Why Wisdom is Vital to the Christian Life

Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Why is wisdom vital to the Christian life? Wisdom is one thing that is lacking today. Surely that fact can be argued by looking at the fleshly wisdom that Paul talked about in 1 Cor. 1:12, but that kind of wisdom is not what God wants His Church to be filled with, considering it is earthly, sensual and devilish (James 3:15). The wisdom that is vital to the Christian is the wisdom that is from above, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (James 3:17). James 1:5 tells us if we lack wisdom to ask of God and He will give it to us liberally. Surely God wouldn’t give His people fleshly wisdom, let alone give it liberally!
Wisdom is a rich word that may be used in different contexts. Several synonyms for wisdom are: understanding, knowledge, insight, intelligence, good judgment and perception. These words don’t necessarily encapsulate the entire meaning of what God wants us to have. There are nine different ways the word wisdom is used in the Bible that will be dealt with here. These are vital to the Christian life.

The first meaning is found in Ps 37:30 “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment”. This wisdom has the meaning of using language with skill or wit. Why should this be useful? Consider the fleshly wisdom of this world. How are the lost convinced of the arguments of unbelievers? By skillful and witty language. Some would shy away from using wisdom this way because unbelievers use the same tactic. Is this ok? Consider the fleshly wisdom of this world again. Where does it come from? Its origins are from Satan himself. Does he ever do anything originally? No, he can only counterfeit God, and that is what he has done. Christians would not be copying the world, but would be doing what God has set forth and Satan has counterfeited. God’s people should never give up what He gives just because unbelievers use the same method to propagate a false gospel.

The second meaning to be discussed is in Ps 49:3 “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding” and in Ps 105:22 “To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.” This wisdom is referring to dealing wisely with people or problems and teaching others to deal wisely. It is in effect making people wiser, either by direct teaching or teaching by example. Many people have learned great wisdom from others they have never met. The great men and women of past centuries, though long gone, can still impart great wisdom to God’s people.

The third denotation of wisdom is in Ps 136:5 “To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.” When the Word of God tells us that God made the heavens by wisdom we can understand the meaning to be by intelligence, argument and reason. Does not the Bible tell us to reason together out of the scriptures? Dogmatism without reason is not very wise. One of the biggest arguments lost people make is that Christians don’t use reason or logic, just dogmatic, emotional statements. If we are to ever reach the world for Christ, we must reason with them out of the Bible with great wisdom given from above.

Next is the wisdom to have good success in Pr 1:3 “To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity.” Many in today’s society are willfully ignorant. God forbid that we should be so, because it is directly contrary to the word of God and is ineffective in leading the lost to Christ. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” The world’s wisdom may bring temporal success, but it will burn up at the last judgment. The wisdom that God gives will bring spiritual success that will last for eternity.

The fifth wisdom that God wants us to have liberally is found in Pr 2:7 “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.” The basic meaning here is to substantiate, support, or direct help. To contrast with the world would be to look at humanitarian charities, which is a good thing, but is only a temporary fix to an eternal problem; sin. To really directly help people and to give them something substantial and eternal is to use and be filled with the wisdom that is from above and can be received from God in liberal amounts.

The sixth wisdom is contrasted with the simple in Pr 8:5 “O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.” The fool is also contrasted with an understanding heart. The term implies, on the foolish or simple side, trickery. On the wise side, and in a good sense, is subtilty, prudence, craftiness or cleverness. How dull are some churches that refuse to be clever, refuse to be prudent? How dry are the simple? How weak are the foolish? Use the wisdom God gives to advance the cause of Christ and be not afraid of the counterfeit trickery used by this wicked world.

Many fools die for want of wisdom, but the righteous that have the wisdom from above are able to feed many. Pr 10:21 “The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.” This word is used for the heart, the feelings, the will, or even the intellect. Wisdom is the necessary food for the Christian to live spiritually. Fools die and go to hell for lack of the wisdom of Christ and His atoning death. They can live if the righteous have wisdom and feed them the bread of life. Many foolish Christians are ‘dead’ spiritually, not in the eternal sense but in the sense that many die because they can not feed others. This wisdom is to care for and consider the condition of others courageously.

The eighth sense is concerning knowledge in Pr 12:8 “A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.” The wisdom you have can condemn you in two ways. Fleshly wisdom is contrary to God and will be burned up at the Great White Throne of Judgment. An improper use or lack of the wisdom from above will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Christians are to be wise enough to use their knowledge in a proper and Spirit-filled way.

Finally there is ‘thine own wisdom’. Pr 23:4 “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.” This is the understanding and knowledge we have that may or may not be related to fleshly wisdom or wisdom from above per se. The idea here is using whatever wisdom you have for your own gain. Perfect wisdom, in this light, can be used for personal profit outside the will of God. While we need wisdom for all the above reasons, we definitely do not need to use wisdom inappropriately.

Wisdom is vital to the Christian life in order to do the will of God in an acceptable manner, while counteracting the counterfeit wisdom offered to the world by Satan. God help all His people to hunger and thirst for the Heavenly Wisdom from above.




A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top.