Compelling Love

The Bible consistently teaches that true wisdom from above comes from trusting the Lord, not putting confidence in man (Psalm 118:8) and not leaning on our own understanding:

Proverbs 3 (NKJV)
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

James 1 promises that if any person prays in faith asking God for wisdom, it will be given generously:

James 1 (NKJV)
⁵ 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. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

James also declares that our heavenly Father gives good and perfect gifts, including bringing us forth into new life through his word of truth:

James 1 (NKJV)
¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ¹⁸ Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

In 1 Kings 3:9, King Solomon asks God for “an understanding heart to judge Your people”, and God responds by giving him “a wise and understanding heart”, as well as other gifts for which he did not ask:

1 Kings 3
¹¹ Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, ¹² behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.  ¹³ And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. ¹⁴ So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

In Matthew 12:42, Jesus declares, “indeed a greater than Solomon is here”.  He was responding to the unbelief of the Pharisees, who demanded “a sign”, after accusing him of healing and casting out demons “by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”  Jesus then promises “the sign of the prophet Jonah”, predicting that he will rise from the dead after being “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”.

Matthew 12
²² Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³ And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
²⁴ Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, satisfied the law by living in perfect obedience, honoring God with every aspect of his life.  In his conversation with Nicodemus he declares his identity: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man” – John 3:13 (NIV).  In John 3:3 (NKJV), Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Sharon Lindsay, in her book, “The Son of God Series: Book 3” amplifies the next part of their conversation as follows:

“Again let me say that I am not talking about the travail of women that produces a child. I am talking about a work of God through his Spirit. I am talking about an internal change in your thoughts and your emotions. It is a change that connects you with the heart of God. This change is demonstrated by righteous words and just deeds. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. They naturally live by the law of God. Everyone who has experienced this internal change is a citizen of the Kingdom of God.”

True wisdom from above includes believing in the One whom God has sent so that “the world through him might be saved”:

John 3 (NKJV)
¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Being born again, and allowing Jesus to direct our paths, is true wisdom from above that leads to ever greater light, as Proverbs 4:18 (NIV) describes:

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, https://compellinglove.net/