Jesus Christ Who Became to Us…Wisdom from God
The fall of man from the Garden of Eden severely hindered his knowledge of God (Gen 3). Paradise lost was a tragic blinding of the mind of man. Satan’s campaign of misinformation about God was a success. Adam believed the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4), and it was credited to him as unrighteousness.
Following the legacy of our first parents (Adam and Eve), humanity boasts of its knowledge and advancing technology. Still, man gropes for God amidst the darkness, and all of his disciplines are in hot pursuit of deity. Sadly, the motive of fallen man, in his quest to find God, is only to usurp the power and position of the Almighty (Gen 11). God sits in the heavens and laughs (Ps 2:4).
In the special revelation of God (Jn 1:1, 14), granted to His chosen people (Titus 1:1; 1 Pet 2:9), the Israel of God (Gal 6:16), Christ’s church (Mt 16:18), there is a blessing of knowledge and wisdom from God. There is a difference between that truth, which can be known (mental assent), and a practical know-how to employ that body of knowledge (Spirit-led Christian life).
Wisdom is that practical know-how. When the builders of the tabernacle, and later the temple, were given the Spirit of God, it was the Spirit who brought wisdom to the builders (Ex 31:3; 35:31), in order to complete the task given to them, by the architect and builder of the city of God (Heb 11:10). When one finds wisdom, today, the Spirit is there (Acts 6:3; 1 Cor 12:8). This is not a wisdom sourced in the world, but it originates with God and manifests in the person, Jesus Christ (Eph 1:17; Col 1:9).
The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthian church and explained that Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24). Because He was sent from God in heaven (Jn 3:16), He became to us wisdom from God (1 Cor 1:30). Apart from Christ, what God is doing in the world is not understood. The wisdom of men is clueless about the eternal purpose of God for Christ Jesus (Eph 3:11). Humanity speculates what is happening in the world, but the wisdom of men is foolishness in God’s view (1 Cor 1:18–21; 3:19).
In Christ, the child of God is instructed from God’s revealed will, revealed in God’s Holy Word (Col 3:16). It is the Spirit of God who is the Teacher of the church (Jn 14:26). He alone can guide the elect into the knowledge of the truth that sets them free (Jn 8:32; 16:13), from bondage to false doctrine (wrong ideas about the person and works of the thrice Holy God).
As the saint grows in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, there is a practical outworking of how slaves of Christ are to serve Him (Eph 6:6; Jas 1:22–23). Believers walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:25), which is ordered to be a walk of faith (2 Cor 5:7). For without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). It is the Spirit who grants faith (Phil 1:29), for Christ is the Author, and He is perfecting the faith of each Christian (Rom 12:2), to the measure of the Lord’s own liking (Rom 12:3).
Trusting in the Lord with one’s whole heart is wise (Prv 3:5). For from God, through Him, and to Him are all things (Rom 11:36). Man makes his plan, but God directs his steps (Prv 16:9). People make decisions, but every decision is from the Lord (Prv 16:33). The Lord knows our days, even before there was yet one of them (Ps 139:16). Finally, God is willing and doing His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Do you know Him?
For one to know God, he must know Jesus Christ (Mt 11:27), and one can only know Jesus, if he has the Holy Spirit abiding in him (2 Cor 2:14; 4:16; Eph 1:17). When the Spirit brings the wisdom of God (Christ) to the ones He regenerates (Jn 3:1–8; 1 Pet 1:3), He opens the spiritual eyes of the blind that they see the things of God with increasing discernment.
Walking in the narrow way of righteousness (Mt 7:13–14), it is the saint’s desire to do the will of God (Ps 40:8). The Spirit causes God’s people to walk in His statutes (Ezek 36:27). The passion to please God is magnified the more the Christian is given eyes to see Jesus (Jn 12:21). This does not end with the mental assent of knowledge. God’s ways are higher, but it is practical, and it is always humbling (Mic 6:8).
Wise men follow in His steps (1 Pet 2:21), despite the path of inevitable suffering (2 Tim 3:12), “In the world, you will have trouble (Jn 16:33).” Gaining knowledge from the Scriptures and walking by the power of the Spirit, wisdom manifests and becomes evident, even obvious, in the maturing heir of God. He or she cannot control or manipulate the course prepared by God, but there is a real consciousness that God is working in the heart and mind of the one being sanctified (Jn 17:17; 1 Thess 4:3). The goal is Christ-likeness (Rom 8:29). The work is the Lord’s (Phil 2:13; Ps 57:2; 138:8).
Francis Schaeffer’s famous question is ever helpful in the matter of practical Christianity, “How shall we then live?” Our answer, today, is obvious…”wisely.” With the Spirit and the Word, wisdom is having its good work in the vessel of mercy prepared for glory (Rom 9:23). The Bible is the written Word of God (2 Tim 3:16), and no other book of wisdom is so profound, for the renewing of one’s mind and life transformation (Rom 12:2). When we have the mind of Christ, we have the wisdom of God in operation.
God invites His children, who feel deficient in the wisdom of God to ask of Him, who gives wisdom freely (Jas 1:5). God does not wish for His people to remain ignorant of the Holy One and His mighty works (2 Pet 3:18). His instruction is free and comes with a motive of love from a pure heart (1 Tim 1:5). He delights in His children walking in the truth (2 Jn 1:4; 3 Jn 1:3–4), and they are wise to delight in Him (Ps 37:4).
Brethren, let us get wisdom (Prv 4:7; 16:16; 23:23), for in gaining wisdom, our fear of the Lord is profoundly enhanced (Prv 1:7). There is a beginning, but practical knowledge of the Holy, applied without ceasing, will make the Christian heart glad (Prv 19:8). This is eternal wisdom from God, the person and work of Jesus Christ. He came to us, and He is an ever-present help, in times of need.
Are you in union with Him by the Spirit? Does the Holy Spirit focus your mind on God’s Word, in order to receive instruction, understanding, and guidance for applying the truth of God to your Christian life? Surely, this will be known about you, for Christ, the wisdom of God, dwells in you, if indeed, you have His Spirit.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
December 8, 2022
