The Only Wise God

Scripture:

Rom. 16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Observation:

This Doxology at the end of the epistle to the Romans reminds us that there is only one wise God and that he is revealed to us through Jesus Christ.  The wisdom of God is incarnate in the very person of Jesus Christ and his life is a revelation of God and God's interaction with the world for all of us.  Jesus is interceding for us and therefore our prayers through him bring praise and glory to God.  All the glory should be for God forever and ever.

Application:

The phrase "only wise God" really struck me for I'm afraid that there are a lot of people following a number of foolish gods.  Wisdom implies two facets;  on the one hand there is discernment or perception.  The one who is wise takes the time to see and to understand what is truly happening and then determines a response, and the response is appropriate for the situation.  This is truly wisdom.  As we serve the "only wise God" we discover that God is discerning.  Sometimes we wish that he would act immediately, but that is not in his nature.  God is a wise God with deep understanding, not moved by emotion, but able to calmly discern and determine the plan of action necessary in each and every situation.  This is the only wise God.

On the other hand, the non-wise god that I think we all know is ourselves.  Too often, when we act on our own, we discover that we are doing the exact opposite of God -- the wise God.  When we do not allow the wise God to act in our lives we will become our own gods, and the result is that we will act quickly without discernment and ruled by emotion.  The problem with this is that we will make rash decisions and judgments, some of which will follow us our entire lives.  The worst of these is when it comes to making a decision about a life partner.  How often do we want to ignore the only "wise God" and move ahead with our own decisions, ruled by our emotions?  The "only wise God" knows what is best for us.  Sometimes that means we need to wait -- but somehow we think that's unfair and so we push and move forward with something that may cause us a lifetime of pain.  And this is not the only thing that can happen in our lives.  There are so many choices that we can make and if we do not take those decisions to the "only wise God" we can end up making some pretty bad decisions.  And the sad part is that we have to live with the consequences.

On the other hand there is good news.  The "only wise God" is patiently waiting for us.  God wants us to come to him through Jesus Christ.  As we spend time with Jesus Christ, day in and day out, we get to know him more intimately.  If we participate in God, if we are partakers of the divine nature, then we become participants in "the only wise God."  Now we are no longer ruled by ourselves and our own personal desires, but suddenly there is self-control and restraint because the "only wise God" is living and working in and through us.  We are literally transformed and the wisdom of God is made available to us on a daily basis.  This changes the way in which we make decisions, respond and react to the world around us.  We have put on "the only wise God" and no longer does the world see us in our responses, but they see him and when this happens, God is glorified.  The transformed life in which the wisdom of God is revealed on a daily basis is the life that glorifies God forever.  The world can't argue with this kind of transformation and therefore all give praise to "the only wise God."

Prayer:

Lord, today and every day we give you all the praise, glory and honor.  Amen.