#18.

True Fellowship will be Characterized by Wisdom

Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. James 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. We have looked at the fruits of the Spirit and seen how those must be on display and in use in true fellowship among the children of God. Now we are going to look at some Scriptures that talk about the gifts God gives over and above that fruit. One way to think about this (in general terms) is that the fruits have more to do with the heart condition with which we will do things for the Lord, whereas the gifts are more about being given the ability to perform certain activities. Like the fruits of the Spirit, the gifts are all given for the good of the body, the church. It is reasonable, then, to expect that these will be used when believers enjoy fellowship. The first gift we want to consider is wisdom, which may be more closely akin to a fruit in that it is a matter of attitude and heart, though it is clearly described as a gift in the Scriptures. It is appropriate to make a few comments as we begin to help us understand Biblical wisdom more clearly: We see in our texts that this is something that the Lord gives as a gift to His children. It is evident, then, (as with all true gifts) that this is not merited by the recipient but given according to the riches of God's grace. The example of Solomon shows us that this gift may be granted at any point in our lives - it is not something we are necessarily born possessing. We know from other passages (see 1 Corinthians 3:19) that what God gives is not wisdom as the world knows it (since that "wisdom" is foolishness before God. This gift must therefore be a spiritual wisdom (see Ephesians 1:17 for confirmation of the fact that this is a spiritual faculty). James contrasts the wisdom from above with that which is earthly, natural, demonic (James 3:15). Wisdom is generally understood to be a matter of the application of knowledge, resulting in sounds actions and decisions. God's gift therefore enables His child to make sound spiritual decisions and to take actions based on good judgment. James also tells us that when someone possesses this gift, he or she will show by good behavior their deeds in the "gentleness of wisdom." (James 3:13). Finally, James reveals some additional characteristics of this spiritual wisdom: "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." (James 3:17). Once again, then, we see that spiritual wisdom is a difficult thing to possess and to express in isolation. It is concerned very much with the way we act towards our brothers and sisters in the Lord, and the qualities it produces, of purity, peaceableness, gentleness, reasonableness, mercy and fruitfulness are clearly related to fruits of the Spirit, and things we ought to look for, to experience and to be blessed by in true fellowship. We all know something of what it is to be in the presence of someone who has been gifted with spiritual wisdom and insight to a significant degree. Those are the people (if we are walking with the Lord) that we are drawn to, with whom we want to spend as much time as possible and from whom we want to learn. This makes the idea of true Christian fellowship so desirable! So let's seek God for more of His wisdom to dwell in us, and let's make our

times of fellowship opportunities for His wisdom to be experienced richly among His children!

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