clearly what and how we think will influence what and how we speak. Can others see Jesus in you because of the gentleness and wisdom with which you conduct your life? At amusement parks, the bumper-car ride is always popular. The first of the eighteenth-century churchman William Law's rules for life was: 'To fix it deep in my mind that I have but one business upon my hands, to seek for eternal happiness by doing the will of God.' Jealousy -The very nature of jealousy is to turn on those who harbor it; and it will ultimately destroy them. "Deceive not with thy lips" (Proverbs 24:28). 2:24). "Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own conceit" (Proverbs 26:5). YLT James 3:6 and the tongue is a fire, the world of the unrighteousness, so the tongue is set in our members, which is spotting our whole body, and is setting on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by the gehenna. Ron Mehl who is a pastor in Portland, Oregon has written a great little book called Right With God. Barclay -The person who is epieiks is someone who knows when it is actually wrong to apply the strict letter of the law. 1:13; Deut. A group where there is bitterness and strife (selfish ambition) is a barren soil in which the seeds of righteousness can never grow and out of which no reward can ever come. Godly words can come only from a godly heart. If we bless God as our Father, it should teach us to speak well of, and kindly to, all who bear his image. Frederick W. Faber, The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart. ESV James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. ASV James 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? The spirit of self-seeking creates rivalry and division in the church and the home. Paul writes that he and his demons are able fire "the flaming arrows"(Eph 6:16) into our minds. Used by Permission. Christ only, always, living in me. Matthew Henry, Such is the degeneracy of human nature that there is no true wisdom to be found with any but those who are born again and who, through grace, partake of the divine nature. It is a divine endowment and not a human acquisition.Therefore we Christians, who have accepted Christ as our Savior and who have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, are the only ones who can say that we are wisenot of ourselves, but because of the presence of God within us. Talk of orthodoxy and Christian experience, however fluent and animated and clever, does not of itself prove wisdom; the really wise man will show his works. Out of a good conversation [CONDUCT], James continues. William Baker -We are people of two radically different realms, the heavenly and the earthly/demonic. Is it not strange that the tongue can be praising God one moment and be slandering some person the next moment, often right in the church where the tongue had been used to praise God? . As new creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17+)believers have a new source of supernatural power to replace natural negative speech with positive God glorifying speech. Geoffrey Grogan, It is better to get wisdom than gold. Most of us would be amazed, if we just knew how much we rattle on. It speaks of a transparent genuineness (cf. Wiersbe - When the Spirit came at Pentecost, there were tongues of fire from heaven to enable the Christians to witness; but it is also possible for the tongue to be set on fire from hell! No fountain yields both salt and fresh water. By them will the reckoning be at the judgment. The necessity expressed by this word signifies a need resulting from time or circumstances or from the fitness of things. Don't say that you are wise when it isn't true. Only one person showed a deeper understanding of the question. (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries James). Laws can help to minimize discrimination in housing and the workplace. This, I believe, comes through Scripture (ED: AND I WOULD ADD PRAYER, ESPECIALLY CORPORATE PRAYER ON CORPORATE MATTERS). Speaking without thinking is like shooting without taking aim. But apart from Christ there is no wisdom. "As a thorn that goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, So is a parable in the mouth of fools" (Proverbs 26:9). Meekness of wisdom is accepting Wisdom's dealings with us without a murmur and without a sigh. It is the ability to live in a manner pleasing to God because you understand His truth and you live in constant submission to His Spirit, applying that truth to all of life. James asks, "Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?" Do notlie(5574)(pseudomaifrompseudo= to cheat, defraud, falsify) means to communicate what is false, with the evident purpose of misleading. But ultimately, their minds are set on themselves, & the things they want are really just offerings to the false god of self. And wouldn't he try (2) Censure with the more tenderness; give every action the allowance of human frailty (Galatians 6:1). As such, it is used here as a synonym for Satan and the demons. A Christian who makes the greatest impact on a watching world, and who furthers the cause of Christ, is one whose actions harmonize with his words. Mistakes are inevitable when we are learning a second language, including learning the new language of Gods love. Hold oer my being absolute sway! "Wise men lay up knowledge" (Proverbs 10:14). Spurgeon reminds us that "Behold is a word of wonder; it is intended to excite admiration. Men read what you write, whether faithless or true - NLT Study Bible - Such brackish springs could not support a town. (Lk 6:36+), Recall that James had earlier alluded to the virtue of mercy in writing that "judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." "A man hath joy in the answer of his mouth" (Proverbs 15:23). But peace has the power to break out anywhere. "Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool" (Proverbs 19:1). Its a world of iniquity. (Ibid), Hiebert on world of iniquity -From the context it seems best to accept that James thinks of the tongue as a vast system of iniquity." "Lying lips are an abomination to Jehovah" :12:22). Interesting! Lord, make me conscious today of the words I choose and the way I use them. (2 Cor 12:20, recall that in 1 Cor 3:3 Paul had characterized them as "still fleshly. Especially in times of crisis, the right word can bring healing and encouragement, while the wrong word can destroy your relationship with another person. Derick Bingham, A sanctified heart is better than a silver tongue. But grant my life may ring so true Anon. NKJ James 3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. Water that is sweet (James 3:11-12) is potable. James will now answer the question of how a believer knows he or she possesses wisdom from above. 2:18; Jas. 21:11; Rom. Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. The tiger employs one weapon of destruction: its razor-sharp teeth set in a vice-like jaw. By:Randy Kilgore(Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Just after his counsel to wives and husbands (1 Pet. Zodhiates on let him show -Now do not merely say you are wise, but act it. But they dont know whether the emotion comes from love and concern or disdain and disrespect, so we risk misunderstanding. (AMEN!). (Mt 5:9+), Make (present tense)(4160)(poieo)means "to do" which focuses more on the end/achievement of the action. NET James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? "He that is wise winneth souls" (Proverbs 11:30). In Scripture, the wise (from the Greek word sophia) were often teachers. In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea, causing a tragic loss of life. It is hypocritical and duplicitous, eagerly willing to deceive in order to achieve its own advantage." Where the spirit does not rule, the soulthat is, as we have seen, the mental and emotional nature in so far as it is occupied with the world open to the sensestends to become ever more and more subject to the lowest element of our constitution, the appetites of the body. 1. He propagates his evil in Bible language and many Christians swallow it hook, line and sinker. "Whoso curseth his father or his mother, His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness" (Proverbs 20:20). E. Stanley Jones, Sharp tongues have a way of sharpening other tongues. Proverbs 10:19. "There is that speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword" (Proverbs 12:18). James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. Knowledge leads us from the simple to the complex; wisdom leads us from the complex to the simple. 3:17). (1Co 3:3). Its virtually impossible to seethe with anger without expressing our rage in words. If we look earnestly and in faith, we can find God's way for doing ministry in Scripture, often the last place we go. Anon. Thomas Watson, Words are the looking-glass of the mind. All rights reserved), Take my lips, and let them be (James 3:15, 16) (Lectures Exegetical and Practical on the Epistle of James)(Bold added). Jesus upsets our pride too. He asked, Are these the best singers in your school? Beloved, that's the power of our unbridled, unruddered tongue, unless it is continually surrendered to the guarding, guiding power of the Holy Spirit! Overhearing his reply (which praised the other), a friend approached him afterwards and said, "General, do you know that the man of whom you spoke is one of your bitterest enemies and misses no opportunity to malign you?" Isaiah ", "Wise people know how to learn; they never seek knowledge for their own sake. The tendency of fallen man is now away from God, to go his own way. It is that ultimate self-elevation rampant in the world today which is the antithesis of what the gentle, humble, selfless, giving, loving, and obedient child of God is called to be in Christ and only possible in the power of His Spirit. In its only pre-New Testament occurrences (in Aristotle), eritheia refers to the selfish ambition, the narrow partisan zeal of factional, greedy politicians, so this word may also conveythe notion of rivalry, party-spirit, or factiousness. James 3:11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Proverbs 13:3. Reprinted by permission. Hagnos implies sincere, moral and spiritual integrity. Of course the way to accomplish this unnatural response is by continual reliance on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit (See Tongue Control). uh, yes, honey, I suppose He did., Then, Daddy, she said, which one did God believe? (Swindoll's Living Insights). When I speak evil, I not only reveal the sin in my own heart (Luke 6:45), I also reinforce that evil and cause it to grow. To gracious people? Amplified But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. We dare not be careless with what we say, thinking we can apologize later, because even if we do, the scars remain. Reprinted by permission. "A fool uttereth all his anger; But a wise man keepeth it back and stilleth it" (Proverbs 29:11). CSB James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. Used in the Nestle-Aland text is James 1:8+of the doubting man who is unstable in all areas of lifeand here in James 3:8, describing the tongue as incapable of restraint. All rights reserved), Forgive me, Lord, for prejudice, Is earthly, natural, demonic- Is (estin) is present tense describing the continuing nature of the wisdom that is NOT heavenly, supernatural and godly (to use an antithetical description). MacArthur illustrates how we all have been guilty of blessing and cursing -Peter confessed that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. A careless word may kindle strife; The Christian should learn two things about his tongue: how to hold it and how to use it. Its never too late to begin growing in wisdom. By:Mart DeHaan(Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. "According to his Doom: He would have spoke, James 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. One of the little girls asked the visitor, "Do you know who it was?" So if we see someone in need and "do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" I am more deadly than the screaming shell from the howitzer. Ps.141:3,4 Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. NET James 3:10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. So from the very beginning earthly, natural wisdom had its source in Satan's tempting words and he has not ceased this evil activity ever since. To pray or wish evil or ruin toward someone or some thing. Words have the potential to kill relationships, paralyze love, poison minds, destroy faith, stain purity and deface reputations. 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