Wisdom From Above

Faith in God includes faith in His wisdom. One of the great but simple differences between mortal men and God is wisdom. We are foolish and He is wise. Unbelievers think that they know better than God. They don*t want a God who is wiser than they are. A notable difference between unbelievers and believers is that unbelievers can only trust their own wisdom. God makes His wisdom available to believers. Part of the growth of believers is learning and relearning that God is wiser. They learn to trust His wisdom. They usually learn it little by little.

1 Corinthians 1:25: Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The Bible speaks much about the wisdom and foolishness of man and about the wisdom of God. This is the only mention of foolishness about God and it really isn*t foolishness. The passage does not mean that God is foolish or weak. It means that there is a tremendous gap between our wisdom and His wisdom. It means that there is a tremendous gap between our strength and His strength. Men only THINK that God is foolish and weak and they are wrong. They get it backwards.

There is a direct connection between our foolishness and our sin. Foolishness is sin and sin is foolishness.

Psalms 69:5: O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.

When men trust in themselves, they trust in their own wisdom or the wisdom of other men instead of the Wisdom of God and they are cursed.

Jeremiah 17:5: Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

The wisdom of God is a mystery to men and hidden from them until He reveals it to them.

1 Corinthians 2:7: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1 Corinthians 2:13: Which things also we speak, not in the words which man*s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

When men or women receive Jesus they have access to God*s wisdom that they didn*t have before and it will show in their attitude and actions.

1 Corinthians 1:30: But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

James 3:13-15, 17: Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. . . . 17: But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Wisdom loves. Foolishness hates.

Luke 18:9: And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Foolishness has a high opinion of self. Wisdom is humble.

Luke 18:11-14: The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Romans 12:3: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 30:12: There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

Proverbs 21:2: Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Proverbs 16:2: All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

Though we should not have faith in ourselves, we should know about the changes that God makes in us when we receive Jesus and become born again. We should have confidence that He can and does work in us and through us. We should have confidence that He makes us wiser and stronger.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

If you have received Jesus He has done His work in you, and now He wants to do His work THROUGH you.

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