To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. – Romans 16:27
With God are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding. – Job 12:13O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures. – Psalm 104:2421 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. … 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. … 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; … 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption – 1 Corinthians 1:21,24,27,30
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! – Romans 11:33
so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 3:10
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. – Romans 8:28-29
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. – James 1:5
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple; – Psalm 19:7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever! – Psalm 11:10Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. – James 3:13-18
Jehovah is the only wise God. While he makes this exclusive claim to wisdom among the gods, the beauty is that he has promised to share his wisdom with we simple ones.
Wisdom in creation
Even an atheist scientist has to acknowledge that what we refer to as creation manifests tremendous wisdom in its complexity and beauty. All of creation would not exist if the relationship between planets and stars were just a little different than they are (gravitational pull would either cause them to crash into one another, or they would just fling off into space and all of “creation” would fly apart and not exist). And, we would not exist if the size of earth were just a little larger or just a little smaller.
To think that the size of the earth must be almost exactly what it is or we wouldn’t exist is sobering and, frankly, not so easy to believe. But it’s a fact that we need a planet small enough to allow poisonous gasses of molecular weights sixteen and seventeen to evaporate, and large enough so that water vapor, with its molecular weight of eighteen, will not evaporate.
– Eric Metaxas, Miracles p.39
In wisdom, you made them all.
Wisdom in redemption
Wisdom means that God always chooses the right goals and always chooses the right way to accomplish the right goals. That is a very human way of trying to explain the wisdom of God.
Redemption applies to all of God’s creation, not just to humans. God will ultimately produce a new heaven and a new earth as part of his eternal plan of redemption.
Probably the greatest expression of God’s wisdom in the plan of salvation is the fact that it is all of grace. Every religion other than Christianity is a religion of working our way to God’s favor. The fact that salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone is sheer genius. (Now isn’t that magnanimous of me to acknowledge God as a genius?) With God’s gracious plan, salvation is not limited to the intelligent, the powerful, the wealthy or any other class of human. God’s salvation is not earned or bought; it is only received as a gift from a gracious God.
Wisdom in our lives
Of course, our lives are impacted by God’s plan of salvation. The trajectory is clear according to Paul, “those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” It is because of this that he also tells us that all things work together for the good of conforming us to the image of his Son. What wisdom that he can guide all things toward this one glorious end.
Wisdom in sharing wisdom with us
Finally, God is a gracious God who is willing to share his wisdom with us. James tells us all we need to do is ask, and he will not withhold it from us.
I am sure most of you reading this are pretty much like me, and you also know that you desperately need wisdom to navigate this life successfully.
Some might think that godly wisdom might breed arrogance, but that is the opposite of what godly wisdom does for a person. Scripture is clear that the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord. That is not consistent with arrogance. One of my favorite passages of Scripture is James 3,
“the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! – Romans 11:33
