Wisdom Obeys Truth

Wisdom requires knowing and respecting truth. Jesus said to his disciples, recorded in John 8:31-32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." NIV

Knowing some facts will not give us freedom. Knowing Jesus will set us free. Knowing Jesus involves coming to him in obedience to his gospel invitation, and remaining loyal to him. It is in Jesus that all the saved people of the earth reside. There are no sinners who will be saved outside of Jesus. Jesus himself spoke these words, recorded in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” NIV

Jesus had just spoken about going to be with his father, John 14:1-4, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." NIV

Thomas said that he did not know the way, so Jesus told Thomas that he, Jesus, is the only way to God. Earlier Jesus had explained to Nicodemus, recorded in John 3:2-21, “He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.’"

“In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’"

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. -------- So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’"

"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

----------“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." NIV

There is a simple way to know if you are wise. Just examine yourself, are you in Jesus Christ. In him we have the wisdom of God, as Paul explained in 1 Cor 1:30, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” NIV

How can you know if you are in Jesus? Have you been born again of the water and the spirit, trusting in Jesus for your life and salvation? All who are faithful in Jesus Christ are wise. He is for Christians the wisdom from God. By knowing him we have freedom from sin.