5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. 6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
John Gill points out that you can sometimes do by wisdom and strength what strength alone won’t accomplish.
Ecclesiastes 9:13 ¶ This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: 14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Gill goes on to say that with the knowledge of Christ and growing closer and closer to Him one should grow stronger and stronger.
Seek out the wise counsel of the Bible to wage spiritual war against sin and wickedness in your life. Cross reference verse by verse and seek out a multitude of counselors.
Matthew Henry says that as you grow in the knowledge of Christ you grow in grace.
2Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Colossians 1:9 ¶ 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;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
In the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses images of war to relate to our struggle in the spiritual world. In fact, the Christians warfare is not carnal or of the flesh. We are not to wage war with weapons like the world does…
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
…. but with the sword of the Spirit, which are the words of God, and prayer, with God speaking to you through it and you speaking to God.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Again, as a sword that wages war spiritually…
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The more victory you have over sin the more Satan wants to crush you. As you draw closer to God in Christ through His words in this Book you will find defeat on the side of you that must live in the world. Job loss, heartbreak, grief, bankruptcy, friendlessness, disease, accidents, and alienation from those you love can come at any time and for many reasons; some of which are your fault and some of which are not. As the Lord gives you more and more of Him the world has less and less use for you. Waging this spiritual war becomes more difficult in the flesh because of the demands of the flesh. But, you aren’t supposed to war in the flesh.
It’s hard to imagine yourself having victory when you are unemployed and the only options that seem to be available to you are jobs that won’t support anyone living outside of a lean-to in the woods. It’s hard to imagine victory when you’re every concern for others is tainted by your own personality defects and fear. It’s hard to imagine victory when you can’t even support yourself much less those who depend on you. It’s hard to imagine victory when you’re sick, growing older and weaker, and struggling with the flesh’s eventual downfall.
But, it’s in those times when victory is at hand, nearby, and just ahead. When you step back from your trials, which may be 90% your own fault from past sinfulness and years of wrong thinking, or you may be a casualty of a changing world and your growing older. But, when you step back from your trials and tribulations and examine yourself spiritually you may find that you are growing closer to God, that you are hungering more for the things of God as the things of the world grow dimmer and dimmer. You may find that victory is in your grasp because God is handing it to you. He has won the victory for you, changing your attitude toward sin and self.
You might find, as you wage this war of the soul, that a wise man or woman is strong and a man or woman of knowledge increases their strength, that with Christ’s wisdom you can win this war and with the over 31,000 verses in HIS Bible you have an abundance of counselors and that by just reading it and hearing it read and preached He will speak to you about things that have no relation to the list of names in 1st Chronicles or the construction of the tabernacle in Exodus, but by the reading of God’s very words, believing, and submitting to them God will give you the war, the victory won in Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment