Manifold Wisdom of God
(week 05/01)
Olubi Johnson
In our last article, we saw what the manifold wisdom of God is. This week, we will see why we need the manifold wisdom of God and how to get it.
The Necessity of Manifold Wisdom
Ephesians 3:9-10 Amp: Also to enlighten all men and make plain to them what is the plan (regarding the Gentiles and providing for the salvation of all men), of the mystery kept hidden through the ages and concealed until now in (the mind of) God who created all things by Christ Jesus. (The purpose is) that through the Church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and power) in the heavenly sphere.
Why is manifold wisdom essential? Because Satan is coming out with new techniques everyday. The principles remain the same, but the applications are new, such that the way sin is presented today is different from the way it was presented years ago. The antichrist spirit has been here since the time of first apostles, but the degree and diversity of its manifestation today is greater. He is constantly changing his outward form to deceive and beguile:
Proverbs 5:6: Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
If you do not have the manifold wisdom of God, the antichrist spirit will surely fool you.
Let me give you an example of the manifold wisdom of God. The Bible says:
1 John 4:1-3: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
In the days of the early apostles the devil tried to make people deny the incarnation, death and bodily resurrection of Christ verbally. If you proclaimed Christ verbally you were thrown to the lions. Today, however, everybody confesses Jesus freely: its no big deal!
So, what is the application of 1 John 4:1-3 today?
Every spirit that is not confessing that the Christ can again be manifest in the flesh, in perfection, in the individual Christian is an antichrist spirit.
In the days of the early Church the purpose of the antichrist spirit was to stop men from being born again; today its purpose is to stop men from growing into the perfection and fullness of Christ. This spirit is a spiritual force which, (also is the spirit of Babylon) works in the minds, bodies and circumstances of men causing them to overemphasize the secondary issues of the Word of God and omit the weightier issues: judgement, mercy and faith, that will cause us to grow into the perfection and fullness of Christ.
This is because Satan realises that if the Church does not attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ of a Church without spot blemish or wrinkle, Jesus cannot return.
You need to have the manifold wisdom of God to know how to apply the word of God in your current situation. That is why the Bible talks about being established in the present truth (2 Peter 1:12). All truth is true for all time, but there is always a particular present emphasis of the Holy Spirit, and you need to be current if you want to overcome the abounding iniquity of today. Abounding grace is what overcomes the abounding iniquity, and it comes by abounding knowledge or manifold wisdom:
Matthew 24:12 KJV: And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Romans 5:20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
2 Peter 1:2: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
What worked for you as a Christian ten years ago will not work with the same efficiency today. You will need more detailed instructions.
For example, the basic principles of flying have not changed since the first plane was invented (1903), but the difference between an old world war two Spitfire and a recent F16 fighter plane is manifold wisdom. They are both planes and will both fly using the same law of lift, but the amount of detailed wisdom found in the older aircraft is far less than in the modern one.
This is also what makes the difference between the 30-fold Christian, the 60-fold Christian and the 100-fold Christian.
How far are you ready to go? To excel and prosper in this new day, you must be ready to strive for excellence in both spiritual and secular things. If you are in business you must make your products and/or services that much better than the competition, and still sell at competitive prices.
Any pharmacist who manufactures drugs, for example, knows the basic substances to cure certain ailments. But it is the one who has the manifold wisdom of God who will be able to add some extra ingredients, or devise better processing to produce the same drug without, say, all the usual side effects. All the competition would be out of business overnight in the face of such developments.
Getting the Manifold Wisdom
To get the manifold wisdom of God, the first thing you need is lowliness of heart. Jesus said:
Matthew 11:29 KJV: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Proverbs 11:2 KJV: When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
A lot of people pray, fast and do a lot of spiritual exercises, but are unable to obtain wisdom because they are not lowly in their minds. Without lowliness you will not get the wisdom of God to the degree you should.
Lowliness, or true humility, involves submitting your will, firstly, to God through first His word, and then through your conscience, with the attitude of reverence.
Secondly, it involves submitting your will to those in authority over you (pastor, husbands, parents, boss, etc.), with the attitude of reverence.
Thirdly, it involves submitting your will to those under your authority (children, flock, servants, etc.) with the attitude of meekness. In all cases you must always submit whenever what is said is in line with the word and will of God at that time.
Submitting to all these groups must be done especially when their godly counsel is different from what you think is best, from what you feel comfortable with, or from what personal experience tell you. It is always safer to think less of yourself than you are so that God can exalt you:
Romans 12:3 KJV: For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
1Peter 5:5-6 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourself unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
After lowliness of heart, you need to pray for both spiritual and natural wisdom:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, Ephessians 1:17-18
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; Colossians 1:9
You also need to pray for natural wisdom for your work daily.
James 1:5 KJV: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
The third prerequisite for God’s manifold wisdom is diligence. Diligence means to apply a constant, concentrated and well-directed effort:
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to wants. Proverbs 21:5
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. Proverb 10:4
A famous America inventor, Thomas Edison, said that genius is 97% perspiration and only 3% inspiration. If you, for example, are sewing clothes, the more diligently you sew them, the more you will see better ways of doing the work. You will begin to get ideas that nobody else has ever thought of.
So these 3 things will give us manifold wisdom:
1. Lowliness of mind
2. Prayer in the Spirit and in the understanding for spiritual and natural wisdom.
3. Diligence in whatever we do.
