Thursday, May 30, 2024

Prov. 8:22-31, God’s Communicable Attributes (3)

b)    Wisdom: perfect judgment and the right use of knowledge in a way that glorifies Him most.  Jer. 10:12; Rom. 11:33; I Cor. 1:24; Col. 2:3; James 1:5

Jeremiah 10:12 He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. The Bible is clear about this.  I would recommend Proverbs 8, Job 38-41 (God’s conversation with Job) as well as Gen. 1-2 on this.  What Proverbs says is that, when God created everything, Wisdom was there with Him.  That “Wisdom” we believe to be referring to Christ.  Science, and any observant human, sees all kinds of “laws” in “nature.”  We count on these laws.  If they were to change it would result in catastrophe.  We call it “nature” because we want to think it’s just natural.  But it is actually “creation,” something made by Someone with perfect wisdom. 

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! Here we see God’s wisdom in history.  The Bible speaks of God being very involved in the flow of life on this planet.  He actually has a plan, a goal for history  Men mostly rage against this thought.  But in the end God’s plan will be seen as perfect in accomplishing His purposes, including His purposes for Man.  The wisest humans are those who attach themselves to God’s plan.  In His wisdom we become wise.

1 Corinthians 1:24 … but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  This is speaking of the gospel, the centerpiece of God’s plan for the world.  In the Gospel, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, dies.  That seems hopeless and not very wise for Him (God) to have come to earth.  But then He is resurrected.  Those events/facts are the focus of history and Mankind.  And they prove the great wisdom of God!

Colossians 2:3 … in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  This is speaking of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As we said, He was present at creation and He is the focus and goal of history.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  Again, we are studying “communicable” attributes.  We need wisdom.  The wisest thing we can do is to seek wisdom from the all-wise God who created us and the world in which we live.   

Before we move on to God’s attributes of “sensibility” let us consider His omniscience and wisdom in contrast to the teachings of evolution.  Some Christians feel we are showing our ignorance by rejecting evolution.  They seek to join the Bible and what they believe are evolutionary facts.  There are two problems here.  First, Science does not support evolutionary.  In other words, what is seen in the world, does not suggest the “chance” development of nature.  But furthermore, any attempt to do honor to evolution is a movement toward no all-knowing and/or all-wise God.  We are left in fear of the “natural world” in which we live.  Think about it.  The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible tells us what it is like in the world of evolution: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all (Ecc. 9:11).  Ultimately, this uncertainty in evolution is because evolution has no answer to death.  But our all-wise God does!  Christ died for our sins and was raised that we might have life eternal (John 3:16)!

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