Knowing God: God's Wisdom and Ours

Knowing God Chapter 10, pg. 113

Where can we find wisdom? What steps must a person take to lay hold of this gift? There are 2 prerequisites according to Scripture.

First, we must learn to reverence God. 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'(Ps 111:10; Prov.9:10; cf Job 28:28; Prov. 1:7; 15:33). Not till we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty ('the great and awesome God', Neh 1:5; cf 4:14; 9:32; Deut 7:21; 10:17; Ps99:3; Jer 20:11), acknowledging out own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours.

It is to be feared that many Christians spend all their lives in too unhumbled and conceited a frame of mind ever to gain wisdom from God at all. Not for nothing does Scripture say, 'with the lowly is wisdom' (Prov. 11:2 KJV).

Then,second, we must learn to receive God's word. Wisdom is divinely wrought in those, and those only , 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 119:98f).

So Paul admonishes the Colossians: 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.. with all wisdom' (Col 3:16). How are we of the 20th Century to do this? By soaking ourselves in the Scriptures, which, as Paul told Timothy( and he had in mind the OT alone!), are able to make you wise for salvation' through faith in Christ, and to make us 'thoroughly equipped for every good work' (2 Tim 3:15-17).