Every parent at some
time during the time you are trying to raise your kids, whether it's
to the stomping of feet, or to screeching at the top of their lungs,
you are going to hear: "That's not fair, everybody's doing it, so why
can't I?" Even when you try to explain to them that it's for their own
good, it just doesn't seem to make sense to them. And that is because
children will never be able to understand the reasoning and the decision-making
process of the adult mind. It took me years to finally realize that
my parents weren't as dumb as I thought they were. And it tickles me
when my son tells me he wishes he'd listened to me more while he was
growing up!
In this morning's text, Paul is simply saying that what is the true
in the natural realm, is also true in the spiritual realm. There are
those, who because they are spiritually immature, cannot grasp the wisdom
of God. In fact they think that God's wisdom is foolishness.
In this letter we've already seen that when Paul came to Corinth, he
found a city that was committed to human wisdom. Even after the church
had begun, the Christians were still trusting their own wisdom rather
than God's wisdom. But Paul is trying to tell us in this passage that
true wisdom can only be understood by those who have a relationship
with Jesus Christ as Lord-v. 6.
At first glance, it seems that what Paul is saying is that there is
a spiritual super-class, an elite group of Christians, who are able
to grasp God's wisdom. Since superiority was one of the problems in
the church of Corinth, isn't Paul encouraging even more division, this
time based on wisdom? The key to understanding what Paul is saying here
is in the meaning of the Greek word for "perfect" or "mature." He is
not talking about those who life sinless lives. Or even those who have
been walking with the Lord for many years. The Greek word that Paul
uses here is a word that means to have full insight into spiritual matters.
What I find interesting about this is the fact that the greatest spiritual
truth you can understand is not the concept of the Trinity. Or how Jesus
could have been born of a virgin. Or how Jesus could be 100% man & 100%
God at the same time. Nor when the rapture is going to occur. It's not
even knowing how to cast out demons or heal the sick. But the greatest
spiritual truth you can understand is the fact that Jesus died for you.
What Paul is really saying is that those who are mature, those who are
perfect, are the ones who understand and embrace by faith the message
of Jesus dying on the cross for their sins. Which means you don't have
to be a genius to be mature, for even a child can grasp the simple truth
that Jesus died for them. This is in contrast to the teachings of the
philosophers. They believed one must spend years in school, studying
all the various disciplines of life, in order to figure out the meaning
of life. To them, this ability was just for a select few who were highly
intelligent.
Paul says that the ability to understand the greatest of all spiritual
truths doesn't come after spending years studying. Rather, this ability
comes the moment an individual asks Jesus to come in to his/her heart
by faith. At that moment, a supernatural act by God's Spirit occurs
as he changes the person's perception, so that which was previously
foolishness becomes the wisdom and the power of God to save them.
To prove his point Paul gives us a tremendous example of how the world's
wisdom system, and God's wisdom system are vastly different. He talks
in verse 6 of the princes of this world. The word "prince" simply means
those who are in a place of political power. In Paul's days it would
be the kings & rulers of the nations. In our day, it is those who hold
political office.
In our country, we have delegated the responsibility of making decisions
for our welfare to our elected officials. When we elect them, we hope
they have the wisdom it takes to make decisions that are best for our
country. But the problem we have is that we tend to look to them to
solve the problems of life.
They may be full of human wisdom, but if they have rejected the Gospel
they are foolish! And the decisions they make will be foolish. Like
legalizing abortion, and if they legalize same sex marriages. The wisdom
we are to be seeking is not the wisdom of our political leaders, but
the wisdom of God. The reason for this is found in the first part of
verse 7.
The wisdom of God is not like human wisdom. You can't go to school and
learn it. It's a mysterious wisdom, that can only be revealed by the
Holy Spirit. I'm not talking merely about religious information that
only people who go to church care about. God has given to us in his
word the ultimate insight into all areas of life. An insight that allows
us to learn about God, to learn about ourselves, and to learn about
our place in the universe.
In the Bible is the key of how to deal with the guilt of our past, get
along with people in our present world, and how to overcome the fears
we have of tomorrow. It gives us the wisdom we need to heal our hurting
marriages, and to help us love our children. It even teaches us how
to manage our money so we can be content no matter how much money we
make.
But mainly, the Bible contains the wisdom of Jesus' death, burial, &
resurrection. The message of the gospel is so mysterious, that even
though it is woven into the fabric of the Old Testament, the reality
of what God was saying was hidden to most of the Jews. Even though it
was fully revealed to them through our Lord Jesus Christ, they couldn't
see it.
When Jesus came to this earth, he revealed to the Jews that God's plan
of redemption was not a Savior riding on a white stallion to lead them
in a revolt against the Romans. But it was a Savior who would have to
die on a cross, and 3 days later rise again, to set them free from the
captivity of sin. A plan clearly stated in the Old Testament.
But not many of the Jews seemed to grasp that truth. Even though they
saw God's plan of redemption unfolding right in front of their eyes,
they kept on looking for another plan. But as Paul tells us, Jesus'
death & resurrection was not plan B. This was the plan of salvation
that was determined sometime in eternity past, long before God created
the earth.
In eternity past, the triune Godhead decided that the only way to save
mankind from their sins was for one of them to become one of us. So
the second person of the Trinity, "The Word became flesh and made His
dwelling among us." (John
1:14) In the time before time began, Jesus said he would willingly
come to this earth as a man, go the cross to die for our sins, and he
would raise himself from the dead 3 days later! Just so he could restore
mankind's broken relationship with his father.
I find it interesting that we have figured out how to build cars, how
to travel in space, and even how to harness the power of an atom. But
we still haven't figured out how to get ready for eternity. In fact,
the harder man tries to figure this out in his own strength, the further
he gets from the answer. Can you believe that as smart has man has become,
that he believes we evolved from monkeys? Or that the earth was created
by a big bang? Or even that an unborn baby is not a human life?
The reason why we so readily accept these absurdities is because it
takes away our responsibility of being held accountable for our actions.
For if there is no Creator, then there is no one we will ever have to
answer to for how we lived. And anytime we leave eternal judgments out
of the equation of life, we always come up with ridiculous conclusions.
What Paul is trying to get us to see is that the wisdom of God is a
wisdom that takes into account eternity. Most of us evaluate things
from the perspective of how it affects us right now. One of the consistent
characteristics of worldly wisdom is that it has a very short shelf
life. God's wisdom is not a passing fad that is going to change in the
next decade. God's wisdom is truth that remains unchangeable forever.
I want you to think about those things you thought were really important
to you as you were growing up. They were probably toys, clothes, getting
a driver's license, and the opposite sex. I can remember the time when
I was in high school and I wanted to date this really beautiful girl
who was still in junior high. Finally I got up the nerve to ask her
out, and she accepted. I think she only said yes because I had this
really cool looking 65 mustang with a tear-drop hood scoop. The momentary
satisfaction I got from dating her, didn't last for very long. She turned
out to be the date-from-hell. She called me every morning when she woke
up. She would call me before she went to bed. She literally sucked the
life right out of me. I was so sure she was going to bring me happiness,
but instead, she brought me nothing but misery.
Another aspect of salvation is that it is for our personal benefit!
Look at the last 3 words in v. 7. Glorification means to be made to
look just like Jesus. God's ultimate goal in saving us is for us to
be "Conformed to the likeness of His Son." (Romans 8:29) Which will
occur "When He appears, for we shall be like Him." (1
John 3:2)
This is so cool because most of us don't really like how our bodies
look, or the personalities we have been given. And as we get older,
the more we look forward to getting a new body. Since I've been short
all my life, I hope that God either makes me 7 foot tall, or makes the
rest of you 5 foot tall. Because for once I'd like to be the tallest
person in the room.
No matter how you feel about yourself right now, when you get to heaven
you will be the kind of person you always wanted to be. And not just
in your physical looks, but in your personality as well. You'll be just
as loving, merciful, patient, kind, and self-controlled as Jesus is.
When you receive your glorified body, it will be filled with the grace
and beauty of Jesus Christ.
In the end of v. 6, Paul tells us that when Jesus returns, that the
political powers of this world will be reduced to nothing. Since next
year is election year, we're already seeing those who are hoping to
win the presidency starting to lay out their campaign strategies. I
would love to hear one of them say, "If I'm elected president, I promise
you that I will do nothing to make your life better!" If you ever hear
someone talk like that, vote for him. Because he is telling you the
honest to goodness truth.
I believe we as Christians ought to be very involved in politics. We
need to run for political offices. We need to vote to get the right
people elected. But what I want to warn you against is putting your
faith in the political system to make your life better. There is no
way they can ever make it happen. In fact, there is nothing that anybody
can do to make your life better.
We are entering into the time of the year that proves this. Christmas
is the time of the year that is supposed to marked by great joy. Yet
for most people, they celebrate a blue Christmas. That is because they
are hoping that getting the right presents will somehow make them feel
better about themselves. Yet, this is not the purpose of exchanging
gifts. All you have to do is to watch our kids to see this.
As your children start to open their presents they're not hoping that
their gifts will help them find their self-worth. They enjoy Christmas
because the gifts are a way of reminding them that their parents love
them. To a child, the thought behind the gift really is more important
than the gift. Which is why by the end of Christmas day, we see them
playing with the boxes rather than the toys.
Paul uses a powerful illustration to hammer home this point that our
political leaders can never make life better. Instead, Paul tells us
that the best our world's leaders can offer us only leads to destruction-v.
8. None of the powerful rulers of our day, if they do not trust in Christ,
have the wisdom it takes to improve our quality of life. But it was
exactly the same when the Lord Jesus stood before Herod and Pilate.
They may have been at the pinnacle of the political world, but they
mistreated the only one who came so "That we might have life, and have
it to the full." (John
10:10) Herod and Pilate may have had the wisdom to rule, but they
didn't have the wisdom to make godly decisions. For if they had, they
would not have crucified the Lord Jesus Christ!
To Herod, being a Jew, how could Jesus be his Messiah, if he was being
asked to decide whether or not Jesus should be put to death! To Pilate,
a Roman, how could Jesus possibly be the King of kings if he was being
asked by the Jews to put Jesus to death as a common criminal. To Herod,
Jesus' death on a cross was a stumblingblock. And to Pilate, Jesus'
death on a cross was foolishness. That's because neither one of them
thought Jesus would rise again 3 days later!
Before we get down on them, I think we ought to take a good look at
what's inside of us first. What would you do to keep your job? Would
you lie about someone in order to keep from getting fired? In your desire
to climb the corporate ladder, are you willing to step on innocent people
along the way? Who are you willing to sacrifice in order to be a success?
Herod had already cut off John the Baptist's head in order to save face
in front of his friends. And when he heard about all the things Jesus
did, he really wanted to meet him. But when Pilate sent Jesus to see
Herod, the chief priests and scribes went along. And as "the chief priests
and the scribes were standing there, accusing Jesus vehemently, Herod
with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him,
dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate." (Luke
23:10-11) These verses imply that Herod treated Jesus with cruelty
just to save face in front of the top religious leaders. This is also
what happened to Pilate. Pilate didn't have to crucify Jesus. In fact,
Pilate did everything he could to release Jesus because he thought he
was innocent of the charges. In their attempts to keep peace, the Romans
had adopted a policy of releasing what we today would call terrorists.
So why did a just Roman politician treat the most innocent man of all
times, so unjustly? It was to save his job. "Pilate made efforts to
release Him, but the Jews cried out, 'If you release this Man, you are
no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes
Caesar.'" (John
19:12)
Paul uses this illustration to show us that those who follow after the
wisdom of this world, will ultimately reject the crucifixion of the
Lord Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation! We see this today
in our institutions of learning. Some of the wisest people in the world
are teaching our kids. And despite all their learning, these men & women
are among the most antagonistic and blasphemous when it comes to the
personage of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul experienced this in his own life. In his 1st letter to Timothy,
Paul writes about the time before he was saved. He says: "I thank Christ
Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful,
appointing me to His service. Even though I was once a blasphemer, and
a persecutor, and a violent man. I was shown mercy because I acted in
ignorance and unbelief." (1
Timothy 1:12-13) All of Paul's human wisdom, even his religious
wisdom, did not lead him to the conclusion that Jesus was the Christ
and God's only means of salvation. Instead, his wisdom led him to persecute
those who trusted in Jesus Christ! So Paul knew what he was talking
about here.
Look now at v. 9. This is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted
verses in the Bible. It has absolutely nothing to do with what God has
in store for us in heaven. Rather it has to do with our we come to the
realization that we need to be saved. Paul quotes Isaiah
64:4 to show us that we will never come to understand the wisdom
of God displayed in the cross through the 3 natural ways we acquire
wisdom: Through our eyes, ears, and mind.
The Jews heard Jesus' words. They saw with their own eyes the great
miracles Jesus did. And as the Jews thought about what they had heard,
and what they had seen, they came to the conclusion that indeed Jesus
was a great man. But they rejected what their eyes saw, what their ears
heard, and what their mind thought, because Jesus started to talk about
going to the cross and dying. To them Jesus going to the cross just
didn't make any sense. God's wisdom as proclaimed in the good news of
Jesus' death & resurrection was just plain foolishness to them.
The bottom line is that through our human senses, we will never understand
the wisdom of God that send his only son to die on a cross for our sins.
But God unlocks this mystery for those of us who have entered into a
love relationship with him through the Lord Jesus. Wisdom that leads
to salvation is not about knowing religious information. It's about
loving the Lord and trusting him for salvation.
The message I want to get through to you this morning is don't be intimidated
by the wisdom of this world. Don't be frightened by what highly intellectual
people say about God. Einstein said that "My discoveries have obliterated
the idea of a personal God." Instead, be encouraged that there is a
real God who we can know personally, who we can love intimately, who
will never leave us, and who wants so desperately to keep us out of
hell that he freely gave us his only son to buy us out of the slavery
of sin. Be encouraged that there is a God who wants to reveal to you
the wisdom he hides from those who are wise in their own eyes! Look
at how Jesus stated this truth: "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned,
and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your
good pleasure." (Matthew
11:25-26)
All of what Paul has said poses a fundamental question to us: How can
people come to know God if they can't come to know God through their
eyes, or ears, or mind? The answer seems to be that they can't. Which
seems to mean that it is impossible to know God! Well, if it were left
entirely up to yourselves it would be impossible. But the good news
is that God has chosen to reveal himself to us. We see this in verse
10, which is where we will pick up next week.
Let me close with a true story. In the late 1800's a renowned doctor
visited a very modern hospital in London. The staff was proudly showing
him around all the new equipment. As the doctor picked up some of the
patients charts he noticed on the charts a system of abbreviations.
One of them was "SF" for scarlet fever; another one was "TB" for tuberculosis;
but he also saw the initials: "GOK." And they were many patients who
had this on their charts. He didn't understand what it meant, so he
turned to one of younger doctors and said: "Doctor I see that you've
a sweeping epidemic of GOK in this hospital. I'm unfamiliar with this
term. Can you tell me what G-O-K means?" The young doctor said: "Well,
when we can't diagnose what a disease is, we just say God Only Knows."
How I wish there would sweep across our nation an epidemic of "GOK."
We not only need to admit that we don't know anything without God, but
that this nation is not going to be anything without God! So please,
let's leave this building and use our prophetic voice to proclaim that
this is the acceptable year of the Lord. That today is the day of salvation.
And that if we don't return to God that we will experience the day of
the vengeance of God!
Let's pray!!
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