Dr Paul Allen

English: Wisdom of God, Buckland Road. A grade I listed Anglican church with the unusual dedication to "Jesus Christ the Wisdom of God", which is pretty enough outside but its real treasures are within. Unique in England, its basilica-style interior is filled with genuine marbles and mosaics from ancient Rome and Byzantium. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Trust the Lord!  It’s one of those sincere, but often trite-sounding, statements we may say when we are trying to encourage or challenge someone. We may throw it around when someone has a hope deferred.  Trust the Lord. We say it when someone is anxious about provision. We say it to the terrified young mom as she brings her first child home from the hospital. We say it, perhaps in a slightly different way, to the wife who has just lost her beloved husband.  I’m praying for you. Lean on the Lord. And when we are miserable with fear — fear of the future, fear of man, fear of tragedy — we often say,  Trust the Lord . Th

“And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.” ( 1 Kings 3:28 ) Although God ’s wisdom is expounded in depth in the Scriptures , there are only seven times that the specific phrase “the wisdom of God” is used as such. The above text is indicating that God’s wisdom can actually be manifested in men through divine inspiration. The Persian king recognized this also in Ezra . “And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges . . . all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not” ( Ezra7:25 ). The wisdom of God thus is always consistent with the laws of God—that is, with the Scriptures. The first New Testament reference is from Christ . “Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles” ( Luke11:49 ). Here the Lord is applying a scriptural principle from 2 Chronicles 36:15-

The Anointing of Solomon by Cornelis de Vos. According to 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon was anointed by Zadok. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.” ( 1 Kings 3:28 ) The “wisdom of God,” as attributed to Solomon , is an awesome concept, because God Himself is omniscient. Apparently Solomon was given a greater share of the divine wisdom than any others of his generation, and probably more than most of any generation. God also gave him “largeness of heart” ( 1 Kings 4:29 ). Not only did he build and effectively rule a great kingdom, but “he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five” ( 1 Kings 4:32 ). Included in these, of course, were three divinely inspired books ( Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , Song of Solomon ), which are now in our Bibles . Furthermore, he was a scientist, for “he spake of trees, . . . of beasts, and

Miniature ofrom Folio 8r of the Syriac Bible of Paris shows Moses before Pharaoh. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus , whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus . And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” Acts 9:5–9 Sometimes God uses the most unlikely of people to accomplish his mission. This is a common theme throughout the Bible. God called out to Moses and told him to confront the most powerful man in the world at that time, Pharaoh, who was enslaving God’s people . Moses had a big problem. He was a nobody, and he couldn’t speak well. But God promised to be with him. God told Joshua to lead his people into the promise la

“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” ( Hebrews 1:14 ) Although most Christians are aware of the biblical doctrine of angels, few appreciate what a tremendous resource this may be. Even though they are invisible to us, angels are real, and are more involved in our personal lives than we realize. The primary purpose for which they were created by God was, according to our text, to be servants (i.e., “ministers”) to those who are to inherit salvation. They are beings of great wisdom, “to know all things that are in the earth” ( 2 Samuel 14:20 ). Furthermore, they “excel in strength” ( Psalm 103:20 ). They can travel at tremendous speeds, “being caused to fly swiftly” ( Daniel 9:21 ). Furthermore, there exists “an innumerable company of angels” ( Hebrews 12:22 ), so God is able to dispatch any necessary number of them to “do his commandments” ( Psalm 103:20 ) on behalf of His people. Since their very existence is rela

English: Jesus Christ - detail from Deesis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus , who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness , and sanctification, and redemption." ( 1 Corinthians 1:30 ) In this one verse we find described four aspects of Christ 's work on our behalf. It is "of him," literally "by his doing," that we are in Christ Jesus, who "is made" or "who became" these things to us and for us. Wisdom of God : This is the preferred rendering. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth (a Greek city). The Greeks were infatuated with wisdom, but Paul declared Christ Jesus to be the "wisdom of God." Such wisdom is likewise imparted to believers ( v. 24 ), while "the foolishness of God is wiser than men" ( v. 25 ). Righteousness: Christ, being "made" righteousness, becomes an all-sufficient righteousness to us. This imputed right

 Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). Wikipedia ) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery  ( 1 Cor. 2:7). Many times in his epistles Paul asserts that he was not a preacher of human wisdom. Should we, then, infer that Paul despised knowledge, that he was an illiterate enemy of learning, or that he taught nonsense? Far from it! Paul taught the highest wisdom. “The objection urged against Paul was that he did not teach philosophy ,” Hodge wrote. “His answer is, philosophy cannot save men. Whatever may be its value within its own sphere and for its own ends, it is worse than useless as a substitute for the Gospel. He was not for banishing philosophy from the schools, but from the pulpit. Let the dead bury the dead; but do not let them pretend to impart life.” Remember that Paul lived in a day when philosophical debate was a popular pastime. Instead of dealing with the mundane issue

First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pitsak, a Medieval Armenian scribe and miniaturist (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 22:46 “No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions” ( v. 46 ). Christ ’s use of Psalm 110 to expose the Pharisees’ poor grasp of the Messiah’s identity is fascinating ( Matt. 22:41–45 ). A first-century Jew might call his father “lord,” but a Jewish father would not address his son in this way. Thus, David reveals that his son is no mere man when he names him “Lord” ( Ps. 110:1 ). That “the Lord” (Yahweh, the only true God ) seats David’s son at His right hand confirms this reasoning, for the one at the king’s right hand shares in his reign. God’s authority belongs to the Messiah, making Him greater than David. Matthew 22:46 indicates that the Savior’s reasoning from Psalm 110 has silenced all His accusers. Christ’s wisdom has at several points stopped the tongues of His hearers (7:28–29; 22:

Parable of the Good Samaritan (Photo credit: Lawrence OP ) "I will open my mouth in a parable : I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us." ( Psalm 78:2-3 ) Most people do not think of parables--especially the parables of Christ --as dark (i.e., hidden) sayings, puzzling, ambiguous information but rather as figurative illustrations to help people comprehend some spiritual teaching. But Christ used parables to conceal truth, not to reveal truth! "Therefore speak I to them in parables," He said in response to the disciples' question as to why He was speaking in parables, "because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" ( Matthew 13:13 ). The principle is this: a person must first believe and obey the light he has already received before God will give Him further light. "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoe

Jesus Christ Crucifix (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?" ( 1 Corinthians 6:5 ) The word for "shame" in this verse is the Greek entrope, meaning "turning inward" or "inversion." It is used only one other time, in 1 Corinthians 15:34 : "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame." Evidently this special variety of shame is associated with taking controversies between Christian brethren to ungodly judges and also with failing to witness to the non-Christian community. Instead of bringing the true wisdom of God to the ungodly, such " entropic Christians" were turning to worldly wisdom to resolve their own spiritual problems. This inverted behavior was nothing less than spiritual confusion! The modern scientific term "entropy&quo

Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." ( Matthew 11:25 ) The attributes of wisdom and prudence are prized very highly by the world and its leaders, but worldly wisdom and pragmatic prudence are incapable in themselves of comprehending the spiritual concepts in the plan of God . The Lord Jesus , in fact, considered this very truth a cause for thanksgiving! One does not need either education or wisdom to appropriate the true wisdom of God , for even a young child (in fact, only one who becomes like a child) is able to understand true wisdom. "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 18:3 ). The fact that most of the world’s scholars reject the Word of God is no