Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We continue our study of James 1:2-8 by looking at James 1:5.
James 1:5
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.
What is the “wisdom” spoken of by the Holy Spirit through James? Wisdom is “knowledge plus faith.” Knowledge plus faith yields “revelation.” We must be able to “see” God’s promises fulfilled in our lives. If we can do this, it means we are “fully persuaded” of the Godly knowledge we read and hear.
Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Notice out of God’s mouth comes knowledge and understanding, but God gives wisdom. We need to understand the difference between the knowledge and understanding and wisdom.
II Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
As II Timothy 3:16 makes clear, God has given, by His mouth, all scripture written in the Bible. This is consistent with Proverbs 2:6 when it says, “out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” God breathed the scriptures into anointed men who wrote the various books of the Bible. But Proverbs 2:6 goes further by stating God gives wisdom. To whom does God give wisdom? Look back at James 1:5: “to all men liberally.” Let’s understand one thing. When the Holy Spirit states, “all men,” He is not speaking of the unsaved. The book of James is written to Saved, the Believers. God gives wisdom to any Believer who asks for it and gives it liberally. But the key is we must ask, and we must believe.
Bill Winston, a prominent Preacher, Teacher, and Evangelist of God’s Word in Chicago, stated wisdom is “knowledge plus faith.” He further said, “wisdom is revelation. Revelation is no good without knowledge and knowledge is no good without wisdom.” How can we have wisdom if we don’t seek knowledge, which is the Word of God.
What I really love about James 1:5 is God’s promise that if we ask for wisdom, He’ll provide it. But only if we ask in faith. We’ll see this emphasized in James 1:6-8. So, why do we need wisdom? Because our natural minds are extremely limited. Our natural wisdom is based on the information and experiences of this world. God’s Word has commanded us NOT to make decisions based on the information/wisdom of this world and yours/other’s natural experiences. We are to walk in the Holy Spirit’s wisdom. We must remember the following about ourselves when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, King, and Savior:
1 Corinthians 2:16
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
I John 2:20
But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
John 16:13
Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.
The above three verses make it very clear that we have the mind of Christ, that we know all things, and we know things to come. I know, right away we say there’s no way I have the mind of Christ because I don’t know all things and I don’t know things to come. And we never will if this is our attitude and thinking. God’s Word makes it very clear we DO have this. Is God a liar? Titus 1:2 tells us God cannot lie. No, we’re not going to have this in the natural. We can only access the mind of Christ in us via the Spirit. We can only know all things through the Spirit. We can only know things to come, through the Spirit. But we have the Holy Spirit in us. God has never failed me when I’ve asked for His wisdom in a matter whether family, financial, business, health, other people, etc. I just have to remember to ask and to ask in faith – believing He will show me what I need to know, what I need to do, what I need to say, when I need to do it, etc. God can only do what we can believe.
In closing, this is how a janitor, who loves Christ and believed His Word, is an executive for a Fortune 50 company today and owns his own Lear Jet. He studied God’s Word, as we’re commanded in II Timothy 2:15, and learned how to operate in the Kingdom of God using the laws of the Kingdom to accomplish God’s will for him. Kingdom laws such as Spirit and life, faith, tithing, sowing and reaping (also known as seedtime and harvest), confession, agreement, binding and loosing, healing, wisdom, protection, etc. These same laws are given to you to know if you’re willing to study diligently and receive the rewards God promises in Hebrews 11:6. Do not be a one-legged, one-arm Believer by not learning and exercising your God-given power on this earth. Quit waiting until the “bye and bye.” There are going to be many tears shed at the Bema Seat when Believers realize all that was given to them to use in this earth for the blessing of others and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ but was never used by the Believer because of ignorance of God’s Word. You are a joint-heir to Jesus Christ and an heir of our Father God. Act like the royalty we are through our thinking, our words, and our actions.
Much love in Christ,
Larry