GospelNotes.life

Category: Wisdom

  • Wisdom vs Knowledge

    What’s the difference between wisdom and knowledge? There’s the “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “why” and “how” in every aspect of life. Knowledge is simply knowing “what” something is. Wisdom is knowing what to do with it, why we do the things we do, how to do it and when to do it.

    You can memorize the 10 commandments and know “what” they are. That makes you knowledgeable in them. But you’re not very wise in them if you don’t understand why we follow those commands and how and when to apply them.

    Another simple example I learned is having the knowledge of what a red stoplight is – simply, a red light on a street. But the wisdom in it is to simply know that we apply the brakes and stop at the red light, and why we stop (so other cars from another direction can fairly get through).

    The way the Holy Spirit teaches wisdom is that God has given us all of His wisdom in His bible. If we pray for wisdom (as we are instructed to), we must read that bible of wisdom and load the information into our minds – even if we don’t understand it at first. Then, now that we have that knowledge loaded into our minds, the Holy Spirit will help us understand why those things are the way they are as we meditate on them and work through them logically, and bring it to remembrance in times of need to help us act on that knowledge, giving us wisdom. And as you’re reading the bible over and over again, He will bring to remembrance other scripture that connects with the scripture you’re currently reading, to give you a more complete picture of the concept God is trying to explain. If you pray for wisdom but don’t read the bible full of all His wisdom, don’t expect Him to just download all that wisdom into your mind. He’s freely given us all of it in His bible, and expects us to diligently search Him and His ways out via the word.

  • The Ways of God: The Truth, The Will of God, Fully Pleasing Him, Walking Worthy of Him

    Three different ways of saying the same thing: walking worthy of God, doing His will for you, fully pleasing Him. What are these things?:

    Of God, the:

    1. Knowledge
    2. Wisdom
    3. Ways
    4. Truth
    5. Will

    In:

    1. Faith
      1. Believing the gospel alone for salvation: that Christ died to pay for all your sins, was buried and rose again the third day – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9
    2. Character
      1. Exercising godliness (the conduct and character of God) by walking in the Spirit (producing the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7):
        1. Love (patience, kindness, not envying, not boasting, not prideful – humble, not rude, forgives, selfless, not provoked to anger, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in evil, but rather rejoices in what’s good, bears with others, believes others, has hope in all things, endures all things).
        2. Peace.
        3. Joy.
        4. Kindness.
        5. Gentleness.
        6. Patience.
        7. Forbearance.
        8. Longsuffering.
        9. Self control.
        10. Faithfulness.
        11. Goodness.
        12. Forgiveness.
        13. Thankfulness.
      2. Exercising godliness by not doing the following evil spiritual things:
        1. Pride.
        2. Haughtiness.
        3. Headstrong.
        4. Boasting.
        5. Selfishness.
        6. Coveting.
        7. Envying.
        8. Complaining.
        9. Arguing.
        10. Even thinking of doing something evil or wishing it upon others.
        11. Deceitfulness.
        12. Gossiping.
        13. Slandering.
        14. Talking evil of anyone, to their face or behind their back.
        15. Disobedience.
        16. Being untrustworthy.
        17. Traitorous.
        18. Unforgiving.
        19. Unmerciful.
        20. Lewdness.
        21. Anger.
        22. Malice.
        23. Filthy language.
        24. Foolishness.
        25. Joking around.
        26. Sarcasm.
        27. Cynicism.
        28. Heretical.
        29. Blaspheming the name of God.
        30. Unthankful.
        31. Hatred.
    3. Conduct
      1. Exercising godliness by abstaining from sin:
        1. Adultery.
        2. Lust.
        3. Fornication.
        4. Loving money.
        5. Idolatry.
        6. Violence.
        7. Murder.
        8. Stealing.
        9. Lying.
        10. Drunkenness.
        11. Revelries.
    4. Doing good works
      1. Being useful and profitable to others, easing their burdens – bringing them peace and joy.
    5. Using your ministry gifts (whichever you have have been given by the Holy Spirit) to edify others:
      1. Evangelism: saving souls by spreading the gospel.
      2. Shepherding the flock (leading the church) with your wisdom in the things of God.
      3. Encouraging the brethren.
      4. Correcting, teaching and warning the brethren with all gentleness, humility, kindness and patience.
      5. Helping the needy.
      6. Church administrations.
      7. Prayers, supplications and intercessions for all people.
      8. Prophesying: bringing new knowledge and revelation to the body of Christ.
    6. Learning
      1. Reading scripture, giving yourself entirely to it, meditating on it day and night.
      2. Growing in discernment between right and wrong morally, and in the ways of God vs the ways of the world.
    7. Life
      1. Leading a quiet, peaceable life.
      2. Being content with what we have and thankful for all we receive from our Heavenly Father.
      3. Minding our own business.
      4. Working quietly with our own hands so that we may support ourselves and family, and have money to give to those in need.
      5. Waiting patiently on the rapture, or, the end of the Tribulation.

    To do these things, you must commit them to memory over time and exercise yourself daily in them. It’s a lifelong process of growth. The goal, as Paul states in Philippians 3, is to become a perfect man in the ways of Christ (the above things). Run the race as to win the prize (work hard at these things!). Start by memorizing the character of God in point number 2 (Character). The way to view this note is: point number 1 (Faith) is first and foremost – the only requirement for salvation – and all the rest of the points are equal and in no particular order, and are not salvation issues. 

    Further reading:

    For an exhaustive list of the knowledge of God, see the note: The Knowledge and Wisdom of God.

  • A wise and well-rounded human

    A wise and well rounded human knows and lives and breathes the following:

    The dichotomy of the spirit vs the flesh, and how to suppress the flesh and walk in the spirit:

    The spirit

    • Needs
      • The peace of companionship.
        • Why? For it is not good for man to be alone. That’s just the nature of the spirit – how we’re programmed.
      • The joy of loving and righteous fellowship.
        • Why? The spirit craves healthy fellowship. That’s just the nature of the spirit – how we’re programmed.
      • The peace of wisdom in:
        • Salvation.
          • Why? Knowing where you’re going to spend eternity is very peaceful.
        • The future and prophecy.
          • Why? Knowing where this world is headed and what the future holds brings peace of mind.
        • The ways of God vs the ways of the world (from reading the bible).
          • Why? To know how to navigate life the proper way brings much peace.
        • Godly discernment.
          • Why? To have an understanding of what’s truly happening is peace.
      • The peace of contentment:
        • Which is the wisdom that the lust of the flesh (food/drink/stimulants/sex), the lust of the eyes (possessions) and the pride of life (I’m better for whatever reason) don’t bring any true peace and joy to the spirit.
        • Why? The contentment of not needing those things for your peace and joy (which ultimately bring misery), and being satisfied with little, opens you up to focusing on the peace and joy of your spirit – and not being distracted by your flesh.
      • The peace of a still and quiet mind.
        • Why? Because it’s peace from the painful mental noise of chaos, stress, depression, anxiety, fear, worry, panic, nervousness, anger, bitterness, envy, etc.
      • The peace and joy of knowing how to work:
        • Slow and methodical; deeply focused on the task at hand; gentle, patient and self-controlled, quiet.
        • Why? Because rushing and being pressured and forcing things brings a sense of overwhelmingness, chaos, anxiety, stress, panic, worry, nervousness.
      • The peace of self-control not to get angry, knowing how to forgive on-the-fly and let go, returning kindness they don’t deserve (grace).
        • Why? Because anger and bitterness are painful emotions that make life not worth living, and forgiveness and letting go is the sole key to getting rid of those emotions and in turn brings you peace and joy in a restored relationship.
      • The peace of yielding and submitting to others.
        • Why? Being headstrong and always needing things your way is prideful, stressful, and selfish, which are all feelings making life not worth living. Yielding to others and doing what they want to do, helping them selflessly, eases their burden and brings them joy and peace, and in turn brings you joy and peace. It’s a beautiful system that benefits yourself while benefiting others, vs selfishness which only benefits you.
      • The peace of patience.
        • Why? Because rushing and being pressured and forcing things brings a sense of overwhelmingness, chaos, anxiety, stress, panic, worry, nervousness – for you and the other.

    The flesh

    • Lusts after:
      • Food and drink (the lust of the flesh).
      • Alcohol/stimulants (the lust of the flesh).
      • Sexuality (the lust of the flesh).
      • Possessions (the lust of the eyes).
      • Pride (thinking you’re better than others for whatever reason).
    • Requiring strong self-control to:
      • Not overeat and drink.
        • Why? Health reasons, and food/drink are selfish needs: they don’t bring any joy and peace to the spirit, and they only benefit the flesh consuming them, in turn at the expense of the preparer, costing them tons of time, effort and money (and more time and effort to earn that money). And the flesh is never satisfied, once it gets a little, it wants a lot more, endlessly.
      • Not get drunk/high.
        • Why? Health reasons – dehydration, headaches, nausea, vomiting, blackouts and injuries, wooziness, dizziness, and getting drunk and high cause all sorts of mental strain making life not worth living – sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, stress, panic, worry, etc.
      • Not lust over flesh.
        • Why? Sexual lust perverts the way we look at all humans and the entire world – through the lens of sexuality, and it’s perverse and impure and creepy. It tears relationships apart, and desensitizes us to the purity and sanctity of sexual relations between a husband and wife, as well as the reason God programmed us for bodily lust in the first place – to simply entice a husband and wife to come together to procreate and populate the earth. Lustful people abuse this programming.
      • Not overspend on possessions.
        • Why? Possessions don’t bring the spirit any joy or peace. The desire for possessions is selfish – only benefitting oneself, all at the expense of the creator and acquirer, costing them much time, effort and money (and even more time and effort to earn that money). When the money used to acquire such useless possessions could be given to help the basic necessities of those who have literally nothing – no clothes or food or shelter or healthcare. See all the stores and the endless lust of the eyes within them – useless stuff that enslaves our spirit to our flesh with jobs and careers. If we were content with truly basic necessities, there would be very little industry that needed working, and much more peace and relaxation.
      • Be humble despite your qualities and possessions.
        • Why? Thinking you’re better than others for your qualities (say beauty, intelligence, athletic talent, etc.) or the amount and quality of your possessions and the wealth to acquire them, is just a lie. They ultimately don’t benefit anyone who is content, and the spirit just doesn’t care about these things – they don’t bring the spirit any joy or peace. Other spirits are what bring our spirit joy and peace (or misery – like a prideful person), and an exalted person according to the truth of the ways of God, is a humble spirit that loves God and follows His ways, and loves and helps all others. These types of people benefit others by bringing their spirit true joy and peace, in turn benefiting themselves with true joy and peace. Pride is selfish, and only seeks to benefit itself.