What Is Wisdom?

Wisdom is about making good choices. The Bible reveals two kinds of wisdom, human wisdom and God’s wisdom. Human wisdom makes good choices from the human perspective, such as planning for possible future events based on mankind’s ability to organize and provide. God’s wisdom is beyond man’s comprehension, if we had to understand the power of God. But that wisdom is revealed in Jesus Christ in a way that we can understand. Thus God’s wisdom, which was once a mystery, has been made known to us in Jesus.

God’s wisdom is based in His power to provide what is needed. Therefore using God’s wisdom depends on our trusting the provision of God. What is considered the smallest value of God’s wisdom is far greater than the mightiest accomplishment of man’s wisdom.

The apostle Paul explained this mystery that is revealed in Jesus Christ, the wisdom of God compared with the wisdom of man: “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’- but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (1 Cor 2:6-10,NIV)

Paul explained the contrast with human expectations by showing how the wisdom of God is revealed in the gospel: “But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” (1 Cor 1:22-25,NIV)

The movie, The Passion of The Christ, gives a powerful look at what Paul is proposing. The wisdom of man can find nothing but horror in the terrible beating and torment of Jesus, but the wisdom of God suggests that a loving creator God is willing to go to unbelievable extremes of agony in order to purchase the release of people made in His image, who have become enslaved to sin. In the wisdom of God, virtue and value are revealed in sacrifice. Love is demonstrated by being willing to die for those who are the object of love. The value of a thing is revealed by the price that is willingly paid for its purchase. God demonstrated the value that He sees in us by the suffering of Jesus.

By the wisdom of man, people would have to earn value by their own accomplishments. But in the wisdom of God, value is based on potential, what we can be by the power of God. What is the value of being a child of God? We cannot understand it, be we see it in the suffering of Jesus.

The wisdom of God is revealed in what He gave. We are wise to accept His gift. As Paul wrote about his human accomplishments, “I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil 3:8-11, NIV)

Trusting Christ as savior is a demonstration of Godly wisdom. Be wise. Trust the power of God that is in Jesus the Christ.