How to Access Wisdom: You Can Actually Apply What You Learn!

I love the book of James. Because I value practical application, it has become one of my favorite New Testament letters. It speaks my language.

Control your tongue. Pursue peace. Show mercy.

These are actions — not just theory. And while the lofty ideas of theology can make for great preaching on Sunday morning, it is practical application that I need on a Tuesday afternoon.

Many believers struggle to turn biblical principles into everyday practice. James, however, writes close to the ground. He moves naturally and quickly into practical application.

So I want to pause for a moment and offer an insight into the frame of mind from which James writes. Understanding his perspective not only helps us read his letter more clearly but also helps us recognize what practical obedience looks like.

James understands something about wisdom that many believers overlook: before we can live it, we must first learn to see it. And once we see it, we start to realize that living such a life may actually be possible.

So let me draw your attention to a concept in James 3—wisdom that comes from above.

For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:15–18, NLT)

Two Kinds of Wisdom

James clearly sees a difference between the two kinds of wisdom. Apparently, there were ways of thinking in his day that people were calling “wisdom,” yet they were shaped by a deeply troubling source. James describes this false wisdom as earthly, unspiritual, and — most unsettling of all — demonic.

Rather than offering a philosophical definition, James teaches us to recognize this counterfeit wisdom by its fruit. It is jealous. It is driven by selfish ambition. It produces disorder and “evil of every kind.”

But there is another wisdom — a wisdom that comes from an entirely different source. James calls it “God’s kind of wisdom,” wisdom from above.

This wisdom is also identified less by definition and more by the life it produces. It loves peace. It is gentle. It yields to others. It overflows with mercy and produces good deeds. It refuses favoritism and carries the quiet authenticity of a transformed heart.

When you listen carefully to the way James describes this wisdom, something begins to sound familiar.

Peace-loving. Gentle. Willing to yield. Full of mercy. Marked by sincerity.

James is not guessing at what wisdom looks like — he is recognizing it.

But how?

How James Recognized True Wisdom

James had learned to trace wisdom back to its source. Earlier in his letter, he reminds us that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). For a Jewish believer, language like this naturally calls to mind the Law of Moses — God’s revealed wisdom given to guide His people.

Yet James had come to see something even more profound.

He understood the Law of Moses through Jesus's teaching.

Listen to his words:

“If you really fulfill the royal law… ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.” (James 2:8)

James knew that the way to live out the Law was to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. He knew this because Jesus had said:

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind… A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
(Matthew 22:37–40)

And Jesus did more than explain this way of life — He demonstrated it.

Love was not merely His teaching; it was His pattern of living.

So James recognized the wisdom that comes from above because he had observed it in the life and teaching of Jesus. After all, almost any theory becomes easier to understand once someone demonstrates it in real time.

Because Jesus lived it, James could recognize what faithful obedience looks like.

And here is where this becomes deeply encouraging for us.

You Have Access to the Same Wisdom!

James does not present this wisdom as something reserved for a spiritual few. Near the beginning of his letter, he offers a promise that feels almost too generous to overlook:

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
(James 1:5)

We are not meant to admire the wisdom revealed in Christ from a distance. And it was never intended to be displayed only by Jesus Himself. Rather, wisdom is given so that it may shape the lives of ordinary believers like you and me.

It is important to notice what James does not say. He does not tell us that simply having a relationship with Jesus automatically grants us wisdom. Instead, he invites us to ask for it — confident that God supplies it generously.

Which means the wisdom from above that James describes is not unreachable.

It is resourced.

So how do you and I turn biblical teaching into everyday action on a Tuesday afternoon?

How You Can Walk in Wisdom from Above

We ask for wisdom — specifically, wisdom for how to live out the truths we are learning.

When I was a young man, a popular motto was “What would Jesus do?” That is not a bad question. But James points us toward something even better.

We do not merely ask ourselves what Jesus would do.

We ask Jesus Himself. When we ask for wisdom, we are literally asking Christ to come and live out the principles we hear about on Sunday in our everyday lives. We read Scripture. We listen to teaching. And then we ask Jesus, “What would you do to put this into practice?” That’s what asking for wisdom looks like.

James tells us of the promise that God generously grants this prayer. God will allow wisdom to become visible to you.

And once it is visible, it becomes livable.

So what does this mean for you and me?

It means we are not left guessing about what faithful obedience looks like. Wisdom has already been made visible in the life of Jesus. And that same wisdom is given generously to you.

Wisdom has become visible. And visible wisdom becomes livable.