In this episode, Mark Taylor focuses on James 3:13-18, which asks the question, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Dr. Taylor discusses the two kinds of wisdom James presents in this passage, wisdom from above and wisdom that is not from above (wisdom of the world). God’s wisdom leads to peace, while the wisdom of the world leads to chaos. Join us as we explore how this theme plays out in the letter of James.
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Mark Taylor 0:00
Mark, well, thank you for joining us this afternoon for this forum on the topic of peace in the age of chaos. My name is Mark Taylor, Professor of New Testament here at Southwestern. I’ve been teaching in this capacity since 1998 and one of my passions in teaching relates to my dissertation that goes all the way back to the book of James. And so I’ve been teaching the book of James for most of those 27 years and thinking about some possible book ideas. And so we’ll kind of toss around the topic of wisdom today and think about what James has to say about that. But I also have with me today my teaching assistant, who is a PhD student in New Testament, and so I’m going to ask Federico to introduce himself.
Federico Fretes 0:57
Hi everybody. My name is Federico, and as Dr Taylor saying, I am currently his teaching assistant, and it’s been my pleasure to do that, and I also have taken classes in my MDiv and seminars with Dr Taylor. And I really appreciate his insight, his way of approaching every text, and especially in particular James, which is one of his main focuses, and it’s a pleasure to be sharing this space with you.
Mark Taylor 1:26
Alright, so what we’re going to do is, I’m going to just talk about this topic for a bit, and I’ve told Federico, he’s free to to jump in and to interrupt or to add something to or ask a question. So we’re kind of going to do like a free flowing, extemporaneous discussion here today, and then we’ll be happy to take your questions later. The title of the forum is peace in an age of chaos, but it’s actually about wisdom in the book of James. And the focal text that we’ll be thinking about today is James, chapter three, verses, 13 to 18, which, in my view, is the structural center of the letter, and actually kind of resonates with the letter as a whole.
Mark Taylor 2:13
On the theme of wisdom, you actually run into the word wisdom very early in the book of James, in chapter one, where James says, if anyone among you lacks wisdom, he must ask God for it. So we probably ask God for wisdom along the way. We should, at least. But the question is, when we ask God for wisdom, what exactly are we asking God for? Are there any conditions for receiving it? And how do we know if we have it? How do we know if we possess wisdom? So James mentions asking for wisdom very early in the book. He comes back to it in chapter three, verse 13, and he actually asked a question that he then defines. So the question that he asked is this, who is wise and understanding among you? So what is a wise person, who is a wise and understanding person? And then he answers the question in this way. He says he must show by good conduct his works in the humility of wisdom. So he somewhat defines it for us. And then he begins to talk about what the lack of wisdom looks like. And then he comes back to wisdom again, and describes it for us. So this is what we want to think about today.
Mark Taylor 3:45
What exactly is wisdom? Well, the way that James answers the question tells us that wisdom is something that is demonstrated by the way that we conduct ourselves, by the way that we live our lives. So wisdom is more than knowledge. It certainly includes knowledge, but it’s more than knowledge. It is the demonstration of that knowledge in one’s life. I want to kind of get us started thinking about this. I want to throw out a definition by another scholar on wisdom who has written on this. The scholar is Richard Bauckham, who wrote a book on James and the wisdom of James about 25 years ago, and he gives a definition of wisdom that I think is really helpful and true to what James says about wisdom, and this will help us to think about this topic. So Richard Baucom, in his book, says this, that wisdom is the God-given ability of the transformed heart to discern and to practice the will of God. So let’s think about that again. Wisdom is the ability, the God-given ability, of the transformed heart, to discern and to practice the will of God. Now there’s only one thing that I would add to that definition. I think it’s a fabulous definition, but I would add to it the word humility, because James includes that in his answer to the question. So I would say it is the God-given ability of the transformed heart to discern and to practice the will of God in humility. So wisdom is all about the way that we conduct, the way we live our lives that is in keeping with what God has revealed about his about his will for us.
Federico Fretes 5:47
We normally think of wisdom as something you acquire, definitely right, something that you can even develop in every areas of our lives, even. But that phrase God-given it’s actually connected to what James is saying. And my question would be, is it, according to James, is it possible to develop this wisdom? Or it’s like a spiritual gift that we should ask and wait to receive it. What do you think of this?
Mark Taylor 6:22
Well, if you think about what James says about that, your question here. The first thing he says about wisdom is something we must ask God for which tells us that it is a gift from God. James also describes good and perfect gifts as coming down from above. And in James 3:13, to 18, he describes this wisdom as wisdom that is from above. So God is the source of wisdom. Of course, you have–going all the way back to the wisdom tradition—you have in Proverbs. The opening of the book of Proverbs that tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So it is something that we ask for. It is something that is a gift. Even as James describes our transformation, our conversion, if you will, in the first chapter, he talks about being birthed by the word of truth, by God’s will. So by his will, he birthed us by the word of truth. And many think that the language there is referring to our conversion, the word of truth and its other occurrences in the New Testament refer to the gospel message. So God is the one who gives us spiritual birth, and we are then exhorted to receive that word in humility, to welcome that word, to do the word, to remain in the Word. And so the will of God is given to us in His Word.
Mark Taylor 8:00
So while it is something that we certainly ask for, is something that is alien to us. We wouldn’t know what God’s will is if he hadn’t revealed it to us. So it is deeply and closely connected to the revealed word of God. And of course, James has quite a bit of emphasis on this theme of obedience, and what we do and what we say, and in living out the truth. So, you know, there is a sense in which people who are not even Christians, who are in the secular world, they can certainly gain expertise in certain things, they can certainly be successful in certain things. Entrepreneurs are very creative and by work, by worldly standards, they are very, very successful. So there’s a sense in which people can live with a good measure of common sense, just the way things work, you know. You observe and you see how God has designed the world, and how things work in life. And so there can be a certain measure of success. But we’re talking about something here that is, that is a bit different than that. You know, God’s wisdom is very, again, tightly connected to his word, to the truth, to His revealed will. It is a moral quality. There’s a certain character to it and so it is something that lies outside of us, and something that we have to ask God for in order to receive it. So it is a it is a gift, for sure.
Federico Fretes 9:44
Also for me that you do have a contrast here. James is is making a contrast between wisdom that comes from God, that is heavenly, and that is the other one that is not right. But just call my attention reading through this again. That you don’t have a contrast of good and bad wisdom, we will normally think of, okay? And when we hear an advice, we’ll say, this is good wisdom, right? It’s a good advice, good wisdom. That’s bad advice, that’s not good wisdom is bad, but you don’t have a contrast here, you know, given the quality of good or bad, but James highlights the source of wisdom and the results. So it’s the wisdom. The great question as I read it, is, where is this wisdom coming from? So I would, if you want to elaborate on that. And then a second question will be, is it possible to have good wisdom, like on the surface, but still not a wisdom that is coming from God.
Mark Taylor 10:47
Well, we kind of touched on that, just a little bit on the, you know, the secular person who can be successful to some measure. Of course, James is Wisdom literature and wisdom literature typically offers two different paths. That’s very typical of Wisdom literature. The two ways motif, two ways to live and to conduct your life. An example of a wisdom Psalm, for example, would be Psalm one, that talks about the godly person versus the ungodly person. You have something of that in James 3:13- 18, where you have a wisdom that is from above, that James discusses. And then he doesn’t say a wisdom from below, but he says a wisdom that is not from above, which is the same way of saying there is a Godly wisdom and there is a worldly wisdom. So there’s two different kinds of wisdom that he presents, and there’s two radically different outcomes. And this leads to the title that we’ve given the forum here.
Mark Taylor 11:51
The wisdom that is from above is very tightly connected to righteousness. In fact, the way James describes it, he says, the wisdom that is from above is above all. Is first pure, and then it is peaceable. That’s the very first characteristic that he gives of wisdom following its purity. He lists several characteristics of this wisdom. It is peaceable. It is gentle. It is open to reason. It is full of mercy and good fruits. It is, it is without division. It is impartial. It is without partiality. It is sincere. So there is a moral character to it that is rooted in who God is and it leads to peace, rather than the opposite of peace, which would be chaos. So if you think about what James says in in James 3:13, and following, he actually answers the question of who is wise and understanding. He somewhat defines the wisdom from above first by looking at its opposite. So he says in 3:14 for example. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but it is earthly. It is natural. It is demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder in every vile practice. So you see the the opposite when God’s wisdom is absent, and frankly, it can be absent in the community of believers.
Mark Taylor 13:52
So we see that James here is writing to the 12 tribes that are scattered about. You know, outside of the land of Palestine, he’s writing to Jewish Christian communities. And so you know, you have to recognize that the jealousy and strife and chaos and these kinds of things that are very unpleasant are certainly characteristic of the world, but unfortunately, they can also find their way into the church. And we see this in other letters, in the New Testament. We see it in First Corinthians, for example, a very deep problem of division in the church. We see it also in the book of Philippians, there’s there’s division that is there. So James defines this in moral categories, he describes it in reference to how people live with each other in community. So wisdom is something that manifests itself, not just individually. It really manifests itself in relationship to other people inunity.
Mark Taylor 15:01
And so I think that’s where, you know, you could have someone, for example, that is successful in the in the eyes of the world and they seem to really have this life wrapped up. They seem to be doing well. They seem to be prospering. You may even call them wise, right? In fact, what comes to mind is Psalm 73 where the psalmist is quite disturbed, because what he observes in life is, it seems like the rich and the wealthy and the powerful, they’re the ones who are prospering, but the godly and those who are seeking to do God’s will are not prospering. It seems like, you know, the rich and the powerful of the world, the successful the world, don’t have any troubles like other people do. And so if you read Psalm 73 you see this vexing problem that the psalmist has, and he’s really confused by it initially. And then, of course, he begins to look at things from God’s point of view, to look at things from the divine perspective and that’s what James also does with this whole theme of wisdom. So wisdom is conduct. Wisdom is how we live our life, that’s for sure. But wisdom also involves looking at things properly, having the right perspective on life.
Mark Taylor 16:23
And so there’s a lot of what we would call eschatology in James. There’s a lot of reference in James to how things will turn out in the end. And one of the major themes that you have in the book of James is the theme of poverty and wealth. And in fact, if you look at the opening of the book of James, he starts the letter with three themes that are connected. He begins the letter by talking about trials. So count it all joy when you fall into trials of many different kinds. And you can do that because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance, but endurance must have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. So he opens the letter with this proper perspective on trials and what God is doing with difficulty and suffering and trials. And then immediately after verse four, after he mentions being perfect and complete, lacking in nothing of being whole and complete as a person, if any of you lacks wisdom, he must ask of God. And then he moves immediately after the wisdom section in verse nine, to the issue of the lowly brother, the brother or the believer who is in a humble circumstance, and the rich, let the lowly brother glory in His exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, for like a flower of grass, he will pass away. So there’s a number of places where, where James deals with with this issue of poverty and wealth. Chapter two, verses one to 13, is the classic text on that about the rich man and the poor man coming into the assembly, and then he comes back to it again in chapter four, verses 13 to 17. Chapter Five, verses one to six. So you know, biblical wisdom is distinct from what we might call, you know, common sense, secular wisdom. Ultimately, it comes down to, there’s only, there’s two and only two kinds of wisdom. There’s the wisdom of God, and then there’s the wisdom of the world. And God certainly defines success far differently than the world would measure, would define and measure success.
Federico Fretes 18:50
It’s also interesting that it connected to the topic of of the forum. So peace is the, perhaps the main result of the living out of wisdom. I was thinking we are living indeed, in a world of chaos, and one of the main marks of our current world is division everywhere in our context today. How do you think the church can apply James message in this area and be a testimony to the outside world. And in terms of this aspect of this is actually the result of wisdom, right? We have a peaceful community, and we have peacemakers.
Mark Taylor 19:41
Well, unfortunately, what this means is, when you find a church that is not at peace with one another, that what that means is there’s a lack of Godly wisdom there. And of all places on earth, the body of Christ, the church should be a place of peace, where people find peace, people who are at peace with God should experience and enjoy that peace, and they should be at peace with one another. You do see in the New Testament, again, I mentioned earlier First Corinthians as an example, probably the most extreme example, where they are divided. That’s the first thing that Paul says to them, you are divided, and you should not be divided. And he actually spends the first four chapters of First Corinthians talking about the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. And unfortunately, those who have believed the gospel, who have received the Spirit, who’ve been converted. He talks about their remarkable conversion in chapter six. Unfortunately, they are still drinking from the well of the wisdom of the world. And this tells us that the human condition is quite, quite desperate, isn’t it? I mean, it really is. The human condition is very sad. Even those who have been converted have to work hard at it, and this is why I think James says in the in the first chapter, not only have you been birthed by this word of truth, but you should welcome it in humility. Don’t be like the person who looks into the mirror and walks away and forgets what kind of person he was. Let the word of truth that birthed you, let it transform you. He actually shifts in James one from talking about the word that you are to receive and to do, and he calls it a perfect law that brings freedom. So there’s the admonition and exhortation to remain in the Word. We don’t just receive it one time. We have to walk in it daily and let it speak to us and let it transform us and let it and let it correct us. If we don’t, what will happen, you know, is is our flesh, and that which governs our flesh at times and the wisdom of the world will, unfortunately, make its way into the church, and will will cause this disruption.
Mark Taylor 22:28
The church should be a place where the world that actually is in utter chaos. There’s no other option. I mean, if you, if you take God’s wisdom out of life, you’re going to have confusion. You’re going to have, as James says, every evil practice there, you’re going to have instability. You’re going to have chaos. And I don’t think we would have to make the case here today that our world is in chaos. I think we know that it is. Know that people are confused, and know that people are seeking something that would bring some level of peace to their lives. But peace is actually the major theme here. So for example, when James asked the question, who is wise, he defines it, and he says, in 3:17 the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. So peace flows from purity, peace flows from righteousness. And he goes on to describe wisdom’s character in terms of being gentle, open to reason or compliant, full of mercy, good fruits, impartial, and sincere.
Mark Taylor 23:43
And one verse we haven’t touched on is verse 18, which says, a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. In other words, a wise person is a peacemaker, not a compromiser, all right, not a compromiser, because peace is tied into righteousness, but he is ultimately a peacemaker. Now, I don’t want us to kind of get away from what James says in chapter four. Sometimes the chapter divisions are a little bit unfortunate, but he describes what happens in life or even in community when wisdom is absent. He gives a very vivid description of this. And so he says, for example, what causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? You desire and you do not have? So you murder, you covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and you quarrel you do not have because you do not ask. And James is talking about wisdom there. Okay, you don’t have wisdom because you don’t ask for it. And then he says, you ask for it and you don’t receive because you ask wrongly that you may spend it on your passions. And he goes on in chapter, in verse four, to say, Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. So we’re talking about a system of values here, the values of the world and the values of godly values that characterize and describe wisomd.
Federico Fretes 25:41
In verse three, you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly. And you mentioned this. I mean, this is still talking about wisdom, right? Can this be a reference of, Hey, you want wisdom for for other things?
Mark Taylor 26:00
You want wisdom for personal gain, or you want to be wise for selfish reasons. And so envy and selfish ambition and jealousy, these are all still operating. It goes back to James one five, where he says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, and God will give it, to those who ask. But James actually puts a qualifier, doesn’t he? In that passage, he said, but you must ask, in faith, without doubting. Now, the word doubting is a little misleading in English, because we think of a mental process. You know, do I really believe that God will give it? You could translate that word to doubt it without wavering or without division, or to ask sincerely. And James talks a lot about the double minded man, the person who wants to have it both ways, the person who wants to have this wonderful gift that God promises to give, called wisdom, but they may ask for it in the wrong way, or ask for it, more specifically, with the wrong motives that they might have some sort of personal gain. And that goes completely opposite of what I mean. That’s selfish ambition. That’s not the wisdom that is from above.
Mark Taylor 27:20
So again, it goes back to how James characterizes wisdom. It is it is humble. It is recognizing that it is a gift. It is recognizing that there is a God there who’s given us His word. It realizes that we must do things the way that God has ordained them to be done. And James lets this play out in very practical ways. In the letter, he talks a lot, for example, about our speech. There’s a close and tight connection between our words and our deeds. So for example, in James 2:12, and 13, he says, Speak in this way and act in this way as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. Judgment is without mercy to those who have shown no mercy. And of course, that follows the whole passage on the rich man and the poor man entering into the assembly, and how we treat the poor and the rich by what we say, by how we speak so, how we speak to one another, how we treat one another. And usually issues of poverty and wealth bring that out. He talks. He talks later in chapter three, verses one to 12, is the most scathing rebuke you will find anywhere in scripture on the power of the uncontrolled tongue. And just take some time to read James three, one to 12, which, by the way, is right before the wisdom passage. And he mentions in chapter 4:11, and 12, don’t speak against one another. In other words, Don’t slander one another. Don’t don’t complain, don’t grumble. There’s a lot about speech in the book of James, and a lot about how we how we act, and sometimes our actions are actually revealed in our speech. So yeah, we have to be constantly reminded of these things and keep them at the forefront of of our Christian life.
Federico Fretes 29:34
What’s true religion, right too?
Mark Taylor 29:39
Yeah, go back to the end of chapter one, you know what is genuine religion. You know religion that is pure and undefiled before God is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction or their tribulation and to keep oneself undefiled from the world. And prior to that, he says, If anyone thinks that he’s religious and he doesn’t control his speech, then his religious is useless and is worthless. So James gives us some very, very practical direction about how to live in community, how to interact with one another, how to think about life, how to think about poverty and wealth and all of these things.
Mark Taylor 30:21
And, you know, it’s fascinating to me that in only five chapters, it’s unbelievable, the ground that James covers.It’s a favorite book among Christians for a reason, because, you know, you can read it 2000 years later, and you’re not at too much of a loss for what he’s trying to say. Even the rich man and the poor man coming into the assembly. We may not have observed that as James describes it, but we know exactly what he’s talking about, and it’s pretty easy to make the application. And James is a very convictional book. Certainly, it presents to us quite the challenge, something to aim very high for in the Christian life. But do keep in mind that James does say […] We all stumble much, or we all stumble in many ways. James is not a perfectionist, but he is calling us to a perfectionist type of standard. I mean, what else could he call us to but to aim for the very highest and the very best for what God wants us to be? And this is all encapsulated in in wisdom.
