The Church: The Mouthpiece of God's Wisdom
Everything that God has done in the past, does right now, and will ever do is governed by His wisdom. Furthermore, God has never said anything nor taken any action that can be called unwise. In every choice He's made, we are able to clearly see the eternal wisdom that is so much a part of who our God is and what He's about.
In his letter to the Ephesian church, the apostle Paul describes the wisdom of God as "manifold" (Ephesians 3:10). Manifold, though a not-too-common word, is a word used to describe something as multifaceted, multicolored, or something quite varied. Of all the adjectives that could have been used, Paul used one that tells us that God's wisdom is incredibly diverse and able to affect every aspect of life. What a great concept! God is so aware of the world He's created that, even though problems might be too complex for us to understand, God's infinite wisdom allows Him to help us in all things.
In his discussion of God's incredible wisdom, Paul points out that Christ's church plays an important role in helping the world know how incredible the Creator truly is. Paul writes, "that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church ... according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:10-11).
When we're added to the Lord's church, we are given so much. The blessings which come from being a Christian and having spiritual siblings who can help and encourage each other are immense. With the great privileges of Christ's church, however, come incredible responsibilities for its members. One of the things that we learn from passages such as these is that God views the church as that one, single institution which is responsible for the fulfillment of God's wisdom.
Being a member of the church doesn't end with a mere acknowledgement of God's wisdom, but rather the understanding of the ever-pressing need to share the wise message with others. Paul told Timothy that the church is the "pillar and ground of the truth" (I Timothy 3:15). As Christians, let us be thankful for the church and its role in speaking of God's wisdom while also always working to do our part in spreading His message to others, hoping they too will serve the all-wise and heavenly Creator.