Acquiring Wisdom and Understanding (James 3:13)

Today’s scripture: James 3:13

I usually feel far from “wise and understanding.” As I continue growing in my faith and learn more about who God is, I realize how little I really know.

But I do realize this: True wisdom equals humility. It equals gentleness. Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.”

And how do we gain wisdom? First, we need to know and honor the one true God: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). Then we need to spend time in His word.

God gave us a written document through which He teaches, exhorts, admonishes, convicts, encourages … When I speak, I often say that He didn’t have to give us His word. He could have just let us “wing it.” However, He loves us so much, He inspired writers over centuries to put to paper what He wants us to know about the history of His people, about what lies ahead of us, and how He wants us to live. Most importantly, He gave us exactly what we need to know to find salvation and how to live in relationship with Him.

That’s how we acquire wisdom. And when we come to know Him more through His word, when we realize how much He’s done for us, we serve Him with gratitude and humility.

And the gentleness and humility others see in us may very well attract them and lead them to the Giver of wisdom.

A Daily To-Do List (Philippians 1:9-11)

Today’s scripture: Philippians 1:9-11

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians continues with some words of instruction, words that we, too, can take to heart. He calls his readers to love abundantly, learn continually, seek wisdom, choose the excellent things of God’s word, and live righteously.

My goodness. Quite a list, isn’t it? Makes me feel really inadequate.

Loving abundantly … This should be relatively “easy” for followers of Christ. After all, the second greatest commandment is that we’re to love others as ourselves.

Learning continually … I’ve written about this many, many times. We must study and meditate on God’s word. It’s the only way to gain knowledge.

Seeking wisdom … Obtaining God’s wisdom also comes from spending time in His word.

Choosing the excellent things … And what are the excellent things? We’ll delve more deeply into this idea when we get to the fourth chapter, but they’re those things that edify us and help us to be more like Christ.

Living righteously … In order to do this, we need to strive to live as Christ would. We need to follow God’s commandments, focusing on His will.

Paul’s not asking for much, is he? (You can’t hear my mild sarcasm …) The good news? We’re those works in progress we talked about yesterday. We need to ask for God’s help every day to become what He’s called us to be.

With His help, we can follow Paul’s instructions. And maybe one day, we’ll actually live them.

Be Careful How You Walk (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Today's scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16

When Paul wrote, “… the days are evil …” he could well have been written about our world today. No question.

So just as the Christians in Ephesus were cautioned, we should also take Paul’s words to heart. We too should be “careful how [we] walk.” We must be wise, not foolish.

We are to make “most of [our] time.” What might that mean? For me, that means I should be focused on things of the Lord. Always. I should be concerned with serving Him and others. I should love as Jesus loves. I should strive to use our time in kingdom-building efforts. Sharing the gospel. Encouraging others in faith. Strengthening our own faith through study of God’s word.

And finally, we’re to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” And we know God’s will through prayer, through His word, and—sometimes—through godly counsel from friends and family.

Yes, we live in evil days, yet we must not allow the evil of this world steal our focus from what’s really important: doing God’s will and keeping our eyes on the prize—eternity with our Lord and Savior.

Manifold Wisdom (Ephesians 3:8-10)

Today's scripture: Ephesians 3:8-10

Our God wants to grant us wisdom. Psalm 51:6 tells us:

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

Wisdom allows us to know more of God and His desires for us, and how do we gain wisdom? It begins with a reverent awe of our Lord God:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. (Psalm 111:10)

When you seek wisdom, God will give you understanding of Him and His will.

Wisdom is a gift, and when we read God’s word and meditate on its truths, we will know Him. As a wise man wrote:

Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:5-7)

So Much Wisdom! (2 Corinthians 10:1-6)

Today’s scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

Sometimes—actually, often—I read God’s word, and I’m almost overwhelmed by how much wisdom is contained in just a few verses. Today is no exception.

First, Paul writes about having the “meekness and gentleness of Christ” and being “bold with confidence.” While these terms seem contradictory, they are clearly Christ-like attributes. Our Savior was certainly meek—in the best sense of the word. Quite awhile ago, I went through a study on the beatitudes, and in the chapter on “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5), the author writes, “The Greek adjective translated ‘meet,’ means ‘gentle,’ ‘humble,’ ‘considerate,’ ‘courteous,’ and therefore exercising the self-control without which these qualities would be impossible” (John Stott, The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character).

Yet as meek and gentle as Christ was, He was also bold to speak truth, never shying away from telling it like it is. Does the phrase “white-washed sepulchers” ring any bells?

We too need to be gentle and meek with others, yet be confident to share God’s truth whenever and with whomever we can.

Second, Paul writes about the war we face every day. Not a war against flesh, but one against the lies of the enemy. Satan is the “father of lies” (see John 8:44). While he’s lost the war with those of us who have committed our lives to Christ, he would like nothing more than to drag us down and keep us from fulfilling God’s purpose through and in us. We need to be prepared—each and every day—as we take up our God-given armor (see Ephesians 6:10-18).

Finally, Paul writes of our taking “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ …” How often does our thought life translate into wrong actions? Seriously, that’s where sin starts, right? I think something before I do it, and so if I’m not careful about what I think, I’m going to more easily fall into sin.

We need to be diligent about this. Whenever a thought creeps in (remember that “father of lies”?), we need to take it captive, asking the Holy Spirit to completely eradicate it from our minds. We can’t let sinful thoughts take even a toehold.

Well … so much wisdom. So much to think—and pray—about.

And that’s just from six short verses!

Acquire Wisdom (Ephesians 3:8-10)

Today's scripture: Ephesians 3:8-10

Our God wants to grant us wisdom. Psalm 51:6 tells us:

Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.

Wisdom allows us to know more of God and His desires for us.

So, how do we gain wisdom? It begins with a reverent awe of our Lord God:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever. (Psalm 111:10)

When you seek wisdom, God will give you understanding of Him and His will.

Wisdom is a gift, and when we read God’s word and meditate on its truths, we will know Him. As the wisest man who ever lived wrote:

Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:5-7)

Godly Wisdom (2 Cor. 3:18-20)

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”
(2 Corinthians 3:18-20, NASB)

At my small group the other night, one of our ladies was talking about how she sometimes felt inadequate because she didn’t have a string of letters after her name. She never got a degree, so sometimes she felt … well, less than others. We all assured her that a degree doesn’t necessarily equal superior intellect or wisdom. Often, it means that someone worked really hard to get it, but he or she might not be any smarter than one without a degree.

One of the most intelligent people I know never received a degree, but he knows so much about history, science, geography … much more than I, with my two degrees, know about them.

We so often look at earthly “wisdom” as being something of great importance. And I’m not saying that education and seeking knowledge here on earth is a bad thing. But we Christians have to be careful not to rely too much on the “wisdom of this age.”

This world’s wisdom tells us that fame is important. We should strive for riches. We should live for "sex, drugs, and rock and roll."

The Bible tells us something very different. Jesus told His disciples that they—and we—should be “poor in spirit … gentle … merciful … peacemakers” (see Matthew 5:3-9). We should love others just as Jesus loved us—and He was willing to die for us (see John 15:12).

We should keep ourselves pure:

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
And who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD …
(Psalm 24:3-5a)

And “How can a young person [and may I say an old person as well?] lead a clean [pure] life? By carefully reading the map of [God's] word” (Psalm 119:9, The Message).

We should seek righteousness. As the psalmist wrote, "For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield” (5:12). A later psalm asks:

O LORD, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
(15:1-2)

We are to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).

We need to seek godly wisdom. Instead of—or in addition to—reading the latest bestseller, we should be reading His word. Before we talk to our friends, we should talk to Him.

Seek the Lord’s wisdom because that’s where we learn to be like Christ. Truly wise.

Do Not Walk as Mere Men (1 Cor. 3:1-3)

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
(1 Corinthians 3:1-3, NASB)

Just as we start life with milk as our sustenance and then grow to eating solid food, we start our spiritual lives with biblical “milk” and then grow in maturity by “eating” more solid biblical truth. At first, we need to be taught by godly men and women, but then we should get to the point where we prayerfully meditate on and study the Bible for ourselves, spending time thinking through and applying what we study.

If we never get to this place, we continue to live as spiritual infants, and that’s tragic.

Unfortunately, I think this is where so many Christ followers are in their spiritual journeys. And ever more unfortunately, this is why they so easily succumb to the lies of the enemy. Because they don’t study God’s word for themselves, prayerfully considering what God is telling them, they can’t discern what truth really is.

Believers are always at war with the flesh, but immature believers allow the flesh to win out more often than not. Paul seems to be saying that they’re content to be Christians by name, but fleshly by nature. They’re living, as one commentary put it, “like ordinary, unconverted men” (Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament).

If we’re truly followers of Christ, there should be a distinct difference in how we live in comparison to nonbelievers. We should desire to grow in faith. We should strive to live as Jesus did, demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We should be the light of Christ to a dark world (Philippians 2:15).

And if we’re not? If we’re just going through the motions? It would be better to not call ourselves Christians at all—and at least live honestly as “mere men.”

Spiritual Revelation (1 Cor. 2:10-13)

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
(1 Corinthians 2:10-13, NASB)

When I started my ministry seven years ago, I wrote the following statement of faith:

~I believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—one God in three Persons.
~I believe that God the Father created heavens and earth and all that’s in them; that God the Son—Jesus—died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin and rose three days later; and that God the Holy Spirit dwells within each one who accepts the free gift of salvation and eternal life.
~I believe that salvation comes only through the belief in and acceptance of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
~I believe the Bible is God’s word given to us through the pens of men. It is inerrant in its original text and is God’s truth.
~I believe that those who choose to follow Jesus will spend eternity with Him in heaven, and those who do not will spend eternal life separated from Him.
~I believe we are to grow in our faith through continued study and meditation on God’s word.
~I believe that God has uniquely gifted each of His children, and that we are to use those gifts to serve and glorify Him, serve each other, and ultimately grow His kingdom.

The very first statement deals with a concept called the “Trinity,” and one Person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit who indwells each of us who has accepted the gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God the Son.

It is the Holy Spirit who illuminates the Scriptures for us. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to understand biblical truth. And it is the Holy Spirit who reveals the wisdom of God, “combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

If you want to understand the Bible and its truths, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that truth to you. Ask, as Samuel did, centuries ago, “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant is listening …” (1 Samuel 3:10).