Dr Paul Allen

Every culture seems to have its own unique, collected wisdom, pithy insights of the wise. Oftentimes, these tidbits of wisdom are preserved in the form of the proverb. We have proverbial sayings such as “A stitch in time saves nine” or “A penny saved is a penny earned.” The Bible, of course, has an entire book of such pithy sayings—the book of Proverbs. However, this compilation of proverbial wisdom is different from all other such collections in that these sayings reflect not just human wisdom but divine wisdom, for these proverbs are inspired by God. Still, we must be very careful in how we approach and implement these wise sayings . Simply because they are inspired does not mean that the biblical proverbs are like laws, imposing a universal obligation. Yet, some people treat them as if they were divine commandments. If we regard them in that way, we run into all kinds of trouble. Even divinely inspired proverbs do not necessarily apply to all life situations. Rather, they reflect in...

Hebrews 1:2 tells us that in these “last days” God has spoken to humanity “by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he created the world” (compare Col 1:16; 1 Cor 8:6). Jesus’ role as co-creator with God is a familiar doctrine. But in verse 3 there’s something that’s a bit odd: “He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God.”  What’s strange about the phrase isn’t its meaning. We get the metaphor. Jesus “shines forth” the glory of God; He is a brilliant reflection of what God is like.  What’s odd is where the idea comes from, and how startling it would have been to the Jewish Christians for whom the book of Hebrews was intended. The word “radiance” (ἀπαύγασμα, 'apaugasma') occurs only here in the New Testament. To figure out what the writer of Hebrews meant, we have to look at his source. The writer is quoting the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, but the Septuagint included books that many Jews and Christians today do...

“Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars ( Proverbs 9:1 ) The foundation of the house of wisdom is “the fear of the LORD. .the beginning of wisdom” ( Proverbs 9:10 ). One does not finally reach the Lord through much study and the acquisition of much wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the very “beginning of wisdom.” Without a reverent trust in the God of creation and redemption, there can be no true wisdom. “For other foundation, can no man lay than Jesus Christ” ( 1 Corinthians 3:11 ). Then, erected upon this foundation and supporting all the superstructure of the “house of wisdom” are seven mighty pillars or columns. But what are these? The answer seems to be found in that New Testament book of wisdom, the book of James, where it is said that “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” ( James 1:5 ). Then, “a wise man and endued with knowledge . . . [will] show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom” ( James 3:13 ). Finally, the seven g...

In 1 Kings 11, the Bible does not depict Solomon as the sort of person to advise you on love and marriage. Author: Iain Duguid “The Bible does not depict Solomon as the sort of person to whom you should be going for relationship advice.” Solomon had deep patterns of sin and failure in his life — perhaps especially in the realm of his sexuality. Deuteronomy 17:17 forbade the king from multiplying wives, lest they turn his heart away from the Lord . Yet Solomon acquired no fewer than one thousand wives and concubines ( 1 Kings 11:3 ). In the ancient world, polygamy was a way to flaunt your wealth, ensure many offspring, and cement strategic alliances. On a human level, those reasons seemed wise, designed to give security to the royal house. But acquiring one thousand lovers is a sign of a heart determined to be self-sufficient and independent of God . A Flaming Fire Solomon paid a heavy price for ignoring what God had said in favor of human wisdom. Like Solomon, we ...

… give to Your servant an understanding heart ( 1 Kings 3 :9). Some scholars maintain that Solomon did not write Ecclesiastes. They base their hypothesis on such things as differences in style from Solomon’s other writings, and vocabulary of a supposed later origin. Bridges disagreed and considered the evidence against Solomon’s authorship to be shallow and inconsistent with the claims of Scripture: “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem .” Bridges did not believe that some writer of a later era had passed off his own words under the name of “son of David.” Most expositors agree that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes in his later years. Unlike prophecies and revelation that come in an instant, through a dream or vision, wisdom is gained through experience. God taught Solomon wisdom in the school of life, and Ecclesiastes is a summary of that instruction. Through the hardships and pleasures of life, Solomon learned that true happiness does not consist in the kno...

Nebuchadnezzar, by William Blake (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Pr 2:10 NIV Personal growth leads to promotion. Stop and look at the people in your church, your company, or your circle of friends. Management consultant W. Edwards Deming said, “Learning isn’t compulsory…neither is survival.” In corporate culture , the higher your position, the less “doing” is involved, and the more “ critical thinking ” comes into play. Consider a corporate conference room during an important meeting. Typically, a cadre of foot soldiers sits around the table with laptops, briefcases, and boxes of files, while the president enters the room carrying very little. That’s because he or she wasn’t hired to run computers, maintain schedules, and manage files. They were hired for their expertise and the power of their ideas.  Organizations want people with the best ideas to be in leadership; consequently, promotions general...

If I ask you — What causes fights and quarrels in our lives? — you might promptly turn in your Bible to the opening lines of James 4 for the answer: What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:1–3) There it is. What  causes  our fights and quarrels? We want. We are want-ers. We are driven by desires. And want-ers, driven by unchecked desires, find themselves in a lot of fights — some bloody fights, but mostly unseen fights, non-physical fights, the kind of internal loathing towards others, a pot of boiling acid that simmers under the surface and only rarely bubbles up and bursts out in verbal disdain. Under the surface is where we nurse this insidious porridge of...

The word of Christ dwells richly in the one who dwells in it long enough to discover its riches (Colossians  3:16 ). The Bible is the divine mine that contains the theological mother load. Any theology book based on it is only a small fraction of the Bible’s unquantifiable wealth. That’s why there will be no end to theological book publishing. The wonderful thing about this mine is that we often find treasure in unexpected places. God loves to lace and layer revelatory riches in what at first seems like a fairly straightforward historical narrative. One example is the account of Jesus and Peter walking on water in Matthew  14:22 –33. This aquatic hike is astounding. But if we’re not careful, we may only see the obvious gold and miss out on much more. Here are a few less obvious nuggets I found when digging recently. Jesus Makes Us Face Strong Waves in the Dark Jesus “made” the disciples get into the boat (Matthew  14:22 ). At the time, they probably didn’t t...

“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” ( Colossians 2:3 ) Paul had just promised the twice-born that they would be endowed with the “riches of the full assurance of understanding” that would enable them to possess an acknowledgment of the triune Godhead. The ability to understand and the profound awareness of the Trinity is possible because all “the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are in Christ—who is in us! In Colossians 1:9, Paul prays that they “might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” a sufficient awareness of information that will enable them to have “understanding in all things” ( 2 Timothy 2:7 ). Jesus explained to His apostles that His parables were devices to reveal to them “the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” ( Luke 8:10 ). This wisdom and knowledge is the “treasure” of the Lord Jesus, not of the wor...

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52 If there had been a “gifted” class when He was a child, Jesus would have been in it. We’re really not sure how it all played out with His 100-percent divine/100-percent human nature, but He was definitely different from the other kids in the neighborhood.  Yet, He was enough like them that the town elders erroneously thought of Him as “the carpenter’s son” when He came back as an adult and performed miracles! We don’t know the details about Jesus’ childhood, whether He experienced development and maturity in the same manner as we do. Yet we do know that He never sinned, never rebelled against what was right. Scripture tells us that He “learned”—increased in wisdom—so we can assume He was “taught” in some manner. He was way ahead of the other kids in so many ways. Talk about gifted! He was God in the flesh; He could heal disease, correct deformities, multiply meals, and resurrect the dead. He a...

“Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?” ( Job 28:20 ) In one of his monologues, Job compares his search for spiritual understanding to man’s explorations for metals and precious stones. “There is a vein for the silver,” he said, “and a place for gold. . . . Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone” (vv. 1-2). These all are easier to find than true wisdom . “It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold” (vv. 16-19). Neither have animals discovered it . “The fierce lion passed by it. . . . it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air” (vv. 8, 21). “The depth saith, It is not in ...

I recently heard a young Christian remark, “I have no fear of dying.” When I heard this comment I thought to myself, “I wish I could say that.” I am not afraid of death. I believe that death for the Christian is a glorious transition to heaven. I am not afraid of going to heaven. It’s the process that frightens me. I don’t know by what means I will die. It may be via a process of suffering and that frightens me. I know that even this shouldn’t frighten me. There are lots of things that frighten me that I shouldn’t let frighten me. The Scripture declares that perfect love casts out fear. But my love is still imperfect and fear hangs around. THERE IS ONE FEAR, HOWEVER, that many of us do not have that we should have. It is the fear of God. Not only are we allowed to fear God, we are commanded to fear Him. A mark of reprobation is to have no fear of God before our eyes. Luther made an important distinction concerning the fear of God. He distinguished between servile fear and filia...

How can God be the cause of actions and events that are evil and sinful—things which God Himself prescribes against—and yet not be rightly charged with unrighteousness? Some people answer this question by appealing to the notion of divine “permission.” In other words, though God is ultimately in control, He doesn’t ordainevil; He merely allows it. I don’t find this kind of explanation convincing for two reasons. God’s Decree and Divine “Permission” The first is: I find the concept of divine permission to be inconsistent with the biblical teaching of God’s decree outlined in the previous post. The fundamental meaning of “permission” is “not to hinder what has, or appears to have, a tendency to take place” (Edwards, Concerning the Divine Decrees). The concept of permission is used this way in Scripture (e.g., Mark10:14; Acts 16:7), and even the etymology of the English word testifies that it has the idea of “to allow to pass through.” In fact, Arminian theologians treat the ...

Do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17 We must choose to pursue wisdom . It’s up to each of us to determine how we will walk through this life. Wisdom is not something a person stumbles into or acquires automatically; it must be sought out and pursued.  The person who walks in wisdom is very aware of his life, how he affects the world, and how the world affects him. He recognizes that every person faces three enemies in life: the world system, the flesh, and the devil.  He seeks to know God ’s plan and purpose—not only for his personal life but also for every situation involving other people around him. Related articles Rewards of Character (kelliconrad.wordpress.com) This Is Exactly Why I Chose Not To Get A Life Coach Certification (youuniversityonline.com) Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Path to Success (calebsermons.com) Wisdom (womenofbslc.wordpress.com) Prospering of The Spirit (faultedyetchosen.wordpress.com) ...

Seven Pillars of Wisdom rock formation in Wadi Rum, Jordan (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars .” ( Proverbs 9:1 )   The foundation of the house of wisdom is “the fear of the LORD. . . the beginning of wisdom” ( Proverbs  9:10 ). One does not finally reach the Lord through much study and the acquisition of much wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the very “ beginning  of wisdom.” Without a reverent trust in the God of creation and redemption, there can be no  true  wisdom. “For other foundation can no man lay than . . . Jesus Christ ” ( 1 Corinthians  3:11 ).   Then, erected upon this foundation and supporting all the superstructure of the “house of wisdom” are seven mighty pillars or columns. But what are these? The answer seems to be found in that New Testament book of wisdom , the book of James , where it is said that “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” ( James 1:5 ). Th...