Standard Bearers

Wisdom in the Bible is both an intrinsic and acquirable trait. It can be subconscious or learned. Accumulating knowledge through study and practice is essential, whether wisdom comes naturally or not. Practical wisdom involves exercising sound judgment to avoid evil and pursue good. Intrinsic wisdom is linked to our conscience and can be considered natural wisdom, while acquirable wisdom is gained through learning, studying, practicing, observing, discovering, or revelation. Wisdom requires both understanding and knowledge. One must not only receive knowledge but also comprehend it to gain wisdom. A person’s wisdom is determined by how they wield the knowledge they’ve gained. This “wielding” is the application of that knowledge. When knowledge is applied competently and appropriately, the person is perceived as wise. For a Christian, the wielding of wisdom should lead to justice, peace, and righteousness.

What Is Wisdom? 

Wisdom in action or practice is the right use or exercise of knowledge; the choice of laudable (noble) ends and of the best means to accomplish them. Wisdom as a faculty of mind is discerning or judging what is the most just, proper, and useful. Wisdom is the knowledge and use of what is best, most just, most proper, most conducive to prosperity and happiness. In an earthly sense, wisdom refers to human learning—erudition, and the knowledge of arts and sciences. Wisdom, boiled down to our earthly experience is quickness of intellect, readiness of apprehension, and dexterity of execution. 

As we see, wisdom cannot be separated from knowledge and understanding. However, all knowledge ultimately comes from God, who is truth and cannot lie. Everything flows from Him as the ultimate source of truth. Evil, in contrast, distorts truth because it cannot create; it lies. Yet, God—who cannot lie—has created everything in truth. All that exists belongs to God, for those who create “new” things are themselves creations of God, and the materials they use are also God’s creation. Even our imaginations are grounded in the reality that God has made for us.

Even the demons  were created by God. While God does not ordain their actions, He is still the source of any knowledge they may possess or pass onto humans. Thus, all wisdom ultimately comes from God. In earthly terms, wisdom can be understood as the speed of one’s understanding, their ability to apply what they’ve learned, and the skill with which they execute that application. 

Human wisdom (a subset of natural wisdom) often tries to oppose Biblical wisdom (practical wisdom), not realizing that everything we know or discover ultimately comes from God. Human wisdom, when divorced from God’s truth, often distorts reality—leading to misjudgements and misunderstanding. In contrast, Biblical wisdom is aligned with God’s perfect understanding, offering a clear path for living rightly. To better understand the difference between the two, think of a rain cloud and an umbrella.

The Rain Cloud & The Umbrella: Understanding The Limits of Human Wisdom

In this analogy, God is the cloud, and He is the provider of the rain—Biblical wisdom. The rain represents the wisdom that flows from God, and the cloud represents the fullness of His wisdom, which we can never fully grasp. We, as humans, are standing underneath the umbrella.

The metal frame of the umbrella supports the canvas, which blocks the rain. This frame represents human understanding. Just as the frame can only hold so much rain, our understanding is limited by the physical world around us. The raindrops that roll off the side of the umbrella are small pieces of wisdom we observe. These raindrops symbolize human wisdom—those little snippets of knowledge that we see, understand, and build our reality upon.

The handle of the umbrella represents practical wisdom, whether it’s innate or developed over time. The “grip” we have on the handle represents our ability to know what’s right and wrong, while guiding the umbrella over our heads shows our proper use of the knowledge we’ve gained. 

The canvas, which shields us from the rain, represents the veil of physicality—our bodies—that stops us from fully accessing God’s infinite wisdom. It keeps us on Earth instead of in Heaven, experiencing God’s wisdom in its fullness.

And finally, the puddle of water collecting on the ground represents the wisdom we haven’t yet gained. It’s the “leftover” wisdom—the things we still need to observe, understand, and acquire.

To sum it up, God, in His cloud of wisdom, sends down rain (wisdom) to us. We don’t control the umbrella or how much rain it can hold, just as we can’t control the limits of our understanding. The canvas represents our bodies, keeping us from fully experiencing God’s wisdom. The frame is our limited human knowledge. The raindrops are the wisdom we observe, learn, and apply. The puddle is the wisdom we still need to acquire. And the handle symbolizes practical wisdom—the ability to know right from wrong and live accordingly.

Biblical Wisdom: A Universal Truth

Biblical wisdom is a universal wisdom and a universal truth. As mentioned earlier, all wisdom and knowledge ultimately come from God. Human knowledge consists of observed and understood fragments of that divine wisdom. However, there are limits to how fully we can acquire and grasp this wisdom. Yet, acquirable wisdom is always available to us whenever God “rains” wisdom. This wisdom can be found in the Bible.

The Bible is special because it transcends our limitations. While it allows us to learn practically—through reading and studying—it is also God’s word. And this word is alive. It reveals more than just history, origins, and detailed accounts of the past; it goes deeper. It teaches us how to live, how to die, how to be rich, how to be poor, how to love, how to hate, how to execute justice, and how to show mercy among many other things. The Bible gives answers to every situation you could imagine, and, ultimately, it teaches us how to be wise.

One becomes wise not only by reading and studying, sharpening the mind, and delving into other subjects to ensure understanding, but also by allowing the Bible to transform them from the inside. It draws them nearer to God, teaches pure truth, and develops their character. Through the Bible, an individual can learn from the countless mistakes of others—gaining wisdom through the accounts of their lives and choices.

Biblical wisdom is universal because it reveals to every person their origins and where everything they see around them comes from. It calls us to learn, understand, and, by reading the Word, to already practice wisdom in action. It is universal truth because it is God’s word, and therefore, it must be true. Ultimately, anyone seeking wisdom is trying to acquire the ability to calculate absolute truth.  

The Role of The Bible In Acquiring Wisdom 

The Bible provides the most direct access to divine wisdom. While human wisdom may help us solve practical problems, Biblical wisdom reveals the deeper truths of existence—our purpose, our relationship to God, and how we should live in a fallen world. It speaks to every situation we may encounter, teaching us not just how to act but why our actions matter in the light of eternity.

In this sense, Biblical wisdom is transformative. It is not just about intellect or knowledge but about heart change. It calls us to reflect on our lives, to evaluate our choices, and to grow in holiness and righteousness. Wisdom, as described in the Bible, is not merely an intellectual exercise—it is a way of life. And through it, we become more attuned to God’s will and better equipped to live in harmony with His truth.

Biblical wisdom is both a gift from God and a pursuit we must actively engage in. It is about more than knowledge; it is about applying that knowledge in a way that brings about justice, peace, and righteousness. While human wisdom is limited, Biblical wisdom is universal and transcendent, rooted in the unchanging truth of God. By studying the Bible and aligning our lives with its teachings, we open ourselves to a deeper understanding of the world and our place in it, becoming wiser not just in knowledge but in action.