James 3:15

James 3:15. This wisdom, that which gives rise to this false zeal and party-strife, descendeth not from above, but is earthly, in contrast to ‘descendeth from above' belongs to the earth. There are no heavenly aspirations about it; it overlooks or forgets the unseen world; it is limited to the affairs of the present life,

sensual. Hardly a correct rendering; literally, ‘belongs to the soul,' not to the spirit. The contrast is well brought out in Jude 1:19: ‘sensual, not having the spirit.' Elsewhere the word is translated ‘natural.' ‘There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body' (1 Corinthians 15:44). ‘The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God' (1 Corinthians 2:14). There is a distinction drawn in Scripture between the soul and the spirit; the soul is the intellectual nature of man, that which qualifies him for this world; the spirit is his religious nature, that which renders him capable of religion, and assimilates him to God. Hence, then, the word is to be translated ‘natural,' as upon the whole the best equivalent. This wisdom appertains to our natural mental powers, but takes no cognizance of our spiritual powers; it regards man as an intellectual being capable of knowledge, rather than as a spiritual being capable of holiness. These two epithets, earthly and natural, are perhaps negative qualities; the third quality is positively sinful.

devilish, devil-like, partaking of the nature of devils, similar to that wisdom which is possessed by evil spirits, like the tongue inspired by hell. This wisdom is often the cause of pride and ambition, of selfishness and malignity, and of all those vices which actuate the spirits of evil. Some suppose that the three great temptations of the world avarice, a love of pleasure, and ambition are here referred to; the first of which is earthly, the second sensual, and the third devilish, being the sin by which the devil fell; but this is refining too much. These three qualities earthly, sensual, devilish have their contrast in the qualities heavenly, spiritual, and divine.