A distinction can be formed between the carnal wisdom of the world, and the divine wisdom of God. When the mind is set "on earthly things", the person does not "have in mind the things of God."(Philippians 3:19; Matthew 16:23) When someone sets their mind to worldly wisdom, shadows of doubt enter their thinking. James said, "he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." But the wisdom of God keeps people from becoming "double-minded" and "unstable" in all of their ways.(James 1:6,8) This is why a person "must believe and not doubt", because where there is doubt, there is a reliance on the wisdom of man - the cause of the doubt. There must be a total reliance on the wisdom of God.
James states: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." Good motives are aligned with the purpose and plan of God. "Wrong motives" are aligned with personal satisfaction, self-gratification and selfish desires.(James 4:3)
If the wisdom of God is pouring in through your eyes and ears, then demonstrations of such wisdom should come out through the mouth and the hands. James characterized divine wisdom: "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."(James 3:17)
If you are asking for wisdom from God, you are asking for true wisdom - comparatively, the "wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."(1 Corinthians 3:19) The wisdom of God lines up perfectly with the will of God. The word of God will be taught in the kingdom of heaven, but the combined wisdom of men - the tons and tons of books - will be forgotten in the kingdom of heaven.
Philippians 3:19; Matthew 16:23; James 1:5-8; James 3:17; James 4:3; 1 Corinthians 3:19
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
encouragement = edification