Of Christian Intellect
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Call To Worship Scripture
Call To Worship Scripture
I have done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
Be surety for Your servant for good;
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.
My eyes fail with longing for Your salvation
And for Your righteous word.
Deal with Your servant according to Your lovingkindness
And teach me Your statutes.
I am Your servant; give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.
It is time for the Lord to act,
For they have broken Your law.
Therefore I love Your commandments
Above gold, yes, above fine gold.
Therefore I esteem right all Your precepts concerning everything,
I hate every false way.
Your testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul observes them.
The unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
I opened my mouth wide and panted,
For I longed for Your commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
After Your manner with those who love Your name.
Establish my footsteps in Your word,
And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.
Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
And teach me Your statutes.
My eyes shed streams of water,
Because they do not keep Your law.
Sermon Scripture
Sermon Scripture
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Last week we briefly touched on 5
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Immediately we notice in this mornings text that the topic of wisdom surfaces again in . In , wisdom is for the one who may be lacking in it, or in needed position of becoming a student of it. In wisdom is mentioned in light of the responsibility for teachers.
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
For both of these text, we must have some form of theological teaching of wisdom or rather an understanding of what the Bible means when it says wisdom in order for these text to be appropriately applied.
If you don’t know what is meant by wisdom then how do you know if you are lacking?
If you don’t know what is meant by wisdom or understanding then how do you know who is wise and understanding.
And if
As such, if you would, we need to develop a understanding of a sort of spiritual intellect, that of godly wisdom and understanding with substance.
So for wisdom, lets turn to some Bible Wisdom literature: Proverbs 2:1-15
My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;
From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
Who delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
ATTRIBUTES OF THE STUDENT/DISCIPLE:
INTELECT: Their is first an intellectual submission to learning. However, in the scripture and that of the Christian life, I am convinced that intellect does not automatically mean “book smart” or cognitive ability as it is often assumed in this world, or treasured and idolized amongst scholars. Before God, the greatest of intellect can actually be the greatest of fools.
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
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,
How is this so?
Intellect is the faculty of the mind that comprehends. It is the part of the human soul which receives by the senses a perception also known as understanding. A clear intellect receives and entertains the same ideas which another communicates with a clarity and substance.
So if one has intellect and wisdom in the ways of the world then God will use what the world sees as foolish to shame them. What does the world see as foolish? The answer is the ways of God. The way of righteousness.
As this is the case, Christian intellect is different than earthly intellect, because the ideas which the Christian receives and thus communicates as it’s substance in wholly different than those of the world.
This being the case of intellect, necessarily places a choice before intellect which must be made and will thus be determinative of ones personal education.
Intellect is the ability to communicate with clarity and substance those ideas which were recieved from another.
Thus what comes before your own intellect is the substance of the other.
From where did those ideas come from which you gained your understanding or intellect? Who did you entrust yourself to for learning and for substance of living? To who was your FAITH placed in?
Church; in all learning, there is a faith being exercised, a faith being grown, rooted and worked out.
There is a understanding a “faith”, a trust, - that says: “what is to be grasped is worthy of being grasped.”
This is demonstrated in Proverbs 2 through two things and results in the physical posture of learning.
1. RECEIVE: grasp onto.................................................instructors words
2. TREASURE: save up, store, hide...............................instructors commands
EAR: when we come to ear as the first physical mark we see that the ear was in the OT a place that was pierced (earings) as a mark of perpetual servantude.
ATTENTIVE: listen/pay attention..................................wisdom
then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.
In our text here, the ear is highlighting the act of hearing, and that of hearing wisdom. In regard to being a servant of God, one will never be such, if their ear is not attentive to Him. The ear being open in a submissive and trusting manner to the counsel/wisdom which is being given, and thus it is attentive is the instruction here.
Faith is linked to hearing or the act of being attentive which is linked to wisdom and wisdom then circles back to faith.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
ATTENTIVE: listen/pay attention..................................wisdom
HEART: The inner being of man and fountain of all that he does.
INCLINING: to stretch forth, stetch down, turn aside. This is a stretching out of something until it reaches it’s goal. This can also note a turning aside…which is used in two ways: one is “to visit” and another is “to go off the way”.
Here it is a stretching forth to reach a goal, which means based on the connection to the heart and a proper theology of man: a turning aside from evil and a visiting or resting at the feet of the Lord. .............................understanding.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
seek & search
1. fear of the LORD - this correlates to the sovereignty of God (thus seeking it is faith in the sovereignty of God)
2. knowledge of God - this correlates to the omniscience (all knowing) of God (thus seeking it is faith in the omniscience of God
=
The LORD gives wisdom - skill in righteous living in all living (the ability to apply what is spoken & taught)…God is a good teacher.
How?
From His mouth comes knowledge (that of discernment) and understanding (the acting out or personification of wisdom).
Finally church:
James
Wisdom exercised/demonstrated or wisdom with understanding = deeds internalized and fleshed out that reflect God’s commands
Wisdom exercised/demonstrated = deeds that reflect God’s commands
Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes.
What was the wisdom, the discernment that was to be chosen and seen? It was that of the keeping of the commands of God, or that of a understanding of righteous living.
So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
Thus, when says, if anyone is lacking wisdom, it is saying:
If anyone is lacking discernment, skill and the personification of godly living…then let them go to God.
From scripture this going to God looks like:
Receive God’s words
Treasure God’s commands
Pay attention to God’s wisdom (the skill/ability of God)
Incline yourself to understanding (practice as to reach the goal of personifying that of the Master/Instructor)
Seek to know the sovereignty of God
Seek to know the omniscience of God
The LORD will give wisdom
Because the first step in wisdom is the reception of God’s word, James gives his caveat, that wisdom from God ought not to be expected if anyone begins their seeking with doubt. The only way to know the wisdom of God and thus become skilled in righteous living yourself is to fully trust God. If trust is not full in this, then you will constantly look for evidence of proper living elsewhere.
:
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Now when we get to and see the word wisdom show up again and this time have understanding linked to it, we are better able to follow what is being said.
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Who among you is wise and understanding...
Who has gone to the LORD to grow in their lacking? Who has gone through the seven steps that we just walked through in scripture and come out in an understanding manner?
What does understanding mean, but that of a manner of personifying skill in righteous living as that of the instructor - in a clear and substantial way. Thus they are if you would of “spiritual intellect”.
This is where it gets interesting. In the world, intellect is often paraded, and it is earning of great stature and position. The wise man of the world is often determined by what he has and what position he holds. Thus, wisdom demonstrated to the world is knowing what to do and doing whatever must be done to get the position, the name and the recognition. This often results or even has as it’s fuel, jealousy, selfish ambition and arrogance. As the Holy Spirit through James states, such “wisdom” is not from God, but is in fact threefold in it’s source. It is:
earthly - on earth or of the fallen world - depraved of God
unspiritual - natural man as that in Adam not that of Christ
demonic - resembling of a demon
This is describing the skill that is being exersiesed, the understanding that is had or lacking, and what is being personified if one is living to obtain want, to opperate by the ambition of their own heart, to celebrate their own achievments rather than recieving and giving attention to the word and commands of God.
On the other hand, true righteous or godly intellect is demonstrated in deed/conduct and behavior/works.
Now, I note that James nor myself is speaking of salvation, but rather of the application of faith demonstrated as a part of a person upon salvation, or rather the process of sanctification or the proving out of whom one truly is or is of (as in a student is of a teacher and a disciple of a certain master/Lord).
I would also have you note that the seven steps that we just saw laid out in scripture begin with receiving the Word of the LORD and end with the understanding that wisdom comes from God. Thus, even the conduct and works demonstrative of the godly wisdom of one are those which have come from God and not from the natural man.
This wisdom is:
First Pure - the jealousy, selfish ambition and arrogance of your natural man must be done away with. They have no place in godly wisdom and will obstruct it’s growth within you. This purity, is a purity of carnality. If you want Godly wisdom, then you must first stop seeking the carnal. It is God’s will you desire, His Kingdom that you seek, your life lost, to be found in Him alone.
Peacable - this is connected to the one who does what is right. The peace is that of one who has communion with God. Doing what is right before God, brings a peace that is beyond all peace.
Gentle - the restraint of passions. A forbearance or benevolance. A sweetness of disposition and mildness of temper
Reasonable - ready to obey
Full of Mercy - the outward manifestation of pity. One who sees a need and seeks the resources adequate to meet the need on the behalf of another.
Full of Good Fruits - that of the fruits of the Spirit and more particular the fruits of righteousness
Unwavering - without variance, impartial, without uncertainty or indecision
Without Hypocrisy - sincere, not counterfeit
The seed of those whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
These things are demonstrative in that the fleshed out fruit of right living is cultivated by those who sow in peace, in communion with God, doing what is right before God and thus bringing such peace to other, by the word being spoken and lived, just as Jesus did.
Friends this is a consistent call to righteous living throughout the scriptures:
And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
again, the fruit of righteousness being the living out of what is right before God.
The wicked earns deceptive wages,
But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.
And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
Is 32:17
Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
Who is wise and understanding among us? Who’s conduct and works demonstrates godly wisdom and understanding? Who’s demonstrates a submission before and a seeking of the words and commands of God? Who among us is seeking a harvest of righteousness? Who is sowing in peace and leading by the work of Christ others to the same?
Church let that be us. Let us incline ourselves, stretch ourselves, aim ourselves to reach the goal of godly intellect, wisdom, understanding and thus living. Let us seek from a place of purity as found in Christ Jesus our LORD, His Kingdom and His righteousness. Let us say with all sincerity and all peace, “Thy will be done.” - Amen