Blogpost #24

Chapter 11

WISDOM OF GOD

 

I never met Carl, at least not personally. But, he sure made my life miserable...me and untold millions of others. And, he has managed to continue to do it for several hundred years. If you've ever been forced to take high school botany or zoology, you've met Carl, too. You know him by the single letter moniker "L." (How many folks have that kind of power in their name...even Michael Jordan needs two letters "MJ." But, Carl doesn't. His full name is Carl Linnaeus. Don't recognize him?

In case you've forgotten, he's the guy who decided that Adam's work in the garden naming all the animals didn't quite meet the needs of modern science, so he created a whole new system using "binomial nomenclature." This project must have been funded by a government grant...that's the only reason you need $3 words to say "two names," first and last. But, that's what Carl Linnaeus did when he created the botanical version of the Dewey Decimal System for the world of organic science.

It also resulted in countless sleepless nights for millions of students trying to memorize the kingdom, phyllums, and classes, etc., for a staggering number of plants and animals! Why did Carl do it? Did he just hate kids? To make matters worse, he did it in Latin and Greek! Every high schooler would claim this has all the marks of a demonic conspiracy.

In fairness to Carl, his motives weren't sinister and he likely wasn't trying to ruin our lives. What motivated him was the need to answer the questions "what is it?" and "where does it fit?" He wanted to know the answer to that question for every living thing! His goal was clarity. As amazing as Adam's task was to name the things God had created, it was too much for Carl to handle. He needed organization and structure and some way to understand how all these things fit together, especially living things. Most of those who work in the related scientific fields feel he did a pretty good job. That is, once they recovered from all the sleepless nights.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE WISDOM OF GOD?

Whenever we think of wisdom, we have to think of knowledge. We've already seen what it means to have all-knowledge (omniscience). But, while knowledge is good, if you don't use that knowledge wisely, that is, apply it properly, it can be useless (at best), and possibly even destructive.

Order and clarity are essential to accurate understanding and, ultimately, wisdom. Without them, we can't "put all the pieces together," at least not in the right perspective. Our conclusions may sound right, but they won't work in the real world. Linnaeus saw this need; that's why he created a comprehensive system to name and categorize every living thing he could.

One of the most interesting aspects of Carl's system was how he classified man. At first, he chose the term diurnus (meaning man of the day). The distinguishing trait seemed to be that man did his work during the day, but much of the animal world rested during the day and came out at night.

Carl sensed this was inadequate as he wrestled with the questions: Who is man? Where does he fit in? What is it that really distinguishes man? What makes him different from the other animals? The final answer was based on two things: first, he saw that man is the only being that is both "self-aware" (of himself and others) and second, he is able to exercise discerning and discriminating judgment regarding the value and impact of the decisions he would make. In other words, he could reason through many variables in coming to his conclusions and determining his actions. No other living thing could fit into this "category." Man was unique in so many ways.

I don't know how much his strong Lutheran education and upbringing played in this, but whether he realized it or not, Linnaeus was simply saying that the distinguishing trait that makes man so different from all the other beasts is that he is made in the image of God. Linnaeus acknowledged this and renamed man homo sapiens (man of judgment or rational man). God created us in His Image, that is why we can choose to act wisely.

KNOWLEDGE, REASON, AND WISDOM 

There are all kinds of wisdom. There's conventional wisdom, practical wisdom, worldly wisdom, spiritual wisdom, etc. But, the idea in all of these is that we take the best information we have, try to reason through its value, impact, and relevance, and apply it accurately to come up with the best decision or plan of action. As the process is repeated, this knowledge can become wisdom.

That's a long way around saying that 

wisdom is knowing the right thing to do at the right time, 

doing it...and knowing why you did it!

In I Cor. 1, the apostle Paul says that the ancient Greeks "searched for wisdom". What does that mean? What were they searching for? Why did they search for it? Why did they think they were missing something?

The Greek language is a very meticulous language, clearly this is why God chose to use it to write the New Testament. It often has different words to describe the various nuances of similar ideas. A familiar example is love. It has one word philos to describe the brotherly or friendship type of love, the word eros to describe sexual love, then the word agape to describe the sacrificial love of Christ.

In the same way, it has different words to distinguish the varieties and function of knowledge which becomes wisdom. In effect, the Greeks saw wisdom as a triangle. It is built on two pillars. The first word (phronesis) describes practical wisdom; it involves the gathering and understanding of basic real world information. The second word (sunesis) describes what we would think of as discernment, the ability to see how the information fits together with other information, and organizes it so it can be properly understood. This is the basis of our decision-making abilities. You might hear someone use the word "prudent" to describe this, as in a prudent decision.

The ultimate word to describe wisdom in the Greek language was sophia. Augustine called sophia the "knowledge of eternal things." You could call it perfect knowledge and, when acted upon, it would produce wise counsel and decisions. The Scottish N.T. scholar Wm. Barclay summed it up best when he described sophia as "that ultimate knowledge which is nothing else than the knowledge of God."

Interestingly, the Greeks always viewed sophia (wisdom) as essentially bound up with goodness and nobility (= virtuous character).

So, let's put all this together. The Greeks were searching for the wisdom which would contain the perfect knowledge of ultimate, eternal and divine things, where order and structure are perfect and permanent, and where goodness and noble character and virtue are seen in all their perfection. Where is that "wisdom" to be found?

They are found in only one place. 

Jesus Christ.

"And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, 

and upholds all things by the word of His power." Heb. 1:3a

"For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him..." Col. 1:19

Blogpost #23

Chapter 10: Omniscience and Suffering in the Will of God

There are verses in the Bible which many of us have read, but we'd rather not read them too closely. In the same way, there are "graces" which God gives in times of need which we would rather not experience. We don't talk about it, but the reality is undeniable. We are glad the "grace" is given when it's needed, but we're also glad it's the other person who needs it. Let me share a couple of examples...

I know one young man who was a bright, energetic young teacher. He was strong, disciplined and dedicated to the Lord's work. His future was bright. Within the timespan of a week, he was brought to the brink of death. He survived on a ventilator for over six months and now is restricted to the life of a paraplegic. They said it was caused by a rare syndrome (whenever you hear that word, it's medical code for "we have no clue why this is happening").

Multitudes of people prayed for the better part of a year that the Lord would glorify His Name and restore this young man to full strength. Years later, the answer is still "No." It's a hard answer to accept. When you see a young man with this kind of potential, it doesn't seem to make any sense. From a human perspective, it doesn't make sense. So we better look for another perspective. Is there one?

The Biblical Perspective

Earlier I said there were verses in the Bible that we'd rather skim over than dwell on, but we just make life more difficult if we do. These verses have to do with suffering. They seem to indicate that suffering is the birthright of Christians. Seriously? Judge for yourself. Here's just a few...

"For to you it has been granted (!) for Christ's sake, 
not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Phil 1:29

"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps..." I Peter 2:21

Many other verses could be used to confirm the fact that suffering is part of God's plan for His people on this earth. It's not a mistake. Philippians seems to indicate that it is meant to be received as a privilege...an opportunity to glorify God that we might not otherwise have. Obviously, you have to have the right attitude towards the suffering if you're going to be able to see it as an opportunity! How can we do this...especially when we're in the midst of terrible tragedy or intense suffering? Romans 8:28 and The Job Principle

For obvious reasons, many of us struggle not with the problem of evil (we just blame that on the devil), but with suffering, especially the suffering of loved ones. Why? In its simplest form, the response is something like this: "We're on God's side now. We've turned from a life of sin and rebellion to follow Christ. We are living to do God's will. Why are we suffering? Why is God making it so hard? Have we done something wrong?"

More than one saint has wandered in the fog of suffering and wondered why they were being afflicted. It is at these times that our anchor in the Word of God has to be secure. These are times of testing that prove our faith in Him is real. I Peter says that these "proof(s) of our faith are more precious than gold" to God! Just as fire purifies gold, and though our testings may be intense and painful, His promise is that they will "result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." If the glory of God is truly our goal in life, we need to hold tightly to these truths.

God offers us another unfailing anchor of encouragement in Romans 8:28. Most of us know the verse by heart and use it often when things get tough. The section from Rom. 8:18 to the end of the chapter is surely meant to give absolute, unfailing assurance that once we belong to God, He will carry us all through every trial, nothing can change that.

But, to live in the reality of this truth, v. 28 says two things are required. First, that we love God; second, that we are "called according to His purpose." What is His purpose? To redeem men, to seek and save that which was lost, to set apart a people for His own possession...that they may "proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness." Is that our purpose? Is that your goal in life? To these people, Paul declares that God promises to "work all things together for good." Please note the word "all," it means all!

Paul didn't say "God will do His best," he didn't say "God will try to work all things together," he set no limitations on his declaration. There is no sin we have committed, there is no mistake or misunderstanding of our actions or motives that resulted in tragedy or travesty in our lives that God cannot "work together" in His plan to use each of us to glorify Himself. The only limitation is that it only applies to His Plan and purpose.

I want to end with a reminder of what I call the Job Principle. Most of us know, at least theologically, that the purpose of our lives is to glorify God. We may be a little murky on what that actually means, but we know that's the plan. Where we often stumble is when we encounter really difficult circumstances while whole-heartedly trying to fulfill that purpose. This is where Job offers great encouragement. Job was such a man.

The Job Principle

 

Few would argue that the "trials" which he suffered were extraordinary. He lost ten children in a day, all his wealth and all his servants. He lost it all. In one day. All he had left was his wife...and some would say she was a bit of a mixed blessing. But, if you understand the lesson of Job, it will be an anchor in those confusing times when you are truly focused and determined to glorify God...then all hell seems to break loose in your life. Your first reaction may be to wonder what you did wrong, but the real cause is in what you did right.

I want to summarize the Job Principle, but I want to warn you that this is not milk for babes, it's meat for settled Christians. It's for those who want a faith like David and Daniel...and Job.

The Job Principle says that the glory of God in your life is more important than your life. In other words, whatever it costs to glorify God in your life is worth it. There is no price too high to pay to glorify God, even if it means it costs your life. The history of the church is written with the blood of martyrs who lived by this code. We who live in the modern western world know little about suffering from persecution as Christians (though that may be changing soon). While we may not have martyr-style opportunities to glorify God, there is no shortage of trials. The devil often fills the void, either directly or through proxies.

The Lesson of Job

To properly understand Job, the first thing you have to remember is how highly God thought of Job. God knew Job by name. You can sense the delight and affection God has for Job when He says to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?" Twice God says "there is no one like him on the earth."  He was not a preacher or prophet. We know of no special "calling" or anointing. All we really know about him is that he was a father and a wealthy rancher...and we know that God seemed to have a great time "bragging" on Job to Satan!

Satan was very aware that God had hedged Job with blessing, prosperity and protection. Satan's accusation was that Job didn't really love God, he loved all the blessings God had given him. Take those away and Job would turn away from God like all the rest.

So, now comes the test. What's truly important to keep in mind here is that God was so delighted with Job that He let Satan destroy his life. It's not what Job did wrong that brought the trial, it's what he was doing right! Please stop and re-read that. Our first inclination is always to look inward, to ask "What did I do to deserve this?". But, as Christians, if we are truly living out our desire to glorify God as best we know how, then we should always consider the fact that God has an enemy and if we serve God, then he is our enemy as well.

It's also essential to remember this was a test of faith, would Job trust God when nothing makes any sense? How do we know it was a test of faith? Because God never told Job what had really happened or why. Job had to trust God and that never changed.

It's true that Job was unwilling to yield on the fact that he had done nothing to deserve the disaster that had destroyed his life. And he was right about that. But God saw that Job needed more than an answer to his questions, he needed to know something that would help him rise above his questions. He needed to know more about the God he served. And that's what God did in the last four chapters of the book. He simply revealed more about Himself and what He had done...and Job got the point.

When we face the fog and confusion of tragedy and trials, we need to learn from Job and remember the One we serve. He is the anchor that will hold us in the storm ...and His greatness and wisdom is unsearchable. He knows every twist and turn our lives will take and He has promised to turn them into opportunities to glorify Him. Let's hope we get the point that Job got...and delight God as Job did with our response.