Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding

Q: How do you define wisdom, knowledge and understanding in the biblical context?

A: Wisdom, knowledge and understanding are all intertwined. Knowledge is being made aware of something. Understanding is the ability to grasp the meaning of the knowledge you have acquired. Wisdom is the capability to properly apply the knowledge you have come to understand. Proverbs 2:6 says, "For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." The Lord giving us wisdom is akin to what most Christians would call "discernment." How often do you hear Christians and unbelievers alike fall back on the statement, "That is just your interpretation," in order to stifle debate or discussion on a certain topic? It is as if God is not clear about what He is trying to say in His Word. However, it is only God who can give us wisdom, knowledge and understanding. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14)." The key point to remember is that it is the Spirit of God who gives us discernment. The man without the Spirit is reference to an unbeliever. However, Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have access to God to discern His Word for us.

Let us go back to the Garden of Eden. "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Genesis 3:6)." This moment in time is referred to as the "Fall of Man." Adam and Eve desired to gain "wisdom" and ate the forbidden fruit. In other words, they wanted to be like God apart from Him indwelling them. When they ate the fruit they died spiritually and sin entered the world. God removed His life from them. That life, the Holy Spirit, was the life that gives wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Without it all they had left was their own understanding. The fruit of Adam and Eve's decision has reverberated throughout history. Religions, universities, museums and libraries are full of mans attempts to discover wisdom, knowledge and understanding apart from God. In many ways, they are the futile attempts to explain God and His creation while leaving Him out of the process. It is the best that men without the Spirit can attain.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18)." The message of the cross, Jesus Christ dying to take away the sins of the world, is foolishness to those who are pursuing wisdom, knowledge and understanding apart from God. But, what they and many others do not understand is that the death of Jesus Christ was God's attempt to restore Himself to the very people who are trying to figure Him out without Him. As was stated earlier, when Adam and Eve sinned God removed His life. However, God wanted to restore His life, the source of all wisdom, knowledge and understanding, to mankind. When Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, died on the cross, He paved the way for God to restore that life to all mankind because He took away the very sins that caused Him to remove His life back in the Garden. Now, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God can offer His life as a free gift to all who believe. Now, for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior they have the life of God restored to them like it was prior to the Fall. Therefore, we now have the ability to discern God's truth because He will teach us His truth through His indwelling Spirit.

""For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)." It is now the mind of Christ that instructs us from within and allows us access to His wisdom, knowledge and understanding. There is the belief that the acquisition of knowledge alone will somehow result in our increasing our ability to understand the world we live in. However, what did Jesus tell the Jews about all the knowledge they had gained? "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life (John 5:39-40)." The conclusion is that unless you have God indwelling you, the best you can do is increase your knowledge, but you will lack any understanding of what you know because you do not have the wisdom that only comes from God. Remember, ""No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)." If you want wisdom, knowledge and understanding you must have the Spirit of God indwelling you. And you can only have the Spirit of God indwelling you through being born again of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Be blessed.