ROMANS 16:27

“to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.”

(This is our last devotional blog in Romans. What a great journey these past 433 days. I believe the Lord is leading me to begin a verse by verse study of the book of Hebrews next. Join me tomorrow as we spend the next 303 days together in this great letter from an unknown author.)

I have known some wise people in my lifetime. They were people to whom I could go for advice. Some had wisdom earned through decades of hardship. Others had book-learned wisdom about a certain topic or field. Still others just had that commonsense wisdom which can’t be taught. I try to be wise in my actions and words, but I fail sometimes. I am not alone, however. The wisest man in the world is said to have been King Solomon and look how he turned out.

The Expositor’s Greek Testament says this about the statement “to the only wise God.” It says, “this description of God suits all that has just been said about His great purpose in human history, and the hiding and revealing of it in due time.” God always uses the greatest wisdom in His decisions. Why? Because He is the “only wise God.” There is no other!  

APPLICATION

In 1 Corinthians 1:25-27, Paul talks about this wisdom of God compared to man’s. “25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and the weakness of God is stronger than mankind. 26 For consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,” What the world says is weak, God says is strong. What they call foolish, God calls wise. A lost person cannot begin to understand that, can they?

I really love how James explains this wisdom in James 3:17. “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle,  reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy.” Just look at the definition of wisdom in this verse. Does that describe your wisdom? If your wisdom derives from God, it should. But if you are like me, I have a mixed bag of wisdom. Some comes from the world. Some comes from my dad. But the best wisdom I have ever found comes from God’s word.

Psalm 119:105 is a favorite verse for many. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God’s wisdom will light your path. It will guide you as you take each step. Sometimes His wisdom may appear foolish, but we have to trust that He knows best. Remember what we are told in Isaiah 55:8-9. “8 ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. 9 ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

Thank You, Father, for the wisdom from above.

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