What Is Wisdom?

What is wisdom? And how do we get it? Biblical wisdom is not simply knowledge or the accumulation of facts (2 Timothy 3:7; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Colossians 2:8). Nor is it simply a matter of God putting knowledge into your head. (God can do that, but that is not what wisdom is.) In the classic illustration of wisdom, Solomon was confronted with two women claiming the same child (1 Kings 3:16-28). God did not simply drop into Solomon’s mind which was the right woman. Rather, Solomon used his knowledge of human nature to determine which was the mother. Wisdom, therefore, does not primarily consist in the obtaining of new knowledge but in the ability to use the knowledge we have.  Therefore, when we pray for wisdom (James 1:5), we are not asking God to zap us with truth, but for God to give us the ability to properly use the knowledge we have.

Where, then, do we get wisdom? The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God  (Proverbs 1:7; Romans 1:22,23; Colossians 2:2,3). It also is found in God’s Word (Psalms 19:7; 119:97-100, 1:1,2). But there can be a problem here. It is possible to simply acquire information on spiritual things without obtaining real wisdom. Now I do not believe you can know God without knowing about Him (Jeremiah 9:23,24; 1 John 4:1-6; Isaiah 43:10). But knowing God and having the wisdom that comes from that involves more than just knowing information (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 1 John 4:7,8; John 13:17). So how do we go from merely possessing information to real wisdom?

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. This means that we need to understand God’s greatness and His holiness. Now it does say in Scripture that perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). But the problem is, we want to shortcut the process. We need to walk in the steps of Isaiah who saw a vision of the glory of God and realized he was a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:1-8). Then God forgave Isaiah’s sin and called Isaiah to be His prophet. We need to start by recognizing that we are sinners (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9) and that God is holy (Romans 1:18; Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:17). But Christ paid the price (1 Peter 1:18,19; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:13,14) so that those who put their faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9) can come with confidence into the presence of God (Romans 8:31-39; 1 John 4:17; Hebrews 4:16). However, if we try to bypass this and approach God without a realization of His holiness and our unworthiness, we can fail to develop a real understanding of who God is. For paradoxically, the way to wisdom is humility (Matthew 18:1-6; Luke 18:9-17; Proverbs 16:18). For it is only as we realize how little we really know (1 Corinthians 3:18; 8:1-3; Proverbs 26:12), that we become open to learning what God wants to teach us.

God in the Trenches

Some people see God as someone who is off at a distance beholding our life. He sits up in His ivory tower and occasionally looks down over the balcony and shakes His head over the way we behave or clucks His tongue over the trouble we are in. He sends down instructions on how we should be living our lives if we would only listen. If He is sufficiently moved by the trouble we are in, He might send us some kind of help, but there is no guarantee. He deplores the fact of how we live and what it does to us. But He cannot possibly understand what we are going through, having never experienced it Himself. This is not the God of Christianity.   

Christianity says that God became a human being to pay the price for our sins (John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 2:9-18). He knows what it is like to lose a father, to be rejected by His brothers, betrayed by a friend, despised by those in power, and condemned as a criminal. He knows poverty, temptation, sorrow, and pain. He experienced all the same kinds of things we experience except sin. And He did it to rescue us from the consequences of our wrongdoing (1 Peter 2:24,25; Colossians 2:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:21). What does this mean? It means we have a God who understands our sufferings. Who has been there. Who knows what it’s like. We have a God who loved us enough to go through that for us. He is not someone standing at a distance shouting out instructions. He was willing to go down with us into the muck and the mire to pull us out. For the truth is, we need more than just a good example, we need more than an instruction book; we need to be rescued. We are helpless and cannot save ourselves (John 15:5; Romans 7:18; 8:8).

This does not answer the philosophical problem of evil, but it puts it in perspective. It does not explain God’s hiddenness at a particular time in our life, but it puts it in the context of the bigger picture. We may feel like Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers. Or we may feel like David, on the run from King Saul, though anointed king. We may not have all the answers as to what God is doing. But we know that He is in control of the world (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11; Isaiah 43:13) and we need to trust Him (Proverbs 3:5,6; Psalms 127:1,2; Isaiah 31:1). However, it does make a difference to know that God knows what it is like to go through such things, because He went through them Himself. We do not serve a God who sits in an ivory tower, but One who went down into the trenches for our sakes.

A Touch of Humor - The Play Is the Thing

How can Christians avoid pretending to be something they are not and still uphold their standards? How, given this, should they view themselves and others?

Old Erich Proverb - Worship

Man was made to worship something, even if it is only himself.

A Voice from the Past - Spurgeon

Dogs, and even swine, are more likely to eturn home than wandering sheep. But now, beloved, though we have wandered, we have returned and still do return to our Shepherd. Like Noah's dove, we have found no rest anywhere outside the ark; and therefore we return to Him, and He graciously pulls us in to Himself. If we wander at any time, we bless God that there is something sacred within us that will not let us rest, and that there is a far more powerful Something above us that draws us back.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-1892, Joy in Christ's Presence, The Sin Bearer, (Whittaker House, 1997, p. 199)

How does God act to pull us back to Himself? What are the implications of this for our life?

Cause of Division

What is the cause of divisions in the Christian church? One of the fundamental causes is trust in human wisdom and human personalities. We see the two of these together at work in the church of Corinth. The Corinthians were emphasizing various personalities they were following (1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:21-23; 4:1-6). They were also emphasizing human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:1-5; 3:18-20). The way Paul interweaves them indicates that they are related. The exalting of human wisdom generally results in the exalting of the individuals who come up with that wisdom. And the glorifying of individuals generally goes with ascribing to them a special wisdom denied others. Nor are we much different in the church today. We have certain leaders who we put on pedestals, even to the point of dividing over them. We also have arguable opinions we consider crucial, which we affirm dogmatically and separate over. This is true, whether we are looking at the old denominational divisions or the more modern movements . How do we avoid this pitfall?  

We must remember that the important thing is the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Romans 1:16,17; Galatians 1:8,9). The important thing is not my cleverness or my leader’s knowledge, but Christ’s cross. He is the one who has conquered death and sin (Colossians 2:13-15; 1 Peter 2:24-25; Romans 8:31-39). He is the way to God (1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:12; John 14:6). And He offers this, not based on our knowledge or what human leader we follow, but by grace (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Titus 3:5,6). Now Scripture does say we are to respond to this by a life of obedience (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Corinthians 3:18). But it is one thing to advocate a life of obedience and another to believe we, or our group, have a special handle on what it means to follow God.

Also, we need humility (1 Corinthians 1:26-31; 8:1-3; Proverbs 16:18). Now there are basic truths of the Christian faith that we are called to stand for and even to die for (Jude 3; 1 John 4:1-6; 2 Corinthians 11:2-4). But could it be that some of the things we fight over are more a matter of judgment than of clearly required convictions? The proper attitude is to put others before ourselves (Philippians 2:1-11; Romans 12:16; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Now I am not saying we should put aside our fundamental beliefs. There is a point where you are not doing someone any kind of favor by confirming them in their error rather than confronting them in love (2 Timothy 2:23-26; Ephesians 4:15; Galatians 6:1). But could it be that we have blown many of these issues out of proportion and are in danger, like the Corinthians, of dividing over things that are not worth it?