But the wisdom that is from above, first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, easy to be persuaded, consenting to the good, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, without dissimulation.
η δε ανωθεν σοφια πρωτον μεν αγνη εστιν επειτα ειρηνικη επιεικης ευπειθης μεστη ελεους και καρπων αγαθων αδιακριτος και ανυποκριτος
9 Church Fathers comment on this verse
It is pure, that is, blameless and attached to nothing fleshly. It is without partiality, that is, it does not observe distinctions in foods and various washings. Paul discusses this in detail in the Epistle to the Colossians.
This wisdom, which tames the tongue, descends from above and does not grow out of the human heart. Would anyone, through boundless pride, dare to separate it from the grace of God and bind it to the power of man?
Wisdom is meek when, possessing what is from above, it knows how to love. This virtue of the holy preachers stands against the folly of bitterness and strife, and unites itself in love, peace, and concord with every neighbor.
What is the first gift of the Holy Spirit? Answer: the first gift is wisdom, namely the wisdom that descends from above, of which the apostle says: "The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, without doubting and without hypocrisy" (Jas 3:17).
Opposed to this wisdom is fleshly wisdom, according to the apostle's words: "In simplicity and godly purity, not in fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, we lived in the world" (2 Cor 1:12).
Against this fleshly and worldly wisdom, the same apostle, borrowing testimony from the Old Testament (Is 29:14; Is 33:18), says: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will reject.
"Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" (1 Cor 1:19-20).
Here the great brother of God shows separately the features of wisdom from above, according to Saint Mitrophanes' interpretation.
As wisdom from above differs from human and demonic wisdom, so also the fruits of the one and the other are different.
The fruits of earthly, sensual, and demonic wisdom have already been shown above: bitter envy, disputes, disorder, and every rotten thing.
It is therefore necessary to show the fruits of divine wisdom from above. They are all opposite: purity, peace, meekness, obedience, abundant almsgiving, undoubting or unshaken faith and hope, and freedom from hypocrisy.
That is, it has no doubts or wavering. It is without hypocrisy, because, according to the Lord's word, "every good tree bears good fruits, but an evil tree bears evil fruits" (Mt 7:17).
When the divine James said that wisdom from above is full of good fruits, by this word he showed that it has not only the fruits he listed, but all others that he did not list.
When he says here that good wisdom should be cultivated "without doubting" and with firm faith, he says this in opposition to what Paul writes: "He who doubts, if he eats, is condemned, because it is not from faith" (Rom 14:23).
James himself said in the first chapter: "Let him ask in faith, doubting nothing" (Jas 1:6).
Likewise, he called wisdom unhypocritical because it does not perform virtues through hypocrisy and people-pleasing, but with a pure and true disposition.
Paul also used this notion when addressing Timothy, and in other places: "The end of the commandment is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith" (1 Tim 1:5).
"The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" has this meaning: the fruit of righteousness, that is, of virtue in general, is to be sown so that it may bear fruit.
For the benefit of those who practice it and of those who hear it, it must necessarily be sown in peace and quiet, and only so. Then it is truly the fruit of righteousness for those who love to bear fruit in peace.
If someone performs fasts, vigils, prostrations, and other virtues, but does not care for a peaceful and undisturbed state, he scandalizes and troubles his brothers.
Such a man will not bear the fruit of righteousness and virtue, but of unrighteousness and malice. By the disturbance that he brings upon the brethren, he transgresses the law of love.
Without love, the whole catalogue of virtues is useless and vain, as Paul shows in chapter 13 of the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
Saint Theophylact called the wisdom from above undiscriminating, because it does not distinguish and observe circumcision, Sabbaths, washings, and the other fleshly observances of the old law.
In contrast to this false, or imaginary, wisdom, the apostle indicates the properties of true wisdom. It descends from above, from God, and is needed for fruitful teaching.
Its properties are the following. First of all, the words "first" and "then" separate the first property from those that follow, as especially distinctive and expressing its highest quality.
It is pure, free from every defilement, sinfulness, passion, and similar impure qualities.
Of the further qualities, the first three are opposed to bitter zeal and contentiousness, which form the foundation of false wisdom.
Wisdom from God is peaceable. That is, it loves peace and makes peace (cf. Mt 5:9). It loves peace itself and loves to pacify every enmity.
It is modest, or meek (Jas 3:13). It does not produce enmity, and it meekly endures every unpleasantness and injustice, if only it may not disturb peace.
It is obedient. The Greek word occurs only here in the whole New Testament; compare Tit 3:3, "disobedient." The word expresses not only the absence of a passion for argument.
It also expresses the effort to suppress this passion in others by silence or submission.
The next property of wisdom is that it is full of mercy and good fruits. This expresses its abundance in works of beneficent love, which is a mark of true piety (Jas 1:27).
Good fruits are set against every evil thing (Jas 3:16) produced by false wisdom.
The last two properties, impartial and without hypocrisy, stand in opposition to everything unstable and false.
Impartial means, strictly, without doubting (cf. Jas 1:6). It allows no doubt concerning the truths of faith and the rules of life.
Without hypocrisy means sincere in all its thoughts and actions, allowing no hypocrisy whatever.
All these properties, or qualities, are taken from the actions that true wisdom produces in those who possess it. It makes them pure and so forth, and these qualities are ascribed to wisdom itself.
As false wisdom leads to corruption and disorder, so, on the contrary, true wisdom, given by God, is manifested in the moral purity of the heart, which is foreign to every impure striving and aim.
It is manifested in peace with all, in meekness toward those who do not submit to the truth, and in obedience to superiors. It leads to mercy, impartiality, constancy, and every good work in general.
Here the traits are indicated not of outward wisdom, but of true wisdom, which appears not in word, but in a holy and God-pleasing life.
This wisdom must be the possession of all Christians, but especially of those who wish to be teachers of others.
Such Wisdom of God was our first and only Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor 1:30).
The seed of His word is sown in peaceful hearts. Through Him also the fruits of our works grow, unto the measure of His stature.
In view of the double-edged significance of human speech in life, only he has the right to teach others who has tamed in himself the sinful tendency toward looseness in speech.
Such a man thereby possesses true wisdom, manifesting it "in deed by good conduct."
The essence of Christian wisdom is precisely that it is not only knowledge, nor only the mind's acknowledgment of certain truths. It is life itself, in accordance with these truths.
The one who possesses Christian wisdom is meek, pure in motives and intentions, modest in desires, obedient to elders and authority, full of mercy and good fruits, and free from bitter envy and contentiousness.
This is because the source of this "heavenly" wisdom is God.
In contrast to heavenly wisdom, there is "earthly, sensual, demonic" wisdom, whose source is the father of lies, the devil. Its characteristic manifestations are envy and contentiousness, and the result of its influence is disorder and every evil thing.
"The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to obedience, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy" (Jas 3:17).
In this saying the holy Apostle James set forth certain properties of true wisdom. His purpose was that, by these distinguishing marks, one might recognize it without error and cleave to it with good hope.
Today, sons of Russia, we rejoice in our king. Naturally, our thought and heart go to the sources of our joy, to royal virtues especially open to all and understandable to all in benefactions and mercies. How paternally our most pious Sovereign cares for his subjects, both generally and individually, according to their callings and various circumstances of life.
How actively he spreads the benefits of upbringing and education from the highest to the lowest estates of the people. How he protects and personally oversees institutions for the care of orphans, the helpless, and the aged, and for the healing of the sick. How he loves to illumine merit with his blessing, even when it was not rendered to his throne. How he does not exclude from his mercy even those upon whom punitive justice has declared its undisputed rights. How swiftly he extends a lifting hand to those struck by sudden calamity.
When we think in this way about royal activity, full of mercy and beneficence, how pleasant it is to encounter the apostolic thought that mercy and beneficence belong to the distinguishing marks of "the wisdom that is from above."
Therefore, the works and memorials of royal mercy present clear proof that the "wisdom that is from above" is present with the great Sovereign on the all-Russian throne. If it is present with him in works of mercy, then surely it does not leave him in works of justice, or in works of care for the good of the kingdom generally.
Let us thank and glorify the most high Wisdom "by which kings reign." With all the greater boldness and hope, let us ask from Her one more gift for our most pious Sovereign. The gift that Solomon sees in Her right hand, as if ready to bestow it: "Length of days and years of life are in Her right hand" (Prov 3:16).
It is also useful for us to enter into some reflections on the properties of true wisdom for our own sake.
I do not think that any person who reflects, more or less, would refuse to heed reflection on wisdom as though it belonged to a special circle of people and did not enter the common needs of life. This, it seems, is not to be feared from an age that cares for enlightenment scarcely less than for virtue. I do not know whether it does so with sufficient foundation, but it proclaims itself enlightened with considerable boldness.
The opposite of ignorance is enlightenment. The opposite of ignorance is wisdom. Thus enlightenment and wisdom meet. Whoever does not condemn himself to ignorance must not be indifferent to wisdom. Whoever thinks about enlightenment should consider whether it can shine with any light other than wisdom.
If a Christian should think that he can rest in the feeling of humility, as in the shade, without caring for the light of wisdom, I would ask such a person: do you nevertheless wish to know Christ? If you do not, you cease to be a Christian. If you desire to know Christ, then you must remember that the Gospel preaches "Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:24). Christ is Wisdom not only in Himself, but also precisely for us: "who became for us wisdom from God" (1 Cor 1:30).
Therefore, if you desire to know Christ, you cannot avoid acquaintance with wisdom. It must shine upon the understanding of the Christian, guard his faith, and govern his life. "See," the Apostle teaches, "that you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise" (Eph 5:15).
Not everything that glitters with a golden shine is gold. Therefore whoever does not wish to be deceived must study the distinguishing signs of the noble metal. Likewise, not everything that has the appearance of wisdom is truly wisdom. Therefore whoever does not wish to be deluded by false wisdom must examine the distinctive properties of true wisdom. This is what Saint James teaches in the saying we have taken as the foundation of the present reflection.
"The wisdom that is from above is first pure." The first distinguishing property of true wisdom is that it is pure. To determine, according to the Apostle's own understanding, what he wished to designate here by the name "purity," one must take into account that he contrasts "the wisdom that is from above" with that which is "earthly, sensual, demonic" (Jas 3:15).
Therefore the first distinguishing property of true wisdom is that it is removed from impurities that are earthly, sensual, and demonic. Or, in the expression of another Apostle, it is removed "from every defilement of flesh and spirit" (2 Cor 7:1). A follower of true wisdom does not defile his hands with unjust gain, his heart with lust, or his spirit with pride and ill intent. He strives in every way to keep himself morally pure in thoughts, intentions, feelings, and actions.
By the name "purity," the apostolic word designates the formation that true wisdom gives a person chiefly within himself. It then presents the traits by which wisdom marks him more in relation to others.
"Then peaceable, gentle." Other traits of true wisdom are a peaceful disposition of spirit and meekness. These stand opposite to "bitter envy and rivalry" (Jas 3:14), which the Apostle places in the image of false wisdom. It is not difficult to be convinced that envy is a trait of false wisdom. People envy what they do not have. Therefore, one who envies another in wisdom thereby exposes himself as lacking wisdom.
Rivalry, that is, a partial effort to give predominance to one's own opinion, is a fruit of envy. Therefore this trait also belongs to the image of false wisdom. True wisdom does not envy, because it possesses. It does not strive contentiously, because it has not an opinion, but the truth, which possesses an inward and invincible power.
A follower of true wisdom peacefully proposes the truth and acts for righteousness. He meekly instructs the ignorant and corrects the wrong. If strife and enmity rise up against truth and righteousness, he stands for truth and righteousness with firmness, but without irritation. Having fulfilled the duty of just defense, he does not delay in returning to his inner peace. If he cannot do so with joy over the triumph of peace, then at least he does it with peaceful prayer even for the unpeaceful. In this way one can and must understand him who said of himself: "With those who hated peace, I was peaceful" (Ps 119:6).
Further, according to the Apostle, "the wisdom that is from above" is "open to obedience." Though it is itself from above, from God, it nevertheless willingly submits to lawful earthly authority and rule as also appointed by God. It is ready to show obedience not only to authority, but also simply to a neighbor, when the demand is just and well-intentioned. Only to a God-opposing demand will it not hesitate to say, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). It will say this only in order to suffer for obedience to God without violating obedience to authority.
The wisdom that is from above is "full of mercy and good fruits." Such is its relation to the suffering and to neighbors generally. It does every possible good to all, from a sense of duty before God and from the attraction of love and mercy toward neighbors.
Finally, true wisdom is "without partiality," or not inclined to judge and rejudge, "and without hypocrisy." It does not search out doubts against established truths in order to have the vanity of showing new paths to knowledge. Without a calling, it does not judge people whose judgment God has reserved to Himself.
It does not bind people with newly invented opinions and conspiracies into separate bundles, weakening and tearing apart the whole social bond and unity. It does not cover its opinions, rules, and intentions with a mask, so that external plausibility may attract people to what cannot attract them by inner worth.
It does not trade deceitfully in the word, mixing the wine of truth with the water of vanity and with counterfeit admixtures. Such mixtures do not awaken noble vigor, but the mad fury of the passions. In this spirit of unfeigned sincerity the Apostle Paul says: "We have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every human conscience before God" (2 Cor 4:2).
Such, according to apostolic teaching, are the properties of true wisdom. Having considered them somewhat, what use can we make of this consideration? We can make the very use for which the Apostle set forth the properties of true wisdom: to guard ourselves from the delusion of false wisdom.
In our time a new wisdom has arisen among certain peoples. It finds state institutions, which were developed and perfected by centuries of labor in state wisdom, not only in need of correction, but wholly useless. It wants to break everything and build it anew. From the enormity of the undertaking one might think that this must be an enormous wisdom. Here is an occasion for delusion.
Therefore it may not be superfluous to test this new wisdom on the apostolic touchstone. Is it "pure"? No. It says nothing at all about reverence for God, which is the only source of purity. Therefore it has no conception of what Christianity calls purity.
Is it "peaceable"? No. It lives and breathes strife, not only between its followers and non-followers, but also among its followers themselves. Is it "gentle"? No. It is arrogant and audacious. Is it "open to obedience"? No. It is rebellious.
Is it "full of mercy and good fruits"? No. It is cruel and bloodthirsty. Is it "without partiality"? On the contrary, it has produced nothing but doubts, suspicions, accusations, and distrust. Is it "without hypocrisy"? It changes mask after mask, according to which can better deceive at a given time.
What kind of wisdom, then, is this? Clearly it is not the wisdom from above. What is it, then? I do not take it upon myself to give it a name. I leave to your discernment and impartiality the choice among the names proposed by the Apostle: "earthly, sensual, demonic."
Yet the knowledge of the properties of true wisdom can and must be used still more directly for acquiring true wisdom. Acquire the properties of the wisdom that is from above, and you will gradually acquire the very wisdom to which they belong. Strive to be "pure, peaceable, gentle, open to obedience, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy." Only by advancing in these struggles will you surely advance in wisdom.
Passionate lovers of knowledge may object that this is a confusion of concepts. Knowledge is one thing, activity another. Wisdom is one thing, virtue another. We do not dispute that they are separate in concept. But are they so in life? You may take the head and the heart separately, dead. But in a living person they are in unity, and the head does not live without the heart. Thus you may take wisdom and virtue separately in a dead concept. But in true life they are in unity. The mind does not live without the heart, nor wisdom without virtue.
The Apostle mentioned, among other things, demonic wisdom. What is it? The devil may have no less natural knowledge than a human being, and perhaps even more. Because of the subtlety of his being, he sees in nature much that the human spirit, enclosed in a body, does not see. What, then, is lacking in the devil's wisdom? Goodness.
Therefore, according to the Apostle, knowledge without goodness is diabolical wisdom. Consequently, by contrast, knowledge with goodness is angelic or human wisdom, depending on whether it is clothed in flesh. Therefore, lovers of knowledge, show me virtue, and I shall rejoice at this assurance that you have wisdom.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 19 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS