Wisdom is important for a disciple. We must possess a wisdom of God so that we will change our character to be like His. This daily devotional reviews what wisdom is and isn’t as well as the spirit of wisdom we should have.
Devotions in the Self-Discipline Review series
All year, we’ve been looking at self-discipline. We looked at self-discipline as the operational plan for self-control because it talked about improvement.
We are reviewing everything and hopefully putting all of the building blocks together. What I am doing is going through all of the devotions for the year and pulling out the nuggets.
I am formatting this as a glossary page. If I already have one, I will combine them later.
If we obey God, what does that bring us? Obeying His laws and commandments shows us His character. That brings us wisdom in how to deal with the trials that we face – His way.
What Is Wisdom
Wisdom is an internal disposition that leads to knowledge, discernment, and good sense that is put into practice through salvation, increasing our goodness and virtue.
Knowledge is that kernel of fact that we learn. Wisdom is how that kernel of fact changes us for the better as a person (Knowledge as a Virtue).
We must learn wisdom and mature (I Cor. 2: 6) (Out with the Old; In with the New).
Wisdom comes from God, but we can ask Him for it (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
God uses the Holy Spirit to impart His wisdom to us (What is the Spirit of Wisdom?).
God teaches us His Will and wisdom through the Holy Spirit (God Teaches Us Obedience; Goodness as a Virtue; What is the Spirit of Wisdom?).
It was wisdom on the Israelites part to keep the laws and commandments (How Did Moses Say Goodbye?).
We revere God and possess knowledge and wisdom by obeying His laws and commandments (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
Reverence is the foundation of wisdom. We are not going to want to be like God until we know Him and have faith in Him (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
Wisdom can also be described as knowing the truth (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
From Scriptures is where we gain wisdom through instruction (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
Wisdom is equated more with righteousness. It is more application than just head knowledge (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
All this — wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption — is to give glory to God (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Wisdom?).
There is a difference between wisdom and prudence. Wisdom is the ability to judge the qualities. Prudence is how we discipline ourselves to use that wisdom. It is practical judgment (Spiritual Wisdom Leads Us to be Sensible People).
See Also
What Wisdom Is Not
We might be tempted to say we have wisdom when we just have understanding. Understanding is a comprehension (The Correlation between Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, and Obedience).
We shouldn’t build on a foundation of human wisdom and possessions (Expectations of a Steward).
Instead of accessing this path of wisdom – the path of righteousness – worldview people walk the path of darkness (The Way of Wisdom).
When we don’t have spiritual wisdom, we experience bitterness and grief. It is very easy to keep those emotions hidden deep inside of us (Spiritual Wisdom Leads Us to be Sensible People).
A Spirit of Wisdom
We get to where God wants us to be by using wisdom to reason out what He is wanting us to understand as we seek Him (Walking in the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
We exhibit God’s goodness when we imitate God and show His love to others. God is the author of all things good. He possesses the wisdom along with the goodness to cause this work not only to begin but also to be completed (Goodness as a Virtue).
When we focus on the Godview, we can utilize God’s wisdom rather than our own. Since He has made everything interconnected, things go more smoothly when we do things His way (Can We Change the Scriptures?).
Wisdom does produce compassion. As we learn more and more about the character of God, we feel His love and forgiveness in our lives (Wisdom Produces Compassion).
Our wisdom has to align with God’s if we are going to flourish in the world (Wisdom Produces Compassion).
It isn’t enough to just have the wisdom — head knowledge isn’t enough. We have to get it to heart level so that it fosters an obedient life (Wisdom Produces Compassion).
It is really hard to have contempt of this world. It is all we know, and we do have to live here. We think it takes a special person to love our enemies. It is hard for us to put aside the hurt and anger sometimes. Suffering persecution definitely is not our cup of tea. We want nice smooth sailing. But God is calling us to do all of that. We can only do it through learning His wisdom (How Is Wisdom Righteousness?).
Wisdom employs more than just an emotional response. It has to get to the knowledge part. The mind and the heart have to work together to get where God is wanting us to be (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
We get wisdom because we love wisdom (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
Seeking wisdom must be a priority (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
The results of wisdom are better than the riches we gain in this world. Wisdom’s harvest is better, also, because it is a harvest for God’s kingdom (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
Walking in the way of righteousness through wisdom isn’t easy. We have to have evidence that we are on the Sanctification Road. We have to show that we are changing our character to imitate God’s (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
Possessing this wisdom — God’s wisdom — changes our character to be more like His. This wisdom, coupled with understanding, increases our ability to be cautious (another virtue) (How Do Mature Disciples Control Our Dispositions?).
Paul fought a real enemy. He has to use wisdom and understanding to conquer Satan — even though he was invisible. He knew he was in this battle because he was a child of God — and Satan is an enemy of God’s — so Satan was Paul’s enemy (The Depth and Height of Christ’s Love).
A sensible person makes their choices through wisdom or prudence (Spiritual Wisdom Leads Us to be Sensible People).
The law gives us wisdom (God’s Law Creates Peace).
We have the wisdom God wants us to have so that we know Him — even the things He hasn’t revealed in the Bible (God’s Law Creates Peace).
See Also
Divine Intervention and Wisdom
Jesus is our wisdom (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Wisdom?).
We get wisdom by asking Jesus into our lives. Yes, we have to ask. God doesn’t force Himself on us (Spiritual Wisdom Leads to Righteousness).
God not only has the comprehension of understanding, but He also has the compassion. He has the wisdom to know how we need to grow to imitate Him (What Does Omniscience Mean?).
Yes, God has all this wisdom — and He shares it with us (What Does Omniscience Mean?).
God never intended — after the original sin — for His wisdom to be available to all those made in His image (What Does Omniscience Mean?).
God wants us to have courage. Wisdom in Him will give us this courage (Wisdom Produces Compassion).
We need to trust God’s wisdom and understanding, not our own (Wisdom Produces Compassion).
As we seek God, we see his wisdom and power in His rule of His creation (All the Earth Is God’s).
God values wisdom (A Steward Gone Bad).
God loves us. Because He does, He provides wisdom – when we seek Him – that leads to righteousness (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
We need to God’s wisdom to understand His power. It would be scary otherwise (Isaiah’s Message on Renewal).
See Also
Wisdom and Churchy Words
- Peace will be proportional to the application of that wisdom in implementing God’s laws and commandments in our lives (God’s Law Creates Peace).
- Righteousness is all about putting the wisdom we have learned from growing in grace and knowledge into practice to make us imitators of God (What Is the Relationship between Righteousness and Wisdom?).
- It is learning — acquiring wisdom — so that we can grow in grace and knowledge. Sanctification happens at conversion, but it is also a growing process (How Are Disciples Pure in Heart?).
- Yes, I see the way of righteousness through wisdom and the Sanctification Road as one and the same. Luckily, we don’t walk this road by ourselves. God is always with us (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
See Also
Wisdom takes us through Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 salvation. Tier 1 salvation is when we ABCD. We need wisdom to get us to that point.
But we also have Tier 2 salvation, where we have to increase our goodness and virtue. The results of wisdom are a closer relationship with God. Wisdom is to be prized above religion (Walking the Ways of Righteousness through Wisdom).
Why is this wisdom so important? It reminds us of the future that is coming – Tier 3 salvation. Jesus will return. He must find us watching for Him (A Steward Gone Bad).
The thing is – this wisdom needs to lead to something. It needs to lead to change. We need to change our character to be like God’s.
Gracious Heavenly Father. Thank You for providing wisdom for us. We need to learn of You and know You in order to submit to You. Help us to continue to grow until our character is like Yours. We wait for the time that Jesus will return again. Amen.
What do you think?
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