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Who is wise and understanding among you?
James 3:13
Who Is Wise Among You?
When James invites people who are (supposedly) wise and understanding to step forward and identify themselves, he is returning more explicitly to the topic of "teachers" addressed in 3:1. Especially for those who think they are wise enough to teach others, James wants his readers to know what true wisdom means. What he gives is more a description than a definition of wisdom. In fact, he has been describing it all along, with his talk of believing God, relying on God's goodness, doing what God's word says and living the righteous life that God desires. Now he will label this as wisdom and describe it further as a humble submissiveness to God which results in a life of goodness, purity and peace toward other people. To explain this, James analyzes three aspects of wisdom.The Nature of Wisdom
In regard to the nature of wisdom, first the impact of the question in 3:13 must be faced: Who is wise and understanding among you? For those who do not care about true wisdom but only want the status of being thought wise, the question is a challenge; James's answer will expose them for what they are. For those who honestly aspire to being wise, the question is an invitation; James's answer will divulge the way to attain their aspirations. James is saying, "I am about to tell you the nature of true wisdom; treasure this." Let all readers, then, first examine their own hearts before reading beyond the question posed in 3:13. Do you really want to be wise?
Then we must submit to James's answer about the requirement of true wisdom. Consistent with his previous instructions, James again requires actions that authenticate words. Who claims to be wise? Let him show it by his good life. Today the phrase good life has taken a connotation of a prosperous, pleasurable life. James, of course, is talking about quite another matter: moral goodness. His phrase is kales anastrophes, "good conduct" or "good behavior." He elaborates: Let him show it . . . by deeds. James is thinking with the same verb deiknymi and noun ergon as in 2:18; his point must be very close to that earlier verse. Genuine wisdom, like faith, is a practical matter; it shows up in how one lives. Literally James says, "Let him show by good behavior his deeds in the humility of wisdom." Wisdom, then, is not something I will merely possess in my head; if I am wise at all, it is something I will demonstrate in my conduct.
Finally, the personality of wisdom should be taken to heart: the wise deeds will be done in humility. Humility is the character trait underlying the Christian behavior described in the entire letter; this is the trait to cultivate if one would take James's teaching deeply into one's life. James would have approved of what Calvin wrote quoting Augustine, "When a certain rhetorician was asked what was the chief rule in eloquence, he replied, Delivery'; what was the second rule,Delivery'; what was the third rule, Delivery'; so if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, first, second, third, and always I would answer,Humility' " (Institutes 2. 2. 11).
Therefore James's notion of humility is worth exploring. His term praytes is variously translated as "meekness" (KJV) and "gentleness" (NASB), but the NIV's "humility" is much to be preferred. "Meekness" today connotes a touch of weakness and passivity, which are not at all true in James's requirement of active obedience. "Gentleness" is appropriate in reference to our relationships with each other (and should be brought out in an exposition of 3:17-18); but James has a larger concept in mind as humility.
https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Jas/Who-Is-Wise-You