"Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?" Isaiah 40:13, 14
Perhaps it seems pious to say that God is wise (and it is). In saying so, however, we must not confusingly assume that God is wise in some quantitative sense, as though He is wise but could be wiser. God is not wise in a quantitative sense; He is wise in an absolute sense. Wisdom is not some standard that God meets better than we do; He is the standard. We must not forget that "is" is a statement of being, not action. Every time we say God "is" something, we are not talking about His activity, but rather His very nature. It is pious to say God is wise; it is wise to say that He is wisdom.
I dare say that in day-to-day life we are quite sure that we are the children of a wise Father, but we hardly consider that we are the children of Wisdom Himself (or Love, Holiness, or whatever else we rather absentmindedly say God "is"). There is no wisdom (or love, holiness, truth, patience, joy, etc.) without God "in the mix." To get this things is to get Him, because He is them. You cannot know these things without knowing Him; there is no such thing.
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally..." (James 1:5a) God gives you wisdom by giving you more of Himself in regards to intimate knowledge. I say "in regards to intimate knowledge," because I do not want you thinking that you get a little bit of God now and more later on. At salvation, all that God is, you are; His Spirit dwells completely within you. However, that Spirit is not some lifeless energy; it is person you get to know, and just because you have all of Him does not mean that you know all of Him. In addition, you cannot obtain what He is (wisdom, love, holiness, etc.) without Him.
To know Him more is to become wise (and lovely, holy, etc.). That is a central teaching of the New Testament: through obedience lies wisdom, through faith lies understanding (Hebrews 11:3). We want it the other way around: "If I could only understand, I would believe." The reverse is the beginning of the Christian intellectual life: "When I believe, I understand." To understand is to know Him, and you cannot even begin to know Him without faith in Him. God is our wisdom, the same wisdom by which all things were made; only through Him can be understand all things, and only through faith in Christ can we begin to know Him.
There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is an awareness of the truth; wisdom is a conformation to the truth. God is the wisdom that conforms us to Reality. He shapes us to understand what is really going on, to begin to see things like He does. Consequently, we are ruined for this world, because we no longer see as they see, we are no longer blind to the world behind the world. We want nothing to do anymore with the world's trappings and noise; we only want more of Him. They call it foolishness; God calls it wisdom. and He will use this "foolishness" to confound the world into some sort of vigorous reaction. By giving us Himself, He conforms us to Himself, and the world can never again satisfy. We sense no other purpose, no other industry or charity or ministry, that to be living sacraments, channels of His presence to the world, with all His wisdom, terror, love, and beauty.
"We chase after the winds,
We chase our own tales.
If we would just chase You,
We would inherit all things..."
-Jon Vowell
Perhaps it seems pious to say that God is wise (and it is). In saying so, however, we must not confusingly assume that God is wise in some quantitative sense, as though He is wise but could be wiser. God is not wise in a quantitative sense; He is wise in an absolute sense. Wisdom is not some standard that God meets better than we do; He is the standard. We must not forget that "is" is a statement of being, not action. Every time we say God "is" something, we are not talking about His activity, but rather His very nature. It is pious to say God is wise; it is wise to say that He is wisdom.
I dare say that in day-to-day life we are quite sure that we are the children of a wise Father, but we hardly consider that we are the children of Wisdom Himself (or Love, Holiness, or whatever else we rather absentmindedly say God "is"). There is no wisdom (or love, holiness, truth, patience, joy, etc.) without God "in the mix." To get this things is to get Him, because He is them. You cannot know these things without knowing Him; there is no such thing.
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally..." (James 1:5a) God gives you wisdom by giving you more of Himself in regards to intimate knowledge. I say "in regards to intimate knowledge," because I do not want you thinking that you get a little bit of God now and more later on. At salvation, all that God is, you are; His Spirit dwells completely within you. However, that Spirit is not some lifeless energy; it is person you get to know, and just because you have all of Him does not mean that you know all of Him. In addition, you cannot obtain what He is (wisdom, love, holiness, etc.) without Him.
To know Him more is to become wise (and lovely, holy, etc.). That is a central teaching of the New Testament: through obedience lies wisdom, through faith lies understanding (Hebrews 11:3). We want it the other way around: "If I could only understand, I would believe." The reverse is the beginning of the Christian intellectual life: "When I believe, I understand." To understand is to know Him, and you cannot even begin to know Him without faith in Him. God is our wisdom, the same wisdom by which all things were made; only through Him can be understand all things, and only through faith in Christ can we begin to know Him.
There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is an awareness of the truth; wisdom is a conformation to the truth. God is the wisdom that conforms us to Reality. He shapes us to understand what is really going on, to begin to see things like He does. Consequently, we are ruined for this world, because we no longer see as they see, we are no longer blind to the world behind the world. We want nothing to do anymore with the world's trappings and noise; we only want more of Him. They call it foolishness; God calls it wisdom. and He will use this "foolishness" to confound the world into some sort of vigorous reaction. By giving us Himself, He conforms us to Himself, and the world can never again satisfy. We sense no other purpose, no other industry or charity or ministry, that to be living sacraments, channels of His presence to the world, with all His wisdom, terror, love, and beauty.
"We chase after the winds,
We chase our own tales.
If we would just chase You,
We would inherit all things..."
-Jon Vowell
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