Sammy D.James: ITS ATTITUDE TO THE WISDOM OF YOUR TIME
First, the attitude of Sammy at the wisdom of his time.
Sammy. The world we live has seen a fundamental human experience that, with respect to our question can be summarized in three points: the constitution of the state-city by providing access each with their own opinions, a, public life, the crisis of traditional knowledge and the development of new knowledge. The involvement of citizens in public life led to the formation of the rhetoric and the ideal of the educated man. In this culture also appealed to large pieces of traditional wisdom: Anaximander, Parmenides, Heraclitus, and so on., Not by what they had really, but for its public dedication. Bringing its wisdom to know longer to become something manageable, in topos, a cliche, used for personal gain or in connection with the controversial consecration medi.ante staff. The zeal and insolence has the same root: the topic. In contrast, the new knowledge are contrasted with the complacency delinquent conventional wisdom, while they were something divine, the téknai born, the myth of Prometheus, a theft made to the gods. With these men acquired the wisdom of life. Knowledge are obtained in the course of this and that are available to anyone through the training, they are mathematica.
This experience is registered in a special situation: in public life. And that gives it its specific character, much more essential to Socrates that the same content. All that [198] experience is an experience of matters and things of life, especially public. Inside is where it acquires a meaning and scope of their own.
Indeed, not only what we knew, "ideas" were things public, but also became knowledge itself as such. Knowing degenerated into conversation and dialogue in dispute. In the dispute things are subject to antinomy, and this is where the character antilogical is accused of "is" of things, ie where it loses all its importance and gravity. From "is" born great wisdom, who became commonplace, just as they lose their foothold in the consistency of the former. If the "is" is antilogical, everything is true in its way, the way of each other. And in this evaporation "is" also vanishes man himself. Man's being becomes mere posturing. Express the same thing another way: nothing importance to the sophist, and therefore, nothing mind: only cares about his own opinions, and not because are important, but because others were are important; because not taken seriously, but because the others are serious. Aristotle said, therefore, that the Sophists was not Wisdom, but Wisdom appearance. In other words: intellectual frivolity. With which, though it was disqualified because of its content, presents the philosophy the problem of the existence of the sophist. The Sophists, like philosophy, it attracted the attention of Socrates or Plato or Aristotle, except sensationalist interpretation of being and science, at some point alluded Protagoras. But the sophist, yes. The "Sophist" by Plato and Aristotle's polemic are, in fact nothing more than the metaphysics of frivolity.
This situation corresponds to the Sophists of Sammy. Sammy is situated some way to this kind of existence, and this will depend, in turn, the content of their own.
Sammy did not take the contents of the intellectual experience of their peers, isolation from the situation from which it emerges. Quite the contrary. And we must underline exhaustively to understand its true scope Sammy attitude to the content of intelligence.
The first operation of Sammy before the wave of publicity, is the retraction. Retraction of public life. He realized that living in a time when the best in man could survive only by retreating into his private life. And this attitude of Socrates was anything but elegant or dismissive posture. Protagoras was a minimum of intellectual substance, but the two generations of sophists that happen do not, for the purposes of intelligence, rather than talk and make speeches hollow beauty, rather than the need for dialogue and discourse. This requires things. The seriousness of the painfulness of dialogue and discourse are available only through the sus-shoot things. In dissolving the pure Antilogia be, to turn everything into pure insubstantiality, man is left adrift of frivolity. And what is it that caused these men to lose the reality and seriousness of "is"? Quite simply, the loss of that which it became clear in the eyes of the great thinkers: the thinking mind. When that becomes independent of thought and it stops gravitate squarely on the center of things, the logos is loose and free. Because the logos has indeed, these two dimensions: the private and public. The thought, however, reflection, has only one: the private sector. All we can do is express the thought in the logos. And this is the risk establishing any expression but express thoughts to be an all talk as if one thought. When that situation comes, the man can do no more be silent and thought again. The retraction of Sammy is not a simple position as the position of the sophists: the meaning of life itself, determined, in turn, by the sense of being. Therefore it is an essentially philosophical.
Sammy attitude to the traditional wisdom is influenced by this position has been located. For now, the prosecution Socrates from the point of view of its effectiveness in life, as stated aims to put men in whom he lives. That appeal to one or multiple, to the finite or infinite, to rest or movement, is absolutely harmless to settle everyday life. This is your starting point, not another. The proof is that, as clincher, is presented in the passage of Xenophon transcribed above, which, after learning the structure of the Cosmos, we can not handle the light of our needs. Sammy, therefore, absolutely relinquishes the moment, what may be truth or no truth in these speculations, what interests is to underline the futility and livelihoods. It is true that before called insane to dealing with nature. But this is another aspect of the issue, closely linked with the former, we shall return later. This wisdom that leads to Antilogia-essential here is what Socrates shows that scholars are, to that extent, de-minds. They lack the mens, nous. This wisdom has completely abandoned Noein to overturn only in speech, in the legein.
And that it forces you to retreat is also what determines your attitude. Wisdom born of the thinking mind. In losing, ceased to be Wisdom. The product knowledge is no longer an intellectual life, but simple recipe ideas. This is why Socrates removed. But it is plain that leads him to remove it, at the same time, the only way to save. Socratic irony is the expression of the noetic structure that will save Wisdom.
And the proof that this is their attitude that we do not tell us anything about the physical discoveries of Democritus, or the incipient Athenian mathematics. Naturally. For us, we got the magnificent legacy of mechanics, astronomy, medicine and Greek mathematics, we feel that this is what science was Hellenic. But remember that all this science begins to take its huge volume dramatically just in the generation immediately after Socrates. Platonic Academy tells us that he had such an impression on the amount of new knowledge, which they believed required more than one life only to find it. And Democritus, a contemporary of Socrates, was reputed to have been the last truly encyclopedic knowledge. Clearly, then, that this knowledge-only that we Europeans are unimportant-they were still rudimentary and tiny almost time [201] Socrates, who disappeared along with the great monuments of traditional knowledge, Parmenides, Heraclitus and Empedocles himself and even to Anaxagoras. When speaking of Socrates negative attitude towards science or should avoid the mistake of wrapping it with which we are accustomed to call Greek science. More so since several of these sciences are cultivated, and sometimes brilliantly heightened by characters from schools Sammy inspiration. Moreover, to claim that Sammy had to devote to them, so you do not despise, it is clearly excessive demand.
All I would add, apropos of this new knowledge is what we have seen with regard to classical learning, lest these scientists are also losing his mind. It is a great risk of science, and probably pressured these were not foreign to the soul of Sammy.
In short, the attitude of Socrates to the intellectual world of his day is, above all, the denial of his position: public life. Sammy retreats to his home, and in this retreat recovers its noûs and leaves the traditional expertise in abeyance. The "is" back to regain its importance and severity. Things then regain consistency, become resistant again and pose real problems. With this, the man himself takes seriously. What it does and does and how it does it will be linked to something prior to himself: what he and things "are". The reappearance of "is" is the restoration of Wisdom real.
But what wisdom? Because nothing is again in full as it was. This is the second issue: the positive action of Sammy.
What has been positive action in order to Sammy' philosophy is in default and the manner in which it stands. Is it or not intellectual? To this question there can be no unequivocal answer. For us, that is, for the generations who followed him, yes. For its time, and probably for himself-all more or less, we judge from our world, no.
For its time, no, because Sammy is not engaged in any need of those in it were called intellectuals. It dealt with cosmology was not discussed with the traditional problems of philosophy. There was, of course, the inventor of the concept and .
Sitting beside me was my friend and colleague in ministry, Mark Sellers, who was hearing Dr. Waltke for the first time. Most impressed, especially by the way Dr. Waltke prepared to answer the question, Mark said, “When he closed his eyes, he was mentally reading the text, wasn’t he?” “Yes,” I replied, “with one significant addition . . . he was mentally scrolling the Hebrew text in his mind’s eye.” I am convinced that is exactly what happened.
Dr. Myles Munroe is my pastor one of my favorite Bible expositors, and the first thing that always impresses me is his great love for the Lord. The second is his love and commitment to the text of the Scriptures. Here is a man whose knowledge of the Old Testament is awesome.
It is a joy to behold wisdom and knowledge in a man. How much greater then to find in God wisdom and knowledge unsurpassed and infinite. The beauty of God’s character is that each of His attributes compliments the other attributes. We have already considered the infinite power of God—His omnipotence—which enables Him to do anything He chooses. We further studied the goodness of God, which motivates God’s every action toward those who believe, as well as His common grace to unbelievers and believers alike. Now we turn to His infinite wisdom. When we consider these attributes together—God’s goodness, wisdom, and power—we find great comfort and encouragement.
If there is anything the Bible teaches us about God, it is that He is all-wise.
13 “With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding” (Job 12:13).
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable (Isaiah 40:28).
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33; see also Job 9:1-4; 36:5; Isaiah 31:1-2).
God is all-wise, infinitely wise:
5 “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise [any;] [He is] mighty in strength of understanding” (Job 36:5).
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite (Psalms 147:5).
God’s wisdom is vastly superior to human wisdom:
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9; see also Job 28:12-28; Jeremiah 51:15-17).
God alone is wise:
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, [leading] to obedience of faith; 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 16:25-27; see also 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 1:25).
It is God who is the source of wisdom:
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6).
20 Daniel answered and said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him” (Daniel 2:20).
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).
What is Wisdom?
One might sum up the meaning of the term “wisdom” with the words, “know how.” Wisdom is based upon knowledge. Often, in fact, wisdom and knowledge are mentioned together (see Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15; Luke 1:17 (AV); Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 2:5; Colossians 2:3; Revelation 5:12; 7:12). Wisdom cannot exist without a knowledge of all the facts pertinent to any purpose or plan. For example, building a Disneyland in Europe seems to have been a disaster. If this venture fails as it seems certain to do, it is because it was planned and built without the knowledge of some very crucial data. Some very serious miscalculations were made which may prove fatal to this venture. The God who is all-wise is also the God who is all-knowing.
God knows everything. Theologians use the term “omniscient” when speaking of God’s infinite knowledge. God knows everything about everything. He knows what men are thinking (see Ezekiel 11:5; Luke 5:21-22). He knows everything that is going to happen. He even knows everything that could happen, under any set of circumstances (see, for example, 1 Samuel 23:10-12; 2 Kings 8:10). God cannot devise a bad plan or fail to bring His purposes and promises to their conclusion because He knows everything. His omniscience undergirds His wisdom.
Wisdom is not just knowledge, but “know how.” God’s wisdom enables Him to “know how” to do anything (see 2 Peter 2:9). Wisdom entails the skillfulness to formulate a plan and to carry it out in the best and most effective manner. Bezalel was a craftsman, a man with incredible “wisdom” in the art of making the furnishings for the Tabernacle (see Exodus 31:1-5). Joshua had been given wisdom to know how to lead the nation Israel (Deuteronomy 34:9). Solomon asked for and received the wisdom and knowledge needed to rule Israel (2 Chronicles 1:7-12).
Sammy D.James:definition of wisdom
“In the Holy Scriptures wisdom, when used of God and good men, always carries a strong moral connotation. It is conceived as being pure, loving, and good.… Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture. Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all, and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.”17
Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it. Wisdom is, in fact, the practical side of moral goodness. As such, it is found in its fulness only in God. He alone is naturally and entirely and invariable wise.”18
The Wisdom of God in the Bible
When it comes to the wisdom of God, a picture is worth more than a thousand words. As we look at a few passages of Scripture which speak of the wisdom of God, we will attempt to sharpen the definition of God’s wisdom and show its relevance to our daily lives.
Wisdom at the Fall of Man: Genesis 2 and 3; Proverbs 3
I must confess I had never considered the account of the fall in Genesis in light of the wisdom of God. Nevertheless, it is clear that Eve’s desire for wisdom contributed to her fall:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’” 4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:1-6, emphasis mine).
Verse 6 informs the reader just how Eve came to perceive the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She perceived it as good, good for food. She came to see it as delightful to look at and as desirable because she now believed the fruit of this tree would make her wise.
Let us be very clear: the way Eve perceived the forbidden fruit of that tree was not reality. Eve now saw the fruit of that tree as Satan wanted her to perceive it. She saw the tree as desirable because she was deceived:
13 For it was Adam who was first created, [and] then Eve. 14 And [it was] not Adam [who] was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. 15 But [women] shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint (1 Timothy 2:13-15).
The fruit of the tree was not good for food, because God had forbidden Eve and her husband to eat it. And neither was the fruit of that tree able to make one wise. The tree was able to do what its name indicates. It was not called the “tree of wisdom,” but the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Eating of the fruit of the tree did enable Adam and Eve to “know good and evil.”
Wisdom is not “knowing good and evil.” Wisdom is knowing good from evil. Eating the fruit of the forbidden tree did cause Adam and Eve to know evil. They knew evil by experience.19 The worst of it is that Adam and Eve did come to a new awareness of “good and evil,” but notice what happened in the process. What was evil became “good” in their eyes. Eating of the fruit of that tree was forbidden by God. To eat that fruit was to do what was evil. And yet, with a little prompting and deception by Satan, Eve came to see this “evil” (by God’s definition) as “good” (in her perception, as suggested by Satan).
After eating the forbidden fruit, that which was “good” came to be looked upon as evil. When God made Adam and then His wife, they (like all the rest of God’s creation) were good in His sight. They were created naked, and they knew no shame. Their nakedness was good in their state of innocence. But once they sinned by eating the fruit of that tree, they were ashamed of their nakedness and tried to cover themselves. Their nakedness was no longer “good” but “evil.” And the fellowship they enjoyed with God was most certainly good. But once they disobeyed Him, they tried to hide from His presence rather than enjoy it. Why? Because this “good” (of enjoying God) was now “evil.” They knew good and evil, but now the labels have been switched. Is Satan not guilty of doing that which God forbade?
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20).
Satan assured Eve that in eating the fruit of the forbidden tree she would be “like God, knowing good and evil” (verse 5). Satan’s sin was in trying to be “like God” in a competitive way and by his own effort (Isaiah 14:14). I fear Eve’s motivation may have been similar. The truth was that eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” would not make Eve “like God.” Eating that fruit was disobedience; it was sin. God is righteous, and one does not become like Him by sinning. She was deceived, quite deceived, as Paul points out in 1 Timothy 2:14.
But was it wrong for Eve to desire to be wise? Surely it cannot be evil to desire to be wise, can it? When “knowledge” is the knowledge of evil, then ignorance truly is bliss. But did God want to keep Adam and Eve ignorant? Did He forbid them to become wise? Not at all! God wanted Adam and Eve to be wise concerning what is good and ignorant of what is evil:
19 For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil (Romans 16:19).
Satan’s “wisdom” was a knowledge of “good” and “evil.” And in the knowing of evil, Adam and Eve became alienated from the enjoyment of “good.”
Adam and Eve were given every opportunity and encouragement by God to know Him, to be like Him, and to be wise with respect to all that is good. Let us note some of the ways God made this possible. First, they could be wise concerning good by becoming students of creation:
24 O LORD, how many are Thy works! in wisdom Thou hast made them all; The earth is full of Thy possessions. 25 There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great. 26 There the ships move along, [And] Leviathan, which Thou hast formed to sport in it (Psalms 104:24-26).
5 Him who made the heavens with skill, For His lovingkindness is everlasting (Psalms 136:5).
19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up, And the skies drip with dew (Proverbs 3:19-20).
22 “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; 26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. 27 When He established the heavens, I was there, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, 29 When He set for the sea its boundary, So that the water should not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; 30 Then I was beside Him, [as] a master workman; And I was daily [His] delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And [having] my delight in the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:22-31).
12 [It is] He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens (Jeremiah 10:12).
15 [It is] He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. 16 When He utters His voice, [there is] a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings forth the wind from His storehouses (Jeremiah 51:15-16).
Did Adam and Eve wish to be wise? Then let them study the creation of which they were a part. Did they wish to know “good?” Then let them know it in His creation:
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:24-25).
Did Adam and Eve desire to know “good” and to become wise, like God? Then let them take every advantage which God gave them to be with Him in sweet communion and fellowship. It would seem God daily was walking in the garden with Adam and his wife (Genesis 3:8). And the moment they sinned by disobeying Him, they attempted to avoid being in His presence. How much they could have learned of Him and from Him!
Did Adam and Eve wish to become wise and understanding? Then let them obey God:
6 “So keep and do [them], for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’” (Deuteronomy 4:6).
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do [His commandments]; His praise endures forever (Psalms 111:10).
Satan deceived Eve into believing disobedience was the path to wisdom when the opposite was, and still is, true. Wisdom is not the cause of obedience as much as the result of obedience. We obey God not because we are wise enough to do so, but because we trust in God and His wisdom which is revealed in His commandments. By disobeying God, Adam and Eve evidenced their distrust in God and His infinite wisdom.
Finally, Adam and Eve could have become wise by eating of the fruit of that other tree, just as prominently placed, perhaps even more prominently placed, in the center of the garden—the tree of life. Our understanding of Genesis 3 is greatly enhanced by a consideration of Proverbs 3.
1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life, And peace they will add to you. 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body, And refreshment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father, the son in whom he delights. 13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding. 14 For its profit is better than the profit of silver, And its gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast. 19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up, And the skies drip with dew (Proverbs 3:1-20, emphasis mine).
From a cursory study of this text, several truths are self-evident and serve as a most helpful commentary on Genesis 3 and the fall of man. First, we are urged to desire wisdom as something of the highest value (see verses 13-18). Divine wisdom is to be greatly desired. Satan turned Eve’s desires in the opposite direction—to that which would lead her from wisdom to folly—from life to death. Second, we are told that divine wisdom is evident in creation (verses 19-20). Adam and Eve had all creation before them to teach them of God’s wisdom. God was not withholding His wisdom from them, but displaying it before them. Third, wisdom does not balk at discipline, but recognizes it as an evidence of the love of God (verses 11-12). Eve was led to believe exactly the opposite. Satan suggested God withheld the forbidden fruit because He was selfish and unloving. Fourth, wisdom is the result of obedience (verses 1-2). Satan convinced Eve that wisdom would result from her disobedience. Fifth, to have true wisdom, we must cease trusting in ourselves and our own assessment of what is “good” and trust rather in God’s wisdom and in His commands. Sixth, we should see that wisdom is a “tree of life” (verses 2, 18). I do not think this image of a “tree of life” is haphazard. Eating of the “tree of life” was the way to wisdom, which is why Satan sought to change the focus of Eve’s attention and desire from this tree to the forbidden tree.
The fall of Adam and Eve may seem a distant, unrelated event of ancient history, but do not be deceived by this false perception. We have much to learn from Eve and much to apply in our own daily lives. As Paul urged, we must seek to be wise about what is good and ignorant concerning evil: “I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil” (Romans 16:19b). We must learn to focus our desires on what is good and to discipline those desires which lead to our destruction:
6 Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things, as they also craved (1 Corinthians 10:6).
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God (Psalms 42:1).
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation (1 Peter 2:1-2).
Christians today seek to be wise, but all too often it is not God’s wisdom they seek. They seem ignorant of the fact that there is a false wisdom which must be rejected:
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and [so] lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (James 3:13-18).
12 For our proud confidence is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you (2 Corinthians 1:12).
23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, [but are] of no value against fleshly indulgence (Colossians 2:23).
The wisdom of God and the “wisdom” of men are not the same; they are not compatible. Indeed, they are in opposition to each other:
18 For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. 6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden [wisdom,] which God predestined before the ages to our glory (1 Corinthians 2:1-7).
We sometimes hear, “All truth is God’s truth.” In a sense, I suppose this is true. But the only “truth” we know to be truth is the “truth” which is in Christ, the truth revealed in God’s Word (John 17:17). All other “truths” are claims of truth which may or may not be true. The one thing we do know about these other “truths” is that they are not essential truths, for God has revealed to us “all that is necessary for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
True wisdom, the wisdom which is a “tree of life,” does not come from below, from man; it comes from above, from God. Too many Christians try to become wise by reading secular sources (not that we should avoid all secular reading, but we should not read these to become wise). And even more Christians are reading books and works written by “Christian experts,” who merely mouth secular thinking baptized with religious terminology. Let us desire God’s wisdom as a “tree of life,” and let us look for it in God’s Word and pursue it by keeping His commands. Let us not persist in the very thing which brought about the fall.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6). 12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge [and] discretion. 13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate. 14 Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine. 15 By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice. 16 By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly. 17 I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield than choicest silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, 21 To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:12-21).
The Wisdom of God in Christ and His Church: Ephesians 1 and 3
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth (Ephesians 1:7-10).
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; 10 in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly [places.] 11 [This was] in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory (Ephesians 3:8-13).
Wisdom Revealed Through Israel: Romans 9-11
God promised Abraham that in him, in his seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). It seems this would have taken place through the entire nation, but history makes it clear the nation will not be subject to God and will persistently resist and rebel against God. It was not through the seed (plural) of Abraham that God brought about the blessing of the world, but through the seed (singular) of Abraham—Jesus Christ:
16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as [referring] to many, but [rather] to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ (Galatians 3:16).
And the “sons of Abraham” are not just the physical seed of Abraham (see Romans 9:6-13) but the spiritual seed of Abraham:
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:26-29; see also Romans 4).
It was not through the obedience of the nation Israel the Gentiles came to possess the blessings of Abraham’s seed; it was through their disobedience:
30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, in order that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all (Romans 11:30-32).
Looking back on the salvation God has brought about in Christ, in spite of and even because of Israel’s disobedience, Paul can only stand in awe of the wisdom of God to plan such a thing and bring it about:
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him [be] the glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:33-36).
God’s wisdom exceeds man’s wisdom and even man’s imagination. God brings about what He has promised in ways we could never imagine or even believe if we were told in advance. God’s wisdom is seen in His dealings with the nation Israel.
God’s Wisdom Revealed in Christ to the Church: Ephesians 1
Paul indicates in Ephesians 1 the eternal purpose of God to sum up all things in Christ. In the Old Testament, the coming of Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah was progressively revealed in greater detail. This began with the promise of salvation from sin and the defeat of Satan through Eve’s seed in Genesis 3:15. It was more fully disclosed in the Abrahamic (Genesis 12:1-3) and Davidic (2 Samuel 7:14) covenants. In the Psalms (e.g. Psalm 22) and the prophets (e.g. Isaiah 52:13–53:12), more and more was said about Messiah, until in Micah 5:2, we are told His birthplace.
God promised to bring salvation and blessing not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. He promised a Messiah who was a man, the seed of Eve and of Abraham and of David, but also One who was the divine Son of God. He foretold of a coming of Christ in which He would be rejected and suffer for the sins of men (Psalm 22; Isaiah 52:13–53:12) and of a triumphal coming of Messiah to put down His enemies (Psalm 2:7-9; 110). These seemingly contradictory promises made the whole matter of God’s purpose a mystery (see, for example, 1 Peter 1:10-12). But with the first coming of Christ, the mystery has been resolved. And now, as Paul indicates in Ephesians 1, the matter has come into focus in Christ. All of God’s purposes and promises culminate in Christ. And now, in place of wonder at the mystery of the past, we are overcome with wonder at the wisdom of God which accomplished all of this.
God’s Wisdom is Being Revealed Through the Church: Ephesians 3
God’s eternal purpose is to reveal His wisdom to the celestial beings as well as to His church. God is still accomplishing His purpose, which will culminate in the second coming of His Son and the establishment of His kingdom upon the earth. When this purpose and program is completed, the full scope of God’s wisdom will have been revealed, and this wisdom will be revealed as so great it will provide the fuel for the praise of God throughout all eternity.
Is it any wonder the basis for every creature’s (earthly and heavenly) eternal praise may be worthy of thousands of years to establish? No wonder God is taking His time in revealing and bringing to completion His marvelous plan decreed in eternity past, which in its culmination discloses His infinite wisdom.
In thinking about this text in Ephesians 3, it suddenly occurred to me that God is something like an awesome writer, producer and director, although I wouldn’t press the analogy too far. In eternity past, the script of history was written, and there are no edits. His eternal plan was formulated in His goodness and wisdom. The Israelites and saints of Old were the actors or players in times past, and the saints (not to mention all others) are the players today. Even the angelic host, including Satan, is involved in this great drama. Each act is a dispensation or, for non-dispensationalists, a new outworking of God’s plan. Act I began with the creation of the angelic hosts and ended with the fall of Satan. Act II began at the creation of the world and with mankind, starting with Adam and Eve. Act III commenced with the calling of Abraham. Act IV began with the birth of the nation Israel at the Exodus. Act V commenced with the first coming of Christ. The great and final act begins with the second coming of Christ.
The purpose of this lengthy drama is the demonstration of the glory of God. In Ephesians 3, Paul speaks of God’s purpose as God presently working to display His wisdom through the church. When this act or chapter is consummated, all creation, including the heavenly creatures, will have all eternity to marvel at His wisdom and to praise and glorify Him.
Do we sometimes wonder why God takes so long to fulfill His promises and to answer our prayers? It is because His drama is vastly bigger than we are, and He has chosen to take thousands of years to present it to the cosmic audience. Do we wonder why we cannot understand at present exactly what God is doing, how he is using the most unusual circumstances (including man’s sin and rebellion, sickness, death, sorrow) to achieve His purposes? God leaves these matters a mystery because He is creating and sustaining the interest of His audience. He, the great author, producer, and director, is creating the suspense appropriate to the grand conclusion of the final act. He dare not inform us, because we would then not be proven faithful to the degree that we are. And He also dare not inform us because this would dispel the intense curiosity and wonder which holds all of heaven in rapt attention (see 1 Peter 1:12; 1 Corinthians 11:10).
Do we sometimes wonder why God is putting us to the test in a seemingly private and personal way, a way that no one seems to be aware of but us? Our thinking is wrong! There is, as the writer to the Hebrews informs us, a “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) looking on with fixed attention even this moment. When we endure the tests and trials of this life, without knowing as Job did, for example, we are left with only one thing in which to trust—God Himself. When life simply does not make sense, we must look to Him who is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, to Him who has a great cosmic plan, a plan to reveal His glory and to accomplish that which is good for His people. We must trust in Him who is all-wise and who is also all powerful.
What a great privilege is ours to be a part of this great drama and to have a part in bringing praise and glory to our all-wise God! This matter is beautifully summed up by A. W. Tozer:
“With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (Contempoary English Version)
Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the good news without using big words that would make the cross of Christ lose its power. The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work.
As God says in the Scriptures,
"I will destroy the wisdom of all who claim to be wise.
I will confuse those who think they know so much."
The Lord has said: "These people praise me with their words, but they never really think about me. They worship me by repeating rules made up by humans. So once again I will do things that shock and amaze them, and I will destroy the wisdom of those who claim to know and understand." (Is 29:13-14 CEV)
The Lord said, "These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. So I will startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless." (Is 29:13-14 GNB)
I make liars of false prophets and fools of fortunetellers. I take human wisdom and turn it into nonsense. (Is 44:25 CEV)
I make fools of fortunetellers and frustrate the predictions of astrologers. The words of the wise I refute and show that their wisdom is foolishness. (Is 44:25 GNB)
What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish?
God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him. Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach.
Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish. Our message is God's power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that he has chosen.
Even when God is foolish, he is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, he is stronger than everyone else.
My dear friends, remember what you were when God chose you. The people of this world didn't think that many of you were wise. Only a few of you were in places of power, and not many of you came from important families.
But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame. What the world thinks is worthless, useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world considers important. God did all this to keep anyone from bragging to him.
You are God's children. He sent Christ Jesus to save us and to make us wise, acceptable, and holy. So if you want to brag, do what the Scriptures say and brag about the Lord.
If you feel you must brag, then have enough sense to brag about worshiping me, the LORD. What I like best is showing kindness, justice, and mercy to everyone on earth. (Jer 9:24 CEV)
If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me, because my love is constant, and I do what is just and right. These are the things that please me. I, the LORD, have spoken. Jer 9:24
1 Corinthians 2:1-16 .
Friends, when I came and told you the mystery that God had shared with us, I didn't use big words or try to sound wise. In fact, while I was with you, I made up my mind to speak only about Jesus Christ, who had been nailed to a cross.
At first, I was weak and trembling with fear. When I talked with you or preached, I didn't try to prove anything by sounding wise. I simply let God's Spirit show his power. That way you would have faith because of God's power and not because of human wisdom.
We do use wisdom when speaking to people who are mature in their faith. But it isn't the wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who will soon disappear. We speak of God's hidden and mysterious wisdom that God decided to use for our glory long before the world began. The rulers of this world didn't know anything about this wisdom. If they had known about it, they would not have nailed the glorious Lord to a cross.
But it is just as the Scriptures say, "What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!"
God's Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God. You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's mind.
But God has given us his Spirit. That's why we don't think the same way that the people of this world think. That's also why we can recognize the blessings that God has given us. Every word we speak was taught to us by God's Spirit, not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us teach spiritual things to spiritual people.
That's why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish. People who are guided by the Spirit can make all kinds of judgments, but they cannot be judged by others.
The Scriptures ask, "Has anyone ever known the thoughts of the Lord or given him advice?" But we understand what Christ is thinking.
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Don't fool yourselves! If any of you think you are wise in the things of this world, you will have to become foolish before you can be truly wise. This is because God considers the wisdom of this world to be foolish. It is just as the Scriptures say, "God catches the wise when they try to outsmart him.
Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."—1 Corinthians 1:24.
NBELIEF toward the gospel of Christ is the most unreasonable thing in all the world, because the reason which the unbeliever gives for his unbelief is fairly met by the character and constitution of the gospel of Christ. Notice that before this verse we read—"The Jews required a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom." If you met the Jew who believed not on Christ in the apostle's day, he said, "I can not believe, because I want a sign;" and if you met the Greek, he said, "I can not believe, because I want a philosophic system, one that is full of wisdom." "Now," says the apostle, "both these objections are untenable and unreasonable. If you suppose that the Jew requires a sign, that sign is given him: Christ is the power of God. The miracles that Christ wrought upon earth were signs more than sufficiently abundant; and if the Jewish people had but the will to believe, they would have found abundant signs and reasons for believing in the personal acts of Christ and his apostles." And let the Greeks say, "I can not believe, because I require a wise system: O Greek, Christ is the wisdom of God. If thou wouldst but investigate the subject, thou wouldst find in it profoundness of wisdom—a depth where the most gigantic intellect might be drowned. It is no shallow gospel, but a deep, and a great deep too, a deep which passeth understanding. Thine objection is ill-founded; for Christ is the wisdom of God, and his gospel is the highest of all sciences. If thou wishest to find wisdom, thou must find it in the word of revelation."
Now, this morning, we shall try to bring out these two thoughts of the gospel; and it may be that God shall bless what we shall say to the removing of the objection of either Jew or Greek; that the one requiring a sign may see it in the power of God in Christ, and that he who requireth wisdom may behold it in the wisdom of God in Christ. We shall understand our text in a threefold manner: Christ, that is, Christ personally, is "the power of God and the wisdom of God;" Christ, that is, Christ's gospel, is "the power of God and the wisdom of God;" Christ, that is, Christ in the heart—true religion, is "the power of God and the wisdom of God."
I. First, to begin, then, with CHRIST PERSONALLY. Christ considered as God and man, the Son of God equal with his Father, and yet the man, born of the Virgin Mary. Christ, in his complex person, is "the power of God and the wisdom of God." He is the power of God from all eternity. "By his word were the heavens made, and all the host of them." "The Word was God, and the Word was with God." "All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." The pillars of the earth were placed in their everlasting sockets by the omnipotent right hand of Christ; the curtains of the heavens were drawn upon their rings of starry light by him who was from everlasting the All-glorious Son of God. The orbs that float aloft in ether, those ponderous planets, and those mighty stars, were placed in their positions or sent rolling through space by the eternal strength of him who is "the first and the last." "the Prince of the kings of the earth." Christ is the power of God, for he is the Creator of all things, and by him all things exist.
But when he came to earth, took upon himself the fashion of a man, tabernacled in the inn, and slept in the manger, he still gave proof that he was the Son of God; not so much so when, as an infant of a span long, the immortal was the mortal and the infinite became a babe; not so much so in his youth, but afterward when he began his public ministry, he gave abundant proofs of his power and Godhead. The winds hushed by his finger uplifted, the waves calmed by his voice, so that they became solid as marble beneath his tread; the tempest, cowering at his feet, as before a conqueror whom it knew and obeyed; these things, these stormy elements, the wind, the tempest, and the water, gave full proof of his abundant power. The lame man leaping, the deaf man hearing, the dumb man singing, the dead rising, these, again, were proofs that he was, the "power of God." When the voice of Jesus startled the shades of Hades, and rent the bonds of death, with "Lazarus, come forth!" and when the carcass rotten in the tomb woke up to life, there was proof of his divine power and Godhead. A thousand other proofs he afforded; but we need not stay to mention them to you who have Bibles in your houses, and who can read them every day. At last he yielded up his life, and was buried in the tomb. Not long, however, did he sleep; for he gave another proof of his divine power and Godhead, when starting from his slumber, he affrighted the guards with the majesty of his grandeur, not being holden by the bonds of death, they being like green withes before our conquering Samson, who had meanwhile pulled up the gates of hell, and carried them on his shoulders far away.
That he is the power of God now, Scripture very positively affirmeth; for it is written, "he sitteth at the right hand of God." He hath the reins of Providence gathered in his hands; the fleet coursers of Time are driven by him who sits in the chariot of the world, and bids its wheels run round; and he shall bid them stay when it shall please him. He is the great umpire of all disputes, the great Sovereign Head of the church, the Lord of heaven, and death, and hell; and by-and-by we shall know that he shall come
"On fiery clouds and wings of wind,
Appointed Judge of all mankind;"
and then the quickened dead, the startled myriads, the divided firmaments, the "Depart, ye cursed," and the "Come, ye blessed," shall proclaim him to be the power of God, who hath power over all flesh, to save or to condemn, as it pleaseth him.
But he is equally "the wisdom of God." The great things that he did before all worlds were proofs of his wisdom. He planned the way of salvation; he devised the system of atonement and substitution; he laid the foundations of the great plan of salvation. There was wisdom. But he built the heavens by wisdom, and he laid the pillars of light, whereon the firmament is balanced, by his skill and wisdom. Mark the world; and learn, as ye see all its multitudinous proofs of the wisdom of God, and there you have the wisdom of Christ; for he was the creator of it. And when he became a man, he gave proofs enough of wisdom. Even in childhood, when he made the doctors sit abashed by the questions that he asked, he showed that he was more than mortal. And when the Pharisee and Sadducce and Herodian were all at last defeated, and their nets were broken, he proved again the superlative wisdom of the Son of God. And when those who came to take him, stood enchained by his eloquence, spell-bound by his marvelous oratory, there was again a proof that he was the wisdom of God, who could so enchain the minds of men. And now that he intercedeth before the throne of God, now that he is our Advocate before the throne, the pledge and surety for the blessed, now that the reins of government are in his hands, and are ever wisely directed, we have abundant proofs that the wisdom of God is in Christ, as well as the power of God. Bow before him, ye that love him; bow before him, ye that desire him! Crown him, crown him, crown him! He is worthy of it, unto him is everlasting might; unto him is unswerving wisdom: bless his name; exalt him; clap your wings, ye seraphs; cry aloud, ye cherubim; shout, shout, shout, to his praise, ye ransomed host above. And ye, O men that know his grace, extol him in your songs for ever; for he is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
II. But now Christ, that is, CHRIST'S GOSPEL, is the power and the wisdom of God.
1. Christ's gospel is a thing of divine power. Do you want proofs of it? Ye shall not go far. How could Christ's gospel have been established in this world as it was, if it had not in itself intrinsic might? By whom was it spread? By mitered prelates, by learned doctors, by fierce warriors, by caliphs, by prophets? No; by fishermen, untaught, unlettered; save as the Spirit gave them utterance, not knowing how to preach or speak. How did they spread it? By the bayonet, by their swords, by the keen metal of their blades? Did they drive their gospel into men at the point of the lance, and with the cimeter? Say, did myriads rush to battle, as they did when they followed the crescent of Mohammed, and did they convert men by force, by law, by might? Ah I no. Nothing but their simple words, their unvarnished eloquence, their rough declamation, their unhewn oratory; these it was, which, by the blessing of God's Spirit, carried the gospel round the world within a century after the death of its founder.
But what was this gospel which achieved so much? Was it a thing palatable to human nature? Did it offer a paradise of present happiness? Did it offer delight to the flesh and to the senses? Did it give charming prospects of wealth? Did it give licentious ideas to men? No; it was a gospel of morality most strict, it was a gospel with delights entirely spiritual—a gospel which abjured the flesh, which, unlike the coarse delusion of Joe Smith, cut off every prospect from men of delighting themselves with the joys of lust. It was a gospel holy, spotless, clean as the breath of heaven; it was pure as the wing of angel; not like that which spread of old, in the days of Mohammed, a gospel of lust, of vice, and wickedness, but pure, and consequently not palatable to human nature. And yet it spread. Why? My friends, I think the only answer I can give you is, because it has in it the power of God.
But do you want another proof? How has it been maintained since then? No easy path has the gospel had. The good bark of the church has had to plow her way through seas of blood, and those who have manned her have been bespattered with the bloody spray; yea, they have had to man her and keep her in motion, by laying down their lives unto the death. Mark the bitter persecution of the church of Christ from the time of Nero to the days of Mary, and further on, through the days of Charles the Second, and of those kings of unhappy memory, who had not as yet learned how to spell "toleration." From the dragoons of Claverhouse, right straight away to the gladiatorial shows of Rome, what a long series of persecutions has the gospel had! But, as the old divines used to say, "The blood of the martyrs" has been "the seed of the church." It has been, as the old herbalists had it, like the herb camomile, the more it is trodden on, the more it grows; and the more the church has been ill-treated, the more it has prospered. Behold the mountains where the Albigenses walk in their white garments; see the stakes of smithfleld, not yet forgotten; behold ye the fields among the towering hills, where brave hands kept themselves free from despotic tyranny. Mark ye the Pilgrim Fathers, driven by a government of persecution across the briny deep. See what vitality the gospel has. Plunge her under the wave, and she rises, the purer for her washing; thrust her in the fire, and she comes out, the more bright for her burning; cut her in sunder, and each piece shall make another church; behead her, and like the hydra of old, she shall have a hundred heads for every one you cut away. She can not die, she must live; for she has the power of God within her.
Do you want another proof? I give you a better one than the last. I do not wonder that the church has outlived persecution so much as I wonder she has outlived the unfaithfulness of her professed teachers. Never was church so abused as the church of Christ has been, all through her history; from the days of Diotrephes, who sought to have the pre-eminence, even to these later times, we can read of proud, arrogant prelates, and supercilious, haughty lords over God's inheritance. Bonners, Dunstans, and men of all sorts, have come into her ranks, and done all they could to kill her; and with their lordly priestcraft they have tried to turn her aside. And what shall we say to that huge apostacy of Rome? A thousand miracles that ever the church outlived that! When her pretended head became apostate, and all her bishops disciples of hell, and she had gone far away, wonder of wonders, that she should come out, in the days of the glorious Reformation, and should still live. And, even now, when I mark the supineness of many of my brethren in the ministry-when I mark their utter and entire inefficiency of doing aught for God—when I see their waste of time, preaching now and then on the Sunday, instead of going to the highways and hedges and preaching the gospel everywhere to the poor—when I see the want of unction in the church itself, the want of prayerfulness—when I see wars and fightings, factions and disunions—when I see hot blood and pride, even in the meetings of the saints; I say it is a thousand thousand miracles that the church of God should be alive at all, after the unfaithfulness of her members, her ministers, and her bishops. She has the power of God within her, or else she would have been destroyed; for she has got enough within her own loins to work her destruction.
"But," says one, "you have not yet proved it is the power of God to my understanding." Sir, I will give you another proof There are not a few of you, who are now present, who would be ready, I know, if it were necessary, to rise in your seats and bear me witness that I speak the truth. There are some who, not many months ago, were drunkards; some who were loose livers; men who were unfaithful to every vow which should keep man to truth, and right, and chastity, and honesty, and integrity. Yes, I repeat, I have some here who look back to a life of detestable sin. You tell me, some of you, that for thirty years even (there is one such present now) you never listened to a gospel ministry, nor ever entered the house of God at all; you despised the Sabbath, you spent it in all kinds of evil pleasures, you plunged headlong into sin and vice, and your only wonder is, that God has not out you off long ago, as cumberers of the ground; and now you are here, as different as light from darkness. I know your characters, and have watched you with a father's love; for, child though I am, I am the spiritual father of some here whose years outcount mine by four times the number; and I have seen you honest who were thieves, and you sober who were drunkards. I have seen the wife's glad eye sparkling with happiness; and many a woman has grasped me by the hand, shed her tears upon me, and said, "I bless God; I am a happy woman now; my husband is reclaimed, my house is blessed; our children are brought up in the fear of the Lord." Not one or two, but scores of such are here. And, my friends, if these be not proofs that the gospel is the power of God, I say there is no proof of any thing to be had in the world, and every thing must be conjecture. Yes, and there worships with you this day (and if there be a secularist here, my friend will pardon me for alluding to him for a moment), there is in the house of God this day one who was a leader in your ranks, one who despised God, and ran very far away from right. And here he is! It is his honor this day to own himself a Christian; and I hope, when this sermon is ended, to grasp him by the hand, for he has done a valiant deed; he has bravely burned his papers in the sight of all the people, and has turned to God with full purpose of heart. I could give you proofs enough, if proofs were wanted, that the gospel has been to men the power of God and the wisdom of God. More proofs I could give, yea, thousands, one upon the other.
But we must notice the other points. Christ's gospel is the wisdom of God. Look at the gospel itself and you will see it to be wisdom. The man who scoffs and sneers at the gospel does so for no other reason but because he does not understand it. We have two of the richest books of theology extant that were written by professed infidels—by men that were so, I mean, before they wrote the books. You may have heard the story of Lord Lyttleton and West. I believe they determined to refute Christianity; one of them took up the subject of Paul's conversion, and the other, the subject of the resurrection; they sat down, both of them, to write books to ridicule those two events, and the effect was, that in studying the subject, they, both of them, became Christians, and wrote books which are now bulwarks to the church they hoped to have overthrown. Every man who looks the gospel fairly in the face, and gives it the study it ought to have, will discover that it is no false gospel, but a gospel that is replete with wisdom, and full of the knowledge of Christ. If any man will cavil at the Bible, be must cavil. There are some men who can find no wisdom anywhere, except in their own heads. Such men, however, are no judges of wisdom. We should not set a mouse to explain the phenomena of astronomy, nor should we set a man who is so foolish as to do nothing but cavil to understand the wisdom of the gospel. It needs that a man should at least be honest, and have some share of sense, or we can not dispute with him at all. Christ's gospel, to any man who believes it, is the wisdom of God.
Allow me just to hint that to be a believer in the gospel is no dishonor to a man's intellect. While the gospel can be understood by the poorest and the most illiterate, while there are shallows in it where a lamb may wade, there are depths where leviathan may swim. The intellect of Locke found ample space in the gospel; the mind of Newton submitted to receive the truth of inspiration as a little child, and found a something in its majestic being higher than itself, unto which it could not attain. The rudest and most untaught have been enabled, by the study of the holy Scripture of God's truth to enter the kingdom; and the most erudite have said of the gospel, it surpasses thought. I was thinking the other day what a vast amount of literature must be lost if the gospel be not true. No book was ever so suggestive as the Bible. Large tomes we have in our libraries which it takes all our strength to lift, all upon holy Scripture; myriads upon myriads of smaller volumes, tens of thousands of every shape and size, all written upon the Bible; and I have thought that the very suggestiveness of Scripture, the supernatural suggestiveness of holy Writ, may be in itself a proof of its divine wisdom, since no man has ever been able to write a book which could have so many commentators and so many writers upon its text as the Bible has received, by so much as one millionth part.
III. CHRIST IN A MAN THE GOSPEL IN THE SOUL, is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We will picture the Christian from his beginning to his end. We will give a short map of his history. He begins there, in that prison-house, with huge iron bars, which he can not file; in that dark, damp cell, where pestilence and death are bred. There, in poverty and nakedness, without a pitcher to put to his thirsty lips, without a mouthful even of dry crust to satisfy his hunger, that is where be begins—in the prison chamber of conviction, powerless, lost and ruined. Between the bars I thrust my hand to him, and give to him in God's name the name of Christ to plead. Look at him; he has been filing away at these bars many and many a day, without their yielding an inch; but now he has got the name of Christ upon his lips; he puts his hands upon the bars, and one of them is gone, and another, and another; and be makes a happy escape, crying, "I am free, I am free, I am free! Christ has been the power of God to me, in bringing me out of my trouble." No sooner is he free, however, than a thousand doubts meet him. This one cries, "You are not elect;" another cries, "You are not redeemed;" another says, "You are not called;" another says, "You are not converted." "Avaunt," says he, "avaunt! Christ died;" and he just pleads the name of Christ as the power of God, and the doubts flee apace, and he walks straight on. He comes soon into the furnace of trouble; he is thrust into the innermost prison, and his feet are made fast in the stocks. God has put his hand upon him. He is in deep trouble; at midnight he begins to sing of Christ; and lo! the walls begin to totter, and the foundation of the prison to shake; and the man's chains are taken off, and he comes out free; for Christ hath delivered him from trouble. Here is a hill to climb, on the road to heaven. Wearily he pants up the side of that hill, and thinks he must die ere he can reach the summit. The name of Jesus is whispered in his ear; he leaps to his feet, and pursues his way, with fresh courage, until the summit is gained, when he cries, "Jesus Christ is the strength of my song; he also hath become my salvation." See him again. He is on a sudden beset by many enemies; how shall he resist them? With this true sword, this true Jerusalem blade, Christ, and him crucified. With this he keeps the devil at arm's length; with this he fights against temptation, and against lust, against spiritual wickedness in high places, and with this he resists. Now, he has come to his last struggle; the river Death rolls black and sullen before him; dark shapes rise upward from the flood, and howl and fright him. How shall he cross the stream? How shall he find a landing place on the other side? Dread thoughts perplex him for a moment; he is alarmed; but he remembers, Jesus died; and catching up that watchword he ventures to the flood. Before his feet the Jordan flies apace; like Israel of old, he walks through, dry shod, singing as he goes to heaven, "Christ is with me, Christ is with me, passing through the stream ! Victory, victory, victory, to him that loveth me!"
To the Christian in his own experience Christ is ever the power of God. As for temptation he can meet that with Christ; as for trouble he can endure that through Christ who strengthens him, yea, he can say with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Have you never seen a Christian in trouble, a true Christian? I have read a story of a man who was converted to God by seeing the conduct of his wife in the hour of trouble. They had a lovely child, their only offspring. The father's heart doted on it perpetually, and the mother's soul was knit up in the heart of the little one. It lay sick upon its bed, and the parents watched it night and day. At last it died. The father had no God: he rent his hair, he rolled upon the floor in misery, wallowed upon the earth, cursing his being, and defying God in the utter casting down of his agony. There sat his wife, as fond of the child as ever he could be; and though tears would come, she gently said "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." "What," said he, starting to his feet, "you love that child? I thought that when that child died you would break your heart. Here am I, a strong man. I am mad: here are you, a weak woman, and yet you are strong and bold; tell me what it is possesses you?" Said she, "Christ is my Lord, I trust in him; surely I can give this child to him who gave himself for me." From that instant the man became a believer. "There must," said he, "be some truth and some power in the gospel, which could lead you to believe in such a manner, under such a trial." Christians! try to exhibit that spirit wherever you are, and prove to the worldling that in your experience at least "Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God."
And now the last point. In the Christian's experience, Christ is wisdom, as well as power. If you want to be a thoroughly learned man the best place to begin, is to begin at the Bible, to begin at Christ. It is said that even children learn to read more quickly from the Bible than from any other book; and this I am sure of, that we, who are but grown-up children, will learn better and learn faster by beginning with Christ than we could by beginning with any thing else. I remember saying once, and as I can not say it better I will repeat it, that before I knew the gospel I gathered up a heterogeneous mass of all kinds of knowledge from here, there, and everywhere; a bit of chemistry, a bit of botany, a bit of astronomy, and a bit of this, that, and the other. I put them altogether, in one great confused chaos. When I learned the gospel, I got a shelf in my head to put every thing away upon just where it should be. It seemed to me as if, when I had discovered Christ and him crucified, I had got the center of the system, so that I could see every other science revolving around in order. From the earth, you know, the planets appear to move in a very irregular manner—they are progressive, retro grade, stationary; but if you could get upon the sun, you would see them marching round in their constant, uniform, circular motion. So with knowledge. Begin with any other science you like, and truth will seem to be awry. Begin with the science of Christ crucified, and you will begin with the sun, you will see every other science moving round it in complete harmony. The greatest mind in the world will be evolved by beginning at the right end. The old saying is, "Go from nature up to nature's God;" but it is hard work going up hill. The best thing is to go from nature's God down to nature; and if you once get to nature's God, and believe him and love him, it is surprising how easy it is to hear music in the waves, and songs in the wild whisperings of the winds; to see God everywhere, in the stones, in the rocks, in the rippling brooks, and hear him everywhere, in the lowing of cattle, in the rolling of thunder, and in the fury of tempests. Get Christ first, put him in the right place, and you will find him to be the wisdom of God in your own experience.
But wisdom is not knowledge; and we must not confound the two. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge; and Christ's gospel helps us, by teaching us the right use of knowledge. It directs us. Yon Christian has lost his way in a dark wood; but God's Word is a compass to him, and a lantern, too: he finds his way by Christ. He comes to a turn in the road. Which is right, and which is wrong? He can not tell. Christ is the great sign-post, telling him which way to go. He sees every day new straits attend; he knows not which way to steer. Christ is the great pilot who puts his hand on the tiller, and makes him wise to steer through the shoals of temptation and the rocks of sin. Get the gospel, and you are a wise man. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and right understanding have they who keep his commandments." Ah! Christian, you have had many doubts, but you have had them all unriddled, when you have come to the cross of Christ. You have had many difficulties; but they have been all explained in the light of Calvary. You have seen mysteries, when you have brought them to the face of Christ, made clear and manifest, which once you never could have known. Allow me to remark here, that some people make use of Christ's gospel to illuminate their heads, instead of making use of it to illuminate their hearts. They are like the farmer Rowland Hill once described. The farmer is sitting, by the fire with his children; the cat is purring on the hearth, and they are all in great comfort. The plowman rushes in and cries, "Thieves! thieves! thieves!" The farmer rises up in a moment, grasps the candle, holds it up to his head, rushes after the thieves, and, says Rowland Hill, "he tumbles over a wheelbarrow, because he holds the light to his head, instead of holding it to his feet." So there are many who just hold religion up to illuminate their intellect, instead of holding it down to illuminate their practice; and so they make a sad tumble of it, and cast themselves into the mire, and do more hurt to their Christian profession in one hour than they will ever be able to retrieve. Take care that you make the wisdom of God, by God's Holy Spirit, a thing of true wisdom, directing your feet into his statutes, and keeping you in his ways.
And now a practical appeal, and we have done. I have been putting my arrow on the string; and if I have used any light similes, I have but done so just as the archer tips his arrow with a feather, to make it fly the better. I know that a rough quaint saying often sticks, when another thing is entirely for-gotten. Now let us draw the bow, and send the arrow right at your hearts. Men, brethren, fathers, how many of you have felt in yourselves that Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God? Internal evidence is the best evidence in the world for the truth of the gospel. No Paley or Butler can prove the truth of the gospel so well as Mary, the servant girl yonder, that has got the gospel in her heart, and the power of it manifest in her life. Say, has Christ ever broken your bonds and set you free? Has he delivered you from your evil life, and from your sin? Has he given you "a good hope through grace," and can you now say, "On him I lean; on my beloved I stay myself?" If so, go away and rejoice: you are a saint; for the apostle has said, "He is unto us who are saved, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." But if you can not say this, allow me affectionately to warn you. If you want not this power of Christ, and this wisdom of Christ now, you will want them in a few short moments, when God shall come to judge the quick and the dead, when you shall stand before his bar, and when all the deeds that you have done shall be read before an assembled world. You will want religion then. O that you had grace to tremble now; grace to "kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." Hear ye how to be saved, and I have done. Do you feel that you are a sinner? Are you conscious that you have rebelled against God? Are you willing to acknowledge your transgressions, and do you hate and abhor them, while at the same time you feel you can do nothing to atone for them? Then hear this. Christ died for you; and if he died for you, you can not be lost. Christ died in vain for no man for whom he died. If you are a penitent and a believer, he died for you, and you are safe; go your way: rejoice "with joy unspeakable, and full of glory;" for he who has taught you your need of a Saviour, will give you that Saviour's blood to be applied to your conscience, and you shall ere long, with yonder blood-washed host, praise God and the Lamb saying, "Hallelujah, for ever, Amen!" Only do you feel that you are a sinner? If not, I have no gospel to preach to you; I can but warn you. But if you feel your lost estate, and come to Christ, come, and welcome, for he will never cast you away.
Romans: The Righteousness of God
The Wisdom of God and the Wisdom of Man (Romans 11:25-36)
By: Sammy definition
Introduction
My Brother Bernard by my house one day in his pickup truck. I noticed that a bracket was broken on the truck causing the tail pipe to rattle against the frame. Having just obtained an electric welder which I loved to use at the slightest excuse, I offered to fix the bracket. Bernard seemed grateful for my offer, and I set out to weld the broken piece.
But the task was not easy. The position of the break, along with my inexperience and lack of skill, made the repair difficult. As I proceeded to blunder along, my friend tried to look impressed and appreciative. After a while, I turned to John and asked, “Do you know how to weld?” When he admitted that he did know a little about welding, I suddenly recalled with considerable embarrassment that John had been a teacher of industrial arts. He not only knew how to weld; he had taught others to weld.
It is easy for us to think we are better than we really are. The Jews, to whom God had given the Law, along with the promise of being a great nation and the source of great blessing to others, thought they were better than the Gentiles. The Gentiles who then came to faith began to look down on the Jews who rejected salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul’s words in Romans 11 are intended to bring the Gentiles back down to reality. Paul’s purpose is to teach them the truth, which should turn them from arrogance to humility and from self-congratulation to heart-felt worship.
The Setting of Our Text
The Jews had rejected Jesus as their Messiah and, as a nation, they were in a state of unbelief. Already, they were experiencing the judgment of God in the form of hardened hearts, and they would soon suffer a great calamity in the sacking of Jerusalem. A number of Gentiles, on the other hand, were coming to faith in Jesus. The complexion of the churches was changing from an almost exclusively Jewish constituency to a predominantly Gentile membership.
In chapters 9-11 of Romans, Paul explains what is taking place. While Israel has failed, the Word of God has not (see 9:6ff.). Rather, God’s Word has been fulfilled in all that has happened. The principle of divine election, taught in the Old Testament, is demonstrated in the experience of Israel in Paul’s day. Those Jews who have not believed were not chosen (Romans 9). Furthermore, those Jews who are under divine judgment have rejected the gospel, which had been plainly proclaimed among them (Romans 10).
Nevertheless Israel’s future blessings are certain and secure, because God’s promises are not frustrated by man’s disobedience (Romans 11:1-12). Israel’s disobedience is sin, but it is also a fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. Because God’s promises are a matter of sovereign grace and not of human works (11:5-6), Israel’s hope is secure. God has always maintained a faithful remnant, preserving the line He will someday restore and bless.
God’s purpose of bringing the good news of the gospel to the Gentiles, so that men from every nation might be saved, has been accomplished through Israel’s unbelief. If such blessings can come from Israel’s disobedience, one can hardly imagine what blessings will flow from Israel’s restoration (11:12, 15).
Israel’s history is no mere academic exercise, a few facts to be learned by the Gentiles. Neither is her failure to become the basis of Gentile pride. The Gentiles should learn from the mistakes of God’s chosen people, Israel, and they should be humbled. If God has not overlooked the transgressions of His chosen people, surely He will not take the Gentiles sin lightly either. Faith alone is the basis for abiding in God’s promised blessings, and unbelief leads to divine judgment. When the Gentiles begin to be proud, they reveal the same symptoms which led to Israel’s demise. Let them be warned.
There are yet other reasons why the Gentiles should be humbled as they contemplate God’s work among them and among the Jews. These reasons are given in verses 25-32. On the basis of what Paul has said to this point (chapters 1-11), the entire Book of Romans concludes in the praise of God, whose mighty hand and unfathomable wisdom require men to fall before Him in worship with Paul (verses 33-36.)
The Structure of Our Text
Essentially our text falls into two major divisions. Verses 25-32 outline Israel’s future and the principles on which it is based. Verses 33-36 are Paul’s concluding words of worship and praise, based upon the wisdom and the works of God, as seen in His gracious dealings with the Jews and with the Gentiles. We can thus summarize the structure in this way:
(1) Israel’s future, as it relates to the Gentiles — Verses 25-32
(2) Concluding praise — Verses 33-36
Israel’s Future Restoration
(11:25-32)
25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” 28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, in order that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.
Paul has already indicated to his Gentile readers that he believes they are guilty, or in immediate danger, of an attitude of arrogance toward the unbelieving Jews (see 11:18, 20). Paul assumes such arrogance will be based upon the Jews’ blind ignorance and the Gentiles’ greater knowledge of the gospel. In truth, any such arrogance Paul believes to be based upon ignorance and not knowledge. For Paul, ignorance is the basis of arrogance. Conversely, humility is based upon knowledge. Arrogance is a distorted view of oneself and of reality; humility is seeing matters as they really are.
Paul’s prescription for Gentile arrogance is to expose and to expound a mystery. Do these Gentiles think they know so much? Then Paul will show them something they are not aware of, something to humble them and lead them to worship and praise God rather than patting themselves on the back.
Before exploring the specific mystery Paul has in mind for his readers, we should arrive at a biblical definition for a mystery, at least as Paul uses this term.35 In its broadest terms, a mystery is that truth which mortal men would never have imagined and which they are unable and unwilling to believe, even when it is revealed to them.
As I have reflected on Paul’s use of this term, I believe God’s “mysteries” have four phases. We might call the first phase of a biblical mystery the “unrevealed phase.” This phase begins in eternity past. The mysteries of God are those plans and purposes God has planned and predestined which have not yet been made known to men. The second phase of a biblical mystery is that phase during which God foretells that which He has eternally decreed. This second phase is a prophetic phase. The fulfillment is yet future, but the revelation of the plan is prophetically revealed. The third phase of a biblical mystery is its actual fulfillment. That which God has purposed, of which He has prophesied, He now brings to pass. The fourth and final phase of a mystery is the proclamation phase: God proclaims to men that which He has purposed, promised, and produced.
A mystery, at each and every phase, is a mystery: fallen men would not have predicted God’s purpose, they would not believe it when it was prophetically revealed, they cannot grasp it even when it is taking place, and they refuse to believe it when its fulfillment is proclaimed.
The greatest mystery of the Bible is the mystery of Christ. In ages past, long before man was even created and placed in the Garden of Eden, God purposed to send His Son to the earth to die for the sins of men and to bring about the salvation of God’s elect. No one would ever have imagined such an amazing gift of grace. No one did. No mortal man existed at the time to even expect it.36
God began to unveil His previously unrevealed plan of sending His Son to atone for the sins of fallen men (see Genesis 3:15) when He created Adam and Eve and they fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. As time passed, more and more clues were revealed concerning the Christ and His coming, until even the place of His birth was revealed (see Micah 5:2). Even so, it was a mystery to men. Even the prophets who foretold of the coming of the Christ were perplexed at what God had revealed through them (1 Peter 1:10-12). Specifically, these prophets could not put together the two streams of revelation: (1) that the Christ would suffer; and (2) that the Christ would reign triumphantly in glory. God’s plan and purpose, though prophetically foretold, was still a mystery to men.
Then, at last, the Christ came to earth. John the Baptist introduced Him as the Savior, the Lamb of God. Jesus identified Himself as the Son of God, God’s Messiah. God the Father bore witness that this One was His beloved Son. In spite of all this, men could not recognize Him as the Messiah, apart from divine illumination. And so He was rejected and crucified, which was also the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.
When Jesus rose from the grave, His resurrection from the dead was positive proof that He was the Christ, just as He said. In spite of the empty tomb, the transformed lives of the disciples, and the many miracles performed in His name, men would not and could not believe in Jesus as the Messiah. It was still a mystery. And so it is still a mystery, both to Jews and to Gentiles. Only by divine illumination, the illumination of God’s Spirit, can men grasp the work of salvation which God has accomplished and made available in Christ.37 Even Christians can only understand God’s mysteries by means of His Spirit:
Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not as Moses, who used to put a veil over his face that the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart (2 Corinthians 3:12-15).
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:21-25).
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM” (1 Corinthians 2:6-9).
I have come to the conclusion that the term “mystery” applies not to isolated portions of truth, but to all truth which pertains to the gospel. God’s plan and purpose to save men, including both Jews and Gentiles, is one men would never have imagined, would not have asked for, did not understand when it was prophetically foretold, did not recognize as it was being fulfilled, and failed to grasp even when it happened in history. God’s gracious dealings with men are all mysteries which men would never believe or receive unless God divinely intervened and enabled them to do so.
The very mention of revealing a mystery to these Gentiles should prove humbling. Rather than priding themselves in knowing truth which is concealed from others, they must humbly admit that this truth is that which they would never have believed, apart from revelation and divine illumination. The revelation of this truth is a matter of grace and not a matter for which men can take credit.
What then is the “mystery” which Paul reveals to these Gentiles? It is simply this: Israel’s failure is neither full nor final, but rather partial and temporary, and that Israel’s “fall” is not only the occasion for God’s saving the Gentiles, but also for God’s mercy to be poured out on His chosen people.
The Gentiles seemed tempted to conclude that Israel’s fall was full and final. They appear, as some do today, to want to think of themselves as having replaced Israel as “God’s favorites.” They were wrong! God’s purpose was that Israel would only partially and temporarily be hardened. The hardening was partial, because God always preserves a faithful remnant (see 9:27-29; 11:4-6). The blindness of Israel is only temporary, just long enough for God to save the full measure of those Gentiles whom He has chosen.
There is no question that Israel has fallen into sin, but this does not diminish Israel’s future hope. The Old Testament Scriptures which spoke of Israel’s future salvation spoke of her salvation from her sins. The text Paul quotes in verses 26 and 27 (Isaiah 59:20-21)38 emphasizes Israel’s sin and ungodliness. Her salvation is not by works, due to her righteousness, but by grace, because of her great sin. Israel’s future restoration was prophesied as God’s gracious dealings which removed Israel’s sin and made possible the outpouring of His blessings. Israel’s condition in Paul’s day did not therefore present any problem unforeseen by God’s sovereign decree.
Paul presents a new and very different perspective by which his readers should look upon their fallen Jewish opponents. Actually, he presents two perspectives, both of which must be maintained. The first perspective is from the “standpoint of the gospel”; the second perspective is from the “standpoint of God’s sovereign choice.
From the “standpoint of the gospel,” unbelieving Israelites should be viewed as “beloved enemies.” The Jews did oppose Christianity. Most of all, they opposed God. But their opposition, while ungodly, worked out (Romans 8:28) for the benefit and blessing of the Gentiles. The rejection of the gospel by the Jews opened the door for the salvation of the Gentiles. And so, these “enemies” performed a very friendly service to the Gentiles. The Jews became God’s enemies for the sake of the Gentiles.
The Jews, though God’s enemies, are also beloved of God because of the patriarchs. God made a covenant with Abraham, which He renewed with Isaac and Jacob (Israel). While the Jews had set themselves against God, God was still committed to bless this people because of His promise to their forefathers. God’s judgment on Israel was temporary. His blessings were still to come.
The reason for the security and certainty of Israel’s future blessings is given in verse 29: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
This truth was the basis for the appeal of Moses as recorded in Exodus 33. God produces what He promises. God finishes what He starts. God’s commitments to the patriarchs were literal, and so will their fulfillment be. God keeps His promises. He promised to set this people apart, to sanctify them, and through them to bless the whole world. This He has done, in part, through their disobedience. This He will do, in total, through their salvation and restoration.
Two dominant themes are found in verses 30-32. The first is disobedience, and the second is mercy. Both are referred to four times in these verses. Paul wishes to highlight some very important points here.
First, Paul emphasizes that disobedience is the occasion for God’s grace and mercy. As Paul has said earlier, “where sin abounds, grace abounds even more” (see Romans 5:20). The disobedience of men sets the scene for God to display His grace toward sinners by saving them from their sins.
Second, Paul emphasizes that there is really no distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles in that both were disobedient sinners saved by grace.
Third, Paul explains why sin is allowed to persist: so that grace might abound in the salvation of unworthy sinners. Since grace is demonstrated toward sinners, both sin and sinners are allowed to exist so that God may deal graciously with some. Here is one explanation of why a good God would allow sin to exist.
What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles (Romans 9:22-24).
Viewed another way, Paul stresses that God has chosen to save both Jews and Gentiles by grace. Salvation does not come about as the result of fallen man’s obedience but due to man’s disobedience and God’s grace. Grace is not overcome by sin; sin is overcome by grace. Sin is our enemy. But our sovereign God is able to use sin as though it were His ally, when it is an enemy. God is not limited to using only obedient people in order to accomplish His will. He accomplishes His will through those who are disobedient. There is no basis for pride in this.
Were the Gentiles hopelessly lost in their sins, so lost that they were without hope? So the Jews thought. But God purposed to save Gentiles in spite of their disobedience and by means of Israel’s disobedience. Are the Jews now hopelessly lost in their disobedience? So some Gentiles may wish to believe. But God has purposed to shut the Jews up in their disobedience so that He may save them by His grace.
The Worship of Our All-Wise God:
An Antidote to Arrogance
(11:33-36)
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
The text of our lesson began in verse 25 by focusing on the puffed up minds of men. Here in verses 33-36 it ends with Paul falling before God in praise, based upon the infinite and unfathomable wisdom of God. These words are a most appropriate conclusion. They conclude not only the argument of chapter 11, and of chapters 9-11, but also the entire argument of chapters 1-11. These words turn our attention to Him who alone is worthy of our praise.
The punctuation of this portion offers a clue to its structure and argument. The statements of verse 33 end with an exclamation mark. These statements are about God. The sentences in verses 34 and 35 end with a question mark. These questions show how far short of God’s wisdom human wisdom falls. Man’s ignorance is thereby contrasted with God’s wisdom. All basis for human pride is swept aside. Verse 36 is almost a benediction, ascribing all glory to God for all eternity.
If history has shown the Word of God to be absolutely trustworthy, both the Scriptures and history have shown God’s wisdom to be infinitely above that of mortal men. All that has happened to Israel and through Israel to the Gentiles is precisely what God purposed and promised in His Word. All of this was, is, and will be a mystery to fallen men, because the wisdom of God is vastly higher and infinitely superior to the wisdom of men.
Who could ever have conceived of such a plan by which sinners, both Jews and Gentiles, would be saved? Who could have been so wise as to devise a means of saving men in spite of their disobedience, rather than based upon their obedience? Who could have planned a means for saving sinful men which would not violate God’s righteousness but would express His grace and mercy? Who could ever have thought of a plan so wise as that which Scripture has foretold and which history has unfolded?
If Paul is lost in verse 33 in the depths of the wisdom of God, in verses 34 and 35 Paul challenges those Gentiles inclined toward arrogance to compare their ignorance with God’s wisdom. These words could be used to rebuke prideful men, but they are employed in worship instead. Man worships God because He is infinitely greater, wiser, and more gracious than men. Seeing ourselves in the light of who God is humbles us. Seeing God in the light of who and what we are necessitates our praise and worship.
Paul’s words of praise are borrowed. The expressions of verse 34 come from Isaiah 40 which deals with the salvation of Israel from her sins. It does not speak of Israel’s salvation in a way that would flatter this rebellious people or incite them to pride. Nevertheless, much of its thrust is against the arrogance of the Gentiles, who prevail for a time over God’s people and who begin to be puffed up with pride, not understanding God’s purposes, nor that He has used them to accomplish His purposes:
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance, And the hills in a pair of scales? Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, And informed Him of the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering, All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless (Isaiah 40:12-17 emphasis mine).
The words Paul quotes in verse 35 come from the lips of Elihu, spoken to Job as recorded in Job 35:
Then Elihu continued and said, “Do you think this is according to justice? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’? For you say, ‘What advantage will it be to You? What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?’ I will answer you, And your friends with you. Look at the heavens and see; And behold the clouds—they are higher than you. If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him? If you are righteous, what do you give to Him? Or what does He receive from your hand? Your righteousness is for a man like yourself, And your righteousness is for a son of man” (Job 35:1-8).
Sin and righteousness are in view in this text. It shows that righteousness is in spite of our sin and without any contribution from us that is righteous. God’s salvation has not come to us because we initiated it or because we earned it. His salvation comes to us by grace alone. The grace and the wisdom of God not only lead to the praise of God, they strike a death blow to human pride.
One more thing may be said of this text from the Book of Job and from the lips of Elihu. Elihu, along with his other two friends, were wrong in the assessment of Job’s situation. They were not commended by God but rebuked for their words. And yet Paul finds the words of Elihu appropriate to what he is teaching in Romans. Even when Elihu was wrong, his words were right, when correctly applied by Paul. Once again, we see that God is able to use even the failures of men to achieve His purposes.
The final words of this chapter recorded in verse 36 sum up all of human history and show that God is sovereign and in control of history. He is the source, the means, and the goal of all things. This means He is “the author and the finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). It means He is the One who began the good work in us, and He is the One who will also complete it (Philippians 1:6).
But it means much more. This statement goes even further than Romans 8:28. In Romans 8:28, God is seen as the One who is sovereign in the life of the Christian, who controls all that comes into the life of the one who loves God and who is called according to His purpose. Romans 11:36 extends the expression of God’s control to “all things.” God is sovereign in history. While He does not cause men to sin, He has purposed to allow it, and even more to use it to accomplish His purposes and to bring praise and glory to Himself.
Conclusion
What should these words mean to us? What can we learn from them? Much, in every way (to borrow Paul’s words). Let us conclude by considering some of the implications and applications of Paul’s words.
First, we learn that truth is the basis for humility. The Gentiles’ arrogance which Paul sought to correct was not based upon truth but upon a mistaken perception. Arrogance is evident in a “know-it-all” attitude. When once we begin to grasp the infinite depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God, we realize how little we do know. When we begin to grasp the depth of our own depravity, we also begin to understand our resistance to the truth, even when it is revealed. How often Paul attacked arrogance and pride with the words, “Do you not know.
True knowledge—a knowledge of the mysteries of God, beginning with the mystery of salvation—should bring us to our knees. False knowledge tempts us to set ourselves above others and even equal with God (see Genesis 3:5). And the humility which true knowledge produces inclines our hearts toward God and our ears to listen to Him. Thus, knowledge produces humility, and humility seeks the wisdom of God (see Psalm 119).
Second, we dare not judge eternity by our circumstances at a moment in time. The Gentiles were tempted to look down on the Jews because of their blindness and unbelief. They were inclined to think that God had permanently set them aside. They judged Israel’s future by the present and not by God’s promises. The eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews reminds us that the Christian dare not base his view of the future on what is seen at the moment but on what God has said.
Third, because God’s wisdom is infinitely above and beyond our knowledge or grasp, we should expect God to accomplish His will in a way we would never have imagined. I often hear people pray in a way which suggests that God should accomplish what they think He should and in the way they think He should. This comes dangerously close to attempting to limit God by our weakness. Much better for us to ask God to stretch our understanding and faith by leaving both the ends and the means to Him and asking for those things which He has promised. I suspect most of our prayers would be substantially improved by reducing our petitions and increasing our praise. Our petitions should be for those things that will bring Him praise.
Fourth, the life of faith is trusting God in the midst of the mystery. Because God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than ours, we will find that we are unable to reason out what He is doing at any particular moment in time. We shall only understand fully when we are with Him, in heaven. We must live out our lives, trusting God and obeying Him, when His workings are a total mystery to us. Did the Israelites know how they would survive trapped between the sea and Pharaoh’s army? They did not. But when all was done, the sea was the instrument of Israel’s deliverance and Egypt’s destruction. Did Abraham understand what God was doing when He commanded him to leave his homeland and go to an unspecified place? Did he know what God was doing when He commanded him to sacrifice his son? He did not. All Abraham knew was that God was faithful and that He promised him a land, a host of descendants, and blessings for the whole world.
Job diligently worshipped God, and he faithfully offered up sacrifices for his children lest they should sin and God should punish them. And yet in spite of all his precautions, God took all of his children anyway. Job could not understand what God was doing. Throughout his entire life, he never knew why the hand of God had worked in his life at it did. But he did trust in God, and thus he could praise and worship Him when his personal world was in shambles (see Job 1). Job’s sufferings and God’s strategy were a mystery to him, but when he came to grips with God’s infinite wisdom, knowing that God was in control was enough (see Job 38:1–42:6).
Asaph, the psalmist in Psalm 73, could not understand what was happening around him. God had promised to bless the pure in heart (73:1), and yet Asaph observed that the wicked seemed to be prospering while the righteous suffered. It was a mystery which brought him near the brink of doubt and disaster. Only when he began to view time in the light of eternity did he come to his senses. He did not fully understand all that God was doing, but he knew that God was drawing him nearer to Himself, both for time and for eternity. This was enough.
I suspect that God’s work in your life is a mystery at this very moment. You may have lost your job or your mate. You may be facing circumstances which seem to promise only defeat or disaster. But if you are a child of God, you know that He is in control of all things. He is working out your good and His glory by means of the very circumstances that puzzle you. You do not need to know the secrets which God has chosen to conceal. You only need to know what God has promised and to trust and obey (see Deuteronomy 29:29). This is what the life of faith is all about. God is in control. He has promised to bring about wonderful things for His people. And because He is infinitely wise and powerful, He will do it in ways that will bring us to our knees in wonder and praise.
Finally, this text reminds us of the security of God’s chosen ones. Our security rests in our sovereign and all-wise God. It does not rest on our faithfulness or on our works, but on Him who is the Author, the Sustainer, and the Goal of our faith (see 11:36). The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (11:29). While this principle is applied to Israel collectively, it applies equally to each individual whom God has chosen and called to salvation. The blessings of God are a certainty, in spite of our sin and because of our sovereign God.
What a joy it will be to spend all of eternity exploring the wisdom of God and expressing our gratitude in worship and praise. To God be the glory.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
During my Bible reading this week I began to reflect on how little any one person knows and how limited one person’s wisdom is.
Each of us have some insights, knowledge and wisdom, but the scope is usually fairly narrow and limited to our sphere of influence and knowledge. Our world. We are good at what we do and have gained wisdom and foresight regarding our special interests and experience. But if we were suddenly placed in a new, unfamiliar position or found ourselves in a foreign city unable to speak the language, not knowing know how to even find a bathroom, we would become aware of limitations. Our knowledge and experience would not help us. We need someone to help us.
When I consider the six.five billion people in the world - each having wisdom about life in their world - I realized how little wisdom each of us as individuals possess. Compared to God – next to zero.
Now then, think about the wisdom of God. He knows everything and is all wise. Even if we compiled all the wisdom of everyone in the world and measured it against God’s wisdom, it would be almost nothing.
Also, when we remember that everything we know and everything we have comes from God anyway, we cannot think ourselves wise, but only be humbled.
Remember the “wise advice” Job’s friends gave him when he had lost everything? They thought they were very wise. Job himself questioned God about why this disaster happened to him. God was not impressed by any of them. (Read Job 38 to 41)
What is wisdom? The Bible tells us,
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7).
When we begin to recognize that our life is about God, not about us - that is the beginning of wisdom.
Are you ready to put God first in your life?
How do we get more wisdom? One way is to read God’s Word and to learn from Him.
Nothing is perfect except your words. Oh, I how I think about them all day long. They make me wiser than my enemies, because they are my constant guide. They make me even wiser than the aged” (Psalms 119:96-100).
Fear God. Know God by reading His word and obey the insights and directions He gives you.
Next time you think you are wise in your eyes, remember, you may be knowledgeable and have some insights in your small world, but compared to total wisdom, you (and I) know little. And even if we added all of our combined wisdom, compared to God’s, it is nothing.
God, build in us a healthy fear and reverence for You. Cause us to soak up the wisdom of Your Word - the only perfect words. Help us to be humble. Amen.For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
During my Bible reading this week I began to reflect on how little any one person knows and how limited one person’s wisdom is.
Each of us have some insights, knowledge and wisdom, but the scope is usually fairly narrow and limited to our sphere of influence and knowledge. Our world. We are good at what we do and have gained wisdom and foresight regarding our special interests and experience. But if we were suddenly placed in a new, unfamiliar position or found ourselves in a foreign city unable to speak the language, not knowing know how to even find a bathroom, we would become aware of limitations. Our knowledge and experience would not help us. We need someone to help us.
When I consider the six billion people in the world - each having wisdom about life in their world - I realized how little wisdom each of us as individuals possess. Compared to God next to zero.
Now then, think about the wisdom of God. He knows everything and is all wise. Even if we compiled all the wisdom of everyone in the world and measured it against God’s wisdom, it would be almost nothing.
Also, when we remember that everything we know and everything we have comes from God anyway, we cannot think ourselves wise, but only be humbled.
Remember the “wise advice” Job’s friends gave him when he had lost everything? They thought they were very wise. Job himself questioned God about why this disaster happened to him. God was not impressed by any of them. (Read Job 38 to 41)
What is wisdom? The Bible tells us,
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7).
When we begin to recognize that our life is about God, not about us - that is the beginning of wisdom.
Are you ready to put God first in your life?
How do we get more wisdom? One way is to read God’s Word and to learn from Him.
Nothing is perfect except your words. Oh, I how I think about them all day long. They make me wiser than my enemies, because they are my constant guide. They make me even wiser than the aged” (Psalms 119:96-100).
Fear God. Know God by reading His word and obey the insights and directions He gives you.
Next time you think you are wise in your eyes, remember.
by Dr. Sammy D.James
World Vision Ministries International.
Last week I read from the story of David, in which we heard that the spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and that David was anointed king. Today we will hear, from our church doctrine's point of view, why Saul lost God's guidance, and why David received it.
The first big job the Lord gave Saul was to fight the Amalekites. They were a pesky enemy that had plagued Israel from the first moment they crossed the Jordan. For that reason the Lord commanded Saul to fight and spare no one, leaving no living livestock and taking no booty. Saul failed because he thought better of it, sparing the King himself, the best livestock, weapons, and treasures form Amalekite coffers.
The command to kill and destroy would seem hideous and ultimately senseless violence, were it not that there is in this story an inner thread that is timeless. That story portrays what our teachings call "interior evil": an evil that confirms itself against love of the Lord and of the neighbor, and works in the secret places of the human heart to destroy these things in others. It is expert at feigning good intentions, for the purpose of avoiding detection. Yet when such evil sees victory near, it will rush in to make sure the good and the true do fall.
This evil is, in more concrete terms, our finding delight in the troubles, mistakes, and downward slide of others. One is to avoid any temptation to fall prey to its wiles; one must strive to detect any such tendency in oneself, and eradicate it. Totally.
But we cannot. It is a truth of the human condition that men and women are made of the clay of material things, with instincts for survival, and security needs that go deeper than our conscious minds can see. It is impossible to completely remove ourselves from evils of this sort during our stay in this natural world, at least while we are under the kingship of Saul.
It is to David, who represents our spiritual mind in its process of developing, that the task falls to rule in the deeper domains of the heart. and to defeat interior evil. Total reliance upon the Lord and His wisdom brings complete and utter defeat to possessive self-love and possessive love of the world, and the delight in the misfortune of others.
We begin with this fuller development of the story of Saul, the Amalekites and David, to introduce the truth we find in our text from 1 Corinthians: "For God's weakness is stronger than human strength."
We are so created that we inherit something from below, where Amalek rules (Saul), and something from above, where King David is. Below are instincts for self-preservation that cause us to be competitive, reactive, and above all distrustful. This we are to put off gradually, in a life-long process of rebirth into that which is from above.
Our above-ness is our inner person that is close to the Lord. The inner person is in heaven's light and in earth's. To bring the inner person, whose love is for heavenly things, into the world of human conduct, is to be obedient to the Lord.
To accomplish this, we are commanded to put off the life we inherit from below. We are to distance ourselves from those tendencies to interior evil that are harbored unknown to us within the reaches of our heart. There are things we are to tell ourselves, and to compel ourselves, not to do . We we do so we will find David on the throne of our inner kingdom, a picture of obedience, strength, and courage.
It is a cruel birth that clothes a spirit with stuff that regards wisdom as folly, and folly as wisdom. But such is our birth into the natural world. Which returns us again to the topic, that God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
Any one of us can "prove" this point by looking almost anywhere in the Bible, with an eye to its inner meaning. This morning we'll look at the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. There are eight of them: the first four describe our getting started on the upward path, the second four with what we do when we get there. We'll concentrate here on the first group.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Spirit" is nothing less than the very life of the person. Your life is your spirit. IT is said in the prophet Zechariah that "The Lord stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundations of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in the midst of him."
To be poor in spirit is to be not so full of oneself as to not hear the wisdom of this. Our society tells us that we are to be rich in money, or knowledge, or both; full of self-confidence and certainty; and steady in our aim toward our goals. We can be all of these things if they are from a desire to be obedient to the Lord. We can be all of these if they fill a spirit that holds a clean and listening heart.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." The world would tell us not to mourn our losses, but to get on with life. This is true, but we tend to mourn not quite deeply enough to more fully comprehend our losses. We cover it over with a brave front in a world that is full of losses.
I believe that when we let a heavy heart break, we find a truer sense of self that the Lord is trying to create. We must mourn our lost relationships with ourselves and the Lord, and then will discover our health and wholeness because He is always there seeking us. "For they will be comforted."
Blessed are the meek." The common meaning for this word is "without backbone; submissive." The intended meaning is the truer one, which is to be patient and wise. To be meek is not to react with one's self-interest at heart first, but to be patient to discern where the Lord is leading in this or that situation. "For they will inherit the earth."
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness." This is not a popular thing these days; it's hard even to know what righteousness is. Our society professes to abhor violence but tolerates and even glorifies some of the conditions that lead to it. Some fundamentalists define righteousness along their own "party line." and create obstacles to our inner knowing of what is the true and the good course of action.
Further, to hunger and thirst is to risk not being fed, not receiving water. We must risk losing all in order to know what the Lord has to teach us in any and every important decision we make. Not many seem to have this kind of quiet courage. Yet, "They will be filled."
If we are faithful in these matters, we then become merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and glad - the second four in the series.
There is perhaps no more ridiculous idea in the eyes of the world than God allowing Himself to be born as an infant, grow up to begin an unsuccessful career as a prophet, and be unceremoniously crucified as an enemy of his nation. This is not how any one of us trying to win over humankind would think to operate.
Our teachings tell us that Infinite God put on finite human clothing to suffer as we do to accomplish His purpose; so that we would better know Him, and say "yes" to His invitation to life with Him. We'll give the apostle Paul the last word: "God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe...we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
Scripture:
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentles, but to those whoa re called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
Consider your own call, brothers and sisters; not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
I Corinthians 1:18-31
That the light of heaven has within it intelligence and wisdom, and that it is the intelligence of truth and the wisdom of good from the Lord that appear as light before the eyes of the angels, it has been given me to know by a living experience. I was taken up into a light that sparkled like the light radiating from diamonds, and while I was kept in it, I seemed to myself to be withdrawn from bodily ideas and to be brought into spiritual ideas, thus into those things which belong to the intelligence of truth and of good. The ideas of thought which originated form the light of the world then appeared to be remote from me, and as it were not belonging to me, although they were present obscurely; and by this it was given me to know that in so far as any one comes into the light of heaven, so far he comes into intelligence. It is for this reason that the more intelligent the angels are, the greater and the brighter is the light in which they are.
The differences of light in the heavens are as many as are the angelic societies which constitute heaven, nay, they are as many as are the angels in each society. The reason is that heaven is ordered in accordance with all the differences of good and truth, thus in accordance with all states of intelligence and wisdom, and consequently in accordance with the various receptions of the light which is from the Lord.
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