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would ask you to open your Bibles 
to James chapter 3. James chapter 3. While you're doing that, I do 
want to bring greetings to you from Trinity Reformed Baptist 
Church in Kirkland, where I serve. We pray for you regularly and 
seek the Lord's blessing upon you here, and we certainly are 
grateful for our fellowship in the gospel of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ, as well as that ecclesiastical fellowship that 
we enjoy in the context of the Association. We also want to 
thank you for your prayers for the work in Cuba. As you know, 
my co-pastor and my father, Don Limblad, regularly travels there. He's, in fact, just returned 
from a trip. And we are grateful for your 
prayers, for your concern for that labor as well. And I would 
also like to take this occasion to thank you for your prayers 
for the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies Theological Seminary. I know that's a mouthful, but 
thank you for your prayers. Nonetheless, you may know that 
this fall I will be One of the professors there will be teaching 
there beginning this fall. I'm not moving, my family's not 
relocating, but I will be traveling back and forth to fulfill my 
responsibilities there. So thank you for your fellowship 
in Christ, for your fellowship in prayer, and for your fellowship 
in the things most dearly loved and believed among us. Again, 
I've asked you to turn in your Bibles to James chapter 3, and 
I want to read verses 13 through 18. And this morning, we want 
to give consideration to the subject of wisdom. Hear now the 
reading of God's Word, James 3, verses 13 through 18. Who 
is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good 
life, his works in meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter 
jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not 
against the truth. This wisdom is not a wisdom that 
cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where jealousy and faction 
are, there is confusion and every vile deed. But the wisdom that 
is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy 
to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, 
without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness 
is sown in peace for them that make peace. May God add his blessing. to the reading of His Word. Let 
us again bow before the Lord, our God, in prayer, seeking His 
blessing upon His Word. Our gracious Heavenly Father, 
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, by the powerful 
operation of the Spirit, we pray that Your Word would be implanted 
within our hearts that your word would be inscribed upon our minds, 
that your word would bear fruit in our lives. To this end, we 
pray particularly for your blessing upon the word as it is preached 
now. May we come to understand not 
only what wisdom is, but may we come to see the vital need 
that we have to live our lives in wisdom, to live our lives 
indeed in the fear of the Lord. Bless us, we pray for Jesus' 
sake, amen. Wisdom. Wisdom is a vital concern 
of the teaching of Holy Scripture. We find, in fact, that there 
are several books in the Old Testament that are devoted exclusively 
to the subject of wisdom. We find as well in the New Testament 
several places that touch upon this vital subject, and indeed 
the book of James is one such place. One could make the case 
that the entire book of James is the New Testament equivalent 
of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. It is New Testament 
wisdom literature. And yet, for all of the attention 
that wisdom gets in the Holy Scripture, experientially, that 
is, in our lives as Christians, we often feel, perhaps, that 
wisdom is elusive to us. We talk about wisdom, we talk 
about the need for wisdom, we even pray for wisdom. But perhaps as we live our lives 
before God, we sense, or at least we feel perhaps, that we do not 
quite understand what wisdom looks like, what wisdom entails, 
how wisdom behaves. Well, the Scriptures teach us 
these very things. And in fact, again, the book 
of James teaches us this very thing and answers these questions 
for us. And even particularly here in 
our text this morning, in James chapter 3 and verses 13 through 
18, we find a clear and a concise discussion or delineation of 
true wisdom. James here is concerned to describe 
true wisdom, especially in contrast to its counterfeit, to false 
wisdom. And in fact, what we'll discover 
here this morning is that this instruction regarding wisdom 
lies at the heart of everything else that he has to say in this 
book, as he speaks even here of patience, of good works, And 
even later in the letter, or earlier in the letter in fact, 
as he speaks of the use of the tongue, for example, all of these 
realities, all of these practical realities of the Christian life 
are rooted in, or founded in, and in fact are the form of true 
wisdom. James tells us here that true 
wisdom, that Christian wisdom, is wisdom from above. He uses that phraseology twice, 
in fact. One, to tell us that a certain 
form of wisdom is not wisdom from above, and then as he actually 
positively describes this wisdom. True Christian wisdom is this 
wisdom from above. It is heavenly wisdom. And it is necessary, it is vital 
for God's pilgrim people. For us, as we yet live in this 
fallen age, in this sinful world, waiting for the ultimate, the 
final fulfillment and realization of God's promises to us in Christ. One author puts it this way, 
the epistle of James is an apostolic ministry of heavenly wisdom addressed 
to the 12 tribes in the dispersion who suffer manifold trials in 
their pilgrimage to the kingdom which God has promised to those 
who love him and who for this reason are in need of heavenly 
wisdom. Here is an apostolic ministry, 
a divinely appointed ministry of heavenly wisdom addressed 
to the church of Jesus Christ, the church as it suffers various 
trials, those various trials experienced along the way, as 
it were, to heaven. to the ultimate realization of 
the kingdom. And it is a ministry, again, 
that we need. We need this heavenly wisdom. We need wisdom from above. Now, as James speaks to us and 
describes for us this wisdom, he contrasts it, again, with 
its counterfeit And he does this, he tells us what wisdom is not, 
and he tells us what wisdom is, ultimately to form this wisdom 
in us, and so that then we might frame our lives in this wisdom. He is concerned to teach us what 
wisdom is, yes, but he is concerned as well to see this wisdom take 
root in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives. And as he discusses 
this wisdom, as he delineates this wisdom, in fact, he teaches 
us the four fundamental features, the four fundamental aspects 
of true, godly, heavenly wisdom. And we want to notice those four 
things this morning. First of all, James teaches us 
that wisdom from above is a communicated wisdom. That is, wisdom needs 
to be understood in relation to its source, in relation to 
its origin. And true wisdom, this wisdom 
from above, he says, finds its source, finds its origin in God. And not just God generically. but the triune God, the only 
true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When James uses this 
phrase, wisdom that cometh down from above, he uses that phrase 
in verse 15, again, in contrast to an earthly or sensual or devilish 
wisdom, which is no wisdom at all. And then in verse 17, he 
speaks of the wisdom that is from above, he is clearly indicating, 
again, the source, the origin, the place from which or the one 
from whom comes wisdom. And in that sense, he is clearly 
tying what he's saying here about wisdom to what He has already 
said about God and all things as they stand in relation to 
God. Remember what He says back in 
chapter 1 and verse 17. Every good and every perfect 
gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with 
whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. Christian wisdom, heavenly wisdom, 
true wisdom, is the gift of the triune God, the immutably good 
God. He implants wisdom, in fact, 
into the minds and into the hearts of His people. We need to say 
several things in this regard. Christian wisdom descends from 
the Father of Lights. Its origin is our Heavenly Father. But we need not think that the 
Father is somehow alone in this task. The reality is, again, 
this is a gift of the triune God. It comes down from the Father 
of lights, that is, the God who is the author and creator of 
all things, including wisdom itself. And it comes through 
His Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, by way of the Spirit 
that He has made to dwell within us. Wisdom finds its ultimate 
source, its ultimate origin then in the triune God, as the triune 
God operates and works, as it were, in our salvation. Further, we need to understand 
that this wisdom is communicated to us through the word of truth, 
through a word that is delivered by the prophets who spoke in 
the name of the Lord, and even by apostolic servants such as 
James, who is the servant of God and the servant of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. James 1 in verse 18 reminds us 
that even our salvation comes to us through the word of truth. That word again, which was revealed, 
delivered by the prophets of whom James speaks in chapter 
5 in verse 10. And James himself describes his 
calling and his labor as one who is an apostolic servant, 
a servant of God, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ in James 
1 and verse 1. So this Christian wisdom, this 
heavenly wisdom comes from God, from the triune God. And it is communicated by way 
of the word, by way of that prophetic and apostolic word that is inscripturated, 
written in the form of the Holy Scriptures. But even then we need to understand 
that this wisdom comes from God. This wisdom is inscripturated, 
if you will, in the Old and the New Testaments, but it is a wisdom 
itself that is implanted into our hearts, that is communicated 
from God to us by way of that powerful work of regeneration. For indeed, the word of truth 
itself, the word of wisdom, is implanted by God in our hearts 
through that powerful work of regeneration. And that regeneration 
bears a harvest of righteousness in those who are the firstfruits 
of God's new creation. Wisdom from above is communicated. It is from God. through His apostolic 
and prophetic servants, through His Word of truth. And it is given to us specifically 
as our minds are enlightened to the truth of Scripture. Minds 
once darkened in sin, now enlightened by the work of the Holy Spirit. 
It comes to us as those whose hearts have been changed from 
hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. And it comes to us as 
those whose wills were once enslaved in sin but have now been renewed 
again, all as the Spirit works savingly and sovereignly in our 
lives. All of this to say, is that God 
is the fount of wisdom. Scripture is the form of wisdom, 
and we come to share, we come to receive and participate even 
in that wisdom by way of the Spirit saving us, or applying 
to us, as it were, the benefits of Jesus Christ. One author speaks 
in this sense by reminding us that the God of unchangeable 
goodness is the fountain of every good and perfect gift in nature, 
grace, and glory. He gives good gifts to all in 
simplicity with unmixed motives. Just as God fathered the heavenly 
lights in the first creation, so he fathers the saints in the 
new creation by bringing them forth of his own goodwill through 
the word of truth. Again, is this not what James 
has already told us in chapter one? Of His own will, who is 
James speaking of here? Speaking of the Father of lights, 
with whom there is no variation, with whom there is no shadow 
of turning. Of His own will, He brought us forth by the word 
of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. The first fruits of the new. creation. And in doing so, God 
grants us wisdom. God, out of His own perfect, 
His own unchanging goodness, gives freely and graciously this 
wisdom from above. And He gives it to those whom 
He, of His own will, through His Word and Spirit, brings to 
life regenerates. Wisdom then is from above. It is from God. It is from God first, second, 
third, and last. Through and through. God is the 
source, the origin of the wisdom that we need. Indeed, just as 
all things are of the Father through the Son, and in and by 
the Spirit, so wisdom comes from the Father, through His Son, 
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, who shows no respect 
of persons, and even by the Spirit of truth and wisdom. Wisdom from above then is communicated, 
communicated from God to us, his creatures, indeed to us, 
those who are new creatures in Jesus Christ. Secondly, and we've 
already hinted at this, but it needs to be said specifically 
and clearly, secondly, wisdom from above is a copy. That is, it is a copy of God's 
own wisdom. We need to think as well, or 
not only of the source and the origin of wisdom, but we need 
to think of the form of wisdom. What does wisdom look like? What 
is the wisdom that God communicates to us? Well, James tells us here 
that the wisdom which the triune God communicates by His grace 
to the saints of His new creation is, first of all, pure. Now, what James here says in 
verse 17 about the purity of this wisdom from above, needs 
to be understood as he speaks of this wisdom in contrast to 
false wisdom, or we might even say to folly. He speaks of a form of wisdom 
which is earthly. He speaks of a wisdom that is 
not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, 
devilish. True wisdom in distinction is 
pure. It is untainted, untarnished 
by the world, by the flesh, and by the devil. It takes its very 
form. It has its very nature, not from 
the things that belong to this passing evil age, but it takes 
its form from the age to come. That is, it takes its very form 
from above. It takes its very form, we might 
even say, first and foremost, from God. When James says that 
this wisdom from above is first of all pure, he's not merely 
saying that it is first in addition to a number of other things pure, 
but he's saying first of all in a foundational sense, in an 
ultimate sense. He says, that we cannot be said 
to know wisdom at all if we do not first know and understand 
that the very form of wisdom is pure. Not only is it from 
God, but wisdom, true wisdom, reflects, if you will, God. Is God himself not pure? James has already told us that 
God is not tempted and cannot be tempted with evil in chapter 
one and verse 13. And so the wisdom which he gives, 
the wisdom which he communicates to his believing and regenerate 
people is, we might say, a copy. a shadow of His own immutable 
and infinite wisdom. God is wise, God communicates 
wisdom, and the wisdom that He communicates to you and to me 
as believers is, we might say simply, divine wisdom. but a wisdom that is suited to 
us as creatures. Remember that God is infinite. 
We are finite. That's just a fancy theological 
way of saying that God is God and we are creatures. And as 
creatures, we're not God, and as God, God is not a creature. And so the wisdom that God communicates 
is a copy of his own infinite and incomprehensible wisdom in 
a form that we can understand, in a form that we can apprehend, 
and in a form that we can even put into practice in our lives. The wisdom that he grants, the 
wisdom that he implants in us by the regenerating work of the 
Spirit is a wisdom that simply is the word of truth. How do we know that? Well, first 
of all, we need to notice in this context that James speaks 
of that false wisdom that earthly, sensual, and devilish wisdom 
as a wisdom that lies against the truth. Verse 14, true wisdom 
then, a wisdom that is from above, does not lie against the truth, 
even as God himself is true. Moreover, as James speaks of 
this wisdom in its practice, as it takes shape in our daily 
lives, he says that this wisdom is also, verse 17, without variance, 
without hypocrisy. It's a wisdom that doesn't fluctuate 
and change based upon the people that are in front of us, or even 
whether we're with people or by ourselves. It's not a wisdom 
that is hypocritical, that shows the face of one thing when in 
reality and in truth, there's something else going on in the 
mind and in the heart. But where does James get this 
idea that wisdom is without variance, that it's without hypocrisy? 
Well, God himself is without variance. God himself, there 
is no variation, no shadow of turning. And James in chapter 
two tells us and reminds us that God is not a respecter of persons. God does not show partiality 
because God himself is immutably good and righteous. Indeed, because this wisdom is 
a gift of the God who is unchangeably good, immutably wise, The wisdom 
He gives to us is good. It is a wisdom that shows itself 
in a good life of works in meekness. Verse 13 here of our text. What then is wisdom? What then 
is this wisdom that is from above that God communicates to us. I think perhaps the most helpful 
thing in the text is that it's found in verse 16. As James piles 
up this description of this earthly and sensual and devilish wisdom, 
this counterfeit wisdom, this folly, he says, for where jealousy 
and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed. Much of 
what James here has to say about true wisdom is given to us in 
the negative. That is, we're told what it is 
by way of what it's not. False wisdom is confusion. True wisdom is order. True wisdom, in fact, is all 
things ordered rightly in relation to God. For us to have wisdom 
then is to understand all things as they are ordered by God and 
as they are ordered in relation to God. The man who is wise and 
who has understanding, in other words, is the man whose thoughts 
and ways, whose mind and heart are ordered rightly in relation 
to God. The wisdom from above, then, 
that is a communicated copy of divine wisdom. It is true. It is good. It is without variation. It shows no partiality. It is 
pure. That is, it is ordered by God. and it is ordered in relation 
to God. It sees all things as they are 
related to God. It is not an earthly wisdom. 
It's not a sensual or animal wisdom. And indeed, it's not 
a diabolical wisdom. No, the wisdom that comes from 
above is heavenly, spiritual, divine. Just as God, we might 
say, is perfectly ordered in himself, just as God has perfectly 
ordered all things in relation to himself in his works of creation 
and redemption, So then the wisdom that he gives is that pure order, 
that pure understanding of the way in which all things stand 
in relation to God. Wisdom then is communicated from 
God. Wisdom from above is a copy that 
is the form that it takes, the shape that it takes, is ordered 
after God Himself and His own wisdom. But thirdly, we also 
want to understand from the text that wisdom from above is, we 
might say, contemplative. Wisdom and the activity of wisdom 
The use of wisdom, we might say, engages the intellect. It engages the mind. Again, we've already spoken to 
the fact that counterfeit wisdom, false wisdom, is rooted in a 
lie against the truth. Verse 14. Its origin, James goes 
on to say, is earthly. It has its foundation in this 
passing evil age, this fallen world. It is sensual. Again, its form is of the flesh, 
of the fallen mind. It is natural, we might even 
say, as opposed to spiritual. It's born of man's faulty reasoning 
rather than being born of the regenerating work of the Spirit 
of Christ. And perhaps the most damning 
thing that can be said of this false wisdom is that it is devilish. It is itself a copy of the devil's 
false wisdom, the devil's feigned wisdom. It is a wisdom that begins 
in the question, or with the question, has God really said 
Remember that Satan is the father of lies. And the very first lie 
recorded in Scripture is that lie. Has God said? True wisdom not only says that 
yes, God has said, but God has said clearly. And He's spoken 
clearly in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the wisdom 
that is ours given to us by God is the wisdom that has become 
even incarnate in Jesus Christ. But this false wisdom then, this 
wisdom that is devilish, this wisdom that entails a spiritual 
darkness that is in bondage to the devil, is a wisdom or a false 
wisdom that is marked by confusion rather than order. The same can be said of how false wisdom works or even 
what false wisdom looks to. False wisdom, this devilish wisdom 
that is not true wisdom at all, considers or contemplates things 
only as they are in themselves, or only as they are understood 
in relation to this fallen world. James, again, is stating negatively 
things that need to be understood by us positively. When he says 
that this false wisdom is earthly, sensual, devilish. He tells us 
that true wisdom is the very opposite. And just then, as false 
wisdom only looks at things through the lens of sin, and as they 
are disordered by sin, true wisdom will contemplate all things in 
relation to God. The wisdom that is from above 
entails contemplating everything that is and everything that is 
a part of our lives as ordered by God or as they stand disordered 
presently in sin. As we look at the world, for 
example, we look at it as God tells us to look at it. As we 
contemplate the things that He has made, we say, yes, God made 
these things. But we also say that in rebellion, 
man has ruined these things. Wisdom, then, is the believing, 
regenerate activity of contemplating all things in relation to the 
triune God. Think of James' very first word 
in this letter. Count it all joy, verse two. Consider your manifold temptations. Consider these things and count 
it as joy. What James is telling us to do 
here in this opening exhortation is to contemplate our trials as God would have us to contemplate 
them. Contemplate your trials, contemplate 
the manifold temptations that face you in relation to God, 
in relation to the truth that God has made known. Don't contemplate 
your trials in relation to anything other than what God has said. Don't consider your trials and 
your temptations as they are only in themselves. I'm being 
attacked for my profession of faith in Jesus Christ. I'm being 
mocked in the workplace for a commitment to Christ. I'm being mocked even 
for setting aside the Lord's Day, a day in its entirety to 
worship God. This is a trial. This is a temptation. Don't look at it only in terms 
of the mocking itself and only in terms of the momentary and 
passing trial that it is, but consider it in relation to God. Consider how God defines that 
trial and consider even the end that God has in view in that 
trial. contemplate all things in relation 
to God. That is true wisdom. True wisdom considers carefully 
that God is not only the author and source and origin of wisdom, 
but that God is also the object of all heavenly wisdom, as one 
has put it. All of God's gifts His gifts 
of nature, of grace, and of glory necessitate, in fact, that we 
contemplate all things in relation to God. God indeed Himself has 
ordered all things in relation to Himself, and we, as it were, 
to think His thoughts after Him, to exercise wisdom after His 
wisdom. True wisdom then, as one has 
put it, regarding anything in our lives, is gained when all 
things are viewed in relation to God, the supreme origin and 
end of creatures. For James 2, or for James also, 
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom. contemplative. True wisdom is 
the spiritual capacity for knowing and perceiving the good God and 
all things in relation to Him. Again, wisdom itself is not confusion 
but order, and we need to contemplate that order as God defines it. we need to contemplate all things 
as they are ordered by God and ordered in relation to God. But this activity of the regenerate 
soul bears fruit. And James spends a lot of time, 
in fact, telling us about this fruit, for which reason we need 
to understand that wisdom is not only communicated. Wisdom is not only a copy, if 
you will, of God's own good and immutable wisdom. Wisdom is not 
only contemplative, that is an intellectual activity or the 
intellectual activity of the soul, but we need to notice fourthly 
and finally that wisdom from above is consequential. That is, it is practical. It bears fruit. The fruit, the 
consequence of this contemplative wisdom, of considering and contemplating 
all things in relation to God, is the spiritual capacity, as 
one has put it, for discerning the right course of action as 
we live between the inauguration and consummation of God's eternal 
kingdom. As we are pilgrims on the way, 
living between the cross and the consummation, what we need 
is wisdom, And what we need is a wisdom that engages the totality 
of man's life, that engages the totality of our soul. This wisdom then is not only 
an intellectual activity, but it is, we might even say, a vital 
activity, an activity of the life. James here tells us He 
asks this opening question, who is wise and understanding among 
you? Who has so ordered his thoughts 
in the contemplation of God? and in the contemplation of all 
things as they relate to God, as God has made them, and even 
as God has redeemed sinners, and even as God will come and 
usher in the fullness of His new creation. Who is wise in 
understanding in that way? James says, let him show by his 
good life his works in meekness of wisdom. Wisdom comes from God. Wisdom 
considers God. And wisdom, as it were, returns 
unto God as our lives are framed and ordered by God. As we live 
as God would have us to live. As we maintain a good life, that 
is a life that is good as God defines it. by doing works in meekness, good 
works, works that conform to God's law. All of this is done 
out of wisdom and is itself a show of wisdom. Moreover, James goes on to tell 
us that this wisdom from above does not bear the fruit of bitter 
jealousy. It does not bear the fruit of 
factions. How could it? If wisdom is order 
rather than confusion, it can't bear the fruit of confusion. 
And the fruit of confusion is this jealousy, these factions. These are things that are rooted 
in self-centered pride rather than God-centered humility. Such 
things are earthly and sensual and devilish. No true wisdom 
bears the fruit of humility. Jealousy and faction. In fact, 
all these vile deeds are the fruit. They're the consequence 
of confusion. James tells us in verse 16. What needs to be true of us as 
God's regenerate people is that we need to be marked by that 
pure wisdom which is from above. Again, that godly wisdom that 
first contemplates all things in relation to the immutably 
good God and bears the fruit of a good life. And what is that fruit? It is 
the fruit of peace. Wisdom from above, we are told, 
is first pure, then peaceable. Are you seeking peace in the 
context of the church? Is the order that God has established 
for the church your desire? That's wisdom. That's the fruit 
of wisdom. Wisdom is also gentle and merciful. It's easy to be 
entreated. What James here means is that 
it's open to correction. It's full of mercy and good fruits. 
It's without partiality. Indeed, it is sincere without 
variance. It is true without hypocrisy. All of the vicious patterns of 
speech and life that James condemns in this context are the opposite 
of the practical wisdom that he enjoins, the practical wisdom 
to which we're exhorted here. The way that we talk to each 
other, The way that we live with each other in the communion of 
the saints just is the practice of wisdom. These are those virtues 
that contribute to and are conducive to the peace, to the harmony, 
indeed, the order of the church. Wisdom from above, then, is a 
course of practical wisdom, a course of putting wisdom into practice. And it's not what the world would 
suggest. It's certainly not what our own 
flesh would propose. And it's not what the devil himself 
would endorse. No, it is that form of wisdom 
that comes from God, conforms to God, and again, we might say 
conduces to God or leads us to God. For not only does practical 
wisdom have our life in the church in view, as it does here in our 
text, but really it has in view our friendship with God. drawing 
from other texts in the scripture as well as other texts here in 
James, one author puts it this way. The ultimate happiness promised 
to the one who stands the test under trials is the crown of 
life, which God has promised to those who loved him. Just 
as contemplative wisdom lays a foundation for practical wisdom, 
so practical wisdom prepares pilgrim saints for a blessing 
that lies beyond the ken of its immediate agency, and that according 
to Jesus and Paul is itself contemplative in nature. Blessed are the pure 
in heart, for they shall see God. Practical wisdom prepares 
us for the blessing of the beatific vision, of the sight of Christ 
in glory. The road that we are walking 
from, as it were, our regeneration unto our glorification, the road 
that we are traveling as pilgrims on the way to heaven is a road 
of wisdom. A road of practical wisdom. Of wisdom that bears fruit. Contemplating all things in relation 
to the triune God. Faith will bear the fruit of 
good works. Faith will bear the fruit of 
meekness and of peace. It will bear the fruit of righteousness, 
sown in peace for them that make peace. Wisdom then comes from 
God, and wisdom in its practical nature, in fact, leads us to 
God. Not only as we're conformed to 
Jesus Christ, but as we walk upon that road, which will eventuate 
in our standing before God and hearing Him say unto us, Well 
done, thou good and faithful servant." Now, all of this, to 
be sure, is a matter of grace. In fact, none of us can be wise apart from the regenerating work 
of the Spirit of Christ. Without the Spirit, Any show 
of wisdom is just that, a show. The question then is, are you 
wise? That is, at a foundational level, 
have you come to understand, have you come to know the wisdom 
of God made known in Jesus Christ? Have you been born again? And the only way you can know 
the answer to that question is to answer this question. Do you 
trust in Christ and in Christ alone? The fruit of regeneration is 
faith. And it is that faith which generates 
within us an earnest desire to walk in 
wisdom, to live in wisdom. It is the seed of eternal life 
that has been implanted within us, that generates within us 
a desire to know and for our lives to be ordered in relation 
to the God who has brought us to life. Is that true of you? Do you love wisdom? Do you seek 
after wisdom? Another way to put that is, do 
you love God? Do you seek after God? And do 
you seek to know and understand and live your life always in relation to God, in 
that order which God himself has established, that order which 
God himself has created in you. Do you desire wisdom? Seek it from above, seek it from 
God, and practice that wisdom. As 
you contemplate God and all things in relation to God, seek after 
peace one with another. Be gentle one towards another. Be open to correction one towards 
another. Be full of mercy towards one 
another. Bear good fruit toward one another. Do not show partiality in your 
midst, but live in truth and in sincerity with one another. 
Bear the fruit of righteousness that is sown in the soil of peace. Make peace with one another, knowing this, that God has made 
peace with us in Christ, and that we will enjoy an eternity 
of peace in the eternal contemplation of our Triton God. Would you 
know wisdom It may be found from above. It may form your life. Indeed, it may form your mind 
and your very steps. May God grant us such wisdom, and may He grant 
that we would live in such wisdom. Let's pray. Our gracious God and heavenly 
Father, show mercy to us and grant us that wisdom which is 
from above. Leave us not to our own devices, 
for all we have is but sin. Grant grace unto us that we might 
live in wisdom. that we might walk in wisdom, 
that we might bear the fruit of wisdom here in the context 
of the church, as well as in the context of our lives, bearing 
witness to your grace. Lord, be gracious to us, bless 
us, smile upon us, treat us not as our sins deserve, but grant 
us true wisdom, we pray, for Jesus' sake, amen. Our God dismisses us with this 
word of blessing. Please stand for the benediction. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all, amen. you