God gives wisdom. At this point James moves from moral integrity to wisdom (sophia), whose only source is God. While human beings are, at least in part, responsible for their moral development, wisdom comes only from God. In the New Testament generally, wisdom is allied to understanding God’s purposes and plan and indicates a determination to live accordingly. We need wisdom to know how to cope with trials, for wisdom provides a clear view of our situation from God’s perspective. With wisdom we perceive that what the world calls misfortune, whatever its source, is an opportunity for God to bring about his purpose. Wisdom as the gift of God logically leads to our asking for it. Here again we see verbal links to Jesus: “Ask and it will be given to you” (Matt. 7:7; Luke 11:9); “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father” (John 14:13).

Some commentators point out that in Luke 11:11–13 Jesus promises to give the Spirit, while in James the gift that comes from God is wisdom. There is no essential conflict here, for Judaism had developed a rich theology of wisdom, often seeing it as personified: Lady Wisdom, who seeks to reveal herself to humanity (e.g., Prov. 1:20–21). The granting of wisdom from God, who alone is truly wise, is a complicated notion. The Jews understood wisdom not only as the mind and purposes of God, but also as the content of revealed truth. In John the Holy Spirit performs both functions. Jesus promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come, saying, “[He] will be in you” (John 14:17) and “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (14:26). For this reason it is better to speak of James’s “wisdom pneumatology” rather than his “wisdom Christology.”

James goes on to say that God gives generously without hesitation (v. 5). He contrasts God’s single-hearted devotion and purpose to the varied and complex nature of the fraudulent schemes created by the evil one. God also gives “without finding fault” (me oneidizontos). The root word means “to utter insult” and carries an active tone. As in Jewish literature, one who gives without reproach knows that kindness and generosity are to be granted to the poor (see Sir. 18:15–18). Taken altogether, James conveys the notion that God’s spontaneous generosity is unwavering, regardless of our previous record (see Luke 6:35).