Part 5 | The Only True God – God is Wise

By Sonny Simak

Friday 5th February 2010

God is wise in heart. (Job 9:4)

The main aim of this study is to learn about the wisdom of God. It is one of the communicable attributes of God and to show you through this teaching how God has deliberately manifested His wisdom through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.

The bible teaches that wisdom is the property of God alone (James 3:17). It is an honour peculiar to Him. His wisdom has no boundaries. That is why God is wise alone. All actions of God are wise and He can never do wrong. There has not even been a single time when He decided to do something and it went wrong. His ways are higher and His thoughts are deep (Psalm 92:5). No one can comprehend His ways fully or understand Him because He is wise alone. His creation cannot fully understand Him because no one is as wise as Him.

As Jesus said, “No one is good but God.” (Mark 10:18). Thus I can say that no one is wise but God.

1. What is Wisdom?

God’s wisdom means that God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals. God alone is wise simply means that whatever He chooses to do and the way He does things bring all glory to His name. His decisions are always wise. (Job 9:4, 12:13).

Wisdom consists in willing and acting according to the right reasons. God operates all things in such a way so that everything brings glory to His name.  All His works and ways are graceful and are well thought. His ways are higher because His wisdom is infinite.

Wisdom Vs Knowledge

People often get confused between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom and knowledge often go hand in hand but they are obviously distinguished in two (Romans 11:33).

Knowledge is an understanding of certain rules where as wisdom is a drawing conclusion (application of knowledge in daily living). You can have the knowledge of the scripture but whether you have wisdom is another matter. God gave us the scriptures not only for study but to apply in our lives (Psalm 1:2). Knowing is never good enough on its own.

There are many out there even in churches who know just as a fact that Christ died for their sins. Does that mean they are followers of Christ? Certainly not: because they have not yet come to a place of repentance and put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ.

Stephen Charnock describes that men can have knowledge without wisdom but they can never have wisdom without knowledge. Therefore knowledge is essential in order for us to obey God’s will.

2. God is wise alone

All creatures are unclean in comparison to His holiness, they are fools in regards to His wisdom. It is the proper dialect of His ways and works, no man can lay claim to it.

A. God is wise originally. God is inifinelty wise and not only that He is wise alone. It is absolutely impossible to estimate His wisdom. Bible teaches that His attributes are infinite and our minds are finite. He alone is wise meaning that the way He governs everything is beyond imagination. Wisdom amongst men is gained by age and experience but the wisdom of God is His nature. He has wisdom not because He will be wise but because He is wise.

B. God is wise infallibly. God’s Wisdom is always reliable and never fails. Infallibility means without fail and God possesses this perfectly. The wisest of men can fall short. They make plans and fail at times. But God never fails. His words that go forth of His mouth shall not return Him void. His words cannot be defeated by any creature. The wisdom of the creature is like a drop of sea as though God’s wisdom being the sea itself.

C. God is wise perfectly. His wisdom is the divine nature not the birth of study or growth in experience. Wisdom is His essence. He is wisdom. He needs no counsel from anyone (Romans 16:24). He blesses His people with His wisdom.

D. God is wise incomprehensibly. His thoughts are deep (Psalm 92:5). Our minds cannot comprehend the idea of Him being eternal and infinite, because our minds our finite. A man can only stand in awe when study about God and who God is conducted. No matter how much we learn about God it can never be enough. He is eternally and everlastingly wise thus His attributes are infinite making Him absolutely incomprehensible.

God is referred as only wise because His creation does not share the same glory of wisdom of God. Because God is infinitely wise. We can never understand the fullness and the perfection of His wisdom, but He has amazingly and graciously given us some of His wisdom so that we can come to know Him and fellowship with Him and I praise and thank God for that.

3. Reasons why God is wise

A. There is an essential and personal wisdom of God. The essential wisdom is an essence of God. Wisdom is not a habit that is added to His essence but it is His essence. If God is eternally wise, His wisdom must be His essence for there is nothing eternal but essence of God.

B. God is perfect. God could not be infinitely perfect without infinite wisdom. No attribute of God could be so awesome and majestic without wisdom. As God is everlasting and eternal God hence He has infinite intellectual life and there an infinite wisdom.

C. His wisdom in creation (Genesis 1 and 2). He created everything. We all have a sense of awe when we look at stars, moon, sun, earth, waters, sea, animals, birds, day and night, galaxies, supernovas, black holes and so on. His creation is mind blowing. This sense of “awe” is an appreciation towards God’s wisdom since His wisdom is clearly observed in His creation (Romans 1:20).

D. God is sovereign. We see His sovereignty over all things. He is the governor of all being because He is infinitely wise. Power and wisdom are foundations of all authority and government; wisdom to know how to rule and command.  Therefore He has the highest wisdom because He is the universal governor.

Without infinite wisdom He could not govern His creation. He could not be a universal governor, without a universal wisdom. He gave us the law and without law this world would have been in chaos. He governs His creation because He has power to do so but this power comes through His wisdom (Daniel 2:20).

E. God is the fountain of all wisdom in the creatures and therefore is infinitely wise. If creatures are wise (because they are under the will of God) then how much wiser would God be who is the creator of all. God has given us so much wisdom and knowledge.

God has placed His law in our hearts and He designed us in such a way where we must have a longing to know God. Every single human being in this world must have God, but because of the curse of the sin many have made themselves idols and are slaves to sin.

4. God’s wisdom in the finished work of Jesus Christ

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

The good news is rejected by the multitudes because it appears to be foolishness to them. They say how can we live through one who died, be blessed through him who was cursed and be justified by Him who was condemned. Surely they say the manner of this preaching is foolishness and how is it that God chooses the most foolish, rejected and weak men to preach the word? Hence they find it very difficult to believe in the message of the cross. After all was Jesus not just a man? How can two natures, as distant as divine and human be united?

Many people stumble at this because they just cannot comprehend the idea of God becoming a man to save this dying world. They reason and stand against Jesus Christ not even knowing the fact that all their ability of reasoning against the things of God comes from God Himself. They profess to be wise but in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save (1 Corinthians 1:21).

It pleased God to use this foolishness of this message which is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes so that He gets the glory and not any man. He shares His glory with no one. No man can boast that He achieved salvation, not even a single man. It is only given to those who come to God with humility and contrite heart. But He rejects the proud because.

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (1 Corinthians 1:19)

All the valued learning of this world is corrupt and baffled. The wise of the world reason against the gospel of Jesus Christ because they believe in their own wisdom and for the world by their own wisdom did not know God or suppress the truth that ultimately cause them to end up in hell.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12)

God has indeed destroyed the wisdom of the wise by making the gospel the only wise way to know the truth. All other ways are false and fools walk on those ways and perish.

The gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Wise God has made the gospel of Jesus Christ the power of God to save the lost. Hence God’s perfect wisdom is manifested through the way of salvation.

God is holy. He is just. Man is a born sinner. Hence he walks under the wrath of God. A man must be punished by God because he is a law breaker. All humans have inherited the sin nature of Adam. This is true whether you like it or not and your heart, mind and works are evidence and fruit of this sin nature.

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners…( Romans 5:19)

You are born sinner and you stand condemned before God. We inherit the sin of Adam and when we sin we sin with knowledge. Conscience means “With Knowledge” which means no one can blame God for their wickedness. God has given us conscience and every time we are about to something wrong this conscience warns about deadly consequences and not to mention that sinner has ability to suppress the truth (Romans 1:18).

The Bible also says that God is love and He is willing to forgive. But If God is just He can never forgive. The dilemma that God face is this. How can He be justifier of the wicked and be just.

…so also by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)

A perfect sacrifice was needed to appease God’s wrath, but it had to be a perfect man who could stand on behalf of imperfect men. Romans 3:23 states all men have sinned against God and no one is good. Hence God could never accept sinful sacrifice and the word says that Only God is good, holy and sinless. Hence that sacrifice had to be man but at the same time that man had to be God.

God gave His only begotten Son for our sins. Jesus Christ: who bore our sins on the cross. God the Father crushed His Son and Jesus willingly drank the cup of God’s wrath which was kept for you and me. Jesus Christ became curse to redeem you from the curse of the sin and when you repent and believe in His gospel He imputes His righteousness on you which means God can legally dismiss your case on the day of judgement because of the effects of the righteousness of Christ in you.

5. Lessons to draw from God’s wisdom

A. Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding (Job 28:28).

This is a description of true relationship with God. God defines wisdom this way for us that we are ought to fear Him but not the fear which a thief has for police but a son has for his father. This fear is life giving fear. You can only begin to become wise when you get to know God and have reverence for His Holy Name. This wisdom of God brings love for God in you and you will ultimately hate evil since you love and desire the things of God.

It is written that God gives grace to the humble and in the similar way I can say that God gives wisdom to him in an absolute sense of nothingness. He gives wisdom to those who want more of God and He helps them to

B. Do not act as fools but walk in wisdom (Ephesians 5:15).

Christians! You must live your theology. We can know and talk about deep theological topics/issues but let us not forget that we are called to walk in Christ’s footsteps. We are called to imitate Jesus Christ. We are called to walk in light (righteousness, goodness and truth). If you are struggling to bear the fruit of the Spirit then humbly ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

C. He who wins souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30)

The Bible says that we must not be wise in our own opinions (Proverbs 3:7) but we must be open to correction and not acting as fools because fools who despise wisdom and understanding. Instead of winning arguments let us win our brothers and sisters for Christ.

Finally! Seek God for His wisdom. God has revealed His wisdom in His Son Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24). It is all about Jesus Christ. Praise Him, abide in Him, seek Him, desire Him, rejoice in Him, wait for Him, know Him and make Him known because in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

Amen

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