Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. It is the last step in the thinking process, after which action follows.
Knowledge says, “Surely He has borne my sicknesses and carried my pains. Himself took my infirmity and bore my diseases, and by His stripes, I was healed.” Understanding then comes along and says, “If He has already borne your sicknesses, then you’re not sick!” Wisdom then says, “If you’re not sick, then stop feeling sick! Stop looking and acting sick, if you must ever get well.”
It’s a process. You have taken delivery of the fact, you have understood it, and now you want to benefit from it; that’s where wisdom comes in. A lot of people know that He took their infirmity, but they are still sick. What wisdom does is to dictate the steps to be taken, that will help you draw out the benefits that knowledge delivered to you.
Knowledge delivers the existence of the provision, understanding helps you to see the reality of that provision, and wisdom helps you to enjoy its benefits.
All these stages are functions of the mind. The mind is where knowledge is acquired, it is the place of understanding, and also the seat of wisdom.
Now, think on this: The Bible says:
For
ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be
rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9
Knowledge says, “This provision is made available in redemption. Somebody took your place in poverty, so you can now enjoy plenty.” The issue then is, “How do I get out of poverty?”
This is where understanding comes in. It is understanding that helps you to appreciate the reality of that provision. It says, “It takes a covenant walk to come out of poverty.” And what is the covenant? “Seedtime and harvest shall not cease.” How does it function? It functions through a giving lifestyle.
But you may give and give, and yet not get anything. Wisdom then comes in and says, “You will need to take the following steps, in order to experience the reality of prosperity.” And as soon as you take the steps, you’re on the prosperity flight!
It’s a process, that goes from one to the other. Wisdom tells me I’m not only called upon to give, but also to create avenues through which God’s blessings in response to my giving, will get to me. I must work with my hands, for the Bible says, “And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Ps. 1:3). So, I start working, to create channels for God’s blessings to flow back to me.
This is the operation of wisdom in your mentality.
DIVINE WISDOM
Divine wisdom is able to cut down to one year, a journey that would have taken ten years.
Divine wisdom guarantees the flow of divine ideas, which is your guarantee for a unique placement in life. When you operate with an idea from heaven, you are bound to command a heavenly kind of results.
Many years ago, He touched my mentality, and that touch was so intense and profound that I exclaimed, “Lord, I’m understanding this thing too much!”
O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Romans 11:33
It may interest you to know that most of the big brains on the international scene today, are not committed Christians. They are just “free-lance natural Christians.” But I see the Church taking over!
The reality of divine wisdom can be seen in Job 28:
There
is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not
seen:
The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains
by the roots.
He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious
thing.
He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth
he forth to light.
But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of
the living.
The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the
price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or
the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall
not be for jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom
is above rubies.
Job 28:7-18
Those who operate in this wisdom don’t live with obstacles. It guarantees unending triumphs and a continuous humiliation of obstacles, because of the higher insight it offers.
Divine wisdom has an unlimited ability to deliver results, notwithstanding the conditions. For instance, divine wisdom can generate a bumper harvest in famine (Gen. 26:1-12).
With divine wisdom, you can beat any sinner to it, because you are in absolute and perfect command. Pharaoh literally surrendered his throne to the display of Joseph’s divine wisdom (Gen. 41:38-46). Friend, divine wisdom can pave a supernatural way to the top for you! That is God’s great plan for you.
Do you know that this wisdom also delivers peace? That is because it can see trouble far ahead of time, and take steps to deal with it. So while the trouble is still preparing to trouble you, you have dealt with it.
Divine wisdom naturally announces its carrier. In Solomon’s time, people came from far and near to hear his wisdom. And during Jesus’ earthly ministry, His fame spread abroad by reason of divine wisdom He operated in.
The wisdom of God at work in Joseph announced him too. While he was still in prison, he was announced in the palace!
Supernatural wisdom is a reality! The New Testament calls it “the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 2:7). It is His ordained device for making us stand out in the crowd.
This kind of wisdom has never been seen or heard of. God only reveals it by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10). By delivering to you supernatural insights, you are able to tap into the things that are freely yours.
Divine wisdom is a reality, and it’s available to all. It is the heritage of all who are redeemed (Matt. 11:19). It is available, accessible, can be operated, and always stands clearly above all other levels of wisdom.
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF WISDOM
James identifies four kinds of wisdom in James 3:15. There is the earthly wisdom — that is, common sense, which you are born with. An example is how to eat. You don’t have to go to school to acquire it.
There is also the sensual wisdom, which has to do with the intellect. It can also be called intellectual wisdom.
Another kind is the devilish wisdom. This is the wisdom diabolical people and occultic forces operate in.
The fourth is wisdom from above. This one is far above the other forms of wisdom. Let’s see it in operation in Daniel chapter 2:
And
in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and
the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So
they came and stood before the king.
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was
troubled to know the dream.
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon
the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore there is no king,
lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer,
or Chaldean.
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other
that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not
with flesh.
Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time,
and that he would show the king the interpretation.
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which
the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians,
the soothsayers, show unto the king;
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known
to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream,
and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
Daniel 2:1-3,10-11,16,27-28
Here we see a practical demonstration of the wisdom from above. Daniel said, “But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secret...” This verse goes to establish the supremacy of divine wisdom. It exists, it is real!
Paul said this wisdom is “not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought” (1 Cor. 2:6). That is, when put side by side divine wisdom, those other levels of wisdom equal zero. Divine wisdom is not earthly, it’s not intellectual, neither is it diabolical. When Daniel operated this wisdom, he stood far above the astrologers, magicians and socerers of his time.
Hear me: you have access to greater secrets than any philosopher, witch or intellectual! You are not to operate in the realm of common sense, because you belong to a heavenly order. You have access to the highest order of wisdom. That should get you angry with stagnation, frustration, failure and defeat.
You need to make this declaration: “I am connected to the highest order of wisdom, I cannot afford to be stranded on the earth. What I operate with is from above, so my results should be clearly above what operates here on earth.”
Daniel’s life indeed proves the reality of divine wisdom among mortal men. He was so full of it that he could lord it over all the philosophers, sorcerers and astrologers. He simply stood out! But where did he get it from?
GOD GIVES IT
As
for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning
and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Daniel 1:17
“God gave them...” The wisdom that operated in Daniel had its source in God. He is the true source of wisdom. Job 28:20 asks:
Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
It is available and obtainable only from God. You can’t get it from the market, no matter how much money you’ve got or are willing to pay. Anything extraordinary must have an extraordinary source, because like begets like.
Please note that I’m not talking about common sense, which is common to everybody, neither am I talking about intellectual sense, that can be acquired with money by going to school. I’m talking about heaven’s sense.
Let me show you something in 1 Kings 4:29-31:
And
God GAVE SOLOMON WISDOM and understanding exceeding much, and largeness
of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east
country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and
Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations
round about.
Solomon’s wisdom was before the Holy Ghost came fully on the earth. Jesus told us that a greater than Solomon is here. He said the greatest of all born of woman is John the Baptist, but that the least in the kingdom of heaven is still greater than him. That is, John was greater than Solomon, whom God gave wisdom. Therefore, you are by implication greater than both of them, because you are under a better covenant!
I see God bringing you into the realm of supernatural mental empowerment that will cause every area of your life to break forth!
Divine wisdom commands practical proofs. When it operated in Joseph, it was relevant in the earthly realm. It promoted him and caused him to enjoy upliftment, enlargement, peace, pleasantness and liberty. Divine wisdom is not rhetoric, it is practical, and God is its source.
Requirements For Divine Wisdom
There are four fundamental requirements for flowing in divine wisdom. They are:
Salvation
Divine wisdom is limited to the redeemed of the Lord. Jesus said, “Wisdom is justified of her children” (Matt. 11:19).
Fear of God
Another requirement is living in the fear of God, living to please Him.
The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom
and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the
holy is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
Living to please God is a requirement for flowing in divine wisdom. In Daniel 1:8, we are told that Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself; he was out to please God.
The fear of God is not living in dread and trembling when you hear of God, it is living to please God as a lifestyle, living unto His pleasure, thus fulfilling your purpose for existence.
Joseph lived in the fear of God, no wonder he was a carrier of divine wisdom. He said in Genesis 42:18, “For I fear God.” Hear what Job 28:28 says:
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
To depart from evil is your only access to this wisdom. The price for this wisdom is the fear of the Lord. It is the beginning and the end of wisdom. It is the only way both to get and to retain wisdom.
Friend, divine wisdom is not obtainable from schools, neither is it available in certificates. It demands the fear of the Lord as a lifestyle.
We see from scriptures that the two men noted for divine wisdom (Joseph and Daniel) were men who displayed in unmistakable terms the virtues of divine wisdom. They both lived a life style of fear and reverence for the Lord. As a result, they not only operated in the wisdom of God, they sustained it. That is why I said the fear of the Lord is not only the beginning of wisdom, but also the end of it — it is the author and finisher of divine wisdom.
Also, Paul the apostle who was an embodiment of wisdom in the New Testament said, “Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblamably we have behaved ourselves among you all that believed” (1 Thes. 2:10).
The fear of the Lord was Paul’s way of life, no wonder God gave him unusual access to divine wisdom. Even Peter acknowledged that Paul’s wisdom was in a class of its own (2 Pet. 3:15-16). This same Paul said in Acts 24:16:
And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.
An established fear of God is at the root of divine wisdom.
Meekness
The
meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
Psalm 25:9
Meekness is required, to get anything from God. Ahitophel had so much wisdom, such that all the counsel he gave were as though they were directly from God. They were always accepted. But when one day his counsel was rejected, he hung himself (2 Sam. 17:23). The flow of divine wisdom stops where meekness stops. That’s why Jeremiah 9:23 says:
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
We need meekness to maintain the flow of divine wisdom. Daniel admitted that he was not smarter than others, that God simply chose to unfold the secret to him.
But
as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have
more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation
to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Daniel 2:30
It takes this dimension of meekness to maintain the flow of divine wisdom. It won’t stop flowing as long as you acknowledge its source.
The Holy Spirit
The help of the Holy Spirit is one of the fundamental requirements for flowing in divine wisdom. You must continually bank on the help of the Holy Spirit, to enhance your flow in divine wisdom. This is because He came from heaven to represent heaven’s wisdom in our mortal being.
