Wisdom Matters

My favorite description of the Holy Spirit is found in Paul’s word to the church at Corinth. He was writing about the wisdom that the Spirit imparts to believers. The Holy Spirit is able to know our thoughts and the thoughts of God. Paul concluded that lesson by writing “we have the mind of Christ.” 

It's common for us to think of ourselves in human ways. We know we aren’t perfect and make mistakes. How then could we have “the mind of Christ”? Scripture promises that we do, but it's always important to remember that our minds are being perfected but not yet perfect. We can’t be fully like Christ until we live with him in heaven. 

Humility is necessary when we want to truly know the Lord. Jesus humbled himself to be born in a manger. We need to think with the humility of Christ’s humanity. 

Knowing God is our Father is necessary if we want to live as God’s child and consider ourselves the way Jesus sees us. We are “joint heirs” with Christ, his brothers and sisters through faith. 

Scripture is necessary if we want to know the character and capacity of God. Jesus was present with God when the world was created. Jesus left heaven to become our Savior. There is nothing in the Bible more difficult to understand than the need for the death of God’s Son on the cross. Even Jesus struggled in the Garden. Yet Jesus knew God’s perfection and knew he could say, “Not my will, but yours.” Jesus didn’t question God’s perfection, even when he struggled to accept his plan. 

Can we think like Christ? The answer is yes because we have been given the mind of Christ. 

It’s important to allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly so we can then think his thoughts and come to trust the perfection of God, who is our Father.

It's more common to quote Proverbs 3:5 with verse 6 as well. Verse 6 isn’t possible without verse 5, but our focus is almost always drawn away to the good news verse 6 provides. 

Verse 5 tells you to “trust in the Lord with all your heart.” The only way to trust God completely is to “not lean on your own understanding.” It's a spiritual discipline to learn to trust God as we are called to do.  

Remember that in ancient days people understood that the heart was the “driver” of a person’s life. In Scripture, the heart is often associated with passion and motive. God wants us to trust him above all other motivations. We are to trust that only God’s motivations are completely pure; therefore, we should trust him more than any other. When we understand God’s motivation is pure, we are more likely to trust his will.  

But trusting God stands in conflict with most of what we are taught and, truthfully, what we teach. We know it's important to “think for ourselves.” It's important to gather the facts and process them into a well-thought decision. Yet, Scripture tells us not to lean on our own understanding. 

God created us, and his word encourages us to be “thoughtful” in our actions. God gives us discernment and good judgment through his Spirit. God will never contradict his word, yet a lot of our decisions and choices aren’t directly addressed in Scripture. A key to Proverbs 3:5 can be found in the word leaning. 

When we lean on someone, we trust them to hold us up. When we lean a ladder against a wall, we trust that the wall won't fall. We don’t lean on something we know is weak or flawed. That is why we are to trust God with our whole heart. God can never be untrustworthy, weak, or flawed. God holds us, his children, in his righteous right hand. The same hand that created the world is able to do all things, all the time. 

Then, as Proverbs 3:6 says, “you will acknowledge,” or know, God. Knowing who God is through his word makes it possible for him to “direct your path.”  

Allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly and you will likely learn to lean on it more than your own understanding.

Peace is one of the best indicators that your life is centered in Christ. It's the peace of Christ that accompanies his perspective on the things of this world. It's the peace that carries us through difficult days or decisions. It's the peace that follows a time of personal worship or prayer. God’s peace results from an awareness of who we are in Christ Jesus. 

God’s peace is beyond human understanding which so often is based on the circumstances of our day. God’s peace includes the hope of our salvation and our faith and trust in the power of God.  

That is the peace of God that can guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It's comforting to understand that God’s peace “stands guard” over our lives. A guard protects from harm. A guard warns of danger. A guard stands between us and harm. We can picture God’s peace as our shield, protecting our minds and our emotions from the Evil One. 

The peace of God is greater and more powerful than we can understand or explain. It has to be experienced. Only those who have asked Jesus into their hearts can truly understand and experience his peace. We have an eternal hope that transcends the circumstances of this world. 

Allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly. May the overwhelming peace of God guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

We should never underestimate the power of God’s word or the power of his word in us. People need God’s joy. A sense of “gladness” should motivate us to speak of God and share his word. But God’s word needs to fill our lives if we want to share it with others. 

Every night our news can create anxiety in our hearts. Imagine the anxieties that might have weighed on the hearts of those in ancient times. They went to bed hoping for rain or hoping that it might stop. They didn’t have a “radar” to give them hope and understanding. In ancient times, people went to bed wondering what might have happened that kept their loved one from returning home. They didn’t have a cell phone to call and check on them. They didn’t know what another nation was planning or preparing to do. They didn’t know if their crops would succeed, if their livestock would live, or if their illness was an inconvenience or a concern. No matter what era of history, people have always needed “a good word.” 

We should never underestimate the power of God’s word or the power of his word in us. Whom have you shared the joy and certainty of Christ with? Whose spirits have been lifted through the Spirit at work in you? God created us to speak and hear; therefore, he must have known of our need for his word to make us “glad.” 

Churches were often built with beautiful stained glass windows, and their beauty had a higher purpose. So many of the Christians who entered those older churches were unable to read. The sermons each week were the way many learned what the Bible said and meant. In addition, the earliest stained glass window “told a story.” What the people in the church couldn’t read they could see illustrated in the beautiful glass. 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly so that your life can share and display the stories that some people might never read. A good word can make people glad!

Christians can do anything Jesus calls and strengthens us to do. Equally important is the knowledge that if we do things in our own strength or personal motives, Jesus is not at work; we are. The key to living with the strength and purpose of Christ is understanding it's much different than our own. 

Spiritual things happen through the Spirit of Christ. Remember, Jesus said, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30). Jesus, when he submitted himself to a human body, walked and ministered according to the strength and judgment of God. Jesus’ earthly ministry is the perfect example for ours. We cannot accomplish the work of God. We can be available to God so that he can work through us. 

We are called to be disciples, students of Jesus Christ. We need to study his words and his earthly ministry in order to know how to have a ministry ourselves. Jesus taught us to allow God’s voice to call us to his purpose. Jesus taught us to pray for his “kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus taught us to allow God to reign in our lives. 

Now Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, no longer bound by a human body. His Holy Spirit is our strength. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, and when we are led by his Spirit we continue the earthly ministry of Jesus in the world. That is why Paul could say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  

That is why we allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly. It's the word of Christ the Spirit, who will speak to us so that we will function in the power of Christ to fulfill our calling. Apart from him, we can do nothing. With him, we can do all things.

Paul had just listed many of the sinful human behaviors that were causing divisions in the early church and damaging their witness. Then he provided the solution for fixing those natural human behaviors. Paul didn’t say, “Act kind to one another.” Rather, he said, “Be kind.” Another translation could say “Become kind.”  

The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to change us, to help us become more like Christ each day. Scripture often refers to that growth process as our sanctification. God doesn’t want children to simply act kindly toward one another. He wants us to be kind. If we apply that thought to raising our children, we can easily understand the difference. Kindness shouldn’t be measured by our actions; it should become our character. 

Paul then used a word that is rarely used in Scripture and is difficult to translate. But his first-century readers would have understood completely. It's the word tenderhearted or, in some versions, compassionate. It's worth knowing because embedded in that one word is a measure we should each use for our own lives. 

How do we know if we are truly “tenderhearted” toward others?  

To be compassionate means to “feel with.” People in Paul’s culture understood what it meant to walk by a person who was hurt, see their wound, and have their stomach clench. They knew when their hearts ached with the grief another person was feeling. They understood the physical, visceral sensations associated with “compassion,” or feeling with, another person. That sensation had a word in the original language of Scripture, and Paul used that word in his letter to the Ephesians.  

We have become tenderhearted, compassionate Christians when we care enough to feel with other people. A person who cares like that has become a Christian who will know how to love and forgive like Christ. 

Allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly and become the tenderhearted, forgiving character of Christ to others.

The “peace that passes all understanding” is never fully understood, except through experience. It isn’t the peace we can work hard to achieve. It isn’t the result of our efforts or the consequence of a choice. The peace Christ has left with us is unique because it's only experienced as a gift received from his Holy Spirit. 

Jesus left us with his Spirit so that we would have his gift of peace. When our minds won’t rest from our troubled thoughts and when we fear the possibilities that exist while living on this side of heaven, it's difficult not to be anxious and afraid. In fact, it's likely that our minds will be troubled at times. 

But Jesus told his disciples to make a choice during those difficult times. He said, “Don’t be troubled.” How is that possible? If we knew we would inherit a fortune next month, this month’s bills wouldn’t trouble us. If we knew we were immune to disease, we wouldn’t worry about what the doctor might say. If we knew we would always be safe, we wouldn’t fear what might happen. The peace the world gives is only temporary. The peace of Christ is anchored in eternity. 

We know we have all the promises of heaven, but we want those promises now too. Jesus promised us his peace. We can live with confidence in our inheritance, our health, and our security. The peace that passes all understanding comes from keeping our hearts and minds fixed on Christ, not by focusing on the things of earth.  

Christ died and rose again and is now seated at the right hand of God. We have proof that the circumstances of this world are all temporary. Christians will rise again, just as Jesus did, and enter into our promised land. That is the peace that is ours in Christ Jesus, the peace only Jesus can give. 

Allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly and the peace of Christ will follow. Jesus left us with his peace because he left us. He ascended to heaven and promised, one day, he would take us too.

How would our lives be changed if our highest goal was contentment with all we have? 

Getting ahead is a great goal unless you are getting ahead of God in the process. Jesus told his disciples to take up their cross and “follow” him. It’s easy to lose sight of Christ in our lives when we are focused on things that, in that moment, we want more than what we have.  

Our goal is to be content with what we have and live a life that is free to follow Christ. We are content with what we have when we are content in the knowledge that Christ's presence dwells with us continually through his Holy Spirit, providing all that we need. Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

When we consider the monumental blessing of our salvation in Christ, the things of this world seem to pale in that light. We will never have everything we want. Even if we did, that would change tomorrow. We do have the ability to be content with what we have. We can’t love God as we should when we love money and possessions more than we should. 

How many emails would we simply delete if we were content with what we have? How many choices would we adjust if we didn’t feel a need for greater success but simply wanted to enjoy the success we have achieved? Do we define “enough” as “just a little more?” If so, place Jesus on the throne of your life and follow him as Lord. 

Allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly and the contentment of Christ will be your result.

We usually talk about the subject of prayer when we discuss this verse, but it's also important to look at these words from a different perspective. Paul was telling the Philippians to pray about everything. But this verse is also about God, your Father. 

God doesn’t want us to fret and worry. We don’t have to be anxious about anything. Why then are we anxious so much of the time? What are you worried about right now? Paul would say, “Take it to your Dad!”  

Why do we need to make requests “known” to God, who already knows everything? The answer is simple: God wants us to know we have given our requests to him. When we leave our requests, our worries, and our concerns at his throne, we can be grateful that they are now safely and securely in God’s hands. The same hands that created the world are more than able to handle our requests.  

Maybe our most amazing thought is the knowledge that we have been invited to come to God’s throne. Approach him as a child. He is your Abba, your loving dad. He wants you to bring him all of your hurts, bothers, guilt, and worries. You can be joyful knowing God wants to do whatever is perfect. He can forgive, comfort, counsel, and direct. Be thankful that you have an Abba who wants to help. 

Jesus was praying for the strength to face the cross when he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). Even Jesus needed to lay his worry at the foot of the throne. 

Allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly. Allow Abba the chance to assure you that every prayer is heard and held in his mighty hand.

Temptation existed in the garden before Adam and Eve chose to sin. Temptation isn’t a sin; it’s only the possibility or opportunity to sin. Therefore, we shouldn’t think about all the things in our lives that tempt us as much as we should think about the actual choices we make. 

Martin Luther summed it up this way: “You cannot prevent the birds from flying in the air over your head, but you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair.” In other words, we can’t keep Satan from making suggestions, but we can decide not to dwell on, or follow, those suggestions. 

It's common to focus on our temptations, but Paul had a different focus. He wanted the church in Corinth to be confident in their faith. Paul told them that every time they were tempted to sin, they needed to remember an important truth. God had already given them a way to avoid the temptation or the power to endure it. 

Temptations will always be a part of our daily lives. Temptation existed in the Garden of Eden! Birds flutter and squawk overhead, but they can’t build a nest in your hair unless you allow it. 

That’s why we allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly. God has provided us with a way of escape and the strength to endure. His word will chase away that bird!