provblog intro
While reading through the OT in my personal devitions a while ago, I came across an extremely interesting verse. In the middle of Job’s sorrow and pain, his three friends (who really end up not being great friends as the story unfolds) begin to try to comfort him, and in the end, confront him that he must be in sin because of all of the suffering that has come upon him. One of the little verses in that section is Job 11:12 – An idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.
That verse is kind of a proverb, a short, wise saying that we should pay attention to. The point is – a point that all of us can understand – that the possibility of an idiot, or fool to become smart or intelligent, is just as likely as the foal (or young colt) of a wild donkey being born a man. Now how possible is it for the foal of a donkey to be born a man? On a scale of 1-10, ten being most likely and 1 being least likely, where would the possiblity rank? The answer is ZERO! Not possible at all! Not going to happen! And so it is, that this particular proverb is saying that it is just as easy for a colt of a wild donkey to be born a man as it is for a stupid person to become smart.
I don’t want any of us to be idiots or fools, and more importantly, I do not want any of us to be spiritual idiots or spiritual fools. None of us want to be idiots. Even at the most basic level, if you had your choice between being smart and being stupid, most of us naturally would choose to be smart. And so it is in our spiritual lives, that we need to be smart, we need to be intelligent and wise when it comes to spiritual things and not fools.
Jonathan Edwards had some significant things to say about the importance of learning and teaching and truth. These are some things that I have been reading that were instructive to my own heart, and I hope they will be a good place for us to start together in our consideration of spiritual knowledge and wisdom.
He said, we cannot “come to knowledge of any part of Christian truth by light of nature. It is only the Word of God, contained in the Old and New Testaments, which teaches us Christian divinity,” or, the Christian life (Edwards, On Knowing Christ, p.12). And that is fairly obvious to us as believers, isn’t it? We know that if we want to learn and be wise we need to come to God’s Word.
What exactly does Edwards mean by "Christian divinity?” Edwards meant “the doctrine of living to God by Christ, or living the Christian life.” So from here on out, when you hear the word “divinity,” think about that referring to living the Christian life. Again, Edwards says, “It comprehends all Christian doctrines as they are in Jesus and all Christian rules, directing us in living to God by Christ. There is no one doctrine, no promise, no rule, but what some way or another relates the Christian and divine life, our living to God by Christ (Edwards, p.12). There is ‘no nothing’ in Scripture but that somehow relates to living the Christian life.
Now here is where it starts to come together. Edwards continues, “There is no other way by which any means of grace whatsoever can be of any benefit, but by knowledge.” God could have done these great and amazing things, but if you didn’t know about it, it would be of no benefit to you. “It is impossible that ony one should see the truth or excellency of any doctrine of the gospel, who knows not what that doctrine is.” This means that you are not going to think that God is great unless you know what He has done, unless you understand the truth of how great, in fact, God is.
Because these truths are so important, and because knowledge and wisdom are so intricate to living to God in Christ, Edwards says, “All Christians should make a business of it,” that is, of pursuing spiritual knowledge, seeking the wisdom of God as revealed in His Word. “They should look upon it as a part of their daily business, and no small part of it either” (Edwards, p.10). Each and every one of us should be concerned about this business each and every day. It is not an option, it is something that is critical to our spiritual lives.
We can receive no more benefit from the Scriptures than we understand. However much of the Bible we know, there is always room to increase our knowledge. There is always room for improvement.
So the reason that I go through all of that is because I do not want for you to be spiritual idiots. I have the strong desire that you grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you know truth and instruction. This is the reason behind the new blog - the proverb of the day.
While all of the Bible gives us wisdom, and though the entirety of Scripture provides us with spiritual knowledge, Proverbs is intended specifically for that very purpose. In fact, Proverbs is one of the ‘wisdom’ books of the OT. Proverbs will show us God's wisdom so that we will forsake foolishness and walk in wisdom before God. I hope this blog will be a resource to you in your lifelong pursuit of wisdom.
That verse is kind of a proverb, a short, wise saying that we should pay attention to. The point is – a point that all of us can understand – that the possibility of an idiot, or fool to become smart or intelligent, is just as likely as the foal (or young colt) of a wild donkey being born a man. Now how possible is it for the foal of a donkey to be born a man? On a scale of 1-10, ten being most likely and 1 being least likely, where would the possiblity rank? The answer is ZERO! Not possible at all! Not going to happen! And so it is, that this particular proverb is saying that it is just as easy for a colt of a wild donkey to be born a man as it is for a stupid person to become smart.
I don’t want any of us to be idiots or fools, and more importantly, I do not want any of us to be spiritual idiots or spiritual fools. None of us want to be idiots. Even at the most basic level, if you had your choice between being smart and being stupid, most of us naturally would choose to be smart. And so it is in our spiritual lives, that we need to be smart, we need to be intelligent and wise when it comes to spiritual things and not fools.
Jonathan Edwards had some significant things to say about the importance of learning and teaching and truth. These are some things that I have been reading that were instructive to my own heart, and I hope they will be a good place for us to start together in our consideration of spiritual knowledge and wisdom.
He said, we cannot “come to knowledge of any part of Christian truth by light of nature. It is only the Word of God, contained in the Old and New Testaments, which teaches us Christian divinity,” or, the Christian life (Edwards, On Knowing Christ, p.12). And that is fairly obvious to us as believers, isn’t it? We know that if we want to learn and be wise we need to come to God’s Word.
What exactly does Edwards mean by "Christian divinity?” Edwards meant “the doctrine of living to God by Christ, or living the Christian life.” So from here on out, when you hear the word “divinity,” think about that referring to living the Christian life. Again, Edwards says, “It comprehends all Christian doctrines as they are in Jesus and all Christian rules, directing us in living to God by Christ. There is no one doctrine, no promise, no rule, but what some way or another relates the Christian and divine life, our living to God by Christ (Edwards, p.12). There is ‘no nothing’ in Scripture but that somehow relates to living the Christian life.
Now here is where it starts to come together. Edwards continues, “There is no other way by which any means of grace whatsoever can be of any benefit, but by knowledge.” God could have done these great and amazing things, but if you didn’t know about it, it would be of no benefit to you. “It is impossible that ony one should see the truth or excellency of any doctrine of the gospel, who knows not what that doctrine is.” This means that you are not going to think that God is great unless you know what He has done, unless you understand the truth of how great, in fact, God is.
Because these truths are so important, and because knowledge and wisdom are so intricate to living to God in Christ, Edwards says, “All Christians should make a business of it,” that is, of pursuing spiritual knowledge, seeking the wisdom of God as revealed in His Word. “They should look upon it as a part of their daily business, and no small part of it either” (Edwards, p.10). Each and every one of us should be concerned about this business each and every day. It is not an option, it is something that is critical to our spiritual lives.
We can receive no more benefit from the Scriptures than we understand. However much of the Bible we know, there is always room to increase our knowledge. There is always room for improvement.
So the reason that I go through all of that is because I do not want for you to be spiritual idiots. I have the strong desire that you grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you know truth and instruction. This is the reason behind the new blog - the proverb of the day.
While all of the Bible gives us wisdom, and though the entirety of Scripture provides us with spiritual knowledge, Proverbs is intended specifically for that very purpose. In fact, Proverbs is one of the ‘wisdom’ books of the OT. Proverbs will show us God's wisdom so that we will forsake foolishness and walk in wisdom before God. I hope this blog will be a resource to you in your lifelong pursuit of wisdom.
posted by SKH at 12:01 AM
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