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Scripture Reading: James 3:1-18
In this message we come to chapter three of the Epistle of James. Verses 1 through 12 of this chapter are concerned with bridling the tongue, and verses 13 through 18, with behaving in wisdom.
It is extremely difficult to bridle our tongue. For example, you may find that you are not able to keep yourself from speaking even for an hour. But if we fail to bridle our tongue, we are foolish. However, if we restrict our tongue, we are wise. Wisdom in practical Christian perfection is related to restricting our tongue.
In James 3 two words are crucial — the tongue and wisdom. For years I was not able to understand the last part of this chapter, the verses concerning wisdom. I could not understand them because I did not have the key. But now I have seen that the key is that restricting our tongue is the way to have wisdom. Foolishness is related to talking too much, and wisdom is related to bridling our tongue.
In 3:1 James says, “Do not become many teachers, my brothers, knowing that we shall receive greater judgment.” Teachers tend to bring in different teachings, and this produces different opinions and causes trouble and division (see 2 Tim. 4:3; 1 Tim. 1:3-4, 7; Eph. 4:14).
In verse 1 James says that teachers will receive greater judgment. Whatever we say will be judged, and we shall be judged by our words (Matt. 12:36-37).
Although we need to learn to bridle our tongue in our daily living, we all should be encouraged to speak in the church meetings. If this becomes our practice, the meetings will be greatly uplifted, blessing will come, and problems will be solved.
Problems in married life are often due to the tongue. If a husband and wife would bridle their tongues, many of their problems would be solved. But because some have an unruly tongue, this tongue creates serious problems, and these problems may even result in divorce.
According to my experience in human life, I can testify that the best way to avoid trouble is to restrict our tongue. Regarding the proper use of our tongue, we need to ask God for wisdom. The wisdom James speaks of in chapter three is a continuation of that mentioned in chapter one. We need wisdom to know how to use our tongue.
In 1:19 James says, “Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Speaking often stirs up wrath. But if we restrict our tongue, we shall also limit our anger. For example, suppose you are somewhat unhappy with a certain person, and you point out to him something he has done wrong. Simply by speaking to him in this way you may strike a “match” that is able to start a great “fire.” But if you would restrain yourself from speaking to him concerning that matter, his wrath would not be stirred up. Therefore, in his wisdom James tells us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Married brothers need to practice this with their wives. They should be quick to hear their wives, but slow to speak to them. For example, if your wife complains to you about something, you will be wise if you hear her but are slow to speak. If you speak in haste, you may stir up a fire that can cause serious problems.
In 3:5 and 6 James likens the tongue to a fire: “So also the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. Behold, how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, the world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members, contaminating the whole body and setting on fire the course of life and is set on fire by Gehenna.” Gehenna is the symbol of the lake of fire — hell (Rev. 20:15). The “fire” in verse 5 is a wildfire with spreading power, and the fire in verse 6 is an evil fire from Gehenna that contaminates us. Like the wildfire the tongue spreads its destruction, and like the evil fire it contaminates our whole body with evils from Gehenna.
In verse 6 the Greek word for “course” is trochos, referring generally to anything round or circular which runs or rolls, like a wheel. Used figuratively, it indicates a circuit of physical effects, a course, like the orbit around the sun. The Greek word for “life” is genesis, meaning origin, birth, generation; hence, the wheel of birth referring figuratively to our human life, set in motion at its birth and running on to its close. The tongue as an evil fire from Gehenna sets on fire our human life, as a wheel, from our birth to our death, so that the course of our entire life may be wholly under the tongue’s evil contamination and corruption.
In verses 7 and 8a James goes on to say, “For every nature, both of beasts and of birds, both of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human nature; but the tongue no one among men is able to tame.” Every nature of beasts on the land, of birds in the air, of reptiles in the dust, and of creatures in the water, has been tamed by the nature of man, which is stronger than all the animal natures. However, even the stronger human nature is not able to tame the tongue.
In 8b James says that the tongue is a “restless evil, full of death-bringing poison.” As a restless evil the tongue never ceases to do evil. It is full of death-bringing poison. Evil and death go together with the tongue. It spreads evil and death to contaminate and poison all human beings. It is the same even among Christians.
In verses 3 through 12, in dealing with the problem of the tongue, James in his wisdom concerning human life uses twenty different items for his illustrations: bridles of horses, rudders of ships, wildfire, the world of unrighteousness, fire from Gehenna, wheel of birth, beasts, birds, reptiles, creatures of the sea, human nature, restless evil, death-bringing poison, a spring, a fig tree, olives, a vine, figs, salt (bitter) water, and sweet water. He was rich, somewhat like Solomon, the wise king of the Old Testament (1 Kings 4:29-34), in wisdom concerning human life, but not so in wisdom concerning the divine economy.
In verse 13 James says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good manner of life his works in meekness of wisdom.” According to the context, meekness of wisdom should refer here to restraint in speaking. This corresponds to Proverbs 10:19. Such meekness equals forbearing and yielding in verse 17, in contrast to bitter jealousy and rivalry in boasting and lying in verse 14.
In verse 13 James mentions being wise before having understanding. If we do not have wisdom, we cannot have understanding. Knowing this, in Ephesians 1 Paul prayed that God would grant us a spirit of wisdom. Whereas a wise man has understanding, a foolish person is not able to understand others.
What is wisdom? It is very difficult to say what wisdom is, because wisdom is abstract. Understanding is in our mind, but where is wisdom? According to my experience, wisdom is in our spirit. This means that wisdom is found not in our mind, emotion, will, soul, or heart; wisdom is in our deepest part. When we exercise our spirit, stay in the spirit in every situation, and do things according to the spirit, we shall have wisdom.
When some hear that wisdom is in the spirit, they may say, “James was a man who emphasized wisdom in practical Christian perfection. Why did he not say that wisdom is in our spirit?” Although James does not say this explicitly, he gives us a hint that wisdom is in our spirit. In 3:17 he speaks of “the wisdom from above.” Here “from above” means from God. Anything that comes to us from God must touch our spirit. John 4:24 says that God is Spirit and that they who worship Him must worship in spirit. This indicates that in order to contact God, we must use our spirit. Likewise, when God contacts us, He touches our spirit. Hence, the wisdom that comes from above, from God, must surely come to our spirit. It does not come to our mind, soul, or heart; it comes to our spirit, our God-contacting organ. Therefore, it is correct to say that here we have a hint that wisdom is in our spirit.
Because wisdom is in the spirit, we can have wisdom only by remaining in our spirit. God is the source of wisdom, and He gives wisdom. But the wisdom that comes from God reaches our spirit. Just as we need to use the proper organs for seeing, hearing, and eating, so we need to use the right organ — our spirit — in order to have wisdom.
In verses 14 and 15 James goes on to say, “But if you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom is not coming down from above, but is earthly, soulish, demonic.” By “this wisdom” in verse 15 James means the wisdom of having bitter jealousy and rivalry to boast and lie against the truth (v. 14). Moreover, in verse 15 “earthly” refers to the world, “soulish” to the natural man, and “demonic” to the Devil and his demons. These three are always linked one to another.
Verse 17 says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, forbearing, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, unfeigned.” This wisdom includes meekness in verse 13 and the human virtues mentioned in verse 17. These are all characteristics of practical Christian perfection according to James’ view. His view may have been somewhat under the influence of Old Testament precepts concerning man’s behavior, morality, and ethics (Prov. 4:5-8). Such wisdom does not attain to the height of the wisdom concerning the hidden mystery of God’s New Testament economy regarding Christ and the church (1 Cor. 2:6-8; Eph. 3:9-11).
In verse 17 James says that the wisdom from above is forbearing. To be forbearing means to be gentle, lenient, and sweetly reasonable (Phil. 4:5). To be forbearing also means to give in. By this we can see that the virtue of forbearance comprises a number of other virtues. The first virtue included in forbearance is that of restricting our tongue. When a brother is tempted to argue with his wife, he needs to forbear or to give in. If he is quick to hear and slow to speak, he will be forbearing. Forbearance is one of the outstanding virtues of practical Christian perfection.
James also says that the wisdom from above is compliant or yielding, that is, willing to yield, satisfied with less than its due, easy to be entreated. To be forbearing and compliant equals meekness in verse 13. To be compliant is to be flexible, able to fit in with any kind of environment.
In verse 17 James also tells us that the wisdom from above is full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and unfeigned. Because this wisdom is impartial, it does not take sides with anyone. The fact that this wisdom is unfeigned means that it is honest, true, faithful, trustworthy, altogether without hypocrisy. These are virtues that issue from the wisdom that comes to our spirit from above. If we would have this wisdom, we need to pray for it. This is the teaching of James.
At this point we need to compare what James says concerning wisdom with what Paul says in his Epistles. The wisdom taught by Paul was actually Christ Himself. In 1 Corinthians 1:30 Paul says that Christ became wisdom to us from God. However, James does not point out that the wisdom that comes to us from God is Christ. Rather, his way of speaking about wisdom is very similar to Solomon’s way in the book of Proverbs. James was saturated with the Old Testament atmosphere, and his way of speaking about wisdom bears an Old Testament color and flavor. When James speaks concerning wisdom, he does not impress us with Christ. When he tells us that true wisdom comes from above, from God, his word does not have a New Testament color or flavor. It does not have the flavor of Christ. Paul, on the contrary, teaches that wisdom is Christ Himself.
James says that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it, and He will give it generously. According to James, wisdom is something given by God. Paul’s view is different. Instead of saying that God gives us wisdom, Paul says that Christ has become wisdom to us from God. This implies a transmission from God to us. We may use as an illustration the transmission of electricity from a power plant to our homes. The power plant does not give us an amount of electricity in a container. No, the electricity from the power plant is transmitted into our homes continually. This means that there is “fellowship” between our homes and the power plant. If electricity were given some other way, there would be no need for “communication” between our homes and the power plant. In like manner, instead of being given to us, the heavenly electricity is continually transmitted into our being. In order to receive this transmission, we simply need to turn on the “switch” of our spirit. If the switch is turned off, the transmission ceases. But if the switch stays on, the transmission will take place continually. This illustrates Paul’s understanding of Christ as our wisdom.
Paul’s understanding of wisdom is certainly much deeper than that of James. We may have the assurance to say that James was saturated with the element of the Old Testament. On the one hand, we may be helped by the Epistle of James to see our need for practical Christian perfection. On the other hand, we need to see from Paul’s writings that the proper way to receive wisdom is to pray by “switching on” our spirit. When our spirit is switched on, the Spirit of God will be transmitted into us. The Spirit does not transmit wisdom into us as something apart from Christ. Rather, the Spirit transmits Christ Himself into us as our wisdom.
Actually, there is no need for us even to use the term wisdom or to ask for wisdom by name. We simply need to switch on our spirit and allow the Spirit of God to transmit the riches of the divine Trinity into our being. Then we should live a life that is Christ Himself, a life that is wisdom. This is not wisdom as something given to us by God; it is Christ, the living Person, as wisdom transmitted from God into our spirit. Whatever is transmitted into us in such a way is actually Christ Himself as the life-giving Spirit. When we live this Christ by being one spirit with the Lord, our living will be a totality of wisdom.
In 1 Corinthians 2:6 and 7a Paul says, “But we speak wisdom among those who are full-grown, yet a wisdom not of this age, neither of the rulers of this age, who are being brought to nought; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery.” This wisdom is for the matured ones. In 1 Corinthians 1:24 Paul says that Christ is God’s wisdom. In Colossians 2:3 Paul says that in Christ “are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.” Since wisdom is stored up in Christ as a treasure, if we do not have Christ, we cannot have wisdom.
We know from the Old Testament that Solomon also spoke about wisdom. The Bible says that God gave wisdom to Solomon. However, unlike us today, Solomon did not have Christ transmitted into him to be his wisdom. Because James was saturated with the Old Testament, his writing about wisdom has an Old Testament flavor. When we read James’ word regarding wisdom, we need to be reminded of what Paul taught concerning wisdom. The teaching of Paul is focused on God’s economy. When we read what James says about practical Christian perfection, especially what he says about wisdom, we need to be reminded that Paul teaches that Christ is wisdom from God transmitted into our spirit by the life-giving Spirit. The Epistle of James, therefore, serves not only as a balance and warning, but also serves as a reminder to pay attention to God’s economy.
We have pointed out that James encourages us to pray for wisdom. But as long as we exercise our spirit to contact the Lord by praying, we actually do not need to pray specifically for wisdom. As we are contacting the Lord in the spirit, Christ will become wisdom to us. In order to contact the Lord, we need to exercise our spirit and pray unceasingly.
Proper prayer is spiritual breathing. We need to learn how to exercise our spirit in the way of breathing the Lord. No matter what we are doing, we need to contact the Lord by breathing Him in. If we do this, the divine transmission will go on continually, and the riches of the Triune God will be transmitted into our spirit. It is in this way that Christ Himself becomes our wisdom.
Recently some brothers asked me why the book of James is in the Bible. They were wondering if this Epistle was inspired by God, since it seems to contain so much of James’ own wisdom. I pointed out to these brothers that we need to understand what it means to say that the Bible is inspired by God. For the Bible to be divinely inspired does not mean that every word in the Bible is God’s word. For example, the words of the serpent to Eve in Genesis 3 are not God’s words. Likewise, in Matthew 16 certain words spoken by Peter were not the words of God either, but Satan’s words spoken through Peter’s mouth. What, then, does it mean to say that the Bible is fully inspired word for word by God? It means that it is of God that whatever is recorded in the Bible is included there. Therefore, the words spoken by the serpent in Genesis 3 and the words spoken by Satan through Peter in Matthew 16 have been recorded in the Scriptures by God’s inspiration. The writing of this record was fully inspired by God, although the words that were spoken by the serpent and by Satan were not themselves inspired by God. If we are clear concerning this, we shall see that in the Epistle of James certain words were not spoken by God. On the contrary, words such as “twelve tribes” and “synagogue” were spoken by James, but recorded by God’s inspiration for a particular purpose.
Along with the fourteen Epistles of Paul, we need the Epistle of James to fulfill the purpose of balancing us in our Christian life concerning practical Christian perfection and also warning us of the need to have a clear view of God’s New Testament economy.
