… the manifold wisdom of God
Summary: Manifold wisdom is a concept that requires some thought to understand. How can many answers come from one source? With God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)
Paul’s description of God’s wisdom in this passage intrigues me. What kind of wisdom is “manifold?”
The Greek word used for manifold means “many colors” or “many forms.” In a car engine the intake manifold divides air and sends it to different cylinders. The exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gasses from those cylinders and combines them into one flow. In one case, “many from one,” in the other, “one from many.” Both of these engine parts provide a crude illustration of the many forms of something that is manifold.
One illustration of “manifold” that I particularly like is a gemstone. Gemstones are cut and faceted to reveal the maximum beauty in the stone. Each face of the stone is a window into the inner beauty of the stone, and each face is different. As the stone is rotated, and as the light changes, what is revealed by the stone changes as well. Even though we don’t use the word “manifold” to describe a gemstone, the “many” facets of beauty from “one” stone illustrate the principle well.
If all this beauty can exist in a single stone, how much more beauty is in the Word of God?
When it comes to having knowledge and good judgment, who has more than God? Nobody! God sees us as we are physically, and he sees us as we are spiritually. He knows our hearts and our thoughts. God sees us from every possible perspective all at once. More than that, he views every facet of every person’s life this way; past, present, and future. He knows!
Compared to God, our minds are like a grain of sand next to an entire planet. There is so much to know, and we cannot hope to encompass even the smallest fraction of the knowledge available. But God knows! Wisdom is relying on God’s wisdom, his manifold wisdom.
Scripture tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10)
We don’t have to know everything God knows to have wisdom. What we do need to know is that God is the source of wisdom and knowledge. If we come to him as a child (Matthew 11:25, 18:3) we can rest assured God will guide us in the right paths.
Application: Trust God!
Food for Thought: What areas of life do we need wisdom in? Is there any area that God cannot help us?
When I read the word “manifold” I went to the same place in my mind as you did, the manifold of a car engine. One thing I would add to your illustration, in which everything you said is correct, is that the demand side of the manifold is ultimately responsible for the metering of fuel. Old cars, news cars, it doesnt matter, the flow of air through the intake manifold directly correlates to the amount of fuel that goes into the cylinders.
I invite anyone to discuss that last sentence with me. Im sure there are some “gearheads” that would love to. In the end though, I believe my last statement, as written, at its basic level, would be found true.
I make that statement based off years of education and experience. All that just to make that one last sentence.
And all that to bring me to this point, and its not that I know a little bit about cars. The answers to the questions for reflection: What areas of life do we need wisdom in? Is there any area that God cannot help us?
Everything, and no. I have come to believe that every action I take affects those around me. The way I drive, the way I speak, not just in moments of decision, but also in moments of indecsion. We should pray that we walk according to His Will, in our moments of decision, and our moments of indecision. Moments of indecision are like moving on “autopilot.” Asking the Lord to guide you in those moments will make a huge difference in your day. When something happens that seems trivial, ask the Lord what is it that He is wanting you to do in this moment. Continually talk to the Lord. You will find that the Lord has more in store for you. How is this possible? He created everything, He wrote the operations manual, He understands how the fuel is metered in the air intake of life. It is hard for us to undertand it all. We have to trust Him. He is faithful.
Be ever mindful of Him and in prayer. You will hear His voice. “Slow down, speed up, turn left, turn right, stop, go, speak, be silent.” It is both simultaneously easy and hard to do. It just come down to surrendering your will. Trusting God. The rewards are peace, walking in the Spirit, living in His rightousness. The costs are losing your fear, anger, discontentment.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Psalm 89:15-16 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness.
Chris,
Interesting take on manifolds! Looking at the word through the lens you share does open up some valuable insights. God’s Spirit and Word provide what is needed to the different parts of our life in manifold ways. If there is a blockage in the manifold, then what God has for us can’t flow correctly. If we are not connected to the manifold, then we are not complete.
All in all, a good illustration of many insights from one word! 🙂
What areas of life do we need wisdom in? Is there any area that God cannot help us?
I always need wisdom in all parts of my life and one in particular I prayed about last night was wisdom with my wife and how to help her feel loved. So from the word “Manifold” I think I’m supposed to help do laundry this week.
Tim,
Your “wisdom” has taken a decidedly practical turn lately! 🙂
Allow me to stand and applaud your wisdom. Being a man in our culture is confusing. There are a lot of mixed messages and conflicting standards. Most of the ones that come from the natural man are bad. The ones that come from God are good. You have chosen wisely!
Blessings
Thank you!
Manifold blessings to you!
🙂
05-23-2023, What areas of life do we need wisdom in? Is there any area that God cannot help us?
God’s manifold, multifaceted, beyond comprehension, wisdom is seen in all creation. Even in it’s broken state as a result of the fall, His miracle of all creation remains beyond our comprehension.
James 1:5 tells us that if we want wisdom, we should “ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault”. This means that even if we are an imperfect person, which we all are, He’ll give us wisdom if we ask for it. And not only will He give it to us. He’ll do so generously!
James 13:17 defines God’s wisdom, “But the wisdom that is from above is first PURE, then PEACEABLE, GENTLE, WILLING TO YIELD, FULL OF MERCY, and GOOD FRUITS, WITHOUT PARTIALITY, and WITHOUT HYPOCRISY.
We should seek God’s wisdom in every aspect of our lives and ask for it. God’s wisdom is the only perfectly objective and accurate way to look at situations in life and make our decisions. We can’t look at something and make decisions with complete objectiveness and heavenly wisdom, unless we meet ALL the criteria listed above,
We also need to learn to discern God’s voice so we can hear Him when he gives it to us.
1 Corinthians 2:10 says: “These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.” The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. The spirit is how we hear and recognize God’s voice and everything He tells us. Our spirit, which He has claimed and made new when we accepted Christ’s salvation, is the go-between that connects us to God on a personal level.
God’s wisdom is the only way to get through this life successfully, according to Gos’s standards, we must make it a priority to gain as much as we can.
Ron,
Thank you for sharing the characteristics of wisdom in James 13:17. That is an excellent summation of God’s character and is an excellent goal to strive for in our Christian lives.
Thank you all. I think this is very well covered. Wisdom is one of those things we receive by asking. James 1: 5 – 8. 1 Corinthians 1: 18 – 31 reminds us that God’s wisdom is not like that of the world. It is His wisdom that we need and should ask for and seek in His word (Proverbs 2: 2 – 7).
Rich,
Isn’t it awesome to know that we can have wisdom in abundance if we only ask?! 🙂
Now what else goes well with wisdom? Knowledge and understanding? Would that be the other chambers of the manifold?
Isn’t that just a trifold?
We would need to include counsel, compassion, justice, discernment, vision…. just to start going in the right direction 😉
In all seriousness though, my understanding of the manifold wisdom of God is this. There are things we don’t know that there is knowledge to even learn about. The things that we do know about have depths that we cannot reach the end of. (I like looking at the atom for this. How many times have we thought that we found the smallest thing in creation and still found that it was made of more things? And then on the big scale, do we fully understand atmosphere? Space? Wind? Mountains? How about just the human body itself?)
Now, we realize that we can’t research enough just to know all about one thing in God’s creation, let’s add in that He made it all work. He had the wisdom to put all of these seemingly unrelated things together in the same universe, in the same solar system, on the same planet, on the right continents and in the right oceans. That the miracle of life exists, thrives, has order, has reason, has a purpose.
I get lost just in the plain facts, God doesn’t get lost, figuratively or literally. He knows the facts, the feelings, the whys and why nots, the hows and whos. All of it working together, and what comes next.
Angela,
Very well said! Yes, the layers of God’s wisdom and knowledge and understanding are endless; beyond our comprehension.
Tim,
I think they are aspects of it. Each one by itself is subject to the same ‘manifoldness’ of God’s mind and purpose. In a way I think you just multiplied infinity by three. 🙂