James 3:13 (New Living Translation).Share Audio.
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.If you are wise and smart in understanding God’s perfect ways then you shall show it by living in purity and a holy life for him in honor. By this you’re doing good with humility and comes from wisdom and knowledge of a godly lifestyle.What Does James 3:13 Mean? ►.Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.James 3:13(NASB).Verse Thoughts.There is a significant difference between true wisdom and false wisdom – between wisdom from above and the wisdom of the world. The world too often equates wisdom with knowledge while godly wisdom is given from above.. as the Spirit of God directs the steps of a man and guides him in his actions and attitude.Wisdom does not depend on how much knowledge a man manages to acquire but on how a man conducts himself in his every day life. Godly wisdom is exhibited in the way that a man applies all that he has learned from the Word of God in his everyday life.. and in the decisions and choices he makes.The personification of godly wisdom is discovered in one Man alone – the Man Christ Jesus, for He is incarnate wisdom. The Lord Jesus is wisdom manifest in human flesh, and He is the living example of a life that is walking in spirit and truth. Jesus is not only the image of the invisible God but He is also the perfect representation of the way that godly men and god-fearing women should live.When James asked this rhetorical question, he was not expecting any answer, but giving emphases to the radical differences between wisdom that is given from above and the sort of wisdom which has its roots in all that is earthly, fleshly, worldly and false. Envy and strife, together with boasting and deceit are some of the hallmarks of worldly wisdom, which is too often robustly rooted in egotistical self, sordid sin and devilish desires.However the fruit of the Spirit is evidenced in the wisdom that comes from above.. where purity and peace join together in perfect union and where meekness and mercy embrace one another. Graciousness and goodness join together with sincerity and truth, which are recognisable garments.. and the garments of sincerity and truth, righteousness and grace are only worn by the one that is the benefactor of Christlike wisdom from above.May this important question be asked of all who are saved by grace through faith in Christ: Who among you is wise and who has understanding? And may we all with our action and attitude reflect the same resounding reply, which was identified by James in his singular epistle – so that by God’s grace we reflect the beauty and wisdom of the Lord Jesus.. both by our good behaviour and through the gentleness of spirit – which alone comes from the Lord Himself.Source: https://dailyverse. knowing-jesus. com/james-3-13.What does James 3:13 mean?What is wisdom? In a new section beginning in this verse, James will show that how each person answers that question depends on whether their focus is limited to this life or includes eternity in heaven. He starts out with a provocative question. This test immediately challenges our personal pride: “who is wise and understanding among you?”.James uses two different Greek words, with two different meanings. “Understanding” comes from the Greek epistēmōn, which focuses on intellect and factual knowledge. “Wisdom,” which James will center on more heavily in this passage, is from the Greek sophos. This term is more related to practical, real-life use of moral reasoning. This is not to say intellect is unimportant, but James’s primary point in this letter is about what we do. As a result, it’s natural that he leans more heavily on the applied “wisdom” aspect.Those with some scriptural training or higher status in the faith community will be tempted to count themselves qualified as “wise.” Those who feel inadequate in spiritual things might hope they won’t be noticed. James’s answer to his own question, though, comes as a surprise. As human beings, we tend to measure wisdom as having all the right answers to the hard questions. Instead, James suggests, wisdom is as wisdom does. He echoes what he wrote about faith and good works in chapter 2: “I will show you my faith by my good works.”.A truly wise person will demonstrate the humility of wisdom by his good works. The true test of God’s kind of wisdom is a life well lived, a life spent doing good works for others. As the wisdom book of Proverbs repeatedly makes clear, humility is an essential component of living wisely (Proverbs 1:5–8). Without setting ourselves aside, we cannot hope to become the wise servants God has called us to be.Context Summary.James 3:13–18 questions our concept of who is wise and understanding. James quickly answers: the truly wise, understanding person is one whose faith in God leads to selfless good works. Wise people live in the humility of wisdom, setting themselves aside to serve others. That’s not worldly wisdom, which leaves each person responsible to serve him- or herself first. Earthly attitudes are driven by envy for what others have, and an ambition to take it. The result is disorder and evil instead of the peace, gentleness, and mercy that follow from living by heaven’s wisdom.Chapter Summary.Human words are powerful. Our tongues are small, but they are capable of wreaking great havoc. Any person who could perfectly control their words would be in perfect control of their entire bodies. Instead, as sinful human beings, our tongues are untamable. Our words are fire, igniting the entire course of our lives. Blessing God and cursing people should not come out of the same mouth; we are corrupted. James concludes the chapter by exploring what it means to be truly wise. True wisdom is not necessarily found in those with the most education, money, or friends. Rather, wise people can be spotted living wisely in humility, participating in good works, enjoying peace, singleness of purpose, and gentle lifestyles
