Exegetical Meditations (46)

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. (Gen. 4:6-7, NIV)

If sin is a falling short of what God has called us to do and how to live (which I believe that to be the case), then idolatry is that which has brought us to the place where we have the possibility of falling short (i.e., sinning).

In Genesis 4, before Cain has sinned in killing his brother Abel, Yahweh gets in front of him with what he sees as a possibility of events to come. As far as I can see, God confronts Cain in the hope that Cain would see the situation for what it is and make a decision for life instead of death—literally.

Cain is angry because of the way God received his offering, ignoring what is probably the reality of the situation that he did little to offer what would actually be pleasing to Yahweh. God, of course, sees the road Cain is walking, he knows where it will lead, and he graciously and lovingly lays it all out on the table for Cain.

Why are you angry?
Why is your face downcast?

In other words, what is going on inside of you that’s causing you to think and act in a way that will not pleasing to me or lifegiving to you?

Yahweh continues to counsel Cain by plainly telling him that what he does next will be a revelation of what he has already decided within himself. Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.

In God’s mind, we either rule over sin or it rules over us; there is no other way this works.

Sin is crouching at Cain’s door because he has started to give himself over to an idolatrous way of thinking and perceiving the world around him, including his relationship with God and his brother. He has started to be frustrated with God and think more highly of himself than he ought. He has steadily stopped worshipping God. Opting, instead, to worship himself.

He will be his own God.

And, tragically, we see how that worked out. A dead brother in a field and a man now on the run from everyone and everything he ever knew—including the One who tried to keep him from this horrifying series of events.

This is the horrendous reality of idolatry that will inevitably give way to sin. And in order to prepare ourselves in this fight—this fight to rule over sin—we must remember the order of things. We never sin just because; we always sin because we’ve started to worship someone or something other than God.

Our call, then, from God himself, is to recognize that there will be times when sin is crouching at the door and then to respond accordingly. He has not called us to focus on the sin; he’s called us to deal with the root of the problem—the idolatry in our heart. Working at it the other way round would be like making sure your seatbelt was on as your drove your car into a brick wall. The seatbelt is not going to do anything to stop your car from hitting the wall.

Don’t worry about your seatbelt; take your foot off the gas!

As Paul says in Romans 8, if we live according to the flesh we will die, but if by the Spirit we put to death the misdeeds of the body we will live.

So then, above all else, let us rule over sin by worshipping God and, thus, live.

Exegetical Meditations (45)

The exclusivity of Jesus is not something the early church “grew into” after they had time to work out the details.

As early as Acts 4 we find Peter and John arrested for preaching about Jesus rising bodily from the dead. Their arrest, however, didn’t deal with the problem because, as it says in verse 4: “…many of those who listened to the message believed…” The next step was obvious: a trail before the Sanhedrin court.

As part of the trial, Peter finds himself before a crowd and thus preaches the truths of God and the importance of Jesus. The same Jesus whom they crucified but whom God raised from the dead. Peter continues by not only testifying to the centrality of Jesus, but to the exclusivity of Jesus.

“And there is salvation in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven
that is given among people
by which it is necessary to be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Really?
No one else?
This is a bit intolerant, isn’t it?

Of course it is!

Why in the world would the early church be tolerant to any view that said someone other than Jesus was their salvation? There was no one else to go to, because no one else had said or done the things Jesus said and did. Further than that, no one else had been killed and yet rose bodily to life from the dead. Finally, no one else had offered this gift of deliverance to the world like Jesus.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

And here in lies the wonderfully inclusive nature of the the strict exclusivity of Jesus. The church testified then and, when in her right mind today, continues to testify to the truth that there is salvation in no other than Jesus. All the while announcing this message of good news not to a special group of people or a particular part of the world, but to all people everywhere no matter who they are.

John saw the reality of this truth while exiled to Patmos. In his words: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9).

There are many so-called lambs out there offering a so-called salvation. But there’s only one to whom the great multitude will stand before in the end.

Exegetical Meditations (44)

As Paul brings his letter to the church in Thessalonica to a close, he makes a point to remind his fellow believers that the return of Jesus is imminent, and that they ought to live as though they really believed that.

Similar to his language in 1 Corinthians 15 as Paul goes to great lengths to describe the resurrection of the body and the real life that comes with it, he doesn’t end that section with a call to sit back and take a load off. On the contrary, he encourages his readers to live and work because of what is true about the resurrection of the body. Here in 1 Thessalonians, Paul encourages his readers to stay sober and to build each other up. In other words, live and work.

We find that encouragement continuing into verses 16 through 18:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV)

Of all the things that Paul calls his brothers and sisters in Christ into, this short statement from him in 1 Thessalonians might be one of the most difficult to wrap our minds around. It would be one thing if Paul simply said, “Rejoice, pray, and give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Okay, we might think, that’s a helpful reminder, and I can do that. That’s not what he said, though.

Paul didn’t just say rejoice; he said rejoice always.
Paul didn’t just say pray; he said pray continually.
Paul didn’t just say give thanks; he said give thanks in all circumstances.

That’s difficult, but it’s not impossible.

We have things that come into our lives with the only purpose being to rob us of our joy, and here Paul is encouraging us to always being joyous? The text is clearly saying that, but that’s not all Paul said on the matter. Elsewhere it was Paul’s reminder to his readers that brothers and sisters in Christ are “sorrowful, yet but always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10a, NIV). To put it in other words, we may—and a lot of the times actually have—something to be sorrowful over, but there is real rejoicing that can take place in the midst of that sorrow. The resurrection from death to life is true even in the depths of our most profound pain. And, because it’s true in our deepest pain, there is always something to be rejoicing over. Granted, our rejoicing in times like those will most likely be through weeping and tears. But we rejoice nonetheless.

How do we make it through days without talking with God? You and I do it more often than we’d probably like to admit, but when we have a moment to sit back and reflect on our lives, I think what comes to us in those moments is wonder on how we made it through; not assurance that we don’t really need God. He is near, and we have his ear. The God of the universe is not some far off deity who we must plead with to listen to us; he is ever-present and ever-willing to listen to anything we have to say to him. With a God like this, it makes Paul’s instruction to always be praying a little more manageable. We don’t have to have something incredible to talk to him about each day. It is enough to just be with him in conversation.

Lastly, could Paul have really meant that we are to give thanks in all circumstances? It seems so. Even those really difficult, horrible, awful circumstances? Yes. We must remember that our thanks is not to some uncaring, uninterested, god who has wound this world up and let it go merely for the pleasure of it. No, we are giving thanks to a God who has stepped on into the world he created and placed us in. This God did not stop when he was the only one who could put things back together again. This is the God we say “thank you” to in all circumstances. When life is going great, we have reasons to thank God in the circumstances we find ourselves. And, just as equally, when life couldn’t be any worse, we have reasons to thank God. In those difficult times it may be more difficult to find the reason, but they’re there. And, with the Spirit’s help, this can be accomplished, even if we don’t have the words.

Exegetical Meditations (43)

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1:16, NIV)

What does the world think when it hears the stories we tell about Jesus? On the whole it appears as though it thinks they’re interesting, maybe even clever, but almost certainly not true. And, because of that, not worth the world’s time and energy.

When Peter writes the letter we’ve come to know as 2 Peter, he’s writing to encourage Christians of the truth they know and hold dear. He doesn’t want them to forget what they’ve been taught, what they’ve come to believe, and for what they’re laying down their lives. Mainly, Peter wants to encourage his brothers and sisters by helping them to be secure in the truth that has been taught to them. They have been cleansed of their sins (2 Peter 1:9b).

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1:12-15, NIV)

In an effort to foster that security, Peter reminds them of what is not the basis for their knowledge and experience of the truth. They did not follow cleverly devised stories about their Messiah, Jesus. If all they did was latch onto clever stories about a guy who lived for 30-some years, then what they’re going through isn’t worth it. And the world is right in it’s goal of shutting them down because they’re losing their lives over nothing.

If, however, the stories about their Christ (their Messiah) are more than mere stories—if it’s true that these stories are built upon eyewitness testimony—then they have every reason necessary to trust them and keep hold of the truth.

The gospel writer, Luke, begins his retelling of these stories about Jesus by appealing to this same standard. He writes to Theophilus not to tell him about cleverly devised stories; instead, he writes to him because he wants him to be sure of the things he’s been taught (Luke 1:1-4). Luke wants Theophilus to be certain, to trust, to have faith in those things he knows about Jesus, because those things he knows—those stories—come from eyewitness testimony (Luke 1:2).

Peter and Luke are of one mind on this issue.

It’s true that we tell stories about Jesus. And we live our lives in accordance with those stories we’ve told and those stories we’ve heard. The further truth is, however, those stories we tell are not cleverly designed tales with little or no basis in historical truth. These stories are a part of the eyewitness testimony of those who were there to watch as those events took place.

Exegetical Meditations (42)

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28, NIV)

The biggest difference between historic Christianity and little-c “christianity” is probably the understanding of who Jesus is in relation to God.

In short, historic Christianity has always been foundationally trinitarian. God exists as three divine persons united as one diving being (or one divine being in three divine persons).

Where do we get this trinitarian idea from?

In John 20, Jesus resurrects from the dead and appears physically (i.e., with a real body) to a number of people. In his appearing, however, Thomas was not present and did not believe the report about the resurrected Jesus because, as he said it, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

Jesus, however, eventually does appear physically to Thomas. And, in that appearing, Jesus shows Thomas his wounds. He says, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).

We’re not told that Thomas actually reached out and touched Jesus (maybe he did). What we are told is that Thomas responds to Jesus command to stop doubting and believe with the verse we’re looking at here. Thomas replies to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).

It’s a wonderfully succinct and theologically loaded statement all at the same time. Thomas has just declared that Jesus is both his Lord and his God.

Now let’s be sure to remember something in particular about Thomas. He is a monotheist. Thomas believes in the one God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thomas does not believe there are a number of gods—Jesus being one of them. Therefore, for Thomas to declare that Jesus is his God is to say something new about how he understands the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Thomas has just found himself believing that Jesus is the physical manifestation of the one true God.

And, note one other thing. Notice that the text in John 20:28 says, “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God.’” It’s not as if Thomas was testifying that Jesus was his Lord and then testifying that the Father was his God, thus making it clear that Jesus was not God. Thomas said to him (Jesus), you are both my Lord and my God.

The entire Bible—and the New Testament in particular—declare two things to be true about God all at the same time.

1. God is one being—there are not a number of gods out there, which combined make up the one God of the Bible.

2. God is tri-personal—the one God exists as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

What’s a good, simple way to say something profound about God?

Jesus is Lord and God.

Exegetical Meditations (41)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15, NIV)

In Hebrews we’re told that our high priest (Jesus) is able to know what we’re going through when it comes to temptation and sin because he went through it. We’re told that he was tempted in every way we are with one stark difference—he did not sin.

The difference between Jesus and us is that he didn’t give into that temptation ever. There was not a moment of his life when Jesus walked willingly into sin because of the ever-increasing temptation upon him.

We’re told this for our encouragement. And we’re told this to encourage others.

What can you say to a Christian brother or sister who’s going through some strong battle with temptation and sin? They want to be freed from it, but they’ve been unable so far to grab hold of that freedom. What can you say that would be encouraging to them? You might remind them of the truth found in Hebrews 4:15. Their savior, Jesus, has gone through what they’re going through. He has fought the battle with temptation. He fought against temptation right up to the end.

They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Mark 15:27-32)

The interesting thing in those conversations is that what happens next isn’t always the same. One type of person will hear the truth of Hebrews 4:15, take it in, and use it as an encouragement to fight the battle that’s before them. They will push on in the strength of Jesus knowing that he’s been there and and fought that battle. Another type of person will hear the truth of Hebrews 4:15, take it in, and wonder if Jesus can really understand since he never sinned. They’ll wonder if if he really has experienced what they’ve gone through.

Jesus never sinned, they’ll wonder, so how can he really know what I’m going through?

With all due respect to the second type of person, there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of their relationship to temptation and sin—one that I think we all naturally gravitate to until we’re shown the full truth of it. When we think of temptation and sin we often link our experience of temptation to the fact that we sin.

How do we know the full force of temptation? We sin.

This, however, is not true. We don’t know the full force of temptation because we sin. We’ve never exhausted temptation’s strength, because it has never had to use all of it’s strength to get us to sin. We give in at some point and willingly go along with the temptation to sin.

Jesus never did this.

He’s the only person ever to have felt the full force of temptation. And he felt that full force precisely because he did not sin. Temptation gave everything it had to make him want to sin and it could not do it.

Turn this stone to bread.
We’ll kill you if you keep talking that like that.
Even his brothers and sisters didn’t believe in him.
Judas betrayed him.
Barabbas was freed instead of him.
Save yourself from the cross and we will believe.

And yet, Jesus did not sin. How can we be encouraged to fight temptation by someone who never experienced sin like we have? Because the one who never gave into temptation knows exactly what it takes to stand up against it.

Exegetical Meditations (40)

To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. (Deuteronomy 10:14-15, NIV)

To Yahweh—the one true God, the LORD—belong all things.

Why? Because he made them. They’re his. Nothing in all creation exists apart from God. He made it all and, therefore, all things owe their existence to him and, therefore, all things belong to him.

And yet….

And yet, he has chosen a people for himself. The God who made everything (including everyone) and thus owns everything has been pleased to take a step further and actually call a people to himself. This God has reached down and made himself a part of his creation in such a way as to reveal himself to people so that they can know him.

In Deuteronomy Moses is preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised Land. They’ve wandered for the past 40-years and an entire generation has died. Their wandering was due to their unwillingness to trust in God—the one who brought them out of the land of slavery—they’re Exiler. Instead of trusting, they grumbled. Instead of trusting, they murmured. Instead of trusting, they complained. And instead of trusting, they rebelled.

So, they wandered.

They wandered and all the while, through all their grumbling, murmuring, complaining, and rebellion, God was providing for them.

Now Moses who, along with the entire generation that died, knows he will not be entering into the Promised Land because of his disobedience, gives the Israelites one last word to remind them and encourage them as they go forward. That word of reminder and encouragement is the book of Deuteronomy.

In Deuteronomy 10:14 Moses tells them that everything belongs to God. The heavens, the earth, and everything in the earth is God’s. And yet Moses tells them that there’s something special about them.

They’re special.

But, they’re not special because of who they are. They’re special because of who God is and what he has done for them.

It’s always because of what God has done.

What did God do? He chose them. Among all the people in the entire world he set his affection on their ancestors and then on them and chose them to be his people. God picked them from all the world to show himself to the world.

It seems to me this sort of revelation can leave a person (or a group of people) in one of two states: either they’ll be filled with pride or they’ll be filled with humility. With a group it’s probably a mix of the two and it was surely no different with the ancient Israelites.

To know that God—the creator of everything—chose them to be his could easily fill them with pride. If they thought God chose them because of something unique to them then they would quickly set themselves above others. That sort of thinking will not do. God sees it coming and, through Moses, says to them: “…you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:19).

God tells the Israelites to love those outside their group because God loves them (the Israelites). How dare they receive love from God and refuse to extend that love to others.

And so we might ask: What about us?

If you love Jesus right now it’s only because God has called you to himself. You did not want him on your own—in fact, you wanted anything other than him on your own. And yet, here you find yourself loving this Jesus whom you didn’t care about before. So, what will you do? Will you take that love and hold it to yourself or, like God (through Moses) told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 10, will you love those outside the camp because of God’s great mercy in choosing you?

Exegetical Meditations (39)

“Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.” (2 Chronicles 33:9, NIV)

In 2 Chronicles 33 we get Manasseh, whose life is marked in two distinct ways: 1) the great evil he did in leading Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray and 2) repentance.

Manasseh goes down as one of the worst rulers of Jerusalem. You might even say he was the worst. The text comes about as close as you can to making that point. He was twelve years old when he became king and it went downhill from there.

• He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

• He followed the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

• He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished.

• He erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles.

• He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshipped them.

• He built altars to all the starry hosts in the temple of the LORD.

• He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom.

• He practiced divination and witchcraft.

• He sought omens.

• He consulted mediums and spiritists.

• He aroused the anger of the LORD.

• He led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

Manasseh had the power to do whatever he wanted and so he did. The problem for him—although he didn’t recognize it as a problem—was that everything he did put distance between himself and God. He had lived his life as king in defiance of the God of Israel—the one who established his kingship. He even ignored God when God spoke to him directly and, as far as we know, Manasseh had no plans to make any changes. That is, until God had enough of it.

Immediately following the text’s description of Manasseh’s sin-filled leadership, we read that God brought against them (the people and Manasseh) the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon (v. 11). This has to be it for Manasseh, right? God has had enough of his folly and he’s going to put Manasseh down after teaching him a lesson.

Not exactly.

That was it for Manasseh, but what God was doing to him wasn’t what I think we would have been expecting. This “judgment” from God of Manasseh wasn’t a judgment of punishment and handing over; this “judgment” was one of longsuffering patience and mercy. God did send an army to capture Manasseh but he sent the army in order to lead Manasseh to repentance. God would have been justified in sending an army to destroy Manasseh. He had it coming. But God didn’t do that. The army was sent by God, they captured Manasseh, and then the text says: “In his (Manasseh’s) distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13)

God was patient with Manasseh and, through that patience, brought him to a place where he was able to repent. God did not have to do this for Manasseh and he does not have to do it for us, but in his mercy he does.

Exegetical Meditations (38)

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:22-23, NIV)

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.

Early in the letter to the Romans Paul makes the case that God’s wrath is being revealed in the world because mankind has suppressed the truth by their wickedness. Although Paul’s statement is shocking it’s not out of line, especially when one considers the storyline of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, he anticipates an objection he knows will be made that it’s unfair for God to reveal his wrath in the world. Specifically, because (it is assumed) he hasn’t made himself known. Paul knows this objection is coming and before it can make its stand he cuts it off at the knees by saying that “…what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them” (Romans 1:19).

All human beings everywhere know God enough for God to hold them accountable for their response to him. They know God enough because (contrary to the opinion of many) God has made himself known to them.

Why then, you might ask, didn’t all in Rome believe? If God has made himself known why is his wrath being revealed?

Because, even though God has made himself known, some of them decided to ignore him—to reject his own revelation of himself. They’ve said things like: it’s not good enough or we want more or that doesn’t make any sense. In other words, they wanted God’s own personal revelation not to be on his terms, but on theirs. They believed in themselves first and foremost and, therefore, they decided what revelation they would accept and what revelation they would reject. They did this because they trusted themselves. They trusted their feelings. They trusted in their own wisdom.

The problem is, Paul says that in their wisdom that brought them to denying and rejecting God, they have become fools.

And it didn’t end there.

Paul tells us that in their “wisdom” they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like human beings. Do you see what they did? They had the God of the universe reveal himself to them in such a way that they were capable of making a real decision and in their wisdom they decided to worship not the creator of all things but images they had made with their own hands. They decided to bow down to images made to look like another person or birds or animals or reptiles. Instead of worshipping the Creator, they decided to worship the things made by the people who were made by God. Not only that, but they decided to worship the birds, animals, and reptiles that God put human beings in charge of in Genesis 1.

In all their “wisdom” they became fools through rejecting the One who made them and gave them order. The question, then, for us is: How different are we from those in 1st Century Rome? The answer is: We’re exactly the same, if….

We’re exactly the same if in our “wisdom” we exchange true glory for the fake stuff. We’re exactly the same if in our “wisdom” we demand God reveal himself on our terms instead of his. We’re exactly the same if in our “wisdom” we look at Jesus and seem him as someone other than God in the flesh.

“If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” (1 Corinthians 3:18b-19a)

Exegetical Meditations (37)

Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic…But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (James 3:15, 17, NIV)

There are two kinds of wisdom: one brings with it life and the other, death.

As James writes his letter he’s tapped into and drawing heavily from the ancient wisdom literature of the Old Testament (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job). This can be seen by the way in which wisdom features heavily throughout the letter and the manner in which he “argues”—or presents his case. His manner of argumentation is styled after those great wisdom writings of old.

James’s overall argument comes to a head in chapter 3 when he addresses wisdom directly. Prior to that he said, “If anyone lacks wisdom, you should ask God” and God will surely give it to you (1:5). For James—as he’s been influenced by the Old Testament—wisdom is not something people naturally come across on their own; instead, people receive wisdom from outside themselves. The important point for James here is that there are two types of wisdom and he wants people to ask for and receive the kind that gives life.

In verses 15 and 17 James gets specific as he describes the two different types of wisdom. The first is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. According to James, this wisdom is for those who are envious and selfish. As a result, from their lives spring forth disorder and every evil practice. Those who live this way will have wisdom that is from the earth. Their wisdom will be an unspiritual wisdom and it will be, at it’s core, demonic.

However, says James, there is another type of wisdom.

This second type is unlike the first in that this wisdom is from heaven. This heaven-sent wisdom is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. This wisdom is the holy opposite of the first kind. The first is from the earth; the second is from heaven.

The source of wisdom makes all the difference.

The first is unspiritual and demonic and brings forth fruit that is envious, selfish, and evil. The second type of wisdom is spiritual in that it’s from God (from heaven). Instead of being envious it’s considerate, submissive, and impartial. Instead of being selfish it’s peace-loving, full of mercy and good fruit, and sincere. And, lastly, instead of bringing forth evil, this Godly wisdom is pure.

There are two types of wisdom: one from below and the other from above, one from the fallen creation and the other from God, one that brings death and the other that gives life. James wants you to choose life.