The Wisdom of God
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The Wisdom of God
Well. Good morning, Church. It's, great to see everybody gathered all together. It's always exciting during the summer when we get together in one service. And since nobody has stolemy line. And I was very, very appreciative of Adam and Chris reserving this for me, I just want to be the first to welcome everybody to our stupendous Single Service Summer series. I like saying that every year. Once a year I get to say that with great conviction. Well, we've been examining the attributes of God. It's our great God. And I hope you've been blessed by the messages thus far. And it's my joy this week to preach on the wisdom of God. Um, let me pray, and then we'll kind of get into it. So, Father, we are...I'm overwhelmed. And I pray by the end of this sermon, we're all overwhelmed with your greatness, who you truly are, Father, that you are perfect wisdom. And so I pray, Lord, as this sermon is preached that you would give wisdom and discernment to everyone that hears, Lord. That you would, through your spirit, instruct us through your word. And Lord, that we be blessed to know you more. In Christ's name, Amen.
So I got the little sheet that you get when you come in. There's four points on there. And my mother in law, had hers and she said, four points. How long are you going to preach? And I said, well, I got three sub points under each of the four points. I said, I'm preaching to either my new knee that was replaced two months ago gives out, or you walk out...either with your way. That's how long I'm going to preach this morning. But go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans 16:27, Romans 16:27. That's Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Acts and the epistle to the Romans. So get to Romans 16. Last chapter in the book, last verse in that chapter. And I will be using a number of various texts this morning, simply because I believe the Word of God does a lot better job explaining our topic than I can. And so, as a help of the majority of the scriptures that I'll be using and referencing today will be up on the overheads and the screens as I preach through them. Now, as you know, if you've ever heard me preacher teach, I'm a guy that has to and likes to look up definitions for my own clarity sake. I need to really understand what the word means, and I'm not implying that I'm not smart enough to know it before I look it up, but I have to look it up. SoI use my fancy Logos Bible software to get an exact definition of what an attribute is. And an attribute is a grammatical term for a descriptive word or phrase that modifies a noun. Well I gotta be honest with you, that didn't help me a whole lot. Uh, my third grade teacher daughter may understand that, but I did not understand that. So I got out my old Webster's dictionary. The old trusty Webster's, you know, was red, got that texture to it, and it says this. An attribute is a quality, character or characteristic ascribed to someone or something. You get that? A quality, or a characteristic ascribed to someone or something. So as an example in my life, my wife is lovely. Therefore, an attribute of my wife to me is her loveliness. Okay, so that's an attribute. So as we continue our series on the attributes of God, I believe it is helpful also to establish a little clarity by mentioning that there are two basic categories that are typically placed and mentioned about God when it comes to attributes...from a systematic perspective. Now, there have been different names over the centuries from different theologians, but the two categories that are most likely and most typically used are the category of communicable attributes and incommunicable attributes. I looked those up too. It comes out of the Latin word communist and it means shared. So therefore a communicable attribute is an attribute that belongs to God, but that he shares with his people, with mankind. And an incommunicable attribute, therefore, is a quality of God that he has only within himself. It cannot be shared outside of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Triune God. Everybody get that...communicable, shared...incommunicable cannot be shared. And the sermons thus far in our series have provided perfect examples of each of these two categories. Two weeks ago, Adam preached on God's eternality and he spoke about the IS of God's aseity...that God has no beginning and no end, and God is the only necessary being, and as such is independent and self-existent. Meaning that the Triune God, the God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit needs nothing or no one outside of their self. This is an incommunicable attribute because we, as Adam taught us, are contingent beings. We're dependent beings. Therefore, most certainly we are not eternal. We have a beginning and we are not self-existent. We literally every person sitting here relies on God for your very next breath. We need to understand that. And then last week, Chris preached about God's attribute of mercy. And he brought in Luke 6:36 where it says, be merciful, just as your father is merciful. So see, we as created beings are commanded to show mercy and be merciful, because God has communed mercy to us. That's why we have the capability to show mercy. So it's a communicable attribute of God. Everybody tracking with me. We got our buckets. I like buckets.
So keep these two categories in mind throughout the rest of our series. And in particular this morning as we look at Romans 16:27 where we get our title for the sermon, The Wisdom of God, and which is also our first point. And really, it is the primary point of this entire message. And that is, God is wisdom. So here in 16:27, Paul is closing out his letter to the church in Rome, and he finishes with this proclamation. To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be the glory forever. Amen. The NASB, the LSB, the ESV all translated that way. The King James says to God only wise. And I personally prefer the new King James here for clarity. It says to God alone, wise...to God alone, wise. See, Paul's making the point that we have to get right out of the gate this morning, and that is this.
That it is God that is only wise. Or my new favorite omni that I learn in a resource the elders did a couple of years ago. God is omni sapient. I had never heard that term. Omni means all or of all things. Sapient is wise wisdom. God is omni-sapient, all wise. And as we'll study this morning, the implications of this truth are astounding. So as we dig into our first point, I want to address something that I believe is an issue for most of us when we think about God. At least it is for me, and especially when we think about those communicable attributes. I believe there's a tendency for us to reduce the truth of exactly who God is. It's because we think of him about in ways that diminish his absolute transcendence of who he truly is. Now, I don't think we do this maliciously. Um, I think we do it mistakenly, due to our puny little minds and our inability to really comprehend our transcendent God. I believe we tend to place the Triune God of all on some continuum of a created order. You know, like we go from a small creature, like a mouse, and then we work it up to a bigger creature, like a dog. And then maybe you get to a bigger creature like a monkey until you get to a human, and then we get to God. Does that make sense? It's like we put him on this continuum, and it's because our finite minds are trying to comprehend an infinite God, a transcendent triune God. And in my opinion, this puny mind thinking continues, I believe, as we think about the attributes of God. We make the mistake of thinking in this manner. God has goodness. God has love. God has justice. God has mercy. God has grace. God has power. God has knowledge. God has wisdom, etc.. Instead, the truth is God is goodness. God is love. God is justice. God is mercy. God is grace. I'm from the South. Another way of saying it is God cannot not be good. God cannot not be loving. God cannot not be merciful. He cannot not be just. He cannot not be gracious. God is omnipresent...that he is always present everywhere at every time with the fullness of who he is. God is omnipotent. That means he's all powerful. He is able to do anything consistent with his desires as God. God is omniscient. He has all knowledge. That is, he has complete knowledge of all things at all times. And as Adam taught us, another omni you may have never heard of...God is omni-temporal. Now this is mind blowing to think of these all of time is present to him at all times simultaneously. And our topic today God is omni-sapient. God is all wise. That is, he always understands what is best. And you need to get this. It's not that just God has wisdom. God is wisdom. And praise be to God, as we'll see before this message is done. He demonstrates that wisdom and he cannot be unwise. So the first question to me is what is wisdom? I mean, I was just thinking about that. I was preparing for the message you're going to preach on wisdom. You better know what it is. And as I thought about the topic, and I had discussion with people that I felt like a lot more intelligent than me, I found that in my own mind and even those minds of others, there seems to be a conflation or a confusion of knowledge and wisdom...that knowledge and wisdom kind of get lumped together. And so, although they're closely aligned, there is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Now, when discussing this with my baby brother this past week, not my little brother, my little brother's Matthew, my baby brother's Mark. Now my baby brother is 48 years old, married man with a bunch of kids, but he's still my baby brother. And then being a baby brother, he had the answer...because baby brothers know. He said, absolutely, there's a difference. And he gave me the following example to use and I will use it now with his permission. It is knowledge to know a tomato is a fruit. It is wisdom to know a tomato does not go in a fruit salad. Now though, that is somewhat that is a very somewhat helpful explanation in probably most situations we will encounter. I think we need a tad more depth to our definition this morning when we think about the wisdom of God and the fact that God is all wise. As one theologian succinctly put it, knowledge is the apprehension of a thing, and wisdom is the appointing and ordering of things. I mean, knowledge is knowing, but wisdom is applying the knowledge. Or, as Heath Lambert was so helpful when he writes in that same resource where I learned what omni sapient was. Heath wrote, Omni sapient...all wise, builds on divine omniscience, all knowing. In fact, we would say quite strongly that omniscience would come very near to being worthless if God did not understand what is best. And Scripture proclaims it best in Romans 11, verses 33 through 36, where Paul writes, oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, who became his counselor, or who is first given to him, that it might be paid back to him again? For from him and through him, and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. In Daniel 2:20 Daniel writes, let the name of God be blessed forever. For wisdom and power belong to him. Job in chapter 12:13 and verse 16 say, with him are wisdom and might. To him belong counsel and understanding. With him are strength and sound wisdom. The misled and the misleader belong to him. Y'all get that everything belongs to him. And as I studied and read about the attribute of wisdom over the last several weeks, so many times it truly caused my mind just to be blown, um, completely overwhelmed. I mean, where things were spinning and tears were flowing and prayers of assent were the only response to really meditate on the omnis of God and beg the Holy Spirit to, as much as possible, give understanding of who God is in relation to us as a created being is an overwhelming thing, and my hope and prayer is that everyone will leave here and do that very thing. Just think about the fact that God is wisdom. He does not need anything or anyone to weigh his options as we do. He doesn't need to go outside of himself for counsel. He doesn't need to search for wisdom. He doesn't need to understand. We need to get wisdom. He is wisdom. He is only wise. He's solely and fully possesses all wisdom. Or as 1 Timothy 1:17 exclaims, now under the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen. Tozer, in his book Knowledge of the Holy. We did this as a life group a few years ago, and it was such a blessing to me that somebody in the group said, hey, let's just do this resource. And man, it was impactful. He writes this and this is very helpful. The idea of God as infinitely wise is at the root of all truth. It is the datum. The word datum means basis. I told y'all I gotta look stuff up. It is the datum, the basis of belief necessary to the soundness of all other beliefs about God. Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It sees the end from the beginning, so there could be no need to guess or conjecture. Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all, and is thus able to work forward predestined goals with flawless precision. See, God's decisions about what he does are always wise decisions. That is, they always will bring about the best results from God's ultimate perspective, and they will bring about those results through the best possible means. And I believe it's fair to say that in the midst of life's trials, because life is hard. But for those of us in Christ, it is a truth that gives us hope because he is a good and wise and loving Father. Isaiah 40:14 says, with whom did he consult, and who gave him understanding, and who taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and informed him in the way of understanding. And as I already pointed out, the answer is no one. No one has given him understanding. And lastly, on this point, because God is all wise and because he knows the best means to get to the best ends for his glory. And since the Psalmist says in 21:30, there is no wisdom nor understanding apart from the Lord or against the Lord. We can rest assured in Psalm 33:11 that states, the counsel of the Lord stands forever. God is immutable, therefore his counsel is immutable, meaning he does not change, nor does his counsel change. It stands forever. And it is within the counsel of his own will that the first recorded display of God's wisdom is given to us in Genesis 1:1. It's his creation. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God's wisdom first was displayed to us in creation. Proverbs 3:19 says, the Lord by wisdom founded the earth. By understanding he established the heavens. Jeremiah 10:12, it is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom and by his understanding, he has stretched out the heavens. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, Psalm 24:1 says. Think about the wisdom of God as displayed in creation. I mean, creation is truly incredible. Stephen Charnock, who lived back in the 1600s, wrote this, and I love it. If God had made all the stars suns. Think about that. It would have been a demonstration of his power, but perhaps less of his wisdom. As God is wisdom, he is the only fount of true wisdom. All created beings, as angels and mankind, have what wisdom we have from him. And there's a natural order to creation that gives glory to God in His wisdom as it's displayed. This is the reason why Satan, who is the father of lies, John 8:44 and his world system are in a full out war to lie about creation. They want to lie about created order. They want to lie about mankind. He wants to lie about God is Creator, an attempt to steal God's glory, the glory that's due the maker, and to take as many souls to hell with him as possible. Just think of the lies and philosophies that have infiltrated not just our society and educational institutions, but even so-called churches that have been led to apostatize and deny God's wisdom as shown in creation. You've got deconstruction going on. That's the big thing nowadays. This philosophy is from the pit of hell, because the first deconstruction occurred in Genesis three, when the devil came up and talked to Adams woman, Eve, and said, indeed has God said... Let's deconstruct the truth that God gave. Let's build it back up the way we think it should be built up. What about critical theory and Marxism and racism that propagates the lie that there are many races and seeks to establish an oppressor and an oppressed and pit them against each other, when in fact there's one race, the human race with many ethnicities, but all having the same lineage. We're all sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, and because of the flood were all sons and daughters of Noah and his wife. That's why when I fill out paperwork for the doctor and they say race, I write human. Now, if you want to ask me what ethnicity I am, well, I guess I'm a Anglo-Saxon dude from Ireland and Scotland. But I'm. I'm human. That's the race I am. See, it's the diversity in our ethnicities that brings God glory for his creation. When you look around and see people that are different, that gives God glory, it's an expression of his creativity. Darwinism, the theory of evolution, big bang theory that we all came from some cosmic accident and evolved from...into a tadpole that eventually walked out of the water and evolved into a monkey that became a man. Now, this is just my mind. I'm always like, well, why ain't there no monkeys walking out the jungle now saying, hey, Bill, how you doing? Right? I mean, it's ludicrous, but it's infiltrated and is it is caused lies to be propagated against the creator and the creation. And because of the degradation of biblical moral absolutes related to creation and creation order and nature itself, coupled with the propagation of moral relativism that, you know, whatever's right to you, right to you when it's right for me is right for me. And the self-esteem movement of the 60s and 70s that have infiltrated the society and the church. We now have LGBTQIA+ religion ravaging our youth. According to Gallup's 2024 research, 23.1% of Gen Z. That's 97 to 2006 now claim to be in this category. Well, you know, it's a philosophy and a religion that's impacting because if you go to millennials, it's 14% and Gen X is at 5%. Baby boomers is 3%, and the silent generation is only 1.8%. They didn't hear those lies propagated that we hear today. We've even got something called furries. We have people walking around thinking that they're an animal. I mean, you laugh, but it's the truth. That's a lie against God's created order. These are all lies from the spirit of age against God first and foremost, and against God's order in creation. Because Genesis 1:26 and 27 says this, God said, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. The 'imago dei', God, created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him, male and female, he created them. Those things are lies against God's created order and against God's own image that he's given to us as image bearers. That's why it's a serious situation. You see the Creator God all around us in the moon and the stars and oceans and tides and times and seasons. That's why I love the beach. I have to tell you, I hate. I hate being hot. Even this morning I went over and checked the air. I'm like, man alive. It feels hot in here. It's just me. And I don't like sand being all stuck to me. That's just miserable. But you know what I love? I love the sunrise. I love looking out at the ocean. I love listening to the waves. I love watching the birds. I love looking into the heavens and being overwhelmed by the greatness of God in creation. Um, we got to go to the beach this, uh, this year, and I love getting up early. I love drinking coffee, and I love praying. Psalm 19:1 says, the heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. You see that picture? That's like at 6:10 a.m., the sun's just coming up. We see the wisdom of God, the Creator in life itself. I'm always amazed to think of the fact that a baby gets their nutrition for months and months by nursing from the mother. It's just incredible. And even in God's created order the first several days, it's colostrum, it's antibodies. It's all those things that baby needs to be healthy and this can just go on for months and months. Mama eats, baby gets to eat. Um, and what about this one? This is one of my wife's favorites...the woodpecker. According to the Audubon Society, the design of the head allows for the woodpecker to withstand up to 1500 g-force units. For perspective, a typical roller coaster causes us to experience five G force units. 99.7% of the energy from the woodpecker pecking is transferred to the body. So why doesn't he knock himself out or herself out? And the tongue goes in and it wraps around the brain. It's just incredible. And we could go on and on of the evidence of God's wisdom shown in creation. This is why Romans 1:20 so clearly states, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made, so that they...humans, are without excuse. The evidence is all around us that an all wise God is the creator God, and his creation is the first example of God's wisdom being on display. The crown jewel of God's wisdom culminates in the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ, and his redeeming work on the cross. God's mystery revealed to us the good news of salvation. See, God's wisdom culminates in the redemption. Galatians 4:4-5 tell us, but when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Ephesians 3:8-11, Paul writes to me, the very least of all saints. This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles. That's us. The unfathomable riches of Christ and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which he carried out. That's God carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, I told you scripture says it better than I can. So we're going to read the Bible. Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature. A wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory. The wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood. Christ is the power and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24 and verse 30 say, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Christ is literally the power of God and the wisdom of God. But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God. And we see plainly in Colossians 2:2-3 that the mystery of God, which the prophets of old wrote about is Christ, where Paul writes that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all wealth that comes from the assurance of understanding resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Which brings us full circle back to our focal verse. Romans 16:27. To the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to him be glory forever. Stephen Charnock again here was helpful to me when he wrote this. But we must not understand it as if God were wise by Jesus Christ. You catching that? We must not understand it if God were wise by Jesus Christ. But thanks is to be given to God through Jesus Christ, because in and by Christ, God has revealed wisdom to the world. Amen? Yes, we praise him for that. And there is nothing more any man could say about this greater than what Scripture says in Ephesians 1:3-14. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the kind intention of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his kind intention, which he purposed in him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times. That is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens, and things on the earth. In him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to his purpose, who works all things after the counsel of his will. To the end that we who were first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. In Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed. Get this. You were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory. Amen.
I hope I've established the fact that only God is only wise, and that God has displayed his wisdom in creation, with the culmination of his wisdom being revealed in redemption through the work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And for our last point, we need to examine the questions around 'communicability'. I think I made that word up. I'm going to be honest with you...'communicability'. I like it. Sounds good. You like it? Communicability. You feel free to use it. Um. That as his creatures made in his image we can receive wisdom, have wisdom, and walk in wisdom. So first let me address how do we know that wisdom is a communicable attribute? Well, I'll tell you how. This little tune says because the Bible tells me so. That's how you know. Proverbs 2:6 says, for the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and discernment. Proverbs 8:17, wisdom says, I love those who love me, and those who diligently seek me will find me. James 1:5 so clearly tells us, but if any of you lacks wisdom, if any...how many in here lack wisdom? Raise your hand...by a show of hands. Matthew, you need to get your hand up. Thank you. I work with him. I know he needs some wisdom, as do I. If any of you lacks wisdom, every hand went up. Let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. We just need to ask God, and he'll give it to us generously and without reproach. But my question for you and for me, as I was thinking, is how many of us who profess Christ as Lord are guilty of failing to petition the throne of grace with boldness, even asking for an ounce of wisdom? We go into our days as if we've got it under control, and we don't need any of God's wisdom, and we think we have all the wisdom we need, don't we? Well, how do we get wisdom? We've seen it is communicable. How do we get it?
Well, I'm here to tell you wisdom has a starting point, and it has a nice, some nice measuring sticks related to our attitude and our actions. So the starting point is this. The fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the starting point for getting wisdom. Now, what does that mean? Well, the basic root word for fear in Hebrew has three different meanings. It means to be in dread or terror. Okay. It means to stand in awe. And it means to revere and to respect. See, Proverbs 1:7 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 9:10 says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 15:33 says, the fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility. See, that's our starting point. Because when we fear the Lord, we are in a reverential awe and wonder of the Lord. It creates a healthy tension in us of both shrinking back in fear and drawing close in awe and adoration. Uh, my favorite verse to look at these meanings all together is Exodus 20:20. Now set the stage...so God has come down to the mountain. Moses has gone up to the mountain to get the Ten Commandments. That's where we're at. And the people are coming. They're down at the bottom of the mountain. The mountain is shaking. There is smoke. There are horns blowing. There is fire. There is thunder. There is. There is everything you would expect to be scared to death. And the people are like Moses. We don't. We don't want to see God or talk to God. You come tell us. And Moses comes down and says this to the people. He says, Exodus 20:20, Moses said to the people, do not be afraid, dread or terror, for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear, awe reverence and respect of him may remain with you. Why? So that you may not sin, so that you may not sin. John MacArthur is very helpful in his study Bible, where he writes this. The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one's own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds and goals are exchanged for Gods. You get that? The fear of the Lord, the fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one's own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds and goals are exchanged for Gods. When I read that, I'm saying, well, in other words, repentance. The word repentance, metanoia is a change of mind. To be in agreement with God about your sin, to forsake sin. That's what it's talking about. The fear of the Lord is required for that. So my question is, do you have...do I have a reverential respect and awe and fear of a holy, triune God? See, the fear of the Lord is how we have the attitude of humility. You need to understand humility is required to get wisdom and godly wisdom results in more humility. Because a wise man or woman walking in humility realizes the truth of Proverbs 9:10. That is the fear of the Lord. That's the beginning of understanding. Get it?...that reverential awe and respect and a healthy fear of a holy God is what causes us to die to ourselves and come to him in humility. That true wisdom, godly wisdom, is only found in God through Christ by the Holy Spirit, who is our helper, our teacher, and our counselor.
Thirdly, how do you know if you're walking in wisdom? Well, I think you can look at two areas in your life. I think you can look at your attitude, and I think you can look at your actions, your attitude and your actions. You want some little check off and you know, the Bible says, test yourself. See, we have the faith. Here we go. Proverbs 3:7 says, do not be wise in your own eyes....attitude. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil...action. Proverbs 11:2 says, when pride comes then comes dishonor. But with the humble is wisdom...attitude. Let's get practical as it relates to action. Where do we go for wisdom? The first place we go is the Bible. We have the revealed Word of God given to us. And Proverbs is full of wisdom....the entire book. It was written and given for wisdom. Proverbs 1:2-5, Solomon says, here's why it's written...to know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction and wise behavior, righteousness, justice, and equity. To give prudence to the naive. To the youth knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire sound wisdom or wise counsel. I just would submit and some of you have heard of this....decades ago heard the proverb of the day. There's 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. 31 days in a lot of the months just read whatever date it is, read that proverb. And don't worry if you miss some dates, just pick it up at the next date. They're standalone chapters and just keep doing it year after year after year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day. I promise you it will bless you. Secondly, Proverbs clearly establishes as it right there will acquire wise counsel. Proverbs clearly established that wisdom is found in a multitude of counselors. So get wise counsel from wise, godly people. Proverbs 13:6-10 says through insolence, I looked it up....that's rude and disrespectful behavior, comes nothing but strife. But wisdom is with those who receive counsel. Proverbs 18:1-2 speak to wrong attitude and actions. 18:1-2 say this,, he who separates himself seeks his own desire. He quarrels against all sound wisdom, and a fool does not delight in understanding, but in only revealing his own mind. You speak to somebody that don't want to listen what you have to say. They want to tell you what they think about everything. Proverbs 12:1 which I have to say and he's given me permission in the past. This was my baby Owen. This is like his life verse for years. Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge. But he who hates reproof is stupid. I had to take him to the scriptures to show him how he was living, why he was making these decisions, why I had to keep spanking him. The antonym to wisdom. When you look it up is stupidity or folly. So whoever loves discipline loves knowledge. But he who hates reproof is stupid. They're the opposite of wise. Proverbs 12:15 says, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. In Proverbs 18:12, before destruction, the heart of man is haughty, but humility goes before honor. Are you seeing a theme here? The attitude of humility versus an attitude of pride. It's always interesting to me to see this take place in a counseling setting. Over the years, Kelly and I have counseled people in the midst of a lot of conflict, a lot of issues. And then yet when we counsel from the Bible and wisdom is given from the Bible, they want to argue or disagree as if we're the ones sitting where they're sitting and they're sitting where we're sitting. They want to pretend they're walking in wisdom. And it's really a display of some, some attitude and action issues that I've been referring to. And it's shown so clearly in James. James 3:13-18, who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. There you've got action and you've got attitude. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exists, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure. It's peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering and without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. It's real easy in a counseling session to see where somebody stands. Is it, uh, good behavior and gentleness of wisdom or selfish ambition and bitter jealousy and all these things that it talks about, these disorders. You see, the possession of knowledge without wisdom simply leads to an arrogant and unrepentant heart. 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, knowledge makes arrogant. And here's where I like the old King Jimmy. Knowledge puffeth up. I like that word puffeth. That's exciting to me to say that. See, there's a way that seems right to a man. But therein lies death. Because those that reject Christ reject his wisdom and are fools, though they themselves don't even see it. 1 Corinthians 1:18 and then 22 through 24 and 30 and 31 say this, for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For indeed Jews ask for signs in Greek search for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks. Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So that just as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Not in yourself. Self, self, self is the fruit of pride. And self, self, self is the main fruit and root we see when we counsel.
In closing, here's some takeaways. God is wisdom and God has revealed his wisdom to all mankind in creation. Therefore, no man or woman is without excuse. And that God has revealed himself in the person and work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's nature, and who upholds all things by the word of his power, Hebrews 1:3. And because of this act of wisdom, the mystery of ages past is revealed. The veil was torn in two. And salvation is available to all who will call on the name of the Lord, and you will be saved. And lastly, God makes his wisdom available to those of us who are in Christ. So the question for all of us this morning is, what will you do with this information? Here's what I've been mulling through. What am I going to do with this information? So for your consideration, I'll leave you with this.
See, because wisdom has a call. Wisdom has a warning, and unbelief has consequences. Proverbs one...here's your call. Wisdom shouts in the street. She lifts her voice in the square at the head of the noisy streets. She cries out. At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings. How long, oh, naive ones will you love being simple minded and scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge. Turn to my reproof. There's your call. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. And I will make my words known to you. That's the call.
Now here's the warning and the consequences. And these next two sections to me are some of the scariest in Scripture. Continuing in Proverbs one, because I called and you refused. I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention, and you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof. I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes. When your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind. When distress and anguish come upon you then they will call on me, but I will not answer. Then they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel. They spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. Romans 1:18 through 32. It's a long, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them. For God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. We've talked about that. For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks. But they came became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man, and of birds, and forfeited animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their women, exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural. In the same way also, men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another. Men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error, and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper, being filled with unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful. And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death. They not only do the same, but they give hearty approval to those who practice them. We see it in our world all the time. Hearty approval to all these wicked things that we just read out where God has said. I will give them over to that. There's your call. There's your warning and there's your consequence. And what a fearful place to be.
But the good news of the gospel this morning is you don't have to be in that place. For anyone here with an unrepentant heart, whether it be the unconverted heart of an unbeliever or the hardened heart of a believer. Wisdom calls out. The Holy Spirit, calls out through the preaching of the word this morning, for you to apply wisdom, to have a reverential fear of the Lord, to humble yourself and repent so that you can have peace with God through his redemptive work. The work of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let me pray. Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truths. We thank you, Lord, for the wisdom that you give to us. And Lord, I pray that every one of us would leave here this morning in awe of the fact that you are wisdom. Lord, as much as our puny brains can't even comprehend that truth to the degree that it is true. Lord, I pray that you would give us discernment. Lord, I pray that we would leave here and know you more. Lord, I pray for every person here that does not know you. Lord, as your wisdom calls for your redemptive work on the cross, Lord Jesus, that you would save their souls for your glory. Lord, I pray for those sitting here that belong to you, Lord, that over time leaven has entered and they have hardened their heart, and they have turned, and they have quenched your spirit, Lord, so often...that this message would prick their heart and would cause them to repent, to confess, to forsake, and come back to a loving Father. All this I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
