There are three different types of wisdom. Human wisdom, the wisdom of this world and the wisdom from above.
Human wisdom is the facts of life and the takeaways from life’s experiences. That kind of wisdom cannot even be generalized for everyone. It’s limited, and the foolishness of God is even wiser than it is. That wisdom is no match for the devil. Haven’t you read Genesis 3:1? You will fail with that kind and level of wisdom. Why? Wisdom based on experience will rank the devil higher than all natural men. This is the same devil that foresaw the mistake of Adam, Esau, Saul, Balaam, Samson, Adolf, Judas, Emperor Nero, Napoleon Bonaparte, King Nebuchadnezzar, President Nixon…my dear, he’s not a fool. You are far too young to beat him with your intellect.
The devil is many things; a liar, a thief, an embodiment of evil…but he’s not a fool. The devil used to be very wise when he was Lucifer. Ezekiel 28:12 says he was full of wisdom. However, his wisdom corrupted when iniquity was found in him. This wisdom is higher than all human wisdom. It is the wisdom at work in the system of the world that Romans 12:2 warns us not to conform to. You have three enemies to conquer; the flesh, the world and the devil. You can gain some ground by using human wisdom to conquer the flesh but that won’t suffice against the systems of the world and the wisdom of the devil.
Corrupted wisdom is deceit. That’s why the biggest revelation of Satan is as a deceiver. Clever, cunning, shrewd, charming, deceptive. Not only does the devil learn from his mistakes, he also improves his technology with time. Babel is not as complicated as Bashan. Babylon is no match for Babylon the Great. Egypt is more advanced than Edom. Nimrod’s city was more sophisticated than Cain’s. Mark it: there is no one who has played the devil’s game and won. Even angels lost. Eve lost. Jesus didn’t play at all.
When the enemy wants to play with someone who ranks higher than him, he comes as a deceiver. Shrewd as a serpent, he sold a half-truth to Eve. The thing about deceit is that there’s an iota of “true” in it but no truth. Every deceit is based on truth. Lies only exist because there is truth. Darkness only exists because there is light. There is no S.I unit for darkness. It is not right to overestimate the devil but it is foolish to underestimate him. He’s one of the wisest creatures God ever created. He doesn’t change the strategies but he varies them.
The same pattern is seen in how he tempted the angels, Eve and Jesus. The first trick is for you to doubt God’s Word. “Did God say…?”. “If you are the Son of God…”. God literally said that Jesus is His Son in whom He is well-pleased. Well, that’s exactly what He comes to steal. Remember the parable of the Sower. He comes to steal the Word of God from you. Remember the parable of the wheat and tares. He comes to sow doubt. Anyone ruled by the flesh will fail this first test. Food caused the fall of the first man, and food (and all forms of it; sex, sustenance, livelihood etc) will test every flesh to see if they will choose the Food from the mouth of God or bread for their flesh.
The second trick is to misinterpret God’s Word. “You shall not surely die…”. With Jesus, he even quoted a verse from Psalm 91 out of context. That’s the list of the eyes, isn’t it? Because he is wishing to change your reality. Truth is reality. If he can change your reality, you yourself will exchange the truth of God for a lie. Once you doubt God’s Word, you lose authority. He can now cause you to conform to the systems of the world. Anyone who doesn’t fear God will fail here, because the world will rule over you.
The third and final trick is to replace God’s Word. It’s all about God’s Word, huh? Yes, deceit can only be derived from truth. Faith in the Word is what causes us to overcome the world. However, after overcoming the flesh and the world, you need to overcome the last enemy. This is the very sin Lucifer sinned. It is the cardinal sin. The sin of self; wanting to become like God in your own way. With Eve, she desired a kind of wisdom God did not put on the offer table. She wanted to become like God, knowing both good and evil. In fact, after eating the fruit, their eyes opened and they knew that they were naked.
That knowledge was an intimate knowledge they discovered. They used to be naked and unashamed. Now, they were naked and afraid of God’s presence. God asked, “who told you you are naked?”. How did they know? By what spirit? They had accessed the forbidden by their own terms. Beloved, it’s not everything that you ought to know. The devil knows more than we will ever know, and it is wrong to seek His wisdom. Jesus calls it “the deep secrets of Satan” in Revelations 2:24. With the temptation of Jesus, the devil wanted Jesus to skip the Cross by simply bowing down to him so he easily gives back what man handed over to him. As I said, no one plays the devil’s game and wins. If you think you can enjoy sin for a while and go back to God later, think twice!
If you play by the devil’s rules, he will always beat you to it. He doesn’t play by the rules. It’s a negotiation. You are bringing something on offer for what he is giving you. Once you take his offer, you have consented for him to take something from you. He will always emphasize what you will gain and never what you will lose in exchange. You will gain the whole world and lose your own soul. He did it to the fallen angels. He did it to Adam and Eve. Don’t let him do it to you. People think immediately you sell your soul to the devil, you become an instant hit! Nope. You still need to be talented. You still need to put in the work. So in the end, what’s the essence of selling your soul? He will use the gifts God gave you, grant you few minutes of pleasure and unending moments of torture.
The wisdom from above is the kind of wisdom Proverbs talks about. It is the highest form of wisdom. Even the devil does not have access to it. Why? He fears God but he is not God-fearing. The fear of the LORD is the key to unlock this wisdom into a person’s life. If you lack the fear of the LORD, this wisdom is hidden from you like 1 Corinthians 2:7-9 says. The Fear of the LORD is literally the beginning of wisdom.
Human wisdom is in the brain. The wisdom of this world cannot go past the mind. However, the wisdom from above is received in the spirit. The devil is wiser than the average man and will beat such a person to every game and temptation there is. However, the man who fears God operates with the Wisdom from above. He that is from above is above all!
