The Wisdom of God
“…to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”—Romans 16:27
Every culture in the world has individuals who have been deemed "wise.” They are usually the ancients—those whose intellectual prowess has become the bedrock of a culture, enshrined in the halls of learning and government, immortalized by statues, streets and institutions, their works codified and propagated to their youth in classrooms and literature. Wisdom is esteemed in every culture because wisdom is a deep understanding of people, things and situations, coupled with the ability to know, reason and act in ways that are true, right and beneficial in reference to people, situations and judgments.
We value those who are wise, those who have completed certain levels of education, attained levels of mastery within their specific fields, or those who by time and experience have gained insight into specific situations and have ascertained what it means to act and live properly within those situations. These are individuals who have initials behind their names and titles in front of them; they write books, teach in schools, have radio shows, talk shows, are quoted in periodicals and magazines and are generally considered the experts within society. Because of their accomplishments academically, these experts’ opinions are given a greater weight in our culture.
For example, the man who is a gravedigger who didn’t graduate from high school may give his opinion on the current political climate, but his opinion carries very little weight. However, the political scientist who went to Georgetown for a bachelor’s degree, obtained a master’s from Yale University, and received a doctorate from Harvard University has an opinion that is highly valued. Not only because he has multiple degrees, but because of the institutions he went to—Georgetown, Yale and Harvard—all of which are considered to be among the highest and most prestigious academic institutions in the United States. So because of their degrees, and pedigrees, their opinions and insights are given greater emphasis—they are considered the “wise” within our culture. They have mastered a certain academic subject, which means that they have a vast knowledge of that subject that has been garnered by surveying time and learning from the wise of previous generations. Their education is, then, the sum of those who have gone before, the culmination of what is best in their predecessors, having learned how to emulate their successes and avoid their weaknesses. In other words, they stand on the proverbial shoulders of those who have gone before them.
While it is undeniable that there is wisdom in our world, there is a wisdom that seeks to exalt itself against the wisdom of God. And since the wisdom of our world can only be based upon those who have gone before, and then only on certain subjects, we find that our wisdom is limited. But let’s take this “worldly wisdom” that has been garnered through time, and let’s take the best and brightest or the wisest of the wise and place them up against God’s wisdom.
God’s wisdom is unfathomable. Even the term “the wisdom of God” fails to convey what wisdom is because wisdom implies knowledge, understanding, discernment, reason and judgment. All of these terms are traits that can apply to man, but God transcends all of these descriptions. Does God have knowledge? Yes, perfect knowledge. There is nothing that He does not know. Does He have understanding? Yes, He created everything that is, was, and ever will be. He possesses perfect understanding and there is nothing that He does not understand.
Nevertheless, the wise of this world attempt to exalt themselves above the wisdom of God. The apostle Paul contrasted the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God,
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”—1 Corinthians 1:20-25.
Paul uses some terms in order to help us understand the wisdom of God. When he mentions “the weakness of God” he is not implying that God possesses any weakness. What he is doing is contrasting the greatest of the great, and the wisest of the wise in this world by showing that they can’t even reach the lower levels of who God is or what He has done. In other words, God has a PhD and at their best, they aren’t even in pre-school.
God alone is truly wise, and the triumph of His wisdom can be seen in giving His Son for us. He could have saved man any way He wanted, but decided to send His Son to us. The Son of God assumed flesh and became like us to identify with us, and bring us salvation. That is the true measure of God’s wisdom.
If this great, wise God is careful enough to lay the blueprints of this universe, and bring about the salvation of man, can He not be entrusted with the details of our lives? We need not despair when the so-called “wise” of this world try to contain God with their words or build arguments out of thin air in order to disprove His existence. Arguing like the world does is like Pinocchio arguing against the existence of Geppetto while Geppetto is holding the strings.
The wisdom of this world is foolishness in comparison to the wisdom of God, and for those who have trusted in God’s Son, we can rest in wisdom, knowing that everything He has purposed will come to pass. Nothing can thwart the wisdom of God. Amen.
Every culture in the world has individuals who have been deemed "wise.” They are usually the ancients—those whose intellectual prowess has become the bedrock of a culture, enshrined in the halls of learning and government, immortalized by statues, streets and institutions, their works codified and propagated to their youth in classrooms and literature. Wisdom is esteemed in every culture because wisdom is a deep understanding of people, things and situations, coupled with the ability to know, reason and act in ways that are true, right and beneficial in reference to people, situations and judgments.
We value those who are wise, those who have completed certain levels of education, attained levels of mastery within their specific fields, or those who by time and experience have gained insight into specific situations and have ascertained what it means to act and live properly within those situations. These are individuals who have initials behind their names and titles in front of them; they write books, teach in schools, have radio shows, talk shows, are quoted in periodicals and magazines and are generally considered the experts within society. Because of their accomplishments academically, these experts’ opinions are given a greater weight in our culture.
For example, the man who is a gravedigger who didn’t graduate from high school may give his opinion on the current political climate, but his opinion carries very little weight. However, the political scientist who went to Georgetown for a bachelor’s degree, obtained a master’s from Yale University, and received a doctorate from Harvard University has an opinion that is highly valued. Not only because he has multiple degrees, but because of the institutions he went to—Georgetown, Yale and Harvard—all of which are considered to be among the highest and most prestigious academic institutions in the United States. So because of their degrees, and pedigrees, their opinions and insights are given greater emphasis—they are considered the “wise” within our culture. They have mastered a certain academic subject, which means that they have a vast knowledge of that subject that has been garnered by surveying time and learning from the wise of previous generations. Their education is, then, the sum of those who have gone before, the culmination of what is best in their predecessors, having learned how to emulate their successes and avoid their weaknesses. In other words, they stand on the proverbial shoulders of those who have gone before them.
While it is undeniable that there is wisdom in our world, there is a wisdom that seeks to exalt itself against the wisdom of God. And since the wisdom of our world can only be based upon those who have gone before, and then only on certain subjects, we find that our wisdom is limited. But let’s take this “worldly wisdom” that has been garnered through time, and let’s take the best and brightest or the wisest of the wise and place them up against God’s wisdom.
God’s wisdom is unfathomable. Even the term “the wisdom of God” fails to convey what wisdom is because wisdom implies knowledge, understanding, discernment, reason and judgment. All of these terms are traits that can apply to man, but God transcends all of these descriptions. Does God have knowledge? Yes, perfect knowledge. There is nothing that He does not know. Does He have understanding? Yes, He created everything that is, was, and ever will be. He possesses perfect understanding and there is nothing that He does not understand.
Nevertheless, the wise of this world attempt to exalt themselves above the wisdom of God. The apostle Paul contrasted the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God,
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”—1 Corinthians 1:20-25.
Paul uses some terms in order to help us understand the wisdom of God. When he mentions “the weakness of God” he is not implying that God possesses any weakness. What he is doing is contrasting the greatest of the great, and the wisest of the wise in this world by showing that they can’t even reach the lower levels of who God is or what He has done. In other words, God has a PhD and at their best, they aren’t even in pre-school.
God alone is truly wise, and the triumph of His wisdom can be seen in giving His Son for us. He could have saved man any way He wanted, but decided to send His Son to us. The Son of God assumed flesh and became like us to identify with us, and bring us salvation. That is the true measure of God’s wisdom.
If this great, wise God is careful enough to lay the blueprints of this universe, and bring about the salvation of man, can He not be entrusted with the details of our lives? We need not despair when the so-called “wise” of this world try to contain God with their words or build arguments out of thin air in order to disprove His existence. Arguing like the world does is like Pinocchio arguing against the existence of Geppetto while Geppetto is holding the strings.
The wisdom of this world is foolishness in comparison to the wisdom of God, and for those who have trusted in God’s Son, we can rest in wisdom, knowing that everything He has purposed will come to pass. Nothing can thwart the wisdom of God. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment