For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6.

The great and essential knowledge is the knowledge of God and His Word…. The Christian will grow in grace just in proportion as he depends upon and appreciates the teaching of the Word of God, and habituates himself to meditate upon divine things….

But let no one imagine that we would discourage education or put a low estimate upon the value of mental culture and discipline. God would have us students as long as we remain in this world, ever learning and bearing responsibility…. But no one should set himself as a critic to measure the usefulness and influence of his brother who has had few advantages in obtaining book knowledge. He may be rich in a rarer wisdom. He may have a practical education in the knowledge of the truth. Says the psalmist, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130)…. The wisdom spoken of by the psalmist is that which is attained when the truth is opened to the mind and applied to the heart by the Spirit of God, when its principles are wrought into the character by a life of practical godliness….

It is the Spirit of God that quickens the lifeless faculties of the soul to appreciate heavenly things, and attracts the affections toward God and the truth. Without the presence of Jesus in the heart, religious service is only dead, cold formalism. The longing desire for communion with God soon ceases when the Spirit of God is grieved from us, but when Christ is in us the hope of glory, we are constantly directed to think and act in reference to the glory of God. The questions will arise, “Will this do honor to Jesus? Will this be approved of by Him? Shall I be able to maintain my integrity if I enter into this arrangement?” God will be made the counselor of the soul, and we shall be led into safe paths, and the will of God will be made the supreme guide of our lives. This is heavenly wisdom, … and it makes the Christian, however humble, the light of the world.^{9The Review and Herald, April 17, 1888.}

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The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. Psalm 119:130.

The light and understanding which God’s Word imparts is not designed merely, or chiefly, to promote intellectual culture. For an object higher than any earthly or temporal good were the holy oracles committed unto men. We see therein revealed the great plan of human redemption, the means devised to free mankind from the power of Satan. We see Christ, the Captain of our salvation, meeting the prince of darkness in open battle, and single-handed, obtaining the victory in our behalf. We learn too that by this victory was opened to us a door of hope, a source of strength, and that we may, as faithful soldiers, fight our own battles with the wily foe, and conquer in the name of Jesus. The powers of darkness must be met by every soul. The young as well as the old will be assailed, and all should understand the nature of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, and should realize that it concerns themselves….

It is not enough to have an intellectual knowledge of the truth…. There must be an entrance of the Word into the heart. It must be set home by the power of the Holy Spirit. The will must be brought into harmony with its requirements. Not only the intellect but the heart and conscience must concur in the acceptance of the truth.

The entrance of God’s Word gives understanding to the simple—those who are untaught in the wisdom of the world. The Holy Spirit brings the saving truths of the Scriptures within the comprehension of all who desire to know and do the will of God. Uneducated minds are enabled to grasp the most sublime and soul-stirring themes that can engage the attention of men—themes that will be the study and the song of the redeemed through all eternity.

It is the knowledge which God’s Word supplies, and which can be found nowhere else, that we need above every other. We want to know what to do in this our day to escape the snares of Satan and to win the crown of glory.^{8The Review and Herald, September 25, 1883.}

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Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. Luke 24:45.

The Lord wants every one of us to have a deeper, richer experience in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He desires that we shall grow in knowledge—not earthward, but heaven-ward, upward to Christ our living Head. How high, how great, is this knowledge to be? To the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. We cannot grow too much, we cannot gather up too many of the precious rays of light that God sends us….

We know falsehoods are coming in like a swift current, and that is just the reason why we want every ray of light that God has for us, that we may be able to stand amid the perils of the last days….

O how Christ longs to open before us the mysteries of redemption! He longed to do this for His disciples when He was among them on earth, but they were not far enough advanced in spiritual knowledge to comprehend His words. He had to say to them, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). O how much better could they have borne the terrible ordeal through which they had to pass at His trial and crucifixion if they had advanced and been able to bear the instruction of Christ! Shall we not let Jesus open our understanding? …

We are on the borders of the eternal world, and we must have a testimony with which all heaven shall be in harmony.^{6The Review and Herald, March 4, 1890.}

The Lord is coming, and we must be ready! Every moment I want His grace—I want the robe of Christ’s righteousness. We must humble our souls before God as never before, come low to the foot of the cross, and He will put a word in our mouths to speak for Him, even praise unto our God. He will teach us a strain from the song of the angels, even thanksgiving to our heavenly Father. We can do nothing of ourselves, but God wants to touch our lips with a living coal from off the altar. He wants to sanctify our tongues—to sanctify our whole being.^7Ibid.

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Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. Luke 11:35, 36.

The moment the eye is turned from Jesus, darkness is seen, darkness is felt, for Jesus only is light and life and peace and assurance forever. “If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22)…. What is it to have a single eye? It is to have a disposition to look upon Christ, for by beholding we become changed from glory to glory, from character to character.

As we keep Christ in view, the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon us and flood the chambers of the mind and heart and fill the soul temple with light. As the Light of the world shines upon us, we diffuse it to those around “as when the bright shining of a candle doth give … light.” The soul that is stayed upon God commits to Christ all that perplexes, all that annoys, all that gives anxiety. The light of Christ shines in the soul in all goodness and peace, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily….

Those who behold Christ will never plead that their own will may be done, or that their old ways and habits may be left undisturbed. As they behold Jesus, His image becomes engraved on heart and soul, and in all their practices they reflect His example upon the world. Day by day the hands, the feet, the tongue, follow the dictates of the spiritual nature, and faith makes their path a path that grows brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Everything that keeps us from attaining unto the likeness of Christ is working out for us eternal loss. Then let no one plead for a continuance of his own way. Let no one seek to excuse his deficiencies of character by saying, It is “my way.” Cooperate with Jesus Christ and you will see that your own way is a way full of deficiency and fault, and that if it is not corrected it will cause you to put into your character building traits that will be as rotten timbers…. Let nothing of these defects of character be found in your building. Build on the rock Christ Jesus.^{5The Youth’s Instructor, September 14, 1893.}

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The people were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:28, 29.

The world’s men of learning are not easily reached by the practical truths of God’s Word. The reason is, they trust to human wisdom and pride themselves upon their intellectual superiority, and are unwilling to become humble learners in the school of Christ.

Our Saviour did not ignore learning or despise education, yet He chose unlearned fishermen for the work of the gospel because they had not been schooled in the false customs and traditions of the world. They were men of good natural ability and of a humble, teachable spirit, men whom He could educate for His great work. In the ordinary walks of life there is many a man patiently treading the round of daily toil, all unconscious that he possesses power which if called into action would raise him to an equality with the world’s most honored men. The touch of a skillful hand is needed to arouse and develop those dormant faculties. It was such men whom Jesus connected with Himself, and He gave them the advantages of three years’ training under His own care. No course of study in the schools of the rabbis or the halls of philosophy could have equaled this in value. The Son of God was the greatest educator the world ever knew.

The learned lawyers, priests, and scribes scorned to be taught by Christ. They desired to teach Him, and frequently made the attempt, only to be defeated by the wisdom that laid bare their ignorance and rebuked their folly…. They knew that He had not learned in the schools of the prophets, and they could not discern the divine excellence of His character beneath the lowly disguise of the Man of Nazareth. But the words and deeds of the humble Teacher, recorded by the unlettered companions of His daily life, have exerted a living power upon the minds of men from that day to the present. Not merely the ignorant and humble, but men of education, intellect, and genius reverently exclaim, with the wondering and delighted listeners of old, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46).^{4The Review and Herald, September 25, 1883.}

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