Divine Wisdom as Absolute as Divine Righteousness
Divine wisdom is just as essential as divine righteousness for a believer's understanding of God's plan.
Andrew Murray emphasizes that the gospel reveals God's righteousness and the means by which He accepts the ungodly as righteous. He points out that just as divine righteousness is essential, so is divine wisdom, which is only known through the Holy Spirit. The failure to recognize the insufficiency of human wisdom alongside human righteousness has led to disastrous consequences, particularly in understanding divine righteousness. Murray argues that preaching should be empowered by the Holy Spirit to truly lead believers into fellowship with God. He calls for a restoration of the truth that the Holy Spirit's teaching is as vital as Christ's forgiveness, suggesting this could lead to a significant spiritual revival.
Text
The gospel was a revelation of the righteousness of God, and revealed the way in which he himself was righteous, and could righteously accept the ungodly as righteous too. The Corinthians were a people with whom wisdom was everything. In the epistle to them Paul shows that just as absolute as was the need and provision of divine righteousness was the need of divine wisdom. As no man knoweth the things of God save the Spirit of God, so we receive the Spirit of God so that we may know the things that are freely given of God.
The preaching of the utter insufficiency of man's righteousness has not been accompanied, as it should have been, by the preaching of the utter insufficiency of his wisdom. The consequences have been most disastrous. And nothing has suffered more from it than just the doctrine of the divine righteousness.
Too often preached not in the power of the Holy Spirit but of human wisdom, it has not been the power of God unto salvation, or had not led the believer into the close and full fellowship with God it was meant to.
The restoration of the truth of the teaching of the Holy Spirit being as indispensable as the forgiveness through Christ's blood would indeed bring us a Second Reformation, a New Pentecost.
(Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 35).
Sermon Outline
- Divine Wisdom as Absolute as Divine Righteousness
- The Need for Divine Wisdom
- The Insufficiency of Human Wisdom
- The Consequences of Ignoring Divine Wisdom
Key Quotes
“As no man knoweth the things of God save the Spirit of God, so we receive the Spirit of God so that we may know the things that are freely given of God.” — Andrew Murray
“The restoration of the truth of the teaching of the Holy Spirit being as indispensable as the forgiveness through Christ's blood would indeed bring us a Second Reformation, a New Pentecost.” — Andrew Murray
Application Points
- We must seek divine wisdom through the Holy Spirit to understand God's plan.
- The preaching of divine wisdom is essential for a believer's growth and understanding.
- A restoration of the truth of the Holy Spirit's teaching can bring about a Second Reformation and a New Pentecost.