Monthly Archive for October, 2000

James 3:17

Published on October 31, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” 

In this verse, James contrasts the human wisdom of envy and self-seeking to divine viewpoint on life.  He begins to list eight qualities of divine viewpoint. 
But
The word “but” contrasts human wisdom as over against God’s wisdom.  Having warned of the folly of human wisdom, James in this verse goes on to the benefits of God’s wisdom that comes from above (1:17).
the wisdom that is from above
Wisdom that comes down from above is God’s viewpoint.  It is the ability to apply God’s principles to experience.  God confers this wisdom especially on believers who walk with Him.  When a person applies God’s viewpoint to his experience, he operates with God’s wisdom.  He has integrity with God. 
1 Co. 1: 24 “…but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Co. 2: 3 “…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
 
PRINCIPLE:  God’s wisdom is a divine endowment and not acquired by human attainment. 
 
APPLICATION:  God’s wisdom comes to us by divine endowment and not my human attainment.  As we study the Word of God, it will give us a different outlook on life – divine viewpoint. 
Pr. 2: 6  “For the Lord gives wisdom
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding…”
Pr 9: 10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

James 3:16

Published on October 29, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
 
This verse gives the outcome of operating by the human wisdom of envy and strife.
 
For where envy
 
James takes up the ideas of “envy” and “self-seeking” again (3:14). These sins are the source of “confusion” and conceit. Envy is a selfish motivational sin. 
 
2 Co 12: 20 “For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumult…”
 
and self-seeking exist,
 
Self-seeking is a party spirit sin, a sin that divides people. It is the spirit of rivalry. 
 
confusion
 
The word “confusion” means instability. This word comes from 3 Greek words: no, down, standing and means a state of disorder, disarray, disturbance, rebellion and tumult. “Envy” and “self-seeking” create unruliness and insurrection. These people rise up to openly defy authority. They violently oppose authority in the church. This disorder comes from the man-centered values of “envy” and “self-seeking.” 
 
Lu 21: 9 “But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”
 
Ac 19: 40 “For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.”
 
Ac 24: 12 “And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city.”
 
and every evil thing are there
 
The word “evil” here connotes the ideas of slight, trivial, blown about by every wind. It came to mean unworthy, paltry and contemptible carrying the idea of a lower order of things – of no account, trivial, petty, sorry, worthless, ordinary. The idea is not moral evil but practical worthlessness. 
 
The word “thing” denotes something done – a matter, an event, a deed, something accomplished. We get the English word “pragmatic” from the Greek word. The use of the word “thing” involves the broadest category of paltry pragmatics of envy and self-seeking. 
 
PRINCIPLE: It is possible to be a religious zealot but be a troublemaker and a good-for-nothing. 
 
APPLICATION: Tumultuous Christianity takes place when there is envy and self-seeking in the camp but biblical wisdom brings us to love, peace and joy. Envy and self-seeking are polar opposites of inwrought grace [meekness] in the soul. 
 
Envy motivates self-seeking. Strife excuses itself by distorting the truth. It lives in malice, confusion and contention. This makes it vulnerable to conflict and broken relationships. 
 
God’s evaluation of wisdom is vastly different from man’s standards of conduct. If we judge ourselves by man’s standards, we look good. If we judge ourselves by God’s standards, we see ourselves for what we truly are. God’s norms for life defuse self-seeking and rivalry among Christians. 
 
When churches enter into conflict, they reveal to everyone that they operate on human wisdom. They become a conglomeration of people who put themselves first. They cause great tumult to fellow Christians around them. They could care less if they ruin the testimony of their church. Their desire to be right takes precedence over the testimony of Jesus Christ to the community. After their church splits, they leave missionaries to languish on a foreign field without support.
 
1 Co. 14: 33 “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

 

James 3:15d

Published on October 28, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

Demonic
 
“Demonic” signifies proceeding from or resembling demonic activity – demonical [not devilish]. The Bible always distinguishes between the function of the devil and those of his demons. Those who operate on bitter envy and self-centeredness act like demons, fallen angels. Those who think that they can function by operation bootstraps fall into the fallacy of satanic deception. 
 
2 Co 11: 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
 
1 Ti 4: 1 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons…”
 
PRINCIPLE: Those who function by operation bootstraps fall into the fallacy of satanic deception. 
 
APPLICATION: The devil cannot possess a believer because the Holy Spirit indwells him on a permanent basis. The Christian is the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” This is not to say that the devil cannot influence a Christian. 
 
The devil can influence the Christian by his “doctrine of demons” (1 Ti 4:1). First, the Christian neglects the Word of God. He is not hostile to the Bible, just indifferent. Then a vacuum opens up in his soul. In this condition, he is vulnerable to the teaching of Satan over a gradual process. This eventually leads to calloused rejection of the influence of the Word of God on his life. 
 
This decline puts the believer under the influence of demons — he has a “demonic” orientation toward life. The doctrine of demons then controls his thinking and choices. This is because he went an extended period with blackout of the soul toward the Word of God. He does not want to go to church; he does not want to listen to the Bible because he is under a different influence. He sublimates his spiritual vacuum with the doctrine of demons in a frantic attempt to fulfill his soul. 
 
Some Christians have a propensity to get into religious activities that run counter to divine truth. Others go into wild living. All of this momentum builds further callousness on the soul toward God. When we allow a great amount of callous to build up on our soul, we will enter into a stage of blackout toward divine things. Many Christians go into very kooky things because they do not want to deal with the principles of the Word on their lives.

James 3:15c

Published on October 27, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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“This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.”

Sensual,

“Sensual” means belonging to the soul and refers to the natural mind and physical aspects of man. This has to do with our appetites and passions – life in the natural world, the fallen world. There is nothing higher in man. The wisdom of the previous verse is wisdom typical of human nature, not divine nature. That is soulish wisdom, not spiritual wisdom.

1 Co 2: 14 “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

Ju 19 “These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”


PRINCIPLE: The combination of “bitter envy” and “self-seeking” produces a calloused attitude to God and to others.      

APPLICATION: Wisdom that gives rise to strife does not come from God. Do you find yourself full of bitter envy and self-interest? “Yes, I have alienated myself from family and friends. I have developed a calloused attitude toward people and life as a whole.” The combination of “bitter envy” and “self-seeking” will do this every time. This is a difficult position to shed.

James 3:15b

Published on October 26, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
 
James now gives three descriptions of human viewpoint. Human viewpoint is a far more limited viewpoint than divine viewpoint. 
 
But is earthly,
 
“Earthly” means terrestrial, existing upon the earth. Those who live in “bitter envy” and “self-seeking” operate on wisdom limited to this earth, not to God’s wisdom from heaven. It is a wisdom purely produced by man. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Human wisdom restricts us to the boundaries of finite man; divine wisdom enables us to enter into the domain of divine viewpoint. 
 
APPLICATION: This wisdom confines itself to the restrictions of finite man. Man is the end of man. This person has no practical place for the Word of God or even for God Himself. His self-centeredness pushes for self-interest – “I have to look out for number one.” This is the centerpiece of life in North American in the twenty-first century. 
 
Ph 3: 19 “…whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame— who set their mind on earthly things.”

James 3:15

Published on October 25, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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“This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.”

This verse distinguishes divine viewpoint from the human viewpoint of the previous two verses. The Bible is God’s message from Himself to us. There is where we find divine viewpoint.

This wisdom does not descend from above,

The readers of this epistle gloried in self-centered wisdom (3:13,14). This wisdom does not descend from above [heaven] but from below [earth and the forces on it]. Human wisdom is not divine viewpoint but simply human viewpoint.


PRINCIPLE: The mature Christian operates on divine viewpoint, not human viewpoint.

 APPLICATION: There is a tendency in our day for Christians to use human viewpoint to direct their Christian lives. This is a terrible mistake. Without divine viewpoint [knowing the principles of God’s Word and how He thinks as over against how man thinks], we cannot live the Christian life.

1 Co 1: 20 “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world [human viewpoint]? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God [divine viewpoint], the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”

1 Co 3: 18 “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’; 20 and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’ 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

James 3:14d

Published on October 24, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

and lie against the truth
 
To “lie” is to tell a falsehood, speak false, play false, to say that which is untrue. The main purpose of a lie is to mislead. This word involves more than telling what is not true but it also involves the intent to deceive. 
 
Bitter and boastful people lie to themselves and others. They try to make themselves out to be honorable. To boast is to lie. A boaster tries to whitewash a lie and make it a truth. This is to lie against the truth. Lying has its origins from the pit.
 
Jn 8: 44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
 
1 Jn 1: 6 “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
 
Truth here is more than telling the truth but truth itself. Jesus said that He was the truth (Jn 14:6). Jesus was truth in His thinking, acting and speaking. He was truth incarnate. When Christians distort truth, they distort the true picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
PRINCIPLE: To boast is to lie. 
 
APPLICATION: Boasting exaggerates the truth. A boaster cannot deal with truth because it makes him look bad. He must twist and distort reality to make him look good. Facts do not interest him.  His hypersensitivity demands attention. He gets attention by making people feel sorry for him. He portrays the idea that he is a victim abused or persecuted. No one cares for him. In this dishonorable way he weasels himself into the affection of others. He feels alienated from others so he must manipulate others into his realm. 
 
There is a very great propensity to push others down in order to exalt ourselves. We make them look bad in order to make ourselves look good. This is lying against the truth. When we brag we distort the truth about ourselves and the truth about the Lord Jesus. 

James 3:14c

Published on October 23, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
 
When people have in their hearts attitudes of “bitter envy” and “self-seeking” in their hearts, they will boast and will lie against the truth. 
 
do not boast
 
The person who boasts is someone who wants to triumph over others. This is evil exultation over other people. He likes to downgrade others to exalt himself and clearly regards himself as superior or would like to regard himself as superior to others. We demand attention from others. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Personal pride violates God’s glory and diminishes people around us. 
 
APPLICATION: Some people glory in the fact that they can win an argument. They want to win at all costs. When this invades the church, God will not use that church for His glory because this attitude diminishes others. 
 
The focus of our glory should be in the Lord. 
 
1 Co 1:31 “…that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’”

James 3:14b

Published on October 22, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

 
and self-seeking
 
“Self-seeking” means strife or contentiousness.  A “self-seeking” person is someone who is always in the business of electioneers and intrigues for office. He puts himself forward and doing so he is a partisan and fractious. He uses any means to gain his ends. The ends justify the means. Above all, he is self-seeking. He does everything for personal gain and ambition. 
 
The secular Greek used “self-seeking” for a person who pursues political office by unfair means. It is selfish ambition and rivalry. This person is jealousy of people around him, so he resents them. He wants to be better than everyone else is. 
 
in your hearts,
 
The “heart” is the basis for our motivation. This is where we believe or disbelieve and from where our speech originates. The issue is not external but internal. 
 
Pr. 4: 23 “Keep your heart with all diligence,
            For out of it spring the issues of life.”
 
Matt. 15: 19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
 
Luke 24: 25 “Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!’”
 
Acts 8: 37 “Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’”
 
Rom. 10: 8 “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
 
PRINCIPLE: Self-centered people have problem with approbation lust.
 
APPLICATION: Human wisdom always produces self-centeredness. Self-centered people cannot tolerate anything but their own ideas and desires. They deem themselves the measure of everything. 
 
The more insensitive we are to ourselves the more likely we are to others against others. We become hypersensitive about self and insensitive to others. A callousness of soul settles into our heart. When this happens, our Christian lives goes into reversion. Once the ball starts rolling down this steep hill, it is hard to stop it.  
 
He wants everyone to think he is better than everyone else is so he tries to influence everyone around him to think that he is great. His motivation is vainglorious. This creates confusion among those who connect to him. The triumph of his personal party is more crucial than the triumph of the gospel. He gets his friends to band together to support his personal cause. 
 
2 Co 12:20 “For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults…”
 
Ga 5: 20 “…idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies…”
 
Ph 1: 15 “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill…”

James 3:14

Published on October 21, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.”

But if you have bitter envy

We should translate the word “envy” as zeal. A zealous person is an enthusiastic person (Ro 10:2). In this context, zeal is destructive because it is a “bitter” zeal.

The word “bitter” means to cut, prick, hence, it is something sharp and pungent. The idea is “harsh envy.” This is a person in an embittered state, a state of animosity. Eventually an embittered person becomes malignant and cruel. Harsh jealousy is a passion that will poison our relationships.

He 12: 14 “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…”


PRINCIPLE: Misdirected zeal has a harsh effect on our relationships.

 APPLICATION: Pettiness and jealousy expose a weak underside. This not only makes us insensitive to others but it makes us insensitive to ourselves. The more insensitive we become to others, the more insensitive we become to ourselves. Envy keeps the cycle moving.

Ep 4: 31 “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”

Some zeal triggers quarreling and strife among fellow believers. If we keep zeal under control like explosions in a motor, zeal is good. If we allow zeal to explode uncontrolled, then it is not good. Many Christians operate without “wisdom and understanding” (3:13). Zeal without knowledge is dangerous.