As we ponder the wonder of God and theology proper, we discover the greatness and goodness of God; this is His nature. As Erickson points out, God does not just embody these attributes; he IS these attributes. As my last journal entry defined and described what it means to fear the Lord, when we understand the greatness of God and his goodness, we revere, worship, and honor him. Revelation of God is progressive. As one fears the Lord for who he is, the resulting effect on the believer is wisdom. This brings us to the nature of God and his integrity. Erickson clearly establishes the dimensions of integrity or truthfulness: there are three dimensions of truthfulness: (1) genuineness—being true; (2) veracity—telling the truth; and (3) faithfulness—proving true. Although we think of truthfulness primarily as telling the truth, genuineness is its most basic dimension. God’s genuineness means that he is a real God.^[1] Establishing the point that God is real also leads us, as believers, to fear him. Fearing the Lord and understanding that he is the truth is the beginning of wisdom. As seen in Proverbs 9:10 ESV, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight”.  In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, acknowledging he is our Lord and Savior and that we are sinners who need to be saved and forgiven, the believer is filled with the Holy Spirit, leading to all truth in the Father, Son, and Spirit as one. God’s genuineness, as a real God embodying truthfulness, guides the believer into Godly wisdom and understanding this truth, thus understanding him. As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 1:24, to the believer Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God”. Paul continues in this chapter to explain that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power and wisdom of God, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent” (1 Cor. 1:18-19). Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” The wisdom of this world is in direct opposition to the wisdom of God in his truthfulness and integrity. Erickson also points out that what unbelievers consider foolishness and weakness, Christ and the message of the cross, is in reality wiser and stronger than anything the world has to offer. It solves the greatest problem, the problem of sin, and it overcomes all the power of evil that opposes human beings.[2] This lack of wisdom, or, as Paul continues to point out, a hardness of heart and blindness to the truth of who God is, keeps a person not only from fulfilling God’s will in their life but, more importantly, from being blinded to the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20 states, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life”. Without the wisdom of our true God in Jesus Christ, knowing the will of God in our life on earth is impossible. Paul states this truth very clearly, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (Col.1:9-12).

God has given us his truth, the Word. The spiritual discipline of reading His Word daily, the Bible from cover to cover, is how the believer attains wisdom. The Word is living, breathing, and active as the Spirit gives the reader understanding and wisdom on all facets of life. Being in the Word daily as we approach each day grounds us in God’s wisdom rather than the world’s wisdom. As we invite the Spirit into our daily reading and prayer life, our relationship with a real, true God becomes more intimate. The believer can better understand what it means to take refuge in the Lord, knowing the will of God in their lives and holding on to truths such as “not one word has failed of all your good promises” (1 Kings 8:56). The ability to stop striving or fighting with still being led and directed actively in our lives comes from knowing the true God. Psalm 46:10 states this clearly, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Spiritual wisdom in understanding that the Lord of Armies is with us and that the God of Jacob is our stronghold allows the believer to actively pursue a love relationship with our Father, while being content that God is sovereign over our lives and outcomes. Trusting that we follow the one true God, a good, good Father who is real and actively involved in every detail of our lives, gives us supernatural peace and wisdom the world will never know.