Wisdom From Abiding
Some Sundays at Abiding Church feel like a symphony. God conducts moments we could not have arranged ourselves, and suddenly the parts begin to make sense. Two weeks ago we looked at the fear of the Lord. Last week we leaned into the concept of perseverance (abiding under pressure.) This week, everything converges into one theme: wisdom.
We will look at wisdom through James 1–5 and lay it over Matthew 7. You will see that James is not inventing a new idea. He is, in many ways, tracing Jesus’ teaching.
Since our church exists to be rooted in presence, to raise disciples, and to release the Kingdom, wisdom matters. Ambassadors can’t lead with their opinions. They need Heaven’s perspective, Heaven’s timing, and Heaven’s way.
Why James, and why now?
James is one of the earliest New Testament writings. James, the half-brother of Jesus, did not believe during Jesus’ earthly ministry, but after the resurrection, he became a pillar in the Jerusalem church. He wrote to Jewish believers scattered by persecution. They were learning to live out their faith in trial, opposition, and cultural tension. James calls them to maturity and to authentic faith that produces fruit.
Here’s the challenge: Read the book of James this week. It is short and clear. It reads like a discipleship field manual for people under pressure.
Let’s look at our key texts, starting with Matthew 7
At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus paints three pictures with his words.
You will know them by their fruits. Fruit reveals the root. It does not matter what something looks like on the outside. What is inside will eventually show.
I never knew you. Activity without intimacy is empty.
The wise and foolish builders. Both hear. Only one obeys and stands.
Keep those in mind as we walk through James. We will see the same truths.
James 1. Wisdom forged under pressure
Parallel: Matthew 7:24–27
James opens by reframing trials. “Count it all joy,” he says, because testing produces hypomonē. To abide under pressure. That is perseverance. Wisdom begins here, not in comfort but in remaining when everything in you wants to react or to run.
Then James tells us to ask. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives liberally.” Wisdom in Scripture is not earned by performance. It is received through intimacy. God invites you to ask again and again. He forms wisdom in you layer by layer.
Finally, James insists that we must be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. That lands on Jesus’ parable. Two builders hear the same words and face the same storm. Only one house stands. Rock is obedience born from revelation. Sand is knowledge without obedience. The storm exposes foundations.
What we learn from this is that wisdom is obedience that endures the storm.
James 2. Faith that acts
Parallel: Matthew 7:21–23
Chapter 1 taught how to pursue wisdom. Chapter 2 shows how to demonstrate it. Wisdom shows no partiality. Wisdom fulfills the royal law of love. And wisdom unites belief and behavior. “Faith without works is dead.”
This is not a call to striving. It is a diagnostic. If there is no fruit, the root is not drawing from the Vine. In like manner, Jesus warns in Matthew 7 that some will say “Lord, Lord,” point to mighty acts, and still hear, “I never knew you.” The issue is not activity. The issue is intimacy. The Greek word for “knew” speaks of relational knowing.
Here’s is the tension in understanding faith and works. You can do the works and miss Him. But if you truly abide in Him, you cannot help but bear good works.
What we learn from this is that wisdom is integrated faith; hearing and doing that flow from relationship.
James 3. Wisdom in speech and spirit
Parallel: Matthew 7:15–20
In this next chapter, James turns to the tongue. He teaches us how our words steer our lives and the mouth reveals the heart. In like manner, Jesus said a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. In other words, our speech is the fruit that shows our source.
James then contrasts two wisdoms. Earthly wisdom breeds envy, selfish ambition, and confusion. Heavenly wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and full of good fruit. “By their fruits you will know them,” Jesus said. James agrees.
What we learn from this is that:
Wisdom is recognized by fruit, not by force.
Wisdom does not strive to be seen. It bears fruit that cannot be hidden.
James 4. Wisdom through humility and surrender
Parallel: Matthew 7:21–23
Where do quarrels and wars come from? James says they spring from disordered desires. It is a divided loyalty between the world’s validation and God’s friendship. Jesus called it hypocrisy. James calls it spiritual adultery.
The remedy is simple and costly.
• Submit to God. Be under His mission. Yield your will, plans, and pace.
• Resist the devil. Stand in your submitted authority. Resistance has power because submission is real.
• Draw near to God. Pursue His presence. Intimacy protects you from performance.
James also warns against presumption. “If the Lord wills” is not a slogan. It is a posture. The wise plan with God, not apart from Him.
What we learn from this is that wisdom is the quiet strength of surrender.
James 5. Wisdom that waits well
Parallel: Matthew 7:24–27
James closes with a picture of a wise community. Be patient like a farmer who knows fruit takes time. Let your yes be yes. Turn pain into prayer. Call for elders. Confess sins. Expect healing. Restore the wandering. This is what a church built on the Rock looks like. It does not only survives storms, it restores others after the storm.
What we learn from this is that
Abiding wisdom is steady, humble, prayerful, and fruitful.
Wisdom is proven in what still stands after the storm passes.
What Wisdom Is:
Scripture gives language that is both ancient and alive.
In Hebrew, ḥokmāh means skill, mastery, the Spirit-given art of living.
In Greek, sophia means divine perspective, the capacity to see and act according to God’s order.
A working definition for us to understand wisdom:
Wisdom is the Spirit-empowered ability to perceive, align with, and apply the mind and order of God in any situation.
Wisdom begins with holy reverence. It grows through relationship. It governs authority so that dominion does not become control. It flows naturally from abiding. When you remain in the Vine, Heaven’s pattern flows through your decisions, your words, and your timing.
How to respond today
James gives us a simple road.
Submit to God. Lay down control. Bring your business, ministry, and family beneath His mission.
Resist the devil. Stand in truth. Submission establishes authority, and the enemy must flee.
Draw near to God. Return to intimacy in Word, worship, and prayer. Fruitfulness begins in fellowship.
Now pray the promise James gives. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.”
Lord, give us wisdom liberally. Bring our marriages, finances, and mindsets into Your order. Teach us to remain. Make us ambassadors who do not speak from opinion but from Your heart.
Read James this week in one sitting. Watch how it lines up with Matthew 7. Let the Spirit show you any places built on sand, then move those places onto the Rock through hearing and doing. Abide, and you will bear fruit that endures.