We are still in an emotional praise of Paul. He started with “Blessed be God who blessed us with every spiritual blessing,” and then he enumerates some of the spiritual blessings, starting with election, predestination, and redemption.
We have seen verses 1-7, and so far the Holy Spirit has helped us understand glorious truths, but the challenge starts from verse 8 onwards. Let me read verses 7 to 10: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”
What does it mean? What commentaries can help us grasp this? The apparent reading seems like a mere jumble of words without a logical order. Many commentaries superficially explain and some even skip these verses. Many preachers conveniently give brief, vague explanations and skip these verses. We could also do that quickly and finish verses 8-10. But we have found that when we prayerfully dig, labor, and meditate and wait for the Holy Spirit’s help, He reveals marvelous truths in such passages. So that is what we will try to do as we look at each word and verse in this passage.
Let us grasp the connection and structure of verses 8-10 first. Paul, after blessing God for election and redemption, and the central blessing of redemption as the forgiveness of sins, and the measure of that forgiveness—according to the riches of his grace—now from verse 8 onwards, takes off in another amplification of this salvation. This grace has not only forgiven our sins but has overflowed to us in all wisdom and prudence.
Wisdom and prudence are key to understanding the remaining verses. The riches of grace not only granted redemption through the blood of Christ, but that same grace has overflowed to impart wisdom and prudence.
You can see a beautiful progression showing the full scope of our salvation. Like a botanist who studies a plant—the root, stem, plant, vine, leaves, flower, and fruit—so Paul takes the full plant of salvation, looks at each part at a time, and praises God, starting with the root. When did our salvation begin? The root of salvation, verses 4 and 5, began in eternity in election by the Father’s predestination. How was the plan accomplished? It was accomplished through redemption purchased by the blood of Christ. How does it come to us? How does it touch us? You see, however glorious the predestination the Father has done in eternity, whatever price Christ paid to purchase it, we will never know or enjoy the fruits of it until it is revealed to us. And so the same grace that predestined it, the same grace that purchased it, is now the grace that reveals it to us. How does it reveal the eternal plan of salvation? Verse 8 says in all wisdom and prudence. And that is the beautiful order of salvation in Paul’s mind.
This is not a jumble of words, but a logical development of thought. Our salvation is not only predestined in eternity and fully purchased in time, but it is also a revealed salvation. Verse 8 opens up the revelation. Let me help you understand verses 8-10 in 5 headings. It should give you a structure in your mind.
- How is this salvation revealed? Verse 8 says, “in all wisdom and prudence.”
- In which form did it come to us? Verse 9 says, “having made known to us the mystery of His will,” which indicates the gospel.
- Why has he revealed it to us and now? Verse 9 says, “according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.”
- When was it revealed? Verse 10 says, “in the dispensation of the fullness of the times,” meaning the gospel age.
- What is the ultimate purpose of salvation? To sum up all things in Christ. Verse 10 says, “He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”
So, verses 8-10 tell us that salvation is revealed—how, in what form, why, when, and what is its final goal. These five questions will unlock one of the most mysterious and difficult passages in the entire New Testament. So, we will carefully look at each of these aspects of our great salvation. We could rush and finish all of it in one sermon, but I want us to see each of them in a way so that the Holy Spirit fills us with wonder, gratitude, and joy, and we join Paul in blessing God for such a great salvation.
First today, we will look at verse 8. How is the eternal plan of salvation revealed to us? “in all wisdom and prudence.” Verse 8 says, “the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.”
There are three things to consider: the meaning of wisdom and prudence, why this excited Paul, and five applications.
The Meaning of Wisdom and Prudence
Now, what is wisdom? The Greek word for wisdom is sophia, which was the passion of all wise men and philosophers. They searched for this wisdom their entire lives. This is the wisdom Solomon spoke so much about in Proverbs; it is the greatest thing in life, and he commands us to seek wisdom like hidden treasures. Paul says grace has overflowed to us in all wisdom.
In the biblical sense, wisdom is knowledge plus perception. One author gives one of the best explanations: wisdom is penetrating insight into divine realities. God is a reality. Christ is a reality. Sin is a reality. Forgiveness is a reality. Salvation is a reality. Heaven is a reality. Hell is a reality. These are heavenly, divine realities. When a person has penetrating insight into those realities, they have wisdom.
No fallen person can naturally have that wisdom. A person, by their natural faculties and through intense searching, even for their whole life, cannot penetrate these realities. They must be divinely revealed. In verse 8, Paul says that if you and I have that wisdom, it is because the riches of God’s grace abounded or overflowed. This wisdom is the result of the overflow of grace.
This wisdom, as we will see in the next verses, reveals to us God’s amazing eternal secret plan for the past, present, and future. This wisdom helps us see God’s eternal plan for the ages. What happened in the past, why, what is happening today, and what will happen in the end? How everything of the past, present, and future will be summed up in Christ. Where is all this going? Paul drops a great thought on us. We will be able to see the purpose and meaning not only of every event in our lives but also, as we read or watch the news, we can see how all these current events fit into the eternal plan of God.
The next word is prudence. Prudence or discernment is the practical ability to apply the piercing insights of the divine realities of wisdom to the daily situations of life. It’s one thing to see divine realities. It’s another thing to see how those divine realities fit my human circumstances in all their reality. Prudence is a practical ability that helps us apply our wisdom to daily life situations and live wisely.
Wisdom refers to understanding the true nature of things, whereas prudence refers to the practical discernment that results in right action in daily life. The idea is that grace has not only given us the wisdom of divine realities to apprehend His eternal plan of salvation but also prudence—the practical outworking of it in our daily lives, the practical application of these realities to the problems of life and how to resolve them. William Barclay put it: “Christ gives to men the ability to see the great ultimate truths of eternity and to solve the problems of each moment of time in their lives in that light.” God gives us the wisdom to understand his whole plan for the universe—how it started, what is going on, and where all this will lead—and then gives us prudence to walk in the world daily in the light of that wisdom. Isn’t that super?
In fact, the whole book of Ephesians can be summarized in these two words: wisdom and prudence. Chapters 1-3 are wisdom—penetrating insight into divine realities, great sweeping doctrinal concepts. Chapters 4-6 are prudence—how to apply those realities in the real nitty-gritty details where we live, how to solve problems in our family, marriage, children, job, inside the church, and in society. So, we have seen the meaning of the words.
Why Paul Was So Excited
Why did this excite Paul so much that he was thrilled and blessed God, saying this wisdom and prudence is a result of the abounding riches of God’s grace? Why should he get excited about it? Some of you don’t look excited. You’re half asleep. If you stand where I am standing and see all your faces, I can read these words, and they don’t get you excited at all. In Kerala, they forced us to buy a lottery ticket. You know, the amount is 12 crores at the end of the month. If you won that lottery today, how excited you would be—you’d get goosebumps all over your body. But Paul’s whole body and even his soul are full of goosebumps and excited as if he got a thousand crores. “Blessed be God the riches of grace abounded in all wisdom and prudence.” You don’t get tingles. You’re not thrilled. If we are to bless God like Paul, we have to understand why he got so excited. Get into his great mind and think like him. How do we do it? Can I suggest two ways? Two reasons why Paul gets excited, and unless you look at things as he did, you won’t get excited as he did. And here are the two things: 1. He knew the empty futility of all the world’s wisdom. 2. He knew the fountainhead of all heavenly wisdom.
- He knew the futility of the world’s wisdom.
Now, suppose this morning it were possible to gather the most brilliant minds in the world in this hall: the best minds of the past and present—Isaac Newton, Aryabhatta, Einstein, Thomas Alva Edison, Stephen Hawking, all experts in computers, artificial intelligence, the best philosophers, the best doctors, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, astronomers, all with many PhD or doctorate degrees in their field. Let’s even get film and sports pop stars who have achieved big things, and we gather all the brain power from all over the world. Imagine that august group.
They are discussing great concepts, using big words, jargon, and equations. We are standing in a corner, our heads spinning, and we may faint. Nothing goes inside our heads. We feel dizzy, understanding nothing in the world.
Suddenly, someone like Rouel, little Elkanah, or Rayshaun comes inside the hall with a book and a pencil, and he looks at them all. They all watch him with delight and say, “Hello, little man, how are you? What are you doing?” He says, “I am thinking. I need help. I have some random catechism questions from my Sunday school teacher. She wants me to think and come up with answers. Can you help me?” They smile with arrogance and say, “Okay, what are the questions?”
The first question: “Is there a God?” There is pin-drop silence over this great group of august, brilliant men. The second question: “If there is, what is God like? How can I know him? How can I have a relationship with him? What is wrong? What is right? How can I get rid of my wrongs? What is the purpose of my life on this earth? What will happen to me after death? Why is the newspaper filled with so many crimes in the world, so much suffering, wars, and plagues? What is happening in this world now? Where will all this end?”
All the top brains start sweating, and their faces turn a little red. They either don’t have an answer to these basic questions, or each one has a different answer, and they all know that not all of them can be correct. They cannot answer one of these questions. Not a single one. If the little boy comes in and says, “What is a light-year? How many light-years are there between Earth and Mars?” they can answer it in a simple way. They can answer, “What is AI? Advanced machine learning, neural networks.” But when he says, “Is there a God?”—silence. “How can I know God?”—silence. “What is the purpose of my life on this earth?”—silence. “What will happen to me after death?”—silence. “What is right?”—silence. “What is wrong?”—silence. “Why? Where did all this end?”—silence. None of them know. And you know, they have these questions deep inside them, and they are still searching for answers to them.
Ah, my brothers, this is why Paul got excited. Even the top brains are breaking their heads to understand these realities for ages, but the riches of God’s grace have overflowed in wisdom and in prudence. He knew the empty futility of the world’s wisdom, and he expressed this in 1 Corinthians 1:21: “the world through its wisdom knew not God.” That’s it. Whatever the world knows, it knows this and that, but the world through its wisdom did not know God. It cannot bring us to the knowledge of God.
Do we realize that all the world, with all the great people in the world, does not know the most important thing to know? This most essential and foundational knowledge for everything—the world doesn’t know. The knowledge for which humans were created—humans were made to know God and to function in the light of that knowledge of God. And a person is never truly a human until they know God.
Whatever the world may know, what is the use of all that knowledge if it doesn’t know God? It didn’t know God in history, it doesn’t know him presently, and it won’t know him in all the future. Do we see such hopeless confusion and emptiness in the world? A great French philosopher said, “The universe is indifferent and meaningless. Who created it? Why are we on this puny mud heap spinning in infinite space? I have not the slightest idea, and I’m convinced that nobody else does either.” Well, we may not have an IQ like him, but we can tell him: “I know the truth.” Socrates, a great worldly wise man, said, “I know that I know nothing that I truly should know.” Do you see that all these people are groping in darkness like drunkards without divine wisdom?
Because they do not have this piercing insight into divine realities, they do not have the prudence to live their lives in that light. They don’t know for sure if there is a God, how to know him, why they were born, why they are living, what the purpose of life is, or what happens after death. Without that wisdom, they don’t have prudence, so they live their lives like animals, only for fleeting pleasures and lusts, eating and drinking, thinking “tomorrow we die” because we don’t know what happens after that.
I just came across a short clip of three big superstars sitting together. The anchor asks, “What is love?” Each one is blabbering: “Love is something you should give as soon as you receive it. You should give even if you don’t receive it.” What nonsense. Another one says, “Without any reason, we like someone without any expectations. That is love.” I felt like saying, “Fools! This is why you had two divorces and now live meaningless lives. You have never had the divine wisdom that love is patient, love is kind, not envious, not boasting, not proud, and not easily angered.” They don’t know. Oh, the futility of the world’s wisdom is so useless.
Just see the billions of contents, stories, web series, and movies, all based on empty, useless futility and philosophy. All horror movies are based on the foolishness of not knowing what happens to a soul after death. All love stories are based on not knowing what true love is. All revenge stories are based on the thought that revenge is the final divine satisfaction, not knowing that forgiveness is divine satisfaction. Fiction and fantasy are all futility. Yes, for some time, we may watch, but do we realize that all those are useless, empty, and not worth a single cent?
Oh, Paul knew that all the knowledge of the world is so futile. Paul could see all mankind before him, groping in darkness and blindness like drunkards. And he was also like that, blind, but one day, overflowing grace came to him. How? In all wisdom and knowledge, it gave him penetrating insight. The only reason any person has this wisdom and prudence is because the grace of God chose them in past eternity, predestined them for sonship, and Christ purchased a salvation. The fruit and evidence of that is that grace overflowing personally to that person, opening their mind and heart, enlightening it, and revealing these realities to them in their experience now.
Let me ask an application question to everyone’s conscience here this morning. Has this grace overflowed to you and shown you the absolute futility of the world’s wisdom? Have you? With all its knowledge, activities, parties, and busy life, it cannot give you the most essential thing in life, the purpose for which you were created: the knowledge of God. Have you felt its futility? Have you seen that futility? And having seen that futility, has God’s grace overflowed in giving you penetrating insight into divine realities and the ability to apply those realities to your own life?
Words like sin, forgiveness, and grace—has God given you penetrating insight into them? These are realities. They are not just a preacher’s words. They are divine realities. The blood of Christ applied to your conscience, forgiveness—this is a reality as real as your eyes seeing me and this pulpit, and as real as the nose on your face. Oh, if you know these realities, you will be filled with ecstasy, jumping like Paul. While the whole world is sinking in blindness and futility, I was also sinking in it. Blessed be God for the grace that not only elected and predestined me in eternity and redeemed me and brought the forgiveness of sins, but it overflowed and opened up divine realities to us. Blessed be God for such overflowing grace. And that’s why Paul got excited—because he knew the futility of the world’s wisdom.
- He knew the fountainhead of all heavenly wisdom.
A lot of people know the futility of the world’s wisdom, but they’re literally blowing their brains out. Buddha, who left all the world’s pursuits, said, “The root of increasing suffering is increasing knowledge of this world.” Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, “For in much wisdom of the world is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” More knowledge of the world and its lusts not only makes us more empty and fed up but also causes vexation and intensifies our sorrow. Some of the most thoughtful, perceptive people realize it is all useless and empty, and they are destroying themselves. Why? They’ve seen the futility of the world’s wisdom.
And in the age that has had the most advances in human knowledge known to any age—we live in the information age, the digital age. Take a mobile phone; we have answers for everything. Small children learn everything in five to eight years that took us 20 to 30 years. In this sea of knowledge, my most basic, fundamental questions—”Who am I? Where did I come from? Is there a God? How can I know him? What is my purpose on Earth? How can I have true peace? What happens after death?”—all the astronomers, sociologists, and scientists, not a single one can answer. If you feel the futility of the world’s wisdom and emptiness in the world and do not know the fountainhead of heavenly wisdom, it will fill you with despair and that will destroy you. Or in that despair, you’ll destroy yourself.
Do you know why some of the richest, most educated, smart, and successful people all take drugs? There is a deep philosophical reason. They have seen success, seen all the knowledge and education the world can give. The world in its wisdom has not answered their basic questions. Maybe, just maybe, if they can penetrate deeper into themselves by dropping acid, forgetting all knowledge, they’ll get some insight and get some answers—some peace, some joy. And there are serious drug users who are being driven by this hope that maybe some answers will come there.
Why are great computer experts, scientists, and rich people in Western countries turning to old, Eastern, oriental Hindu mind cults of meditation, yoga, and practices? It is again a person’s effort to find answers that they haven’t found in education, money, materialism, tech, or success—in all the wisdom of the world. So much worldly wisdom is filling them with anxiety, restlessness, and tension—all meaningless. So they want to empty their minds of all the garbage with yoga so they can find answers to their deep questions. They are trying to find it in a way without repenting of their sins, so they turn to these methods.
All these and many others are evidence that mankind is groping in darkness, admitting that the answers are not here in the material, educational, money, tech, or scientific realm of success. It is a sad sight to see all of mankind groping like drunkards.
But Paul rejoices instead of despairing. Why? Because he not only knew the futility of the world’s wisdom, but he also knew the fountainhead of heavenly wisdom. And who is that fountainhead? The one through whom all these blessings come to us. Verse 3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ.”
This wisdom and prudence is a spiritual blessing, and like all blessings, it comes to us in Christ. He is the fountainhead of this heavenly wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:30: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us…” And what’s the first thing he mentions? “…wisdom from God.” Jesus Christ, that unique God-man, and in his work, is made to us wisdom from God.
Colossians 2:3: “For in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Not that they are hidden so no one can see them. No, no. They are stored up in him so that all who are in him have the full display of them. It is all exclusively in him. Outside of him, everywhere in the world is futility and emptiness.
The child’s questions that the world’s greatest wise men were not able to answer are all fully and satisfactorily answered in Jesus. The little child comes into the presence of the Lord Jesus as he’s found in the Scriptures, and he says, “Sir, can you tell me, is there a God?” Jesus says, “Yes, there is a God, and he has sent me. I am the greatest evidence that there is a God.” And the little child says, “Well, how can I know what he’s like?” And Jesus says, “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” And then he says, “But how can I come to know that God?” And Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” “Study me and believe me, and you will know without a doubt that there is a God; you will grow in his relationship.” “Why do I do what I do, sir?” And Jesus says, “For from within, out of the heart of man, proceed all sins… Child, you do what you do because you’re part of Adam’s fallen race, born in sin.” “Sir, how can all this be changed?” And Jesus says, “Believe in me and my work, and repent. He who believes in him will be saved. You will become a new creature. Old things will pass away, and all things will become new. You will have eternal life.” “Why am I on this earth?” “To know and glorify God. That is eternal life.” “What happens after death?” “You will be with me in heaven if you believe in me or in eternal hell suffering for your sins.” “How can I get peace and rest?” “Come to me, I will give you rest.” “Why is the newspaper filled with so much crime in the world, suffering, wars, and plagues?” “All this I prophesied and it is part of my plan to redeem them when I come again and judge it. Behold, I will make a new earth and a new heaven without any of this suffering, sin, and pain.”
Questions that baffled philosophers, psychiatrists, and sociologists, and all the world’s great men, are answered in the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul rejoices that grace has overflowed to impart wisdom and prudence, not only because he knew the futility of the world’s wisdom, but he also knew the fountainhead of heavenly wisdom, Jesus Christ. In him, all the deepest questions of mankind are answered.
Paul blesses God because while the whole world doesn’t even have a drop of this wisdom, not even the ABCs, it is not given to everyone in the world, not to the wise and great, but to us—babes. What do we know? But exclusively to us. It was revealed to us because he chose us in eternity to the praise of the glory of His grace.
God’s grace made this wisdom to abound to us. How much wisdom and prudence has God given? Not tiny, small tidbits, but it says abounding, overflowing. Whatever God does in grace is always abounding; the word is super-abound, super-abundantly. And so the apostle says the grace of God, which is the richness of grace, that great storehouse of grace has spilled over, and when it spilled over, it imparted wisdom and prudence—penetrating insight into divine realities and then prudence, the ability to see the relationship of those realities to my own circumstances. Next week, we will see the revelation of his glorious wisdom, what form it came to us in, why it came to us, when, and what its final goal is.
Applications
- Let me ask you two questions: Have you personally been brought to see and to feel the absolute futility of the world’s wisdom? When you hear the world talk, go to relatives’ houses, and listen to them talking and struggling, do you see how futile all this is? How much they are struggling? Secondly, has God’s grace overflowed in Jesus Christ to give you all wisdom, piercing insights into divine realities? Are words like sin, forgiveness, and grace more than just words for you? Are they realities you have felt and tasted in your experience?If not, you are one among the blind who are wallowing in the world with not only futile but anxiety-causing knowledge. The more you know the world, the more suffering and anxiety, as Solomon said. Without this wisdom, you can never live a prudent life in your family, at work, or in society. You will not have the wisdom to resolve your family’s marriage problems, your children’s problems, your financial problems, or your psychological problems. In the future, without the light of these piercing realities, all your decisions, desires, time, and efforts will be wasted on useless things, and your lifespan will be spent uselessly. You will wonder why your life is so filled with worries and sorrows.Oh, even as you hear God’s word preached to you, may God open your eyes to see and feel the futility of the world’s wisdom and make overflowing grace abound to you in all wisdom and prudence. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ; he is the wisdom of God, and all treasures of wisdom are hidden in him. If all the treasures are stored up in Christ, unless you get into Him, you can never know the ABCs of true wisdom. You will only know the foolishness of the world’s wisdom. In a very real sense, a person does not know anything in its truest sense unless this grace of God reveals it to them. Until then, they walk in their own foolish, blind, dark world, thinking they are wise, but they are mad.
- As people of God, may we add this grace to our praise list. Oh, how grateful we should be when the whole world doesn’t have a single clue, but God has overflowed with not just some, but all wisdom, so we can answer all the greatest questions. This grace has chosen to hide this wisdom from the wise and the prudent of the world, and He has chosen to reveal it to babes like us. Remember, Jesus himself praised God for this. Imagine, God has taken us into His confidence. He has revealed his entire plan of salvation from end to beginning. We will see in the next verses that we know the whole plan for the ages. We have the mind of an infinite God. We are the wisest people on the earth by grace. Our neighbors don’t know, our relatives don’t know, politicians and scientists don’t know, but we know. We are wise. Shouldn’t we bless God for this amazing grace?
- Not only should we bless God for this wisdom, but we should also display this wisdom through prudence in our lives, families, and at work. This wisdom in the form of prudence should overflow to the world through our mouths, hands, and feet, and in the principles of spiritual living—how we live our lives. Ephesians 4:17 says, “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.” Ephesians 5:15 says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” We have to learn to walk wisely as a witness to the wisdom God has revealed to us.
- This foolish, blind world always bullies the people of God as fools. They think we are fools to believe the Bible, fools to believe Jesus Christ, fools to avoid sin and miss all the fun, fools to believe in the resurrection, judgment, heaven, and hell. They give us many names—”Saddus,” “fathers,” “saints,” “hallelujah groups”—and bully us. Sometimes we feel ashamed and cringe before this perverted generation, having no boldness to stand before them. May this truth give us all the boldness to stand and tell them that they are the foolish ones, the blind ones, who do not understand wisdom. But God’s grace has abounded in all wisdom. We have insight into divine realities. We can teach them the truths. Never allow the foolish world to bully you or threaten you. We are the wisest on Earth by God’s grace. Meditate deeply on this until God’s grace grips you and thrills you, that overflowing grace has given all wisdom and prudence to us. I believe that conviction will give you all boldness in the world. No training or arts of elocution can do that. It is a conviction produced by the Holy Spirit through verses like this—that we have all wisdom and prudence. That conviction made the apostles stand before the old world of Rome, Greece, and other parts and announce that they are fools and that we announce divine wisdom. If the same grace grips you, you can come before a confused and blind world that reels and flies like a drunken man, and you can say, “I know, and I know… I know the answers to the deepest questions.”I was telling about God, and a man was trying to bully me. “You are a pastor, which college did you get a doctorate degree from?” I said, “I got my degree in the college of grace. That college taught me to see my own total depravity, my blindness, to see the glory of God in the face of Christ. That college made me hate my sin and the lusts of the world, and made the words of the Bible the sweetest thing in my life. I spend most of my time reading and understanding that and teaching the Bible. That college transformed and changed me into a new person.” Can any theological college in the world do that?” He was staring at me for some time and then went away. “This guy’s mad,” they might think. Their conscience will speak to them later, though. Don’t let them intimidate you with their foolishness. Worldly wise people, thinking they are wise, have become fools. We are the wisest on Earth by God’s grace.
A Final Exhortation
Young people, small children, listen to me carefully. We teach you that God’s Word is the only answer. Last week, many of you shared the absolute authority and sufficiency of Holy Scripture in our youth meeting. But the devil, through the world and your friends, your stars whom you admire, will bring up questions about the Bible. It will start in a small way: “Maybe there’s a point in the Bible we can’t believe… oh, this doubt… oh, that doubt… We can’t believe everything in the Bible.” See, you either believe the whole Bible or you don’t believe the Bible at all, because the Scriptures cannot be broken. If you start not believing one point, those points will keep increasing.
If you ever choose to reject the wisdom of the Bible, let me show you what road you are choosing. It is the road of the wisdom of the world. The end of that road is futility, vanity, and it will always lead to despair. Mark my words. Whatever you achieve in the world, that road will one day take you to a state of complete despair and emptiness. So before you deviate from the wisdom of the Bible, see the end of the road. All kinds of lusts, envy, cutthroat competition, fighting… you climb up and achieve something. What do you get at the top? Nothing… despair, discouragement, frustrations, psychological problems. The end of that road of the world’s wisdom is futility and vanity.
I am not talking in theory, but from experience. I have seen some of my friends go down that road. Some stand today as drug addicts, with broken homes, divorced wives, suffering children. Some have AIDS and have spread it to their families. Some are very successful, with fame, a name, a good job in the US, and enough money, but they are porn addicts, impotent, and not fit for family life. They can’t even enjoy the beautiful sex God created. Some have sold their souls to the devil and have been given fame, a name, and enough money, but their life is so empty and meaningless now, filled with day and night drinking and drugs. This is where the world’s wisdom will lead. They say the only thing they know is that they know nothing. Where did it start? With a few little question marks about the Bible, a little deviation from God’s wisdom, and running after the world’s wisdom.
You must choose today. Are you going to follow God’s wisdom or the wisdom of the world? God’s wisdom will be fruitful, giving you a meaningful life. His grace will slowly transform you, sanctifying you and making you a citizen of heaven, filling your life with increasing peace and joy. Your life will be so full of meaning and purpose.
Oh, dear young children, it is God’s wisdom alone that makes your life beautiful and meaningful. The wisdom of the world will destroy you. Beware. Seek heavenly wisdom. Get a piercing insight into who God is, know that your sins are forgiven and you are saved, and grow in the knowledge of God.
Psalm 37:4 is God’s promise: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” I have always found that to be true. I seek God and delight myself in him, and even though, just like all of you, I had desires in my youth to do and achieve things, I see that he has always fulfilled them.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 