James 3:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In everything we do in this life, the future recompense is already contained. The apostle says the same thing, that recompense is the fruit of our present actions: "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal 6:7).

It is rightly said that the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The fruit of righteousness is eternal life, which appears as the recompense for righteous works. Those who seek peace follow after that very peace toward which they strive.

They cast the finest seeds into the soil of their hearts. These seeds sprout, watered by daily good deeds, and bring forth the fruit of heavenly life.

Evil people also sow and reap, and at the judgment they receive according to their merits. Yet they reap not fruit, but corruption.

They partake not of the eternal good things that we here call fruit, but of the destruction and corruption in which they lived their earthly life. Now they receive the eternal torments of recompense.

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).

Speaking of teachers and indicating their true marks, the Apostle ends his discourse by showing that, among good and wise teachers, the seed of the Word of God, or teaching, is sown in peace and bears the fruit of righteousness. At least this is so among those who make peace, that is, those who themselves preserve and practice peace.

"And the fruit of righteousness," and so forth. As in verse 16 the fruits of evil zeal and contentiousness are indicated, and therefore of the false wisdom founded on them, so in this saying the fruits of true wisdom from above are indicated.

This saying is somewhat obscure in its combination of words and concepts. This true wisdom has been called peaceable.

The meaning of the whole saying is this. Contentious zeal produces disorder and every evil work (Jas 3:16). By contrast, the good seed whose fruit is righteousness, or truth, or justice, is sown by those who possess peace.

That is, it is sown by those who possess peaceable wisdom (Jas 3:17), in calm and not in disorder. Therefore it also produces peace.

This is true teaching, fruitful because it is founded on true wisdom that descends from above.

This verse is explained by one of our native interpreters in this way: "A man endowed with true wisdom and called to preach the gospel teaching proclaims it while observing the calm and concord proper to the Christian faith.

"He does so with those who receive the seed of the word of God with a meek and peaceful heart, and show themselves to be good soil for fruit-bearing" (Hieromonk Theoctist).

Thus, here a command is given not only that the uncalled should not take up teaching. Those who are called to it are also instructed to preach without quarrels and excessive disputes.

This applies, for example, with those who stubbornly remain in their error and do not wish to hear any instruction in the truths of faith.

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.