The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him....” Verses 15-17.

Just what is this spirit of wisdom and revelation that the Ephesians were lacking in spite of their faith, in spite of their love for all the saints, and in spite of their having received the Holy Spirit as a seal? When God’s love, which has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, has wrought in us enough love for God that we begin to inquire after His will and His ways, we begin to catch a glimpse of the first commandments in wisdom. For this is how we know that we love God: by keeping His commandments.

God’s Spirit brings unspeakable joy to our hearts. This joy is to be our strength to overcome difficulties. But people often make the dreadful mistake of rejoicing in joy for its own sake. It was in the Lord, the source of joy, that we were always to rejoice, not in joy it­self. True joy does not spring from itself, but from the Lord. The Spirit points to the Lord, taking what belongs to Christ and shar­ing it with us. If we do not allow the Spirit to share the knowledge and wisdom of Christ with us, sooner or later the Spirit will be quenched, for He does not speak of Himself.

For living waters to come forth from our lives, the Spirit must be allowed to share with us the knowledge of the Lord. Obedience to the faith brings the knowledge of God. The obedience of faith causes us to draw near by the blood of Christ. Obedience purifies, and it is the pure of heart who shall see God. “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” John 14:21.

This verse tells us clearly who receives revelations from the Spirit and who is loved. A grudging attitude toward the commandments of God places us at a distance, whereas a ready mind and obedience cause us to draw near. We need to be near in order to hear. How precious is the soul that hears! Such a person can nourish many, himself included. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. When he hears, the Spirit rejoices, Jesus rejoices, the Father rejoices, and the saints rejoice. He is like a table that is always richly spread, at which all the upright of heart can eat their fill of God’s goodness and truth. To him who has, more will be given, because the more souls you feed, the more nourishment you need; and God will always supply all our need according to His riches in glory.

Here we live in the perfect law of liberty beside a constantly flowing stream. Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night. (Psalm 1:2.) We cannot do this without bringing our life into accordance with it. Such people are bound to get revelations. God cannot withold from them what they seek. These beloved, blossoming trees, which always bear fruit in season, will prosper in whatever they do.

We will become aware of both justice and injustice around us as we meditate on His law. But the advantage of the former over the latter will, in the law of the Lord, be so pronounced that we will be compelled to love righteousness and hate iniquity, just as our beloved Lord Jesus Christ did and was anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions. This oil of gladness will also anoint our head as we succeed in all that we do. Love for God increases in this way, and we become more careful about keeping His commandments. Our love for the Father and the Son keeps increasing, and They come to us with new treasures, riches hidden in secret places.

If, by the Spirit, we purify ourselves in the blood, and if we inquire after wisdom and cry out after insight, we will soon eat of their fruits. “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding, for the gain from it is better than gain from silver and its profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” Proverbs 3:13-17.

Forsake the multitudes, and go to Him outside the camp! There you will hear Him who speaks from heaven.

“Put your feet into [wisdom’s] fetters and your neck into her col­lar. Put your shoulder under her and carry her, and do not fret under her bonds. Come to her with all your soul, and keep her ways with all your might. Search out and seek, and she will be­come known to you; and when you get hold of her, do not let her go. For at last you will find the rest she gives, and she will be changed into joy for you. Then her fetters will become for you a strong pro­tection, and her collar a glorious robe. Her yoke is a golden orna­ment, and her bonds are a cord of blue. You will wear her like a glorious robe, and put her on like a crown of gladness.” Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 6:24-31—Apocrypha.

Wisdom is not in fashion these days. Even among Christians it is little known. If only I could get some to reflect on it, some to love it, much would be gained. A classroom full of inattentive pupils might have a good teacher; but if they are not willing to learn any­thing, the teacher will be of no use to them. Likewise, one can have received the Spirit of God, that most excellent Teacher of righteousness, without necessarily hearing and obeying. The Spirit of the Lord will not strive with man forever, but will draw back and manifest Himself to another, who is more worthy.

“For in [wisdom] there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrat­ing through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most sub­tle.” Wisdom of Solomon 7:22-23—Apocrypha. Blessed wisdom! Christ is the wisdom of God, His creative and almighty power. The one who finds counsel in His counsel and seeks light in His light will soon rule over his enemies.

Have you turned to the Spirit with all your heart in order to search out the riches that are in Him? If not, begin now. More than you ever imagined, and more than you have understood to ask or pray for, will be given you. You will receive a good measure, pressed down and running over. What a glorious lot and portion for a son of man!

The baptism of the Spirit and one’s spiritual content are two vastly different things. The content you have in the Spirit in­creases your worth as a person, so that you can progress from being worth one to being worth more than ten thousand, just as David was among the children of Israel.

You press into the Spirit’s mind and purpose by believing and obeying. The Spirit Himself is One who digs deep, for He searches out the deep things of God. If you begin to meditate in the Holy Spirit, He will soon lead you into the mysteries of Christ and tell you things you have never heard from the pulpit. Because of the insight the Spirit gives, you will soon become a stranger and an alien to your closest friends and relatives. They will fear you and speak about you as one who disrupts the established order, even though you know full well that you only want their very best. All this takes place because you are in possession of that creative life that puts everything in its proper order. You will clash with established customs and with personalities, who are what they are more on ac­count of their giftedness than on account of that wisdom and power which demolishes strongholds and puts everything in order as it sees fit.

Great princes who ruled great kingdoms have time and again been brought to ruin because they refused to acknowledge God. People everywhere are suffering indescribably because they have trusted more in scientists than in God, who can give the poor man enough wisdom to save an entire city. Science is geared to the temporal things, and it studies matter in a human way. Wisdom, which has created what science studies, knows both the things themselves and those who study them. That’s why God in His wisdom can catch the wise men of this world in their folly.