Wisdom and Understanding

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives…

Colossians 1:9

The one thing Paul asks for is that the Colossians might come to understand God's will. He knows that if they begin to understand the will of God, everything good that he desires for them will follow. Thus, the chief aim of a believer's life ought to be to know God's will. But here is where many young Christians go astray. They think the will of God is an itinerary they must discover: where God wants them to go, and what God wants them to do. Most of their prayers are addressed with those thoughts in mind. What should I do today? Where should I go? Who should I marry? There is a profound psychological principle involved in this. God knows us, and he knows that our behavior flows out of who we think we are. The glory of the good news is that he has made us into something different from what we once were. Therefore, the primary course in the curriculum of the Spirit is to learn who you are now, what God has made you to be, and especially, your new relationship to him. The more you understand who you now are, and what God has done to make you that, the more your behavior will change. That is why Paul puts the knowledge of God's will first.

Where do we find that out? Paul says, …through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. There are two things that enable us to discover the will of God. The first is wisdom. This wisdom comes from the Spirit, not from the natural mind of man. In 1 Corinthians the apostle contrasts these two, saying, our ministry is not according to the wisdom of man, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power. He goes on to say, We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages, for our glorification. Paul is speaking of divine insights into human life—how to understand ourselves and how the world functions—which God reveals, but of which natural man knows nothing, no matter how well educated he may be.

The second thing necessary to discover the will of God is understanding. That is the application of the wisdom you are learning to the specific circumstance you are going through. As someone has put it, a clear vision of what needs to be done. You may be struggling with problems and you don't know what to do. The first thing is to understand how God sees your problem and what he says about it in his word. Then there will come, as you pray and seek his face, a clear vision of what needs to be done. What steps to take or not to take. That is how to discover the will of God.

This all comes from the Spirit. These are not natural abilities. They are given by the Spirit, and are therefore possible to all believers.

Father, grant that through your Spirit I might grow in both wisdom and understanding that I might know your will.