Recognizing The Manifold Wisdom Of God

If you are a born again Christian and you rely upon the Holy Spirit for guidance in anything important that you wish to write, you may know that the essence of the best original things that people write comes from intuition, not education. Or from intuition more than education. A book that teaches creative writing does not contain the essence of a brilliant song or poem. It doesn't tell you what to write but only how to write it. It provides tips about syntax. Prophecy has always been a gift from God. It was never an education certificate. In Numbers 22 God empowered an ass to speak with a human voice. In Psalm 105 the Bible tells us when Joseph was exalted in Egypt he taught wisdom to the senators of Egypt. No details are given about the nature of this wisdom. Therefore what Joseph actually taught remains a mystery. Also in Acts 7 we are told that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Again no details are given about the nature of this wisdom. Therefore what Moses actually knew remains a Mystery.

In part 6 of his Book of Ethics Aristotle, partly quoting Agathon, said : It is impossible for what has happened not to have happened. For one thing is denied even to God: to make what has been done undone again. I believe this connects with what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3:14-15. And some years ago I wrote an essay about determinism based on those sayings. I have excluded it from here because someone disapproved of its strange parlance.

I have said there is nothing the human mind can perceive or conceive that cannot somehow be fully expressed in written words. People who say the opposite of this seem to speak from passion rather than reason, being oblivious to the following fact. It is because individuals are limited in their knowledge and their vocabulary (their education) that God cannot always use them to expound things which are grand or complicated. Nobody can know everything but that does not mean some of us cannot discover more wisdom if we desire to learn from the best sources. There is a relevant saying: That understanding is noblest that knows not the most but the best things. How many Christians can testify that they have all of the spiritual gifts named in 1 Corinthians 12 ?

Answer: None. That is not to imply that all Christians need all of them but there is certainly room for improvement. The opposite of limited is unlimited. And I guess that if the unlimited power of the Holy Ghost were released in the church all the significant differences that diversify Christians would be eradicated. And except for new converts the whole of Christendom would be spiritually mature and overflowing with wisdom. In James 1:5 the Bible admonishes those who lack wisdom to pray for it. The Lord said: The disciple is not above his master but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master (Luke 6:40). And in Revelation 3 he rebukes churches for being lukewarm and for their imputable shortcomings.

An ancient Chinaman said : Love of courage without love of learning degenerates into recklessness. This is true. Complacency and the wrong kinds of zeal are 2 of the great weapons that Satan uses against non-mature Christians. And especially those that have important needs that they are waiting upon God for. The Lord said : Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). But this has a twofold meaning. It partly means If you don't do as God requires there will be a low limit on what God will do for you. Unwillingness to innovate in ways that challenge the fixity of habits and customs that God secretly disapproves of is an obstacle to progress. It locks doors against God. It is not Satan's will that you should understand the Bible properly or read some of it daily or live by the important precepts in it. It is not Satan's will that you should receive extra spiritual gifts from God or discover esoteric lore. If you lack important knowledge Satan may tell you that you know, have seen and tried all that matters. And he may then use certain scriptures you can think of in order to make that plausible. There is a Proverb, The devil knows many things because he is old.

I'm a Pentecostal brother and I've tried to influence other Pentecostals to appreciate esoteric things. It seems that a favourite reply Satan puts into the mouth of a Pentecostal scoffer are the verses of Galatians 1:8-9. Satan uses these to make a scoffer feel justified of rejecting esoteric things. To pretend that there is no such thing as esoteric lore is tantamount to pretending there is no such thing as a mystery or an unanswered question. I guess that the best kept secrets of all time are the ones which have been spoken but which are not believed.

George Warner