Abiding in Christ Part 2

The wisdom of God as a means for learning to abide in Christ.

“Wisdom is competence with regard to the complex realities of life.” Timothy Keller

It’s knowing the right thing to do when the moral rules don’t clearly apply. It’s the ability to make right choices even in gray areas — through spiritual discernment, godly character, and a heart shaped by God’s truth. - A summary of Timothy Keller’s teaching on wisdom.

Think back to the Psalms of Ascent we just finished studying. Over again they focused the joy of God’s presence as providing the means necessary to deal with distress and despair, learning to look to mountain from which our help comes - not ourselves, that anything of eternal value is found in trusting God completey, valuing the joy of other believers, etc.

If we scan history and look at a variety of thinkers, we can grasp very different views of the world and how wisdom is attained. In fact the interesting reality is that it isn’t a matter of whether wisdom is needed, it is more important to know where we find it.

When considering how learning to abide in Jesus Christ is shaped and formed by wisdom, we have to explore the depths of this further. Here are the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, question 26:

Q. What do you believe when you say:I believe in God the Father almighty,Creator of heaven and earth?

A.That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who out of nothing created heaven and earth and all that is in them, and who still upholds and governs them by his eternal counsel and providence, is, for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father. In him I trust so completely as to have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul, and will also turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this life of sorrow. He is able to do so as almighty God, and willing also as a faithful Father.

Consider the eternal counsel of God: This is his wisdom in doing all that he does, flowing from his perfections in knowledge, character, and being.

Consider the providence of God: He uses all things for his glory and our good.

Wisdom is not merely a handbook approach to living, but rather a deeply rooted trust that God is God (our faithful Father), and that He is able to work in all things for our glory and good.

Wisdom, then, is a virtue that is formed as we rest in the reality of all that Jesus is, and what he has done, that gives us the ability to navigate the complex realities of life.

Today, I want to consider how learning to abide in Jesus Christ as a way of life can help us grow in wisdom through a brief interaction with a woman who had the wrong place of origin, a checkered past, and scattered theology.

1.) The Wrong Place to Live - John 4:1-6

2.) A Checkered Past - John 4:15-18

3.) Scattered and Incomplete Theology - John 4:19

4.) Wrong Place, Right Time - John 4:27, 31-38

5.) A Changed Present and Future - John 4:28-30

This story illustrates for us that in the eternal counsel of God, and in his providential care and timing, that learning to abide in Him is to see him working all around us. Jesus shows us that as abide in him, he will provide us with the wisdom to navigate situations when we find ourselves places we might not normally go, encountering people (including ourselves) who have a checkered past, and engaging in conversations where all kinds of theological ideas are presented.

The key to navigating the complexities of life with wisdom is abide in Jesus, a relationshio built on the work that Jesus accomplished for us, as well as, his word that teaches us these things.