Scripture:
James 1 v 5: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask
of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be
given him."
James 3 v 14-15: "But if you have bitter envying and
strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom
descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish."
James 3 v 17: "But the wisdom that is from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and
good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."
1 Corinthians 2 v 5: "That your faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
1 Corinthians 12 v 8: "For to one is given by the
Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same
Spirit."
There are many other scripture verses concerning wisdom
but this selection covers the topic well. To sum up there are really 3 kinds of
wisdom - God's wisdom; Man's wisdom and Devilish wisdom. There is also a gift of the Holy Spirit
called 'the word of wisdom'.
We all need Godly wisdom because we tend to let ourselves
and others down when we rely on our own understanding of things. Words like 'I
forgot'; 'I never saw the danger'; 'This will never happen to me!'; 'What small
print?' are a few examples of man's wisdom coming unstuck.
God gave great wisdom to Solomon and when he was
following God he wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes which blesses us to this day.
He, however, also followed man's wisdom and married many wives of different
cultures and faiths. They turned him away from the truth and caused problems
for Israel for generations.
True Godly wisdom is pure, peaceful, gentle and merciful,
compassionate and kind. It is a description of Jesus' personality. He only
showed anger against the so called wise Pharisees who were oppressing and
defrauding the poor.
Devilish wisdom is at the root of corruption of the human
personality. It causes sin to flourish unchecked. It brings evil imaginations
to fuel lusts and twists God's Word out of shape.
It dresses up philosophy into an attractive alternative
to the truth; it parades false teachings such as evolution to deny God's
creation. The Devil wants us to reject truth as he is the father of lies. Those who follow the doctrines of men in the
Church will be at the forefront of those gnashing their teeth on the Day of
Judgment.
The Holy Spirit has a gift called "the word of
wisdom". It is one of 9 gifts that believers receive. People confuse it
and call it the gift of wisdom but it is really just one word given for a particular
situation, not a lifetime of wisdom!
This gift is very valuable and often comes unasked for
when you are preaching, or ministering to someone deeply troubled. While
preaching the Lord sees the need of the congregation for something powerful to
happen to unite them.
The preacher may sense there is resentment in this
congregation and bring a word that causes them to forgive one another
spontaneously.
The meeting could end with many old wounds being healed
by the love of Jesus being able to flow.
The preacher receives the word of wisdom in his spirit
and his preaching flows along a dry stream bed that suddenly fills with Living
Water of Jesus. It refreshes and restores and accomplishes what it was sent to
do.
Isaiah 55 v 11: "So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I
sent it."
Everything God has said in His Word plus the words of
wisdom, words of knowledge and true prophecies will never be unfulfilled. He
never speaks idle words. Everything He purposes shall come to pass in His exact
timing.
So seek wisdom and understanding of a Godly sort. God
longs for us to prosper in His wisdom and ways. He never withholds it if we ask
for it. Our God can be depended upon to accomplish much in and through us as we
yield ourselves to Him.