Wisdom and the Holy Spirit

The NT is crystal clear on the necessity of each believer to be led or guided by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14 BSB

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

That we are led and guided by the Holy Spirit is a biblical fact.

What is not so certain however is the MEANS by which the Holy Spirit leads us.

The Holy Spirit is instrumental in each level of God’s will:

1: God’s Sovereign Will:

Ephesians 5:18–21 BSB

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Romans 8:26 BSB

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

God’s Moral Will:

Galatians 5:16 BSB

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

God’s Freedom Permitting Will:

This is where it gets quite interesting as its an area of subjective wisdom.

1: Audible Words

The Holy Spirit is perfectly capible of speech and can in some circumstances simply speak audibbly to us.

Acts 8:29 BSB

29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.”

Acts 10:19–20 BSB

19 As Peter continued to reflect on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up! Go downstairs and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.”

Acts 11:12 BSB

12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home.

Wisdom is vital in this instance as you will need biblical discernment to test the spirits.

1 John 4:1 BSB

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Philippians 1:9–10 NASB 2020

9 And this I pray, that your love may overflow still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may discover the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ;

2: Impressing the heart.

Isaiah 30:21 BSB

21 And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

Galatians 5:25 BSB

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.

An angel appears at a faculty meeting and tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.

"Done!" says the angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At length, one of his colleagues whispers, "Say something."

The dean looks at them and says, "I should have taken the money."

1. The Holy Spirit is the embodiment of Godly wisdom understood by those who are intimate with Him.

Isaiah 11:2 BSB

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

2. The Holy Spirit gives direction to leaders when they ask for it.

Acts 16:9–10 BSB

9 During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Illustration:Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.

J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 80.

3. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom to those who are called to speak in a way that solves complicated problems.

When others are not able to come up with the solutions, the Spirit often gives a Godly leader the way when there seems to be no way out of a fix.

Colossians 1:9 BSB

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

4. The Holy Spirit illuminates more of the wisdom that is found in Christ, His words and His ministry examples.

1 Corinthians 1:23–24 BSB

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

5. The Holy Spirit gives divine insight through intuitive thinking and senses.

James 3:17 BSB

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

6. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom for the understanding of a problem, a complex person or a troubling situation so that resolution can be found.

James 1:5 BSB

5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

7. The Holy Spirit gives the gift of wisdom to some people who can speak creatively and righteously concerning a problem, a crisis or a complicated situation.

Psalm 51:6 BSB

6 Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

8. The Holy Spirit gives special wisdom to people like Solomon that serve as examples for generations.

1 Kings 4:29 BSB

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore.

9. The Holy Spirit gives timely wisdom to avert crisis. One day two prostitutes came before Solomon claiming a baby son to be their own. Solomon said,

1 Kings 3:24–28 BSB

24 The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword, 25 and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!” 27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.” 28 When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

10. The Holy Spirit gives wisdom to people who meet God’s conditions for its bestowal.

Proverbs 2:1–6 BSB

1 My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, 2 if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, 3 if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, 5 then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.