James 1:5-6 … "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith …"
"If any of you lack wisdom …" This probably refers to the kind of wisdom which we need in our trials, to enable us to bear them in a proper manner, for there is nothing in which believers feel the need of Godly wisdom for than in the manner in which we should bear our trials, and what we should do during the questions, and disappointments, and grief that come to us.
The language used is so general, that what is said may be applied to the need of wisdom in all respects.
The particular kind of wisdom which we need in trials is to enable us to understand their purpose, (what they are all about) and to learn the lessons which God designs them to teach; for He always designs them to teach us some valuable lesson. If we are in sin; the trials which are brought upon us by that sin, may be given for us to learn how we may avoid them in the future.
We are in great danger of going wrong when we are afflicted; by complaining and murmuring; by expressing a spirit of rebellion, and by losing the benefits which we might have obtained if we had submitted to the trial in the proper manner. So in all things we "lack wisdom," not just in times of trial but in other important matters of life and faith.
"Let him ask of God …" That is, for the specific wisdom which he needs; the very wisdom which is necessary for him in the particular case. It is proper to make mention of the specific want; to ask of God to guide us in the very matter where we feel we lack wisdom. It is one of the privileges of believers, that we may not only go to God and ask Him for general wisdom which we need in life, but if a particular emergency arises, we may also bring that particular need before the Lord, with the assurance that He will guide them.
"That giveth to all men liberally …" The word men here, is supplied by the translators, it is not in the original … but not improperly, although the promise should be thought of as restricted to those who ask. The object of James was to encourage those who felt their need of wisdom, to go ahead and ask God.
He is not saying however, that God gives all men wisdom "liberally" whether they ask or not.
No blessing is promised to man that is not sought; no man can hope to receive anything from God, who does not value it enough to pray for it; no one ought to obtain it, who does not prize it enough to … ask for it.
"And upbraideth not …" God does not reproach, rebuke, or treat harshly. He does not coldly turn us away, if we come and ask what we need, even though we do so very often, for we are a needed people.
The proper meaning of the Greek word "upbraideth" is … to rail at, reproach, revile, chide (angry censure); and the object here is probably to place the manner in which God treats us in contrast with what sometimes occurs among men. He does not hold our past conduct against us; our foolish choices; or our continual asking.
We are certain when we ask of God, that He permits us to come to Him freely, and that He will meet us with kindness and love in granting our requests. We are not always sure, when we ask of man, what we shall encounter in the process; sometimes it can be a harsh or troubling answer.
This promise … "it shall be given him" … the wisdom that may be necessary for the time of need … is absolute; we may be sure that if we ask God, it will be granted to us. There can be no doubt that it is one of the things which God is able and willing to give, as it would be used for our own good; and therefore, He is ever ready to grant it to us.
There are things that might bring some doubt as to whether, if they were granted, would really be for our good; but there can be no such doubt about wisdom. It is always for our good; and we may be sure therefore, that we shall obtain it when we ask in faith. If it is asked for in that way, we can expect Him to grant it.
"But let him ask in faith …" We cannot hope to obtain anything from God if there is not faith; and where, as in regard to the wisdom necessary to guide us, we are sure that it is in accordance with His will to grant it to us; therefore we come to Him with confidence and assurance, that it will be granted.
Edited for clarity … from the commentary of Albert Barnes.
3 comments:
Couple of questions...
When seeking wisdom, I have prayed at different times over my adult life that God would grant me His wisdom for my everyday life. And I have also asked at "specific times of need" for His wisdom, as mentioned in your writing. I am now wondering if because I have asked for God's wisdom in general, do I not have His wisdom on a continued daily basis? Or is there a need to continue to ask for it when certain situations arise? Of course, I always feel I need to specifically request His wisdom now & again, so I suppose that would be my spirit being sensitive to the leading & council of the Holy Spirit??
Also, I have asked in the past for God to give me the ability to see into the spiritual realm so that I would know "how" to pray for things, i.e., is this a spiritual issue...is the enemy at work here? Or is this simply a bump in life? For example, when one of my kids is plagued with night time fear, is she under attack or is this simply normal childhood fear? There was a time when God showed me it was most definitely the enemy at work. So was that "wisdom" or was it spiritual sight? Is there even a difference?
Tara let me start at the beginning … the overall theme of James. I think James was writing … not to the Church at large, but to the Christian Jews, which after being under the Law, were having a hard time accepting grace without the works of the Law.
He writes … "to the twelve tribes (the Jews) which are scattered abroad, greeting.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers (various) temptations;
If any of you lack wisdom" … that's what you are asking about; even the types of wisdom we need for different occasions.
I believe here, (James speaking of tests, trials or temptations), it is the wisdom to know how to handle and go through these tests. But I am not saying it is … inclusively or exclusively … for times of testing.
The Christian Jews were undergoing many trials concerning their faith and so when you add to that, Church leaders trying to put them back under the Law … they needed the wisdom of discernment.
Notice also the following line, (still dealing with asking for wisdom) … let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
The proper meaning of the Greek word "upbraideth" is … to rail at, reproach, revile, chide. This was what they were used to under the Law; when Israel got off into sin, God reprimanded them; sometimes harshly. James is telling them … go on, ask God for your need of wisdom … He won't repel or rebuke you.
The wisdom spoken of in verse 5 … the reason we ask for it, has to do with verse 4.
"But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
The two words … wanting in vs. 4 and lack in vs. 5 are the same word … both mean (lack, fail or leave behind.)
Therefore, the purpose of this wisdom is so you will not fail in times of testing … no matter for what reason, (from God or Satan), and this wisdom might even give you some understanding of what is going on by these trials or periods of testing. (But I can't promise you that.)
So one may say …"But, in pursuing this perfection you will find yourselves lacking in wisdom." That's why we ask.
James says that we need, in this case, a different type of wisdom than … the wisdom of man … to determine those things that are best for us; but we shall obtain this gift of wisdom, if we ask with a sure confidence in God.
Men want wisdom to conduct themselves in the common affairs of life, but in fact we often lack wisdom to know what we ought to do. Here it says we are to ask wisdom from God and count upon His faithfulness to answer our prayers.
If we only seek for God's will as to the circumstances of this world that we find ourselves in; unless we ask and receive the wisdom of God in such matters that we don't understand … one might believe that it was useless to depend on God in such matters.
1st Corinthians 2:16 …"For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
The Amplified reads this way …"For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart."
Although I don't feel I have the complete understanding of this verse … it's telling me that although no one knows 100% for sure what God is up to all the time; even so by having obtained through the Holy Spirit (when we were born again) a portion of His mind (or may I say His way of thinking) we will now come a little closer to understanding Him and His will for us.
Now to your 1st question … Yes, I believe you do have God's general wisdom given for everyday operation. Paul said you have "the mind of Christ." I don't believe that’s just for "spiritual" things. When you became a believer, I feel you received God's Spirit and one of the things the Holy Spirit is given for is to lead you into "all truth" in wisdom and understanding.
You became smarter not dumber; you're more intelligent now (you have His mind) and you're even better looking … you now have His look of love on your face, His countenance, kind of a glow from having His Spirit within.
2nd question … It never hurts to ask for wisdom in anything that comes up in daily life that isn't the norm. If you don't have the answer, turn to the one who does.
3rd question … Concerning your girls fear at night. In this area, you were most likely operating in the Spiritual Gift of …"Discernment." You asked God to show you how to pray; He for that time and purpose gave you the power to operate in this gift; you discerned it was "the spirit of fear" which you took authority over and caused the "spirit" to leave.
Was this "wisdom"? Certainly. It's always wise to use all of God's provision that He has available for us. Wisdom can show us when we need God and His power.
4th question … It was "Spiritual Insight" that you were operating in with your girls.
Yes, there is a difference, but as I just explained, we really need both; one to show us what needs to be done (to get the job done) and the other to know when we need God.
Remember … we don't do anything in and of ourselves, God does.
God's word for us to live by is so simple. (Although I often make it so difficult.) It really is as as simple as asking him for wisdom then eagerly expecting this gift. Thank you for the reminder to ask!
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