The Way to Wisdom

The Way to Wisdom

It is impossible to obtain wisdom unless you are poor in spirit. You must recognize your need for it. He who is poor in spirit sees his shortcomings and mistakes and allows himself to be chastened. He is searching for something he does not yet possess. He is dissatisfied with himself. He has a compelling need for true fulfillment, for truth—for God Himself. Such a man is poor in spirit, and the kingdom of heaven is his. He seeks God and God seeks him. When we are with people, we should seek out those who are poor in spirit, for they are rare pearls.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom . . . .” Prov. 9:10. The evidence that we fear the Lord is that we have an awareness of His presence. The Lord draws near to us through His rod of correction, because His purity cannot be united with all our impurities. Thus He approaches us through chastening. A person who is poor in spirit allows himself to be chastened. He gladly receives something that he is convinced is better than what he already has. He receives instruction and becomes wise. Prov. 8:33. The knowledge of God uses the rod of correction to gain access into the person’s innermost being, and if it is accepted, it becomes a part of him. He becomes wise. You can study your way to knowledge, but you have to be chastened to receive wisdom. You can be a knowledgeable man and yet not be a wise man. These words apply particularly to the knowledgeable man: “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” Ungodly people can have plenty of worldly knowledge. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting . . . .” Rom. 1:28. Knowledge dwells in the head, but wisdom in the heart. A scholar can have both knowledge and wisdom, provided he allows wisdom to have its rightful place before knowledge. Then he will be able to perceive God in his knowledge—and that is wisdom.

Wisdom is not something that can be grasped in an instant. First, God sends His knowledge. If we are faithful to that, we become wise. Knowledge is the radiance that shines from the light, but it is not the light itself. Wisdom is the light. What things were gain to Paul, he counted as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:7. Knowledge used in the pursuit of gain is not the knowledge of Christ, and yet all the world’s learning is based upon acquiring knowledge for that purpose. You must lay all this aside if you want to possess the knowledge of God. The kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of this world. We need knowledge that is not of this world if we are to be useful in the world to come. This is why it is written, “A man of understanding keeps wisdom before his eyes.” Prov. 17:24 (Norw.). He does this because he knows that wisdom will bear the crown and scepter for all eternity. But the same verse tells us that the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. In other words, if he is in America, his mind and thoughts are in Norway, and if he is in Norway, his mind and thoughts are somewhere else. So he isn’t actually where his body is, since his eyes are on the ends of the earth. This makes him uncomfortable—he has no peace. You can only obtain true peace and rest when your mind and thoughts are content with where you are, and with your circumstances, knowing and believing that this is exactly the way that God has planned it for you. God’s knowledge will come with chastening until you find perfect rest in wisdom—the rest into which we who have believed do enter. Heb. 4:3.

Through the knowledge of God, the way to wisdom is revealed to all those who faithfully remain in poverty of spirit. When a person starts to think that he knows something, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. Wisdom will never allow itself to be exploited. It cannot be used as a decorative jewel that wins prestige for its owner. Wisdom gives honor, but it is a divine honor. The spirit of wisdom can only dwell in pure hearts; therefore, everyone who wants wisdom must purify himself. If you transgress these laws, wisdom will withdraw and abandon you to your own fall. If you want to obtain wisdom, you must obey God’s laws. If you want to keep wisdom, you must live in God’s laws. A person who has obtained God’s wisdom is well acquainted with this school of chastening. If you speak to him about wisdom, you will receive a wise answer.

You can also use religious knowledge for personal gain. This, too, must be counted as loss, because it is far from being God’s knowledge. It cannot possibly lead to God’s wisdom. You can study to be a priest, but you cannot become a priest for God unless you are transferred into His marvelous light. This marvelous light invalidates all the human light you can receive at Bible school. All those who live and progress in this marvelous light are priests, even if they have never attended Bible school. If you want to find men who have God’s wisdom, search for them in His marvelous light. His light brings all other light to naught. If this light brings all other light to naught, it is not surprising that those who have sacrificed many years and lots of money for their own light become the worst opposers of those who are priests in God’s marvelous light. This is how you can recognize them. When you read about Jesus, His apostles after Him and the prophets before Him, you see that they experienced exactly the same thing. Those who thought they knew something became offended. They were filled with envy toward this divine and marvelous light.

That is why it is written, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Everything depends on the life you live and not your studies, because the life is the light of men.