A Sunday School Lesson On Wisdom

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study on the subject of wisdom.

The Value of Wisdom

Proverbs 2:6-7 “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity.”

If you desire to know more about wisdom then I suggest you start with the Book of Proverbs which is the heart of the wisdom literature in the Bible. Wisdom is more precious than anything as it says, “for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her” (Prov 8:11) and “How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver” (Prov 16:16) for it is “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established” (Prov 24:3) and the source of this wisdom is “from His mouth” for “the Lord gives wisdom.”

Why does it mean that God “stores up sound wisdom for the upright?”

Is God a shield only to those who walk in integrity?

What other nuggets of wisdom have you gained from the Word of God?

The Beginning of Wisdom

Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.”

Everything has a beginning and the beginning of wisdom is in the fear of the Lord. To have a fear of God means we are to “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time” (Col 4:5) so we should pray to God to “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Having two ears and one mouth we might discern that no wisdom was ever received by talking so we must “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future” (Prov 19:20).

What was the latest godly wisdom you received from someone or from the Bible?

Why is “fear” a beginning of wisdom?

How else might we gain wisdom?

Lacking Wisdom

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

James contrasts earthly and heavenly wisdom by writing that “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17) “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:14-16). Earthly wisdom results in earthly decisions but godly wisdom leads to heavenly choices. If we are not sure about making an important decision then James tells us to “ask God” because He “gives generously” and does so “without reproach” suggesting that when we seek human advice, we might be criticized by others for even asking.

Have you needed godly wisdom lately?

Where do you find godly wisdom?

Dou you lack the wisdom right now to make an upcoming decision?

The Wisdom of Christ

First Corinthians 1:23-25 “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Paul ensures the church at Corinth that “your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1st Cor 2:5) as he says, “we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory” (1st Cor 2:7) but “we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (1st Cor 2:13). To those false teachers who appear to be wise, “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col 2:23) and worth nothing in the end.

Is Jesus crucified still a stumbling block to people trusting in Him?

What wisdom was Paul imparting (1st Cor 2:12-15)?

Why do some appear to have wisdom but in reality, don’t?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of this lesson on wisdom and I hope you have realized that “the wisdom of this world is folly with God” (1st Cor 3:19) and that wisdom begins with a holy, reverential, deep and abiding fear and respect for God (Psalm 111:10). The reason that wisdom is based upon the fear of God is that if we have a right fear of God, we will strive to obey Him and live a life that is pleasing to Him. Fearing God is not a paralyzing, disabling fear of hell but a fear of disobeying God and falling out of fellowship with Him. When we know we’ve sinned, we’ll desire to come immediately to the throne of grace to ask for forgiveness (1st John 1:9). Our fear of God is not like the unbelievers falsely say it is, rather it’s a willingness to walk with Christ in a manner worthy of our calling (Eph 4:1).

What is meant by walking worthy of our calling in Christ?

Have you heard unbelievers give the false belief that our fear God is the threat of being cast into hell?

What would you say to someone that said that?

What has changed in your understanding about wisdom in this study?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.