Perhaps you have always thought of yourself as a simple person. Not erudite, sophisticated, intellectual, nor heady or all that clever, not pompous or credentialed with an alphabet after your name.
God does not want us to be proud or high minded, but he does want us wise to his will (Eph 5:17).
If life is a puzzle to you that can’t be figured out, then how do you get wisdom? How do you become a wise man?
Step One: Faith
A good place to start is the scriptures. Paul says the scriptures are able to make you wise through faith (2 Tim 3:15). Without faith it is impossible to have the wisdom of God (1 Cor 2:14).
To increase your faith you need to hear the word of God (Rom 10:17). By reading and hearing the word of God you are putting the puzzle pieces on the table. Do you believe God can make you wise? Then you need to open your Bible.
Step Two: Understanding
Just having the puzzle pieces on the table does not mean you understand them. Reading the Bible and understanding it are two very different things.
Understanding is connecting the pieces together. To do this each piece must be carefully looked at to see where it belongs. Be careful not to force two pieces together that do not fit. Leave their original shape intact.
Study the Bible the same way. The pieces must be rightly divided by shape, flat edges, colors, who is speaking, and to whom. What is the context of the passage?
When two pieces come together, you have understanding. (Hint: looking at the picture on the box cover is allowed. To do this, watch one of our chart lessons.)
Understanding requires dispensational right division. If you can connect pieces together, you are a man of understanding. If you cannot understand the Bible, you may be ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 3:7).
Step Three: Knowledge
If understanding is connecting puzzle pieces, knowledge is when you see the puzzle take shape. Knowledge is seeing the big picture by putting the pieces together.
Knowledge is that glorious time when all the edge pieces are together and you suddenly know how big the puzzle is. It always seems smaller than you imagined. That is because what was once a blur becomes clear.
When you receive knowledge from the Bible, you have truth. What is the picture that the puzzle made? This is knowledge. You could not see it before, because it was all in pieces, but now you know better. Do you know God’s will? Do you know the truth?
Step Four: Wisdom
If you can see the big picture by connecting the puzzle pieces, then you are ready to be a wise man. Wisdom is simply the use of right knowledge. It is acting upon what you know is right and true.
Faith is required for wisdom, because if you do not believe what you read, then you will never act upon it.
Understanding is required for wisdom, because if you cannot put together God’s will, then you will never know it (Col 1:9).
Knowledge is required for wisdom, because if you don’t know God’s truth, then you can never use it.
Yet, even if you know God’s purpose for the ages, it is not wisdom to use the Bible wrongly. Paul says, “we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery” which has now been revealed (1 Cor 2:7). If we do not respect the revelation of the mystery of Christ as God’s will for us today, then we might end up using the Bible wrongly, which would be unwise (Eph 5:17).
Be Wise
Paul says all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ according to the revelation of the mystery (Col 2:2-3).
You can be a wise man. It is easy when you believe God, put together the big picture of his purpose, and live by what you know of Christ according to the mystery. If you do this, you are a wise man.
Continue walking each day according to this knowledge and you will be a faithful wise man, which is even better.
Article Index Published: July 30, 2016
Last Modified: March 27, 2019