The Spirit of Wisdom

The Spirit of Wisdom

After they had come to faith, the Ephesians received the Holy Spirit of promise as a guarantee. They had such faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and such love for all the saints, that others had heard about it. Then, after they had received all this and had entered into a blessed relationship with God and men, Paul did not cease to give thanks for them, and then he began to pray for them, that they might receive the spirit of wisdom. Eph. 1:13-17. In other words, they did not have it yet, and it was very important for them to receive it.

James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting . . . .” Jas. 1:5-6.

It is particularly noteworthy that wisdom is a spirit. It is therefore not the same as knowledge. Wisdom generates and possesses knowledge, but knowledge itself is dead; it is (we can say) just letters. We can possess all knowledge and still be nothing, for we can possess all knowledge without love, without living by it, and then we are nothing, absolutely nothing. 1 Cor. 13:1-3.

However, the spirit of wisdom gives us knowledge and also encourages and strengthens us to live according to it. We cannot possess wisdom and still be nothing, for we cannot possess wisdom without loving. Wisdom compels us to love. It is utter foolishness not to love!!! The person who does not love God and man and all of God’s commandments is a fool; he does not possess God’s wisdom.

Describing a man who possesses much knowledge as very wise reveals a gross misunderstanding. If he lives according to the knowledge of God, then he is wise. Solomon received much wisdom, and through it he received an untold amount of knowledge; yet the seed is truly in danger until the harvest.

It is terrifying to read about how things went with this man who had once been so wise, this man who was so beloved! It seems totally incomprehensible. Nevertheless, it is written in black and white: “His wives turned away his heart.” Where was his wisdom then? “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods . . . .” “For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.” “But king Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh; women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. For surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love.” 1 Kings 11:1-10.

Therefore one can receive wisdom and then lose it! In other words, regardless of what we have received from God, it is of no avail unless we are faithful; but then the spirit of wisdom helps more than anything else.

Like everything else, we can pray for the spirit of wisdom and receive it by faith, as for example the gift of tongues and interpretation. When we pray for something according to God’s will, we know that He hears us, and then we can have bold confidence in Him that we have what we have prayed for. 1 John 5:14-15. Here it is vital that we fight the good fight of faith and lay hold of the spirit of wisdom by faith. We are divinely certain that this is God’s will, for it cannot possibly be God’s will that we should be fools or that we should do foolish things!

When we are going to pray for this spirit, it is good to know something about what it entails, what it is worth.

Wisdom is first of all pure. Jas. 3:17. When wisdom leads us in everything, everything becomes pure: our thoughts, our words, and our actions. It is foolish to occupy ourselves with anything that is impure. Thinking a single impure thought is foolishness; we suffer loss for time and eternity by entertaining such a thought. Wisdom is peaceable. It is foolishness to be argumentative; we hurt ourselves with it, and we hurt others with it; we lose by it. Wisdom is merciful. It is insane to be merciless, for the person who is not merciful will not receive mercy either, which would be unspeakably foolish!

Amazing wisdom! It is even without doubting. One wouldn’t think that wisdom has anything to do with faith. But when we think about it, it is easy to understand that it is foolishness not to believe in God, not to believe in Him who is truthful, not to believe in Him who is the only One who is truthful. Rom. 3:4. We ought not to believe liars, but we should not neglect to believe in Him who is the Truth.

In this manner we can continue to speak about every virtue. Or is it wisdom not to practice any particular virtue? Wisdom is truly the sum total of all the virtues. Is it wise to break any of God’s commandments? To be lukewarm? To be conceited, sulky, angry, cowardly, slothful, anxious, vain, self-loving, irreconcilable, demanding, miserly, to draw back, to be stubborn, to be modest when it is a question of pressing into God’s kingdom, to go beyond your measure or omit doing what you can, etc.??? Not at all! All of it is foolishness!

As it is written in Ecclesiastes 7:9, “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.” “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Jas. 1:20. Therefore it is foolishness to be angry. Where do you find murmuring and complaining? Almost in every single heart. It is found in the bosoms of fools! People are quick to complain about one thing or another. Where do you find arrogance and boasting? In the bosom of fools. And so we can continue to ask and answer from end to end.

The spirit of wisdom is the spirit that gives us knowledge of everything good and useful more than any other spirit, which always reminds us of it and which compels us to follow its loving advice for our own and others’ profit. In every instance, this spirit that is exalted above everything else helps us to get the best and the most out of everything in detail: out of situations and people, in days of prosperity and in days of adversity.

The spirit of wisdom intervenes in everything; it permeates everything! Night follows the light of day, but evil is powerless against wisdom! Its light is not followed by night!

May everyone press into God in prayer and fight for this indescribably glorious spirit—by faith—so that he consciously possesses it in his inner man. But first he has to do a thorough cleansing in his heart and in his life before this majestic and exalted spirit moves in.

You possess it at the very moment that you have received it by faith, and it will be with you on all your ways.

Wisdom will become personified in you if you regularly obey the spirit of wisdom.