EIGHT NEW TESTAMENT REALITIES OF SOLOMON’S PHENOMENAL WISDOM
- God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. That is our status, stature, and the way heaven sees us (2 Corinthians 5:21). This means that God changed our sin-soiled and deformed image to the image of His Son (Genesis 1:26-27).
God’s delight was with man from the beginning until the image of God in man was deformed by sin. The curse of toiling, lack, and poverty entered the lexicon of mankind due to satanic deception in the garden of Eden. From that time till now, those who do not believe in Christ and some who believe but are ignorant are condemned to a life of living by the sweat of their brow. Note that sweat is a by-product of the curse (Genesis 3, Ezekiel 44:18).
It is often believed that the cure for poverty is hard work, but the death of Christ was the price paid to redeem us from the curse of sweat, delivering us from toiling in vain and without substance. The real reason for toiling is because of the cursed ground. Jesus has paid for it (Genesis 5:27-29;41:50-52, Mark 6:41-50, Luke 5:5, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15).
It is our little faith that prevents us from accessing what Christ died and paid for. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed until sweat-like drops of blood fell from Him, hitting the cursed ground and paying for Adam’s blunder. When He was crucified, the crown of thorns on His head (representing the thorns and thistles that the ground would produce) pierced Him so that everything causing toil could be removed from our
lives (Luke 12:27-28; 22:44, John 19, Luke 23, Mark 15, Matthew 27). - For believers not to partake of the curse of poverty due to the sin-soiled and deformed image of God in the fallen man, we are now conformed to the image of God’s Son so that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:28-32). If you are not conformed to the image of the firstborn, you still have the image of Adam.
The image of the last Adam, the second Man from heaven, is entirely different from that of the first Adam, the man from the earth. As we have borne the image of the earthly man, we must bear the image of the heavenly Man (1 Corinthians 15:45-49, Hebrews 1:1-4).
If you are conscious of who you are, you will determine how you behave.
- In addition to being conformed to the image of Christ, New Testament believers also have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). At our new birth, the mind of Christ was credited to us. All we have to do now is to work out our salvation with fear and trembling to let the mind of Christ manifest through us (Philippians 2:5-16).
Part of working out our salvation with fear and trembling is to find out the mind of God and the wisdom of God in any given situation. Having been made the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus, bearing His image, and having the mind of Christ, then Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, justification, and redemption. Thus, we can truly say that a greater than Solomon is here. This is the total package so that man will see us and glorify God (1 Corinthians 1:30-31, Matthew 12:42).
- In the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah, the type and shadow of Christ is the rod from the stem of Jesse. One of the dimensions of the Spirit upon Him is the Spirit of wisdom, which manifested in His life (Isaiah 11:1-2, Ephesians 1:15-19).
- After Christ was born, the Bible says He grew in stature, filled with wisdom and grew in wisdom (Luke 2:40, 52). The earlier you grow in wisdom, the better for you.
- In Jesus’ earthly ministry, He deployed wisdom from heaven, especially when tempted by the Pharisees, Herodians, and scribes who desired to catch Him in His words (Mark 12:13-17, John 8:3-11).
- When Christ was crucified, He became God’s power and wisdom to those who believe in Him (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
- The Lord also promised to give us a mouth and wisdom that our adversaries cannot contradict or resist, which He fulfilled in the life of Stephen (Luke 21:12-15, Acts 6:8-10).
When making decisions or taking action, wisdom is beneficial. Wisdom will guide and help you make decisions that will lead to successful outcomes (Ecclesiastes 10:10, KJV).
Wisdom also helps people to understand the consequences of their choices before they make them. That is why wisdom is profitable to direct.
Wisdom empowers you to work smart, optimising your productivity and efficiency to achieve your goals with less effort and time. Note that working smart is not about working long hours and working hard.
