Understanding is the capability to distinguish, or discernment, and it is what Solomon actually asked God for so that he could judge Israel correctly. God did not pour it into his mind but made him work for it, so that wisdom developed through experience. Understanding stands in a sequence: knowledge is gathered, meditation through experience and counsel produces discernment, and the fruit is practical application, which is biblical wisdom. All three of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom precede righteousness. Wisdom is making the right choices at the right time for the right reasons, and discerning where a circumstance is headed keeps a person from falling in with the wrong crowd or being trapped by wrong desires. Careful study of the Hebrew terms, with a dictionary, Strong's Concordance, or a modern translation, sharpens grasp of these words. Proverbs 4:7 links the two: "Get wisdom, and with all your getting, get understanding." No price is too high for them. Proverbs 2:1-5 shows the commitment required: treasuring God's commands, giving the mind to understanding, crying out for it, and digging for it like buried silver. The reward is understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God, which is not mere intellectual opinion but the eternal life of John 17:3. Because distractions from human nature, the world, and Satan oppose the seeker, a person must value understanding as a treasure, feel responsible for attaining it, and pursue it with sustained diligence, choosing wisdom as one would choose a wife rather than the harlot.

Spiritual understanding is not a matter of human intellect, education, or access to the Bible, which is widely available, but a gift God gives selectively. Unlike mechanics, computing, or biotechnology, which can be learned and proved by experiment, biblical truth is spiritual and contains mysteries. Jesus thanked the Father for hiding these things from the wise and prudent and revealing them to babes (Matthew 11:25-26), and He told His disciples that the mysteries of the kingdom were given to them but withheld from others (Matthew 13). Parables, for example, are readily misread unless one grasps God's consistent symbols, such as the mustard tree and the leaven. Scholars, archaeologists, and scientists may master details yet miss the whole, because their hostility to God darkens their minds (Romans 1:18-25; Romans 8:7). Paul explains that the message of the cross is foolishness to the perishing but God's power to the called (I Corinthians 1-2). God chose the weak and base so that no flesh would glory. The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit, since no one knows God's things except God's Spirit. Those in union with Christ, who is God's wisdom, have the mind of Christ and can compare spiritual things with spiritual. Understanding also deepens progressively with maturity, like Ezekiel's ever-deepening water. As Christ opened the disciples' minds to the Scriptures (Luke 24:45), He personally opens the minds of the called through His Spirit, a precious gift to be used and appreciated.

Understanding is more than possessing information; it grasps the meaning of what is known and applies it rightly. Knowledge and understanding form the basis of wisdom, and as experience is added, they yield insight and then wisdom, which is knowledge of what is true or right joined with proper judgment about action. Many people can memorize and recite the Ten Commandments, but real understanding means grasping them well enough to extend their principles to varied situations. Without God's Holy Spirit, people only repeat words, and their wisdom stays on a physical level. Learned, experienced people can understand little or nothing of the Bible and the wisdom it contains. Age does not guarantee understanding; some elderly people still act foolishly, and some young people decide well. Proverbs 1:1-7 pairs wisdom with instruction and says the proverbs exist so that people may perceive the words of understanding. A man of understanding attains wise counsel, and the wise keep listening, learning, and seeking understanding rather than ever ceasing to grow. Anyone of any age who has God's Holy Spirit can gain it through study, prayer, and meditation. Its beginning is the fear of the LORD, reverence for Him. Those who lack that reverence despise wisdom and instruction, so even a learned professor who leaves God out is a fool by the biblical standard. Those who have spent time in God's Word develop a filter of knowledge and wisdom that governs their thoughts and actions and lets them discern such speech.