Keys to Apostolic Wisdom

by Greg Watrich

There are ways to live successfully that are not secret at all. This month, we will look at the wisdom of Solomon, and Jesus. These are examples of strong apostolic leaders in the Kingdom of God in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and the Scriptures give us keys to the wisdom that they operated in.

Solomon

Let’s read a portion of Proverbs 8 together. The following is a long copy of that chapter, but it is so full of insight that it’s worth reading it here.

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And I find knowledge and discretion.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power is mine.

By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.

By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.

I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.

Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.

My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.

I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,

To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.

The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.

From everlasting I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest
times of the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.

Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;

While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.

When He established the heavens, I was there,
When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became fixed,

When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not
transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,

Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having my delight in the sons of men.

Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways.

Heed instruction and be wise,And do not neglect it.

Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.

For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the Lord.

But he who sins against me injures himself;
All those who hate me love death.”

Summary of Proverbs 8

The more I read Proverbs 8, the more convinced I become that Solomon actually had an encounter with an angel called Wisdom. The personification of wisdom could be simply poetic, but the detailed description of wisdom being intimately involved in the process of the creation of the world goes beyond Solomon. This monologue of wisdom reminds me so much of books like Pilgrim’s Progress – it could easily be made into a children’s book, just as Solomon originally wrote it to his son!

Solomon relays to us what he was told by the angel of wisdom:

Love wisdom.
Seek wisdom – it can be found! (v. 17) Listen, watch, wait for it. (v. 34)
Wisdom has friends – prudence, knowledge, discretion, humility…
Wisdom has: power and counsel (v. 14), riches and honor (v. 18)
It results in life, and favour from the Lord.

How Do We Increase in Wisdom?

God knows that on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed, so He gave us three New Testament witnesses who instruct us on how to increase in wisdom. (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Corinthians 13:1; Hebrews 10:28)

Jesus had wisdom.

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52)

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?” (Mark 6:2)

Jesus promised to give us wisdom.

For I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. (Luke 21:15)

The apostle Paul confirms that God will give you a spirit of wisdom.

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. (Ephesians 1:15-17)

James confirms what both Paul and Jesus said.

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. (James 1:5)

Paul also talks about “the word of wisdom through the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:8)
The gifts of the Spirit are a wonderful benefit to every person, in every situation. We are to seek the Spirit and the gifts He brings, but in Proverbs 8 Solomon is communicating an enduring wisdom and understanding that involves long term stability, wealth, power, justice, and righteousness, and it results in favor. It involves listening, watching, and waiting. Both types of wisdom are necessary. God wants to build a lifestyle of wisdom into our DNA as we seek Him, and He will also give us sudden injections of wisdom during some situations, beyond what we are normally capable of.

But this is just kid’s stuff. Yes, to truly be like Solomon, we ourselves can learn wisdom from Proverbs 1:8, where Solomon said this is what kids need to hear. As I watch the local kids growing up, I can’t help but notice what appears to be a wisdom “deficit,” or in other words, a severe lack of wisdom in them. I am beginning to imagine what Solomon was thinking as he wrote the wisdom books to his son. It must have been horrifying to him to have such a supernatural revelation of wisdom, compared to his children who were not nearly as gifted. In line with loving our neighbors as ourselves, we must diligently pray as spiritual fathers and mothers for our spiritual children (and our natural children) who need to grow in wisdom.

Of course wisdom is not just for kids, it for everyone. God gave supernatural wisdom to craftsmen (Exodus 28:3; 31:3; 35:31), political leaders (Deuteronomy 34:9); youth (Daniel 5:14), table waiters (Acts 6:3), teachers/preachers (1 Corinthians 2:13). It is for all who will diligently seek Him.

Bless you with ever increasing supernatural Wisdom!

Greg Watrich

Decree

Thank You, Lord, that XP, my ministry, my family, and I myself – each of these are filled with the Spirit of Christ, the power of God and increasing in the wisdom of God! (1 Corinthians 1:24)
Thank You, God, for giving each of us the spirit of wisdom and excellence for every task that You have assigned for us to do. (Acts 6:3)
Thank You, God, that You are appointing people of good reputation and skill, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of each and every task that needs to be done in XP ministries. (Exodus 28:3; 31:3; 35:31)
Thank You, Lord, for blessing XP ministries, for enlarging our borders, and that Your hand is with us, and that You keep us from harm, that it may not pain us! (1 Chronicles 4:10)

Pray

That we would have the wisdom to save souls. (Proverbs 11:30)
For the wisdom of God to be in our governments to administer justice. (1 Kings 3:28)
For God to give leaders in XP wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. (1 Kings 4:29)
For men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of this wisdom, to come to XP and Patricia King to hear the wisdom of God. (1 Kings 4:34)
For all believers in the kingdom of God to have wisdom and knowledge. (2 Chronicles 1:10)
For our children to be filled with the wisdom of God and the knowledge of Christ.
For our nations to behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil, that is understanding. (Job 28:28)