Wisdom from Below

James 3:15-16

Theme: Examine your values, principles and behaviors to determine their source.

Most of us are aware that Believers have three spiritual enemies: the world, the flesh, and the Devil (Eph. 2:1-3). All of which seek to control the way we think in order to control our behavior and our lives. Obviously, we want to understand what is driving our actions, influencing our decisions, and shaping our performance and perspectives. It does not require a rocket scientist to figure out such control can be dangerous to us and our loved ones. Likewise, in our text, James pinpoints the corrupt sources of godless wisdom as “earthly, sensual, and devilish.” This is wisdom from below! So, the question is, how can we recognize when this type of ‘wisdom’ is operating in our lives and those of our loved ones? Let’s take a moment to examine the sources for these godless forms of wisdom.

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. (James 3:13–16, KJV).

When we examine James 3:15, closely, we discover a self-centered brand of godless wisdom that is consumed with personal ambitions. Beloved, this is not at all from the Lord God above. Unmistakably, James frankly describes it as “earthly, sensual, devilish.” Now such self-aggrandizing behavior is not of the Lord. No, this wisdom belongs to this earth; it is the product of an un-sanctified human heart, and it originates with Satan and his fallen forces (1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 11:14, 15). Let us examine each of these closely to prevent their influence in the way we think.

Wisdom from Below is Earthly!

Earthly rightly indicates this wisdom is not from God in heaven! Instead it is from this earth and is limited to earthly rationalization, logic, reason, and philosophies. It is not truth, it is not inspired of God; therefore, it is not reliable in its concepts or premises. It is devoid of the strength of divine wisdom and marred by the flawed thinking of mere earthlings. Earthly wisdom is riddled with the assumptions of ill-informed people living without God’s illuminating perspective.

What would such wisdom lead a person to do? Well since it is worldly it will set a person on a trajectory of being covetous for more material things, yearning for selfish pleasures, accumulating excessive wealth, lurching out on senseless quests for prideful distinctions or recognitions, and pursuing more luxurious comforts in this life. John, the beloved Apostle, says such behaviors are typical evidences of worldliness (1Jn. 2:15-17). The focus is on the temporary and this life and not eternity and life with the Eternal One. Note the words of MacArthur,

It spawns a society whose watchwords are “Do your own thing,” “Have it your way,” and “Look out for number one.” It pervades philosophy, education, politics, economics, sociology, psychology, and every other dimension and aspect of contemporary human life (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (pp. 172–173).

Such wisdom is not helpful in the long run; it erodes relationships, breeds distrust, fuels conflicts, and inspires inhuman behavior. As human beings we can rationalize just about anything. For example, nearly everyone would be up in arms if a pregnant woman drinks hard liquor daily, smokes two packs of cigarettes a day, and habitually uses hard drugs. Most of us would regard these behaviors as extremely harmful to the child she is carrying as well as to the mother. However, if she decides to abort the child in the third trimester for next to no reason, too many people will claims she has the right to do this!?! Really...think about the flawed logic that leads to such decisions or positions on these type issues. This is where earthly godless wisdom leads. Many such examples could be mentioned here, but I'll spare you. In addition, the observations of Dr. Wiersbe are also helpful,      

The world by its wisdom knew not God, and in its wisdom rejects the very Gospel of God. “For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness” (1 Cor 1:18). Any person enamored with the wisdom of this world ought to read the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians and notice how much Paul has to say about God's wisdom and man's wisdom. Man's wisdom is foolishness to God (1Cor 1:20), and God's wisdom is foolishness to man (1Cor 2:14). Man's wisdom comes from reason, while God's wisdom comes from revelation. Man's worldly wisdom will come to nothing (1 Cor 1:19), while God's wisdom will endure forever. Because the world has turned from God, it has lost its wisdom. Every increase in man's knowledge only magnifies the problems. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy is understanding" (Prov 9:10). "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom 3:18). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 363)).

Yes, earthly-worldly wisdom cannot appreciate the things of heaven and our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is entirely unfit for genuine Christian living. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find a news article, TV show, book, radio program, or internet product that is not greatly influenced by this type of earthly wisdom.

Wisdom from Below is Sensual! 

The word “Sensual” reminds us of the fact that it is not the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but from man’s fallen nature. Such a person teaches only the wisdom of this natural life. It is the difference between knowing how to make a living and how to make a meaningful life. It can be seen in the emphasis on gathering more information as opposed to using information in the best ways. Read carefully the words of James in 3:14 once more, “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.” The verse is jam-packed with sensual motives and values. Jealousy, bitterness, resentment, conflict, pride, lies, deceptions, and bragging are common in the life of the sensual individual. They tend to cling to these devices to make themselves feel worthwhile, likable, marketable, or attractive. Such behaviors have no place in the Spirit of grace; they are rooted in human depravity and self-centeredness.  

Such motives, feelings and behaviors are light-years away from the genuine marks of godly wisdom. These individuals are not living displays of the meek spirited person who is entirely submissive to the Lord’s power and grace! No, such wisdom is sensual and is based on human feelings and human reasoning alone--especially when the decisions are made with the emotional parts of the brain. Such desires are devoid of God’s life-changing insight or aid. Some sensually motivated actions can be detected quite easily, but others are far more camouflaged and cleverly concealed. All can be correctly discerned by the Word and the Spirit of God though.

So, this false ‘wisdom’ truly has another source: remember it is “sensual,” or we could say “natural.” This fact relates to its “life,” or “soul,” it is rooted in the natural man.  In 1Cor. 2:14; 15:44, 46, we learn that the “natural,” is the opposite of the “spiritual” (Gal. 5:16-18). Such carnal wisdom is completely incompatible with Christ-filled expression! While it is natural to have a slightly inflated view of ourselves because we have comparatively more intellectual acumen, such estimations are not anchored in a Spirit-informed perspective.  You see... real wisdom, the kind God gives, consists of righteous skills for daily living--it is intensely practical and not primarily intellectual. Certainly, our lives are the product of our thinking, but merely being mentally sharp does not make a wholesome God-honoring life. It is the difference between wanting to be our children’s best friends, and choosing to be the parents they really need. Godly wisdom is also expressed by the person who intensely yearns to “fit in with the crowd” refusing immediate gratification choosing instead the course of discipline and delayed satisfaction. Someone may say, ‘If it feels right, then it is right’; the wisdom from God says right and wrong are already defined by God in the Scriptures. We must choose objective absolute truth over the world’s unfounded sensual relativism.   

In Jude 19, sensual people stylize themselves as free or emancipated, but they are the slaves of their fallen nature. Yes, they do their own thing…they make their own decisions…they are free-thinkers…independent and autonomous is how they describe themselves. God says, “they walk after their own ungodly lusts” (Jude 18). Their lives do not transcend the immediate, this life, or the mundane…. They are stuck with nothing but their feelings, thoughts, ideas, and Christ-less philosophy to guide them. Yes, they jump from one bed to another, they drink this that and the other, they smoke, shoot up, free base, and party until the clubs or bars close. They sleep it off in another strange place...as soon as they can reengage they do it all over again. They have near zero restraints or precious few limits. Their rule is simple, "If it feels good...do it." It may seem like ‘fun’ now, but payday is coming. Jude describes them as “sensual” signifying the absence of the Holy Spirit's influence.  The focus is on the dominant fallen nature as opposed to the new nature, which is given by God, influencing their lives. Beware, there is a ‘wisdom’ that has its origin in man’s depraved nature totally apart from the Spirit of God.

Recall helpful passages like Galatians 5:19-21, which describes for us the “works of the flesh.”  Accordingly, flesh refers to the sinful facet of our depraved human nature which is diametrically opposed to the “Spirit” of God (Rom 6:19; Matt 16:17).  Therefore, being “in the flesh” refers to being unsaved (Rom 7:5; 8:8, 9), and to live “after the flesh” is to live and act sinfully (Rom 8:4, 5, 7, 12). Sensual wisdom is not a viable option for God’s people! God expects all His children to walk in and live in the Spirit (Gal. 5:24-26).

Wisdom from Below is Devilish! 

Devilish means that it stoops to actions that resemble the behavior of demons rather than men. It denotes that which is evil, malicious, sinister, mischievous, and befitting of devils. The Spirit of God greatly assists us by unmasking the “wisdom of Satan” at work, fighting against the wisdom of God. Satan characteristically seeks to inspire doubting God and stimulating the elevation of humanity through prideful lusts (Gen. 3). Satan was behind Eve’s desires to become wise like God and become as God. Since then, people have continued to believe Satan’s lies and have tried to become their own gods (Rom 1:18-25). Rugged individualism and hyper-independence are just two manifestations of this. To say that Satan is cunning is to verbalize the obvious; he is the slick old serpent! He has wisdom that will confound and confuse us if we do not know the wisdom of God.

Again, the real source of these thoughts and desires is the devil. How disturbing to realize he can control our thoughts if we allow him! It is ridiculously reckless for believers to assume that Satan does not have access to most of the knowledge available to us. Furthermore, Satan even used Scripture during the temptations of Jesus making his suggestions to him seem reasonable. He failed because he was up against real wisdom!

The devil still makes use of the same resources that God has provided for us. But his purposes are destructive; they can produce a climate in the church, at home, and at work that damages relationships. Think of how quickly our words, language, and tone of voice can create a destructive climate. –The Life Application Commentary Series

Beloved, do you now understand how our beliefs, values, governing principles, and behaviors can be tampered with by the Devil? If the Lord did not expose our enemies’ strategies here and in other Scriptures, we would be entirely vulnerable to these kinds of spiritual attacks. The Lord truly is good to free us from such seductions with the truth! Beloved, it is the truth that makes us free!

These three words . . . describe the so-called wisdom, which is not of divine origin, in an advancing series—as pertaining to the earth, not to the world above; to mere nature, not to the spirit; and to the hostile spirits of evil instead of to God” (Ropes). –Pfeiffer, Charles: The Wycliffe Bible Commentary

With these insights we are prepared to examine our thoughts, motives, and desires with real intelligence. When we say or do something that is not becoming of a Christian, pause to discover the possible origin of that thought or expression. Ask yourself, is this wisdom from below? Is it earthly, sensual, or devilish? Is it based on reason or revelation? Does it promote immediate gratification or delayed satisfaction? Is it appealing to my pride and my desire to behave independently of God?

Realizing the source and kind of wisdom influencing us places us in a powerful position. You can say no to these temptations. You can reject godless wisdom while selecting godly wisdom. You can distinguish important matters from trivial concerns. Life is less confusing and frustrating when God’s wisdom is in operation. You can not only preserve the relationships you treasure, but increase their value to all concerned parties. Remember, wisdom from above is desirable, but the wisdom from below can wreck your life and the lives of those you love. Why not choose the wisdom that is from above?