The Epistle of James > theology . . . love-ology (c:

James 3:17 >

"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." (James 3:17)

So, it looks like God's word is saying this "wisdom" is like God's love, has good character and not only intelligence and creative ability.

God's wisdom is "first pure" > James 3:17.

"Pure" is a way to be in character, not only in how we act and talk. And how to be in our character also includes how God's wisdom is "peaceable, gentle". Jesus is "peaceable" and "gentle". Jesus Himself says, "I am gentle and lowly in heart," in Matthew 11:28-30.

Jesus on the cross made peace with God, for us. So, Jesus is "peaceable" so He could produce peace, in order to reconcile us with God.

And we are commanded to love the way Jesus on the cross loved us >

"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, a offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2)

So, God wants us to be "peaceable" in our nature, like how Jesus is. And this makes us ready for love with any person. Even if someone else is not ready for love, we can be their example > being unconditionally loving, like our Apostle Paul >

"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved." (2 Corinthians 12:15)

So, Paul would love people more and more abundantly, even while they loved him less and less. Consider how this way of loving can help our relating in marriage and with problem people in church and at work. And this makes us strong so we can not be dragged into wrong things like "complaining and disputing" (Philippians 2:13-16) and unforgiveness > Mark 11:25.

So, yes God is unconditionally loving with us; but this is our example also required of us ! ! ! God uses example. How we really are is what we can be spreading to help make someone else the same way.

Our acting can not make our children like Jesus. If they only copy-cat our outward example, inside themselves they will discover they are not deeply sound and stable and happy in real love. And then they can realize that just doing what we do and say to do culturally does not give them real satisfaction of love. And then is when they can go to peers and make pleasure their treasure. So, we need to be examples in the sight of God and trust how God is able to cure any person's character to be like Jesus and so the person loves like Christ on the cross.

James 3:17 says God's wisdom is "willing to yield". Would this be like Jesus?

What I understand from scripture is that Jesus on this earth was always doing what our Father had Jesus doing > in the Gospel of John Jesus says, "the Father who dwells in Me does the works." This is in John 14:10. So, to me this means Jesus was always doing what our Father had Jesus doing; and I believe this means Jesus was being submissive to our Father in Him who was doing the works, in sharing with Jesus; and so Jesus is "willing to yield".

But, of course, Jesus is submissive, yielded, only to our Heavenly Father.

This would go for us. Yes, we need to be "willing to yield" . . . but this does not mean yielding merely to humans, but submissive to God. And this would mean yielding to how our Heavenly Father personally rules every one of us His children in His own peace >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

So, this wisdom in our character makes us like Jesus and personally submissive to our Heavenly Father, and therefore doing things in our Creator's own creativity of His love > we are creative in how to love each and every person, in this wisdom which "is from above" in God's love.

The wisdom described in James 3:17 talks about how to be in character. So, it is not only what we choose, I would say.

Being "willing to yield", I now think, is how to be in character, so we readily choose to submit to God. And this needs to be all the time. So, we need to trust God to change us so by nature we are submissive to Him > so You keep us submissive to You in Your love, including so we constantly are sharing with You.

I would say we can not be intimate with God, unless we are personally submitting to Him. So, I see how James is talking about wisdom which has us in personal and sensitive sharing with God in His own love. So, this wisdom does not only make us able to live our lives in a more practical way, and so we do better with people we see fit to love.

But this is all-loving wisdom, of God's all-loving love > Matthew 5:46, Ephesians 4:31-5:2. And our Creator makes us creative in how to love each and every person > with hope for any person, at all > like how Christ on the cross suffered and died with hope for any and all undeserving people > love "hopes all things", we have in 1 Corinthians 13:7.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says >

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32)

So, if we are going to love as God's family, there are things we must put away from ourselves > "bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking," and "all malice" > plus put away unforgiveness, so we are forgiving "even as God" ! ! !

We need, then, to become pure by putting away what is not pure in God's love. And so I see this can feed us to understand what James means by wisdom being "first pure". There is this love meaning > how we become "first pure" in the wisdom of God's love, by becoming free of anti-love, not-pure stuff like "bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking" and "all malice", and unforgiveness.

Also, Paul says,

"Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation," (in Philippians 2:13-16)

So, also, we can see, in order to become "first pure" in love's wisdom, we need to not give in to anything in us which would cause us to complain or argue. If we have wisdom in our character which is "first pure", then, we can not give in to Satanic stuff which would degrade us with anti-love things which bring complaining or arguing.

But instead we become "tenderhearted" (Ephesians 4:31-32) in how we relate as God's family. This is in our character . . . how to be . . . not merely in how we act and tone our voices!! So, we need how You change us, O God. The glory is to You ! ! ! Thank You so much, in the name of Jesus Your Son

James 3:17 says God's wisdom is "without partiality" >

I think this can mean we do not favor anyone because of what they look like, or because someone can give us what we want. But we love any and all people.

For me, personally, being "without partiality" also means I am not trying to steer what God gives me or has me doing. At any moment, I should be open to what He wants to do with me.

And desire this for others, too. I need to not only care about myself becoming submissive to God all the time, but we are family growing together.

So, not being partial includes not favoring myself over others, in prayer and life. Wisdom has to do with family loving, then.

James 3:18 >

"Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:18)

I said:

James 3:18 >

"Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:18)

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Now there is something I see, here >

It says "fruit" is "sown". But usually you sow seeds . . . not fruit, right?

So . . . what do you get about this? Or, what have you already learned, please? I am still praying on this, myself

com7fy8 said:

It says "fruit" is "sown". But usually you sow seeds . . . not fruit, right?

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Now, what I have about this is, that fruit which is sown contains the seeds. In nature, a seed can stay within the fruit so it can be fertilized by the decaying fruit. Also, some creature might eat the fruit and carry the seed in it to be dropped to grow, somewhere away from the plant that grew the fruit.

And how do we sow God's word the way He wants? We speak in His love. And His love can effect how the seed is received; His love can nourish the person receiving the word.

And our Apostle Paul says,

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29)

So, I can see from this, that a corrupt word can be spoken in a self-seeking way. But we can sow God's word in the fruit of God's love so we are ministering God's grace.

I have tried to use speaking God's word in order to make myself look good. That was corrupt. But now I find I have been corrected to be more caring about people I talk with. And I am trusted with ones who want to share with me. And we can bless each other

James 4:1 >

"Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?" (James 4:1)

It would be easy for me to use this scripture to point out how other people are wrong. But . . .

I myself can get into fighting, in order to have pleasure that I want. I can be at risk of lying . . . if it is a treasure pleasure.

But if I am with God, I can be free of letting a pleasure be a treasure for me. I can love, instead, and not try to only use anyone.

But there always is temptation to use someone . . . to show how great I am, to show how much I am doing. So I need to be humble.

"Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from desires for pleasure that war in your members?" (James 4:1)

com7fy8 said:

I myself can get into fighting

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Inside myself, in my imagination, I can fight with people, mainly by means of words, and emotionally.

It is often about control, and I consider control can be connected with desire for some sort of pleasure and the security for getting it.

I think arguing can be a way of fighting for pleasure that someone wants. We can want to use someone for some treasure pleasure, and arguing can be a way of trying to control someone.

So . . . I just got into a problem with my lady friend, and I am concerned at how I tried to control her and I got bent out of shape about how she did not give in. Good for her, of course.

But I can pride myself in how I am not trying to control and use her; yet, I did give in to trying to control her. So, possibly, then, my pride is lying to me. I think of how Peter said he would go with Jesus through prison and death; but ego is a liar.

We need God to make us genuine, really honest, and successful.

Fighting is not a method that Jesus wants us to depend on. But, for leaders >

"nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:3)

Are we not all to be leaders by example? Trust God to have things work out for the good He is able to bring, all-loving good.

My interlinear Greek source says, it seems, that our wars come from "your pleasures which war among your members." It does not say "from desires for pleasure" that war in us.

And the word, according to the Strong's Greek dictionary, has to do with pleasure . . . possibly sensual delight. What I see is how we can have delights which are not God's good pleasure, and these pleasures war against Him and can have people warring against one another.

We need to be about pleasing God.

"You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:2)

I would say this means God has control of if people get what they want while they are lusting and fighting and murdering and coveting.

"God resists the proud," we have in James 4:6 and also in 1 Peter 5:5.

I need to not lust, but trust God to do all He wants to do with me.

"be content with such things as you have" (in Hebrews 13:5).

So, I see we do well to be satisfied and thanking God, while we ask for things. Thanking can mean that whatever He does is enough and good.

com7fy8 said:

Thanking can mean that whatever He does is enough and good.

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Actually, even if He does not answer a prayer with what we ask, He is good; so He always is doing what is good. And it could take a while for Him to prepare us for what we ask, so we can benefit from it how He desires.

James 4:3 >

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." (James 4:3)

Because we can destroy ourselves in seeking selfish pleasure, it can be for our own good how God does not answer certain prayers, plus He resists us so we fail in our selfish pursuits >

"God resists the proud" > in James 4:6 and also in 1 Peter 5:5.

God's resistance, then, can be caring, so a proud person does not get hurt and cause as much harm to others, as he or she could.

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

Now, at first I have wondered why James would confront only "Adulterers and adulteresses". After all, there are other people who do wrong and do not commit adultery.

Why would James confront only "Adulterers and adulteresses"? and not mention liars and thieves and people who argue . . . ?

The scripture > James 4:4 > is talking about how God does not want us to be friends of this evil world.

He is speaking not only in terms of practical sins, but if and how we are relating with Him > as His friends or His enemies. There is relating involved, and adultery is a relational wrong, of not staying faithful in love with one's spouse.

And God wants us to be "faithful in Christ Jesus" > I see, from Ephesians 1:1. He does not want us to have any relationship with other than our groom Jesus. So, yes You want us to be in personal sharing with You, all the time, then, right??? Then, please do this with us; changing us to be truly faithful.

And what can help with this?

"Do all things without complaining and disputing," (Philippians 2:14)

Do not have any relating in us, with anything which can have us complaining or arguing, but be gentle and humble in Jesus and His love >

"with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love," (Ephesians 4:1)

So, I see now that in order to be faithful to Jesus, as friends of God, we do well to stay gentle and kind and humble.

So, thank You, God our Father, in the name of Your Son Jesus; amen.

"Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'?" (James 4:5)

So, I see here that this means the Holy Spirit has feelings about what we do. The Holy Spirit can be grieved >

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)

So, God is personal with us. He is reacting, He is feeling.

'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'

This is in James 4:4. So, God is jealous > He does not want us to have anything to do with certain things.

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice." (Ephesians 4:31)

He wants us to be relating with Him, instead.

Unforgiveness and worry, also, are anti-love things.