“Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:15-17 NIV)
Wisdom!—two kinds from two places with two very different characteristics.
One kind of wisdom: of men, wisdom of the world, wisdom of this age.
Origin: earthly, of the devil.
The character: bitter envy, jealousy, unspiritual, selfish ambition, boastful, denies the truth, disorder, every evil practice, eloquence, “wise” and persuasive words.
The second kind of wisdom: God’s secret wisdom, wisdom of God.
Origin: heaven.
The character: pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, good fruit, impartial, sincere, simple, powerful, not sophisticated, expressed in preaching the cross, humility, spiritual, hidden in that it is not known by the world, communicated by the Spirit of God expressing spiritual truth using spiritual words, foolishness to those who are perishing, used to admonish and teach in order to present every man perfect in Christ, represents Jesus Christ himself.
The natural man just does not understand God’s wisdom because spiritual truth requires spiritual discernment.
For two years during the Korean War I was Communication Officer on a destroyer. There were thousands of messages transmitted and received. We always knew what frequency to be tuned to in order to receive messages, and also we knew which frequencies to transmit on. The enemy did not know this. If he found out which frequency, it still did not do him any good because all messages were encoded, each one differently, with the code changing every day.
The enemy of our souls and all those enslaved by him do not know the frequency or the code. The wisdom of God is hidden from them. I had been reading from the New Testament every day for 20 months before I became a Christian. It did not make any sense to me. Then in October 1947 I was born again by the Spirit of God. At that time the Bible became English. I could understand it.
“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.” (1 Corinthians 2:7, 8 NIV)
Just think, if the enemy could have understood that the crucifixion of Christ meant salvation for the world, he would not have done it.
You, as a Christian, know the frequency and the code. Use them! And for those who lack any needed wisdom, we know this:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:5-8 NIV)
(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.207)
Wisdom!—two kinds from two places with two very different characteristics.
One kind of wisdom: of men, wisdom of the world, wisdom of this age.
Origin: earthly, of the devil.
The character: bitter envy, jealousy, unspiritual, selfish ambition, boastful, denies the truth, disorder, every evil practice, eloquence, “wise” and persuasive words.
The second kind of wisdom: God’s secret wisdom, wisdom of God.
Origin: heaven.
The character: pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, good fruit, impartial, sincere, simple, powerful, not sophisticated, expressed in preaching the cross, humility, spiritual, hidden in that it is not known by the world, communicated by the Spirit of God expressing spiritual truth using spiritual words, foolishness to those who are perishing, used to admonish and teach in order to present every man perfect in Christ, represents Jesus Christ himself.
The natural man just does not understand God’s wisdom because spiritual truth requires spiritual discernment.
For two years during the Korean War I was Communication Officer on a destroyer. There were thousands of messages transmitted and received. We always knew what frequency to be tuned to in order to receive messages, and also we knew which frequencies to transmit on. The enemy did not know this. If he found out which frequency, it still did not do him any good because all messages were encoded, each one differently, with the code changing every day.
The enemy of our souls and all those enslaved by him do not know the frequency or the code. The wisdom of God is hidden from them. I had been reading from the New Testament every day for 20 months before I became a Christian. It did not make any sense to me. Then in October 1947 I was born again by the Spirit of God. At that time the Bible became English. I could understand it.
“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.” (1 Corinthians 2:7, 8 NIV)
Just think, if the enemy could have understood that the crucifixion of Christ meant salvation for the world, he would not have done it.
You, as a Christian, know the frequency and the code. Use them! And for those who lack any needed wisdom, we know this:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:5-8 NIV)
(An excerpt from On Being a Christian, p.207)
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