The following is from the blog series: Pursue Godliness. Part of pursuing Godliness is making sure we are writing God’s wisdom on our heart and and not the worlds. As we journey through scripture, we find that Godly wisdom will influence us to godliness and corrupted wisdom leads us to doing evil. This table is found in the printable journal, Pursuing Godliness and made available here for us to compare the differences between the two and help those working through scripture to fill in the blanks.
| Heavenly Wisdom | Corrupted Wisdom |
| Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and descended from David, according to my gospel, 2 Timothy 2:8 Teaches Christs death and resurrection | 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them. 18 They have departed from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are ruining the faith of some. 2 Timothy 2:17-18 Speaks with profane idle babbling that is like a cancer that destroys. |
| But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. James 3:17 Pure, gentle, peaceful, full of mercy, good fruit, shows no partiality, without hypocrisy. | 14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. James 3:14 Bitter, envious, boastful, deceitful |
| 7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:7-8 Submits to God, draws near to God, Repentance | 29 They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Romans 1:29-31 Unrighteous, evil, greedy, full of wickedness. Envious, murderers, quarrel, full of deceit and deceiving others, motivated by malice. Gossipers, slanderers, haters of God, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors and encouragers of evil acts, disobedient to authority, have no sense, not trustworthy, incapable of loving others, unmerciful. |
| The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, 2 Timothy 2:24 Does not quarrel, shows gentleness, able to teach, and shows patience | 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people. 2 Timothy 3:2-5 Selfish, greedy, boastful and full of pride, demeans others, disobedient to authority, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, has no interest in reconciling damaged relationships, unforgiving, slanderer and gossip, has no self-control, brutal, hates those who do good, traitor, headstrong, lovers of pleasure rather than God. |
| 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:25-26 Corrects humbly | 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth. They are men who are corrupt in mind and worthless in regard to the faith. 2 Timothy 3:7-8 Corrupt, have knowledge but do not understand truth. |
| 10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, 11 along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. 2 Timothy 3:10-11 Follows sound doctrine, honors godly examples with purpose; lives with faith, love, longsuffering, perseverance, persecution, and affliction | 13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:13 Imposters and Deceivers who are deceived |
| 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Galatians 5:22-23 Produces the fruit of the Spirit and it is revealed in their lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and maintains self-control. All evident in everything they do. | Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God Galatians 5:19-21 Produces fruit of the flesh that is revealed in their living: sexual immorality, morally corrupt, lustful desires, idolatry, sorcery and rebellion, hostility and quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissention and division, envious, drunkenness |
| 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Allow themselves to be equipped for good works through the knowledge of scripture and not their own understanding. | (2 Peter 2) Works in secret to bring in heresies, blasphemes the Truth, exploits others with deception, walks according to their fleshly desires, hates authority, presumptuous, self-willed, speaks evil of others, preys on and entices others into sinning, lewd, slaves to corruption. |
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