13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17 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.
18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James is not implying that there wasn’t a wise man among them. He is merely singling out those who claimed to be wise but their actions contradicted their claim. The conduct of a wise man is without reproach, yet James observed just the opposite was true in the lives of those who proudly considered themselves to be wise. It was his observation that they were given to lying, strife, and envy, which were the fruits of worldly wisdom. — Sadler, page 93.
bitter (v.14) — like the bitter water in v.11
do not … lie against the truth (v.14) — Do not claim to be wise and knowledgeable when your life proves otherwise. Do not deceive yourself (James 1:16, 22). — Grace, page 2199.
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This wisdom (v.15) — So-called wisdom, not true wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:19; 3:3, 19) is: earthly, not heavenly; sensual (or natural), not spiritual; and demonic (John 8:44; 1 Timothy 4:1), not Godly. Such phony wisdom originates from envy and strife and is recognized by the fruit it produces, which is “confusion and every evil work.” — Grace, page 2200.
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every evil thing (v.16) — The results of following wisdom reveal whether it is true wisdom from God or false wisdom from Satan (Matthew 7:20). — Grace, page 2200.
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The wisdom from above … is pure, because it comes from God and leads to God. That which is from God cannot tolerate evil; it repudiates it. It aims at the glory of God and maintains His holy character. As a result it is peaceable, it seeks the fruits of peace among men, through the exercise of that love which the Holy Spirit describes in 1 Corinthians 13. It is gentle: “Let your gentleness be known to all men” (Philippians 4:5); it is easy to be entreated, ready to yield. It knows nothing of stubbornness, prejudice and opinionativeness, the sources of so much strife and contention among believers. When a man is conscious that his wisdom is of a superior kind, one can understand his unwillingness to have his mind or will disputed; but the truth is, that there is nothing which so marks the superiority of grace and truth and wisdom, that God gives, as patience and the absence of anxiety to push what one knows is right and true. It is an inherent and sore sign of weakness somewhere, when a man is ever urgent in pressing the value of his own words and opinions, or caviling habitually at others. The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, and produces peace. — Gaebelein, page 1132.
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These eight virtues (v.17) were perfectly adhered to by Christ. Whether it is the Hebrew believers James was writing to or the members of the Body of Christ, both groups can follow Christ’s example in principle, in their respective programs. Although we are unable to walk in them perfectly as He did, these virtues should characterize our Christian walk to the praise of His glory. — Sadler, page 98.
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Here again (v.18), James hearkens back to the Sermon on the Mount, upon which the teachings of his epistle are based. When the Lord originally delivered this charter of the kingdom to Israel, He stated: “Bless are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). — Sadler, page 98.
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