To view previous lessons click here http://michele-risingabove.blogspot.com/search/label/Study%20Getting%20To%20Know%20GodWisdom is a particular feature of God’s knowledge. Knowledge is not the same as wisdom because they do not always accompany one another. A man may have a great deal of knowledge and not a great deal of wisdom. Knowledge is something that we learn. Wisdom is something that we gain by virtue of experience; by applying the knowledge we learn. Knowledge is something we store up in our minds, in which we may acquire without any real application of it, but wisdom is very practical; it is the application of knowledge to specific situations so that a man becomes wise through the application of that knowledge.
The source of all wisdom is a personal God Who is holy, righteous, and just. His wisdom is expressed against the background of his omnipotence and omniscience.
By His Wisdom God
• numbered the clouds (Job 38:37),
• founded the earth "Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth.
• established the heavens." Pr 3:19, "O Lord, how many are Thy works! In wisdom Thou hast made them all, the earth is full of Thy possessions." (Ps 104:24),
• made the world (Jer 10:12).
Wisdom, being found in God, is regarded as a divine attribute (Job 12:13). He alone knows wisdom in its truest sense (Job 28:20, 23). The wisdom of God is not found in man’s speculation. He alone must provide this wisdom for man’s guidance so that man can live the best possible moral and ethical life (Pr 2:6; Job 11:6)."
As God is wise in Himself, so He passes on wisdom to man. The Bible has a great deal to say about the divine gift of wisdom. The first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs are a single continual refrain to seek this gift. (Pr 4:7, 13). Wisdom is personified and made to speak in her own cause: (Pr8:34, 35, 36).
Where can we find wisdom? What steps must a person take to lay hold of this gift? There are two fundamentals, according to Scripture.
1. We must learn to reverence, respect, and awe - God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 111:10; Pr 9:10; compare Job 28:28; Pr 1:7; 15:33). Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God’s holiness and sovereignty (Neh 1:5; compare Neh 4:14; 9:32; Deut 7:21; 10:17; Ps 99:3; Jer 20:11), acknowledging our own smallness, distrusting our own thoughts and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours. Many Christians spend all their lives not humbled and too conceited ever to gain wisdom from God at all (Pr 11:2 KJV).
2. We must learn to receive God’s word. Wisdom is beautifully shaped in those who apply themselves to God’s revelation. “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,” declares the psalmist; “I have more insight than all my teachers”—why?—“for I meditate on your statutes” (Ps 119:98, 99). So Paul cautions the Colossians: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . . with all wisdom” (Col 3:16). We do this by soaking ourselves in the Scriptures, which, as Paul told Timothy “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ, and to make us thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2Ti 3:15, 16, 17). It is truly a shame that many today who profess to be Christians never learn wisdom because they fail to amply apply to God’s written Word. How long is it since you read right through the Bible? Do you spend as much time with the Bible each day as you do even with the newspaper, computer, or T.V.?
The Bible teaches us:
• God is all-wise. (Job 12:13; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 11:33; Job 9:1-4; 36:5; Isaiah 31:1-2; Job 36:5; Psalms 147:5).
• God is all-wise, infinitely wise. (Job 36:5; Psalms 147:5).
• God’s wisdom is vastly superior to human wisdom: (Isaiah 55:8-9; see also Job 28:12-28; Jeremiah 51:15-17).
• God alone is wise: (Romans 16:25-27; see also 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 1:25).
• It is God who is the source of wisdom: (Proverbs 2:6;Daniel 2:20; James 1:5).
Do you sometimes wonder why God takes so long to fulfill His promises and to answer our prayers? It may be that His drama is vastly bigger than we are, and He has chosen to take thousands of years to present it all. Do you wonder why you cannot understand at present exactly what God is doing, how he is using the most extraordinary circumstances (including man’s sin and rebellion, sickness, death, sorrow) to accomplish His purposes? God leaves these matters a mystery because He is creating and sustaining the interest of His audience. He, the great author, producer, and director, is creating the suspense fitting to the magnificent conclusion of the final act. He dare not inform us, because we may not be proven faithful to the degree that we are. He also dare not inform us because this would dismiss the deep curiosity and surprise which holds all of heaven in enthralled attention (see 1 Peter 1:12; 1 Corinthians 11:10).
Do you sometimes wonder why God is putting you to the test in a seemingly private and personal way, a way that no one seems to be aware of but you? As the writer to the Hebrews says, a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) looking on with fixed attention even this moment. When we endure the tests and trials of this life, without knowing as Job did, for example, we are left with only one thing in which to trust—God Himself. When life simply does not make sense, we must look to Him who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, to Him who has a immense plan, a plan to reveal His glory and to accomplish that which is good for His children. We must trust in Him who is all-wise and who is also all powerful.
What a glorious privilege is ours to be a part of this great drama and to have a part in bringing praise and glory to our all-wise God!
What difficulties are you presently facing? Ask God for wisdom in handling them. Measure your words and actions by the sevenfold standard of divine wisdom revealed in James 3:17. (NASB) “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”
If you have doubt about whether you are operating by man’s wisdom or God’s wisdom in any one of the seven, ask other members of your family what they think, then prayerfully consider their advice.
The source of all wisdom is a personal God Who is holy, righteous, and just. His wisdom is expressed against the background of his omnipotence and omniscience.
By His Wisdom God
• numbered the clouds (Job 38:37),
• founded the earth "Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth.
• established the heavens." Pr 3:19, "O Lord, how many are Thy works! In wisdom Thou hast made them all, the earth is full of Thy possessions." (Ps 104:24),
• made the world (Jer 10:12).
Wisdom, being found in God, is regarded as a divine attribute (Job 12:13). He alone knows wisdom in its truest sense (Job 28:20, 23). The wisdom of God is not found in man’s speculation. He alone must provide this wisdom for man’s guidance so that man can live the best possible moral and ethical life (Pr 2:6; Job 11:6)."
As God is wise in Himself, so He passes on wisdom to man. The Bible has a great deal to say about the divine gift of wisdom. The first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs are a single continual refrain to seek this gift. (Pr 4:7, 13). Wisdom is personified and made to speak in her own cause: (Pr8:34, 35, 36).
Where can we find wisdom? What steps must a person take to lay hold of this gift? There are two fundamentals, according to Scripture.
1. We must learn to reverence, respect, and awe - God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 111:10; Pr 9:10; compare Job 28:28; Pr 1:7; 15:33). Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God’s holiness and sovereignty (Neh 1:5; compare Neh 4:14; 9:32; Deut 7:21; 10:17; Ps 99:3; Jer 20:11), acknowledging our own smallness, distrusting our own thoughts and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours. Many Christians spend all their lives not humbled and too conceited ever to gain wisdom from God at all (Pr 11:2 KJV).
2. We must learn to receive God’s word. Wisdom is beautifully shaped in those who apply themselves to God’s revelation. “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,” declares the psalmist; “I have more insight than all my teachers”—why?—“for I meditate on your statutes” (Ps 119:98, 99). So Paul cautions the Colossians: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly . . . with all wisdom” (Col 3:16). We do this by soaking ourselves in the Scriptures, which, as Paul told Timothy “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ, and to make us thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2Ti 3:15, 16, 17). It is truly a shame that many today who profess to be Christians never learn wisdom because they fail to amply apply to God’s written Word. How long is it since you read right through the Bible? Do you spend as much time with the Bible each day as you do even with the newspaper, computer, or T.V.?
The Bible teaches us:
• God is all-wise. (Job 12:13; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 11:33; Job 9:1-4; 36:5; Isaiah 31:1-2; Job 36:5; Psalms 147:5).
• God is all-wise, infinitely wise. (Job 36:5; Psalms 147:5).
• God’s wisdom is vastly superior to human wisdom: (Isaiah 55:8-9; see also Job 28:12-28; Jeremiah 51:15-17).
• God alone is wise: (Romans 16:25-27; see also 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 1:25).
• It is God who is the source of wisdom: (Proverbs 2:6;Daniel 2:20; James 1:5).
Do you sometimes wonder why God takes so long to fulfill His promises and to answer our prayers? It may be that His drama is vastly bigger than we are, and He has chosen to take thousands of years to present it all. Do you wonder why you cannot understand at present exactly what God is doing, how he is using the most extraordinary circumstances (including man’s sin and rebellion, sickness, death, sorrow) to accomplish His purposes? God leaves these matters a mystery because He is creating and sustaining the interest of His audience. He, the great author, producer, and director, is creating the suspense fitting to the magnificent conclusion of the final act. He dare not inform us, because we may not be proven faithful to the degree that we are. He also dare not inform us because this would dismiss the deep curiosity and surprise which holds all of heaven in enthralled attention (see 1 Peter 1:12; 1 Corinthians 11:10).
Do you sometimes wonder why God is putting you to the test in a seemingly private and personal way, a way that no one seems to be aware of but you? As the writer to the Hebrews says, a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) looking on with fixed attention even this moment. When we endure the tests and trials of this life, without knowing as Job did, for example, we are left with only one thing in which to trust—God Himself. When life simply does not make sense, we must look to Him who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, to Him who has a immense plan, a plan to reveal His glory and to accomplish that which is good for His children. We must trust in Him who is all-wise and who is also all powerful.
What a glorious privilege is ours to be a part of this great drama and to have a part in bringing praise and glory to our all-wise God!
What difficulties are you presently facing? Ask God for wisdom in handling them. Measure your words and actions by the sevenfold standard of divine wisdom revealed in James 3:17. (NASB) “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”
If you have doubt about whether you are operating by man’s wisdom or God’s wisdom in any one of the seven, ask other members of your family what they think, then prayerfully consider their advice.
5 comments:
I am blessed by all the wisdom you share my dear friend, love you.
When life simply does not make sense, we must look to Him who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, to Him who has a immense plan, a plan to reveal His glory and to accomplish that which is good for His children. We must trust in Him who is all-wise and who is also all powerful.
amen amen amen
Thank you Michele for passing on your wisdom on this subject. OK, I thought I knew so much about God's wisdom...but you have enlightened me greatly. THank you!
Love the verse James 3:17 perfect!
Great post Michele! The fear of the Lord IS the beginning of all wisdom. Amen!
If any of us lacks wisdom, we should ask. It sounds so simple.
I often think of Solomon. If I was given the chance for anything I wanted ... would I have thought of WISDOM?!?!? Probably not.
Thank you for sharing!
Beth
Amen to this wonderful post! To set the foundations of the earth by wisdom always amazes me to think on it. But the trusting part...that touched me so. I am so learning all the time that I must trust His wisdom no matter what my circumstances say! Amen! Blessingst o you!
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