Spiritual Wisdom

A few weeks ago i did a sermon called “The Christian Cheat Code”. In that sermon i showed why wisdom is absolutely vital to christian life and victory.

Matthew 10:16 ESV

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Today I want to press into that topic once again by looking at the connection between Wisdom - the Will of God - and Holy Living.

The Bible makes it clear that when we are wise, we will know the will and when we know the will we will walk in holiness.

pic

Colossians 1:9 ESV

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

God wants us to be filled with the knowledge of His Will.

The will of od is a problem for many christians - and i dont know why.

many christians talk and beahve like God’s will is a mystry and to know it we need some kind of revelatyory voice telling us what to do or a vision of Jesus Himself.

But this does not corelate with scripture.

God wants us to know His will.

Acts 22:14 ESV

14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;

And God wants us to understand His will.

Ephesians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Jesus said:

John 15:15 ESV

15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

The Will of God

“The Safest place to be is in the Will of God” - Corrie Ten Boom

Lets talk for a moment about the will of God. What is it and how can we know it?

Well the answer to those questions is actually found in the verse itself:

Colossians 1:9 ESV

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

The Will of God is found in “Spiritual Wisdom and Understanding”. Understanding what? What is Spiritual Wisdom?

The Word of God.

A person makes their will know by speaking it. God has made His will know in the same way.

Lets look deeper.

There is something called the general will of God - that is, God’s general will for all christians.

We learn what this will is simply by reading and meditating of scripture.

For Example:

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

This tells me simply that God wants us to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving - this is the general will of God for you, you you and me.

So at a glance i can know the will of God.

But there is another side too God’s will which we call His Specific Will.

This is the personalised will of God specifically for you in a specific situation - This is where victory is.

But here is the thing:

1: The Specific Will of God will NEVER contradict or disagree with the general will of God.

For Example:

Hebrews 13:4 ESV

4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Thais is God’s general will to all of us. So God will NEVER tell you to sleep with another mans wife or woman’s husband. He will never tell you its ok to cheat on your spouse - even if your spouse is a lying, miserable cheat themselves!

2: We can only come to know God’s specific will OUT OF our knowledge and understanding of God’s general will.

If you do not have a strong, firm and comprehensive grasp of what God wants for everyone - then there is no possible way you can ever know what God wants from you.

I have heard people telling me “God told me” or “I heard God say” and its absolute garbage - in total contradiction to the God’s Word.

Why is the will of God so important?

The Will of God is the Beginning of a successful, fruitful Christian life

Look what happens when you are in the will of God

Colossians 1:10–11 ESV

10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

This is repeated in

Ephesians 4:1 ESV

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

If you are in the will of God, your life will be marked by holiness and obedience.

In fact, it can be judged based on how holy our lives are. Like a thermometer - the lower the holiness the further away from God we are.

But if we walk worthy..

what does that mean? To walk worthy? It is an interesting idea - because one thin g is very clear - we are NOT worthy of the Lord - we do not deserve him or his love or his compassion or his mercy or his grace or his kindness or his goodness or his presence or his hope or his promises.

So if we are NOT worthy how do we walk worthy?

Well its very simple: You simply let the weight of the grace you have received impact your life.

It is the classic parable of the 2 servants:

Matthew 18:23–34 ESV

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

The sheer magnitude of grace the first servant received should have impacted his decisions.

And likewise, the sheer magnitude of the grace we have received from God will dramatically change our lives towards holiness out of a heart of gratitude.

The Fruit of Wisdom

Colossians 1:11 ESV

11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

Strength - might - endurance - patience - joy.

Strength to face each and every challenge life brings.

The might to have victory of every foe.

The endurance to run every race and see every night to the new morning.

The patience to trust and keep faith alive through long storms.

And the Joy to live every single day in victory and peace.

Related Media

Related Sermons