Weekly Devotional: Our wise God (8 in Romans series)

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” Romans 11:33–36 (NIV)

This learned and wise apostle shows his humility in this doxology as he concludes his teaching on how Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ. He quotes from the prophet Isaiah when he poses the questions of who can know the mind of God or be his counsellor (Isaiah 40:13), and note the questions he poses in this passage, for they are rhetorical. No one can know God’s mind – and yet, the Lord has revealed himself through Christ Jesus. Through him we see an embodiment of God’s wisdom.

I love the writing of Dallas Willard, who was a philosopher and one concerned deeply with spiritual formation before he died a few years ago. When giving a talk at a church or at a conference, he would ask audiences who was the smartest man in the world. People would trot out answers such as Albert Einstein or other known thinkers, and Dallas would eventually say, “But why aren’t you saying Jesus?” Dallas wanted to change people’s thinking and help them to realize that Jesus was and is the smartest person ever, and that he continues to be our teacher as he dwells within us.

We can become wise through the study of God’s word and world, and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For the Lord has created us to think and to exercise our discernment, and he will lead us into all wisdom. Whether or not we have a university degree doesn’t matter when we know that we have the best and smartest teacher ever giving us individual tutorials!

Prayer: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thank you that you teach me how to live. Help me to exercise my mind, that I would think Christianly about the world and my place in it.