Wisdom Wednesday: Paul’s Teaching on Wisdom
Part 3 – Wisdom for the Believers at Rome
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
(Romans 11:33) NASB 95
As Paul was concluding his third missionary journey, he wrote the epistle of Romans to encourage the believers there, whom he had never met. These believers must have heard the gospel from those who came from Jerusalem and have grown a fellowship of faithful believers. Paul was so impressed! He wanted to come to visit them (Rom 1:8-15) but he was headed to Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25). So he wrote him an extended letter that laid out a complete theology of the gospel message from mankind’s universal condemnation (sin), God’s justification by faith (salvation) in Jesus Christ, to the setting apart (sanctification) of the believer.
Woven through this epistle is the theme of the wisdom of God’s plan of salvation and walking with God daily.
- In the opening chapter, Paul describes the resulting false wisdom of unrighteous men who reject God and turn to idolatry.
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Ro 1:21–23)
- In chapters 4-11, Paul explains in logical order God’s mercy in salvation, His power in sanctification, and His sovereign plan for Israel. In this section, he shows how , as believers, we must “walk” in newness of life (6:4) according to the Spirit (8:4)
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:4)
[We] who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom 8:4)
God’s provision of salvation and sanctification – the method of saving entirely lost sinners – is extolled as the Wisdom of God:
For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Rom 11:32–33)
- In chapters 12-15 Paul described the conduct of “the walk” of wisdom, beginning with the mind that is no longer conformed to the world (of false wisdom) but to the will of God by being renewed by God’s Spirit (see also Titus 3:5).
The structure of the book is illustrated in the figure below, highlighting where Paul emphasizes wisdom (false and true) and uses the work “walk” to refer to the walk of wisdom or daily conduct of walking with God. The chart also shows the verses where the wisdom theme is progressively introduced.
May we extol the wisdom of God by sharing the Gospel – the wisdom and knowledge of God, As Paul described it – his unfathomable ways!