2Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
We adjust to God’s state of triumphant authority and give thanks. We let go of a grudge by forgiving, and let go of resentments and perhaps hurts which were inflicted. We refrain from yoking up with those who insist on such fallen wisdom, bitter envying or strife. These may be zealous in their retaliatory spirit, separating; faction making. They are failing the grace of God; see Hebrews 12:15. Their wisdom is earthy, sensual, devilish. see James 3:15.
But, wisdom from above is spoken of in James chapter 3. Pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy — these qualities characterize wisdom from God. Let’s look at them one by one.
The First quality, “pure” or “purity” oversees the other facets of wisdom. Agios and agnos are greek synonyms meaning ‘pure from fault,’ innocent — that which would be applied to one who is innocent, or free from crime or blame. The influence on the man is to make him upright, sincere, candid, holy — it should be applied to the individual consciences of men…” Barnes notes. Also see 1John 1:9 and
Acts 24:16 “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. “ESV
There must be no attempts to reach peace by overleaping purity.
“The maxim that
“a pure heart ought not to sacrifice truth on any consideration whatever”
never gave rise to persecution:
- it has made many martyrs, but never one persecutor;
- it has pined in the dungeon, but never immured any there;
- it has burned amid the flames, but never lighted the faggot;
- it has ascended scaffolds, but never erected them;
- it has preserved and bequeathed civil and religious liberty, but never assaulted them;
it is a divine principle – the principle by which Christianity became strong”, Barnes notes
Second, then peaceable.
(righteousness) comes before peace and peace at any price is not worth the having.
Hence Jesus spurned the devil’s peace of surrender. Matthew 4
“it inclines and engages those who have it to live in peace with the saints, and even with all men; with those of their own household, with their neighbors, yea, with their enemies.” AT Robertson
Next is “gentleness.”
” …reasonable; and the word implies rather the not being unduly rigorous: “Wherein not strictness of legal right, but consideration for one another, is the rule of practice” (Alford).
“forbearing”; making allowances for others; lenient towards neighbors, as to the duties they owe us. “JFB
And fourth, “Easy to be intreated, yielding, open to reason.”
“easily persuaded,” tractable; not harsh as to a neighbor’s faults.”
Full of mercy – Merciful; disposed to show compassion to others. …results of the wisdom that is from above, for it makes us like God, the “Father of mercies.”
“Nowhere do we imitate God more than in showing mercy. He delights in it Micah 6:8, 7:18, Exo_34:6; Eze_33:11; 1Ti_2:4; 2Pe_3:9. To us, guilty sinners; to us, wretched, dying, and exposed to eternal woe, he has shown his mercy by giving his Son to die for us Titus 3:5. Each day of our life, each hour, and each moment, we partake of his undeserved mercy. If we, then, show mercy to the poor, the wretched, the guilty, it shows that we are like God. Our world is full of guilt and woe, which we may help to relieve; and every day of our lives we have opportunity, by helping the poor and wretched, and by forgiving those who injure us, to show that we are like God.” Matthew 5
full of good fruits. love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance Galatians 5:23
Without partiality—
(a) Not open to distinction or doubt; that is, unambiguous.
(b) Making no distinction, that is, in the treatment of others, or impartial towards them; or,
(c) Without strife. Barnes notes
Without hypocrisy
What it professes to be; sincere. There is no disguise or mask assumed.
“And peace, for those who strive for peace, is the seed of which the harvest is righteousness. “Weymouth translation
In wisdom we win. love ya
