That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him (Ephesians 1:17, ESV).
Success depends on making the right decision.
Assuming that we are all leaders, we want to lead effectively. But how? The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1:17 that we should have a Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Both are needed by great leaders.
I heard a business consultant say, “Great leadership correctly puts the puzzle together. Intuition sees the pieces, and wisdom puts them together. When the total picture is observed, we can make good decisions.”
Intuition is the ability to see something instinctively without the need for conscious reasoning or fact. An intuitive leader has a gut feeling that something will work or that something is wrong.
The Bible uses a different word for “intuition” with the word “revelation” in Ephesians 1:17. The concept of revelation in the Bible indicates the ability to know something previously unknown about God or God’s creation.
Inventors, scientists, and artists excel by using revelation or intuition.
Wisdom understands the aspects and undercurrents of a difficult decision and discerns a path. Someone with wisdom knows what to do. The Greek word “sophia” is the root word for our English word “philosophy.”
Philosophers, theologians, judges, and school principals succeed through wisdom.
Considering a puzzle again . . .
Intuition finds the pieces, while wisdom puts the pieces together. There is an impetuousness to “revelation” and “intuition,” often leaving a puzzle unfinished to find another puzzle. There is determination or longevity with wisdom, a desire to stick with it until the entire puzzle is known.
Some leaders have both wisdom and revelation in equal measures – rarely, though.
Most leaders lean in one direction or the other, toward intuition or wisdom, toward exploration or establishing the base, toward discovery or making the right conclusions.
Where do you lean – toward intuition or wisdom?
Paul teaches that both are given by the Spirit. And both are needed.
We witness this in history as most great scientific discoveries, government policies like democracy, and inspiring art are rooted in wisdom and intuition – whether the decision maker or the artist was a believer or just acting from innate Biblical principles.
This explains the failure of leadership today in all aspects of politics, business, education, and art as leaders wander from the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to demonic capitulation and fleshly decision-making.
And unfortunately, all of us live with the consequences of dumb decisions.
The Bible teaches that the wisdom and revelation of the Spirit will be abandoned in the last days. Let’s pray and agree with the Apostle Paul to receive a Spirit of wisdom and revelation both personally and with our leaders.
Fulfilled living depends on great decision-making – both personally and culturally – and God gives wisdom and revelation to those who ask.