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<!doctype html
public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">God is Wise
Psalm
139:1-6,17-18
Introduction
We
have already considered the almighty power of God —His
omnipotence—which enables Him to do anything He chooses. Today we turn to His infinite wisdom.
If there is anything the Bible teaches us about God, it is that He is
all-wise.
13
“With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and
understanding” (Job 12:13).
28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the
Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His
understanding is inscrutable (Isaiah 40:28).
33
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33;
see also Job 9:1-4; 36:5; Isaiah 31:1-2).
One
might sum up the meaning of the term “wisdom” with the words, “know how.” Wisdom
is based upon knowledge. Often, in fact, wisdom and knowledge are
mentioned together (see Jeremiah 10:12;
51:15; Luke 1:17
(AV); Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 2:5; Colossians 2:3; Revelation 5:12; 7:12). Wisdom cannot exist without a
knowledge of all the facts pertinent to any purpose or plan.
God
knows everything. Theologians use the term “omniscient” when
speaking of God’s infinite knowledge. God knows everything about
everything. God cannot devise a bad plan or fail to bring His purposes
and promises to their conclusion because He knows everything. His
omniscience undergirds His wisdom.
A.
W. Tozer and J. I. Packer have defined wisdom as follows:
“In
the Holy Scriptures wisdom, when used of God and good men, always carries
a strong moral connotation. Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to
devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means.
It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or
conjecture.
“Wisdom
is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest
goal, together with the surest means of attaining it. Wisdom is, in fact, the practical side
of moral goodness. As such, it is found in its fulness only in God. He
alone is naturally and entirely and invariable wise.”18
I. God's Wisdom: All Knowledge Stems
from Him
If God is omniscient…all knowing, and completely wise then what he
reaveals about himself, about us, about the creation, about how we should
live, about how to have a relationship with Him…is True. All knowledge comes from
God….God reveals Truth…God's word the bible contains this
truth …and because it is God's revealed truth, it is without error,
it is infalliable.
We
have said that God's perfect wisdom is based on his perfect
knowledge. Let me just mention
five areas this is true…although it is true for all of life. The five areas are science, education,
ethics and morality, economics and relationships.
1.
Lets talk about science. Today there is conflict between science and
religion. Right now the greatest battle of this conflict is in the area
of creation and evolution.
God
is wise. He is omniscient. He is the source of all knowledge and truth
stems from Him. This means that all knowledge in science — whether
that knowledge be in biology, geology, astronomy, physics, economics,
archaeology, or whatever — comes from God and tells us something
about Him.
Ultimately,
this means there can be and should be no conflict between genuine science
and the truth of God. Christians
may have something to fear from certain scientists, but they have nothing
to fear from authentic science. This further means that the
scientist who teaches contrary to the Bible is wrong. If science ever
teaches something which flat-out contradicts the Bible we know science is
wrong because God is omniscient.
On
the other side of the coin we must also admit that our understanding and
interpretation of the Bible can be wrong. Perhaps you have heard of
Nicolaus Copernicus, the famous Polish astronomer born in 1473. In 1543
he proposed that the earth moves, that it is not the center of the
universe, and that the sun, moon, and stars do not revolve around the
earth. About 100 years later when his views were proven by Kepler the
controversies began when some churchmen argued on Biblical grounds that
the earth was the center of the universe and that Kepler and Copernicus
were wrong. Those churchmen should have allowed their faulty
interpretation of Scripture to be corrected with the knowledge made
available from science.
God
is omniscient and completely wise. This means that all truth is coherent
and non-contradictory. So, if
there is conflict between science and religion either scientists are
reading the facts wrong or the theologians are reading the Bible
wrong. In other words, theologians
may correct scientists and scientists may correct theologians; but no one
may ever correct God for God is omniscient and completely wise.
1. Let's talk about education. God is omniscient and completely wise.
He is the source of all truth and all knowledge. The Psalmist says, "In your light
we see light" (Ps 36:9). Therefore all learning… must stem
from Him and acknowledge Him. Yes,
apart from God we may gain knowledge and learn facts, but if God is left
out, our learning never reaches its full potential. This is why some
parents choose christian schools or home schooling.
3. Let's talk about ethics and
morality… lets take the issue of premarital or extra-marital sex.
In His Word God says,
(Eph
5:3) But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or
of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for
God's holy people.
The
Bible is completely out of step with modern theory and practice here.
Many psychiatrists and counselors say that premarital or extra-marital
sex is not only permissible but also healthy. They are joined by a chorus
of educators and even some clergy.
We add to this the results of sexual surveys which reveal that
many Americans — both inside and outside the church — have
practiced premarital and extra-marital sex.
Is
the Bible giving bad advice here? God is omniscient….all knowing
and all wise… He knows what He is talking about.
4. Let's talk about economics. Wall Street
trumpets the benefit of greed. Chase after the dollar, it says; strive
for riches, it says. Most Americans seem to agree with this. But what
does God say? He says,
(Lk
12:15) "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a
man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
(Mt
6:19-20) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth ... (20)
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven ..."
God
is omniscient. He knows what He is talking about.
5. Let's talk about relationships. The philosophy today is to look after
number 1, to step on those in front of you, make your voice heard, stand
up for yourself, don't let people walk all over you, be assertive. Ours
is a self-centered culture. But what does God say? He says,
(Mt
5:5-7) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (6) Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
(7) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
God
knows more than scientist, more than educators, more than the American
Psychiatric Association, more than a symposium of learned churchmen, more
than newspaper columnists or TV talk show hosts. God is omniscient. He
knows what He is talking about. We can absolutely trust His Word.
Let me talk to you about one
other practical implications of God being all wise and all knowing?
II God Knows Me
We all have something to hide. We
hide from our parents, our friends, our fellow church members and even
sometimes from our spouses. We may
have one or two close friends with whom we discuss some of our deepest,
darkest secrets, but none of us reveals everything. If everything were known about anyone
of us we would instantly lose any good name we may have. So we cover
up. We try to present our best
side to the world. We want people to know us for our virtues, not our
vices.
Try
as we may like, we can't hide our true nature from God. God knows us
better than we ourselves do. (Job
37:16). God isn't fooled by
outward appearances because He looks into the heart and knows what is
really there. Remember the time the prophet Samuel was commanded to go to
Bethlehem
to anoint one of Jesse's sons as king. Samuel was impressed when he saw
Jesse's son Eliab and thought "Surely the LORD'S anointed stands
here." But the LORD said to Samuel,
(1
Sam 16:7) "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have
rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man
looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
God
knows and sees everything. He knows the number of the days of our lives
before we are even born (Ps 139:16). He knows where we live and what we do.
He knows our deeds, He knows our words, He knows our thoughts.
David
learned this about God. David tried to hide his sin from God he thought
he had covered all the bases, that he was safe and secure. But God knew
what David did and sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his
sin. It was sometime after this that David composed the beautiful words
of Psalm 139:
(Ps
139:1-4) O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. (2) You know when
I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. (3) You
discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my
ways. (4) Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
"God
knows me," says David. "He knows my words and my thoughts. He
knows where I am and what I am doing. He is familiar with all of my
habits. He is aware of all of my sins and shortcomings."
God
is completely wise. He is omniscient.
The
Biblical message is that someday our all-knowing, all- seeing God will
call on every person to account for everything in his or her life:
(2
Cor 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that
each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the
body, whether good or bad.
We
must account for our deeds:
(Rev
20:12) And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,
and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of
life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in
the books.
We
must account for our words:
(Matt
12:36) But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of
judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
We
will even be held accountable for our thoughts:
(1
Cor 4:5) Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden
in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.
Every
person has one of two different reactions to this omniscient judgment of
our all-knowing, all-seeing God. The first reaction is fear. Think of
Adam and Eve in the garden. When first put there by God they were both naked
and unashamed. After the fall into sin, however, they both tried to cover
up. They were naked and ashamed and tried to hide from God. With sin came
fear of our all-knowing, all-seeing God.
For
unbelievers nothing is more dreadful than the thought of being completely
known by God. The non christian does not want God to look at him; he
wants God to overlook him. He spends all his life looking over his
shoulder, scared and afraid. In one of his proverbs King Solomon says,
"The wicked man flees though no one pursues" (Prov 28:1a).
Martin Luther puts it another way: "The pagan trembles at the
rustling of a leaf." What is he afraid of? He is afraid of God; he's
afraid of an omniscient God Who knows and sees everything; he's afraid of
an omniscient God Who calls man to account for every deed, every word,
and every thought.
The
second reaction is that of the believer. Unlike the unbeliever, the
believer does not fear that everything is known by God. Yes, God knows us
as we really are; He knows the wickedness of our deeds and words and
thoughts; yet, God still loves and accepts us in Jesus Christ. I doubt if any person would accept us
if they really knew everything about us. But God, He knows everything and
still loves and accepts us in Christ. You see, God looks at us poor,
miserable sinners through the cloak of Christ's righteousness. Because of the work of Jesus…in
dying for my sins God sees us as being righteous and pure and holy. And, in the Final Judgment God will
reveal everything there is to know about me, all my filth and dirt He
will lay out in the open for everyone to see; but even that doesn't scare
me because this will all be revealed as FORGIVEN SINS, as sins covered by
the blood of Christ.
Once
we realize that God in Christ is for us and not against us, then our
natural fear of His all-knowing, all-seeing gaze is lessened. Once we
realize that God is for us and not against us, then we, with David, will
invite God's scrutiny:
(Ps
139:23-24) Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my
anxious thoughts. (24) See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead
me in the way everlasting.
David
asked God to search him out, to put him under the divine searchlight.
David did not do this arrogantly, daring God to find anything wrong. On
the contrary, David knew that God would find wicked ways in his heart.
But David wanted to be washed and cleansed not only of sins he was aware
of but also of secret, unknown sins within the depth of his heart. David
welcomed the gaze of God because he knew God's children are cleansed when
they experience God's scrutiny.
To
be known by God is our highest privilege. And our greatest folly is to
try and flee from God. As Jonah found out, it just cannot be done. There
is no adequate hiding place. We can call for the mountains to fall on us
and the hills to cover us, but the eye of God can see through mountains
and hills. Again we listen to David in Psalm 139:
(Ps
139:7-12) Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your
presence? (8) If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed
in the depths, you are there. (9) If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if
I settle on the far side of the sea, (10) even there your hand will guide
me, your right hand will hold me fast. (11) If I say, "Surely the darkness
will hide me and the light become night around me," (12) even the
darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for
darkness is as light to you.
There
is no escape from God.
God,
then, is completely wise. He is omniscient. He sees all things and knows
all things about me and you and every other person.
Conclusion
What kind of God do we believe in? We believe our God is omniscient. He
is completely wise. He knows everything there is to know about me. He is
the source and root of all knowledge and truth. Only in His light do we
see light.
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