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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
3:13-18 The Solution: Wisdom from Above. These verses could be called "the tale of two cities"--the realm of wisdom (framing the passage in vv. 13, 17) contrasted with that of selfish ambition. The one "from above" leads to "peace," while the "earthly" one leads to "disorder."
3:13 wise and understanding . . . conduct. Wisdom for James is not merely intellectual but also behavioral. meekness of wisdom. Meekness (Gk. prautēs, translated "gentleness" in Gal. 5:23) was considered weakness by the Greeks, but Jesus elevated it to a primary Christian virtue (Matt. 5:5; 11:29). Meekness comes not from cowardice or passivity but rather from trusting God and therefore being set free from anxious self-promotion.
3:14 Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are the antithesis of true wisdom as characterized by "meekness" (v. 13). They are also far different from the righteous character of a "jealous God" (Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; see James 4:5), who appropriately yearns for his own honor and the loyal devotion of his people, while the envious yearn for what does not belong to them. "Selfish ambition" is a divisive willingness to split the group in order to achieve personal power and prestige (it is translated "rivalry" in Gal. 5:20; Phil. 1:17; 2:3).
3:15 earthly, unspiritual, demonic. James describes worldly behavior in terms that "progress" from bad to worse, recalling the list in vv. 5b-6. Such behavior is ultimately earthbound, absolutely sensual as opposed to spiritual, and its origin is in the cosmic powers of darkness.
3:16 The final result of such Satan-driven conflict can only be disorder and every vile practice. "Disorder" (Gk. akatastasia) connotes a chaotic frenzy of fighting (cf. 4:1) in the church. The related adjective (Gk. akatastatos) means "unstable" (1:8) and "restless" (3:8).
3:17 The answer to the "disorder" of v. 16 is to seek wisdom from above, which produces character qualities beginning with purity and concluding with peace (cf. Gal. 5:22-23, where godly qualities are the fruit of the Spirit). first pure, then. Purity (blamelessness) is the primary virtue, with the rest providing aspects of this moral purity. Peaceable is the polar opposite of "selfish ambition" and the discord it produces. Peace, further emphasized in James 3:18, is one of the critical attributes of the pure believer (Matt. 5:9; Gal. 5:22; Heb. 12:11).
