Things That Make Christians Different From The World: Godly Wisdom
As we continue this series this morning, I want to look at something that is very important to every Christian and that thing is wisdom. We are going to look at what Christians call wisdom and what the world calls wisdom and we are going to examine the differences between the two.
As I’ve said many times before in this series of sermons that there has to be distinct differences between what we know and believe to be true and what the people of the world think that they know and believe to be true. It is no different when it comes to wisdom.
The dictionary defines wisdom like this: Accumulated philosophic or scientific learning. Having good sense. As generally accepted belief. A wise attitude, belief, or course of action. The teachings of the ancient wise men.
I believe that the biblical definition of wisdom can be found in Proverbs chapter 9 verse 10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Did you catch the main difference between these two definitions of wisdom? The dictionary definition never mentions God as the source for all wisdom worldly or Christian. The verse from Proverbs tells us exactly where ALL wisdom comes from whether one acknowledges it or not.
The reverence of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom and apart from God there is no real wisdom. And once a person acknowledges the Lord with reverence and begins to receive wisdom and in that process gains knowledge from God then one can begin to gain understanding about who God is, what He wants us to know, and how to apply the wisdom that He gives us to our lives.
Now that we have a basic understanding of the different ways that Christians define wisdom and how the world defines wisdom, I want to look at opposites for a bit.
What is the opposite of wisdom? In my mind the opposite of wisdom is foolishness. I believe that this is how the Bible describes the opposite of wisdom as well.
The people in the world who are not Christians THINK that they are smart, full of wisdom and very wise. The truth is that the enemy has been deceiving them all along. Satan lies to people and leads them to believe that wisdom comes from man and that just because they read a lot, go to school a lot, get degrees, have high I. Q.’s that they are wise and have wisdom. Now don’t get me wrong here, there is nothing wrong with education, reading, or learning about our world but the problem occurs when we as people think that we are smarter than God and that we as people are the ones who create wisdom. We are not the ones who create wisdom, God is!
People in the world tend to think that since they are considered “SMART” that they are better than other folks who hold different beliefs on wisdom and believe that wisdom comes from God and not people are not enlightened enough or are just plain stupid.
Well I guess that I’m just a dumb, simple preacher but I will trust what the Word of God tells me about wisdom and I will reject what the world tries to tell me about wisdom. I will continue to be a simple, foolish man that acknowledges that all wisdom comes from God and in so doing I will be used by God to confound the “so called” wise people of the world.
In 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verses 25-28 we read this: 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen…
Two major points here in this passage of Scripture. One is that God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the “wise”. And God has chosen the weak things (or people) of the world to shame the strong. While we look at the so called wisdom of the world as foolishness we have to understand that a lot of the world also calls what we call biblical wisdom as foolishness too. The debate is who is right and who is wrong.
The world may call us foolish for believing what the Bible says about wisdom and who it comes from so I guess that we will be some of those foolish people that God will use to shame the wise people of this world and we will be blessed to be used by Him to show the world true wisdom.
The second major point in this passage is that the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Now we all know that God is neither weak nor foolish. Paul is trying to get us to understand that no matter how smart we as the human race think that we are He is infinitely wiser. In other words, if you could add up the I.Q.’s of every person that has ever lived and is now living and will ever live, no matter how much intelligence that would be it would not even register on God’s I.Q. scale!
God IS the full embodiment of intelligence, logic, and wisdom. His wisdom has always been. God didn’t have to go to college to get smart, he didn’t have to be well read to become smart, He didn’t have to travel the world to learn from the great minds of the day, and He doesn’t get smarter with time. God has ALWAYS been smart from the very beginning. Just as He has always been so has His wisdom and logic always been.
But unfortunately many in the world think that they are indeed smarter than God or that we have, as a race of people, gotten too smart to need God anymore. They say that we have outgrown our need for a God of any kind and that the wisdom found in the Scriptures is ancient and out of date. But I would tell them that wisdom is eternal, wisdom is valuable no matter when or how God has chosen to reveal it to us.
I find it to be very sad that so many people have fallen into this trap laid by satan. Satan loves it when we think that we as people have all the answers and that there is no need for God anymore and especially no need for His wisdom.
In Psalm 14:1 we read this: 1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.
And in Romans Chapter 1 Verses 21-23 we read this:
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
God will always allow us the choice to be stupid. The real problem is when we as people never realize just how stupid we can be or can become and what our stupidity can cost us in the long run.
The reason that talking about wisdom is so important to me is that without Godly wisdom people will never be able to truly hear and understand the message of the cross. In 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18-23 we read this:
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness…
In this passage of Scripture Paul is calling out the so called wise men of his day and challenging them to debate him on the subject of the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of the world. Paul says in verse 20 that God deems the wisdom of the world nothing more than foolishness.
And since as I said earlier that many in the world call our godly wisdom nothing more than foolishness, then they cannot understand the simple yet eternally profound message of the cross which is that Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross as a permanent atonement for the sins of every person on earth who accepts this gift of amazing grace.
But satan wants the so called wise people of this world to over think this simple but important message and to dismiss this wonderful sacrifice as foolishness. And they do this to their own eternal detriment.
Well, we have talked a lot about the differences between worldly wisdom and godly, biblical wisdom but a question I get asked from time to time is how do I get more wisdom? The world will tell you to read more, get more education etc. as I have said earlier but the Bible has a simpler more effective answer to this age old question.
In the book of James chapter 1 verses 5 and 6 says this:
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
Now the way or ways that God will deliver this wisdom is up to Him but there are a few ways that I know of that He uses on a regular basis to enlighten His children. You can gain godly wisdom through your prayer time with the Lord. When God speaks to you in your prayer time and you have been asking for wisdom then He can and will speak wisdom into your life.
Another way that God imparts wisdom to His people is through the reading and deep study of His Word, the Bible. The Bible is so full of wisdom that we could spend our entire lives doing nothing else but studying it and we still only scratch the surface but don’t let that stop you from digging into God’s Word and gaining godly wisdom.
Another way that God imparts wisdom to us is through other Christians. Learn to ask questions from other believers and learn what they have learned from God.
Another way we gain godly wisdom is from the Holy Spirit. One of His roles is to be a teacher to us. He will help you to rightly divide the Word of God and help you to be able to apply it to your life.
God is infinitely wiser than all of us put together and we should all strive to gain as much wisdom from the Lord as we can possibly get. Even though the world may call us foolish for what we believe we have to stay committed to our Lord and His infinite wisdom. And let the Lord pour His wisdom into your heart and mind and then ask the Holy Spirit to help you to apply it to your lives on a daily basis. When talking about godly wisdom, it is perfectly alright to be foolish at least in the sight of the world! Amen!?
