One of
the first and most fundamental things
to understand about wisdom
is that the accumulation of knowledge is not, in itself, wisdom. The
proper application of any collection of knowledge can be a type of
wisdom, but the simple accumulation of knowledge does not, in itself,
necessarily facilitate wisdom.
True spiritual wisdom is a grace-based gift
from God. One cannot gain
spiritual wisdom by the avenue of self-effort or by personal
experience. In fact, any wisdom that originates within ourselves will
ultimately be revealed as worldly and unspiritual.
The first chapter of
James, verse five, speaks of wisdom from God:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God,
who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts
is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man
should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
We are told that we cannot from a divided
heart both trust and distrust
God and expect to receive a gifting of wisdom. The Full Life Bible
Commentary on the book of James states, “But what is it that causes
“doubt” in the sense of distrust? Precisely the idea that God may
respond to the request for “wisdom” not with a “good and perfect gift”
(1:17) but by “finding fault” and sending “trials of many kinds” (1:2),
so that one may learn “wisdom.” Those who think that they must gain
“wisdom” by their own efforts in the struggles of life cannot receive
wisdom simply as God's gift (v 7), and so will remain unstable (v 8).”
Some believe they can learn wisdom, while
others believe that they can
earn wisdom - most commonly through enduring hardship. Some point to
James as evidence of this. James 1: 02-4 says, “Consider it pure joy,
my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know
that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must
finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything.”
But, the development of perseverance by the
testing of our faith
through hardship is meant to be an occasion that causes Christians to
acknowledge their complete insufficiency apart from God and motivate
them to ask God for the wisdom that can only be obtained from Him as a
divine gift. This is how perseverance finishes its work so that we will
become mature and complete, not lacking anything. By learning to trust
God for all things! Hardship does not create godly wisdom, although it
can inspire practicality that may be viewed as a form of wisdom.
Proverbs also speaks to us of wisdom:
Wisdom is
supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have,
get understanding.
Proverbs 4:7
We are exhorted in Proverbs 4:7 to procure
this understanding, this
wisdom, no matter what the cost - “Though it cost all you have, get
understanding.”
“Though it cost all
you have!” Here is the key to the acquisition of
godly wisdom. “Though it cost all you have” means that godly
wisdom is of such value to God that He requires that we would be
willing to give up every possession we own, in the pursuit of it. God
is communicating to us that this wisdom is to be highly prized and
considered more valuable than all of our possessions combined.
As New Testament saints, we have a unique
opportunity and methodology
given to us through which we might receive wisdom from God. This
opportunity does not come to us by a process of giving over our
material goods in exchange for a compilation of knowledge, which we
then try to learn and apply to our lives. Yet the opportunity does come
to us through a unique process of exchange. A process of exchange that
God has designed so that we might possess within us, as a very part of
us, His very wisdom. As New Testament saints, godly wisdom is available
to us in a way that it has never before been available. It is
accessible to us in a special way, a way that was not even accessible
to the Old Testament saints. Not even Solomon!
In 1 Corinthians 1:17 – 2:16, we begin to
discover just how this godly wisdom is uniquely accessible and
available to Christians today. (As we go through 1 Corinthians, try to
keep in mind the key to the acquisition of godly wisdom from Proverbs
4:7 – “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you
have, get understanding.” This is the theme that is developed in
these verses.) We first read in 1 Corinthians 1:17: “For Christ did not
send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human
wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
Paul states that his preaching was not with words of
human wisdom. He
does this in order to emphasize to the Corinthians that human wisdom is
not a Christian’s source of power. Our source of power is the
cross. And from this source we receive true spiritual wisdom. The
apostle speaks this way because of the Greek’s admiration for human
wisdom, which, he will demonstrate is misplaced and is actually an
obstruction to their receiving the gospel. The Greeks prided themselves
on their history of distinguished philosophers. Luke comments on the
Greeks’ fascination with wisdom in Acts17: 21; “All the Athenians and
the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but
talking about and listening to the latest ideas.”
In verse 18, Paul states, “For the message of
the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God.” The message of the cross was foolishness to the
Greeks, because it did not correspond to their conception of wisdom.
And it was a weakness and a stumbling block to the Jews, because it did
not correspond to their conception of power. To a Jew, hanging from a
tree indicated God's curse. So a crucified Messiah was inconsistent
with their idea of a Messiah who would appear as a conquering king and
deliver them from their enemies.
By the seemingly powerless and foolish
mechanism of crucifixion, Jesus
took God's curse upon himself in order to save us from that very curse.
But to the Greek and to the Jew, it was nothing but foolishness.
Paul in verse, 19 and
20 gives us an indication of how inferior worldly
wisdom is, compared to God’s wisdom
For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom
of the wise; the
intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where is the wise
man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has
not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? "
On the other hand, in Isaiah, God indicates to
us how superior His
wisdom is, compared to the world’s wisdom:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
"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
Returning to 1 Corinthians 1:21:
“For since in the wisdom of God the world
through its wisdom did not
know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached
to save those who believe.”
Here God deliberately used a form of wisdom,
which would appear as
foolishness to the self-reliant, self-centered world, so that it would
require humble faith, in order for there to be restoration of healthy
relationship with God. God's wisdom as expressed through the cross of
Christ, is a deliberate stumbling stone to those that deliberately
choose to remain in their delusions - delusions that are based on
worldly wisdom.
It is God's wisdom that the world through its
wisdom did not know him.
And God is pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save
those who believe, because the so-called wisdom of man is nothing more
than a means by which man tries to secure a self-centered lifestyle of
idolatry.
God tells us in Rev 3:17, what man, in his idolatrous striving, truly
believes is wisdom:
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth
and do not need a thing.
Look around. This is what the world
believes wisdom to be. It is
the most sought after type of wisdom in the entire world. The wisdom to
acquire material wealth to the extent that we “do not need a thing.”
Our goal is to acquire wealth to the extent that we “do not need a
thing”, because in our pride we do not want to admit that we need God.
In our pride, we cling to worldly wisdom in a vain attempt to clothe
ourselves, not with robes of righteousness, but with filthy rags, which
in our delusion, we believe are beautiful. But the Lord brings
correction to this delusion:
You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth
and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiful, poor, blind and naked.'
Rev 3:17
Returning to 1 Cor 1:22-25: “Jews demand
miraculous signs and Greeks
look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to
Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness
of God is stronger than man's strength.”
This foolishness of God, which is wiser than
man's wisdom, this
weakness of God, which is stronger than man's strength, is, of course,
the perceived foolishness, the perceived weakness of Christ crucified.
Christ crucified is the foolishness of God. This foolishness is wiser
than man's wisdom because from the foolishness of Christ crucified,
true wisdom is made available, by faith, to all men.
We read on in verses 26-29:
“Brothers, think of what you were when you
were called. Not many of you
were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were
of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame
the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and
the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one
may boast before him.”
God has determined, in His wisdom, that He
alone will receive the glory
for the salvation of humanity. He chose the foolish things of the world
to shame the wise and the weak things of the world to shame the strong
to demonstrate, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that His grace is not a
response to human efforts.
Finally, in verse 30, we discover the
mechanism of exchange, whereby
godly wisdom is now available to us in a way that it has never before
been available. The process of exchange that God has designed, that we
might possess within us, as a very part of us, His very wisdom:
“It is because of him that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for
us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and
redemption.”
It is because of Him (God) that you (we) are in Christ Jesus. It is by
God's grace that we are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom
from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Christ
has literally become for us true wisdom from God. It is not the
knowledge of Christ that is our wisdom; it is Christ himself!
Wisdom is no longer just an accumulation of
information and the
practical application of that information. It is a person. And Christ,
the personification of God's wisdom is now available to Christians by
faith. In Him only “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge” (Col. 2:3).
The process of exchange, whereby true, godly
wisdom is now available to
us in a way that it has never before been available, is simply this: By
the grace of God, as we are in Christ Jesus, He is in us.
The beginning of this process is called the
doctrine of substitutionary
atonement. (Romans 8:3, 2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13) Christ was put to death
as the substitute for all men and women. Our sin is transferred to Him;
His life and His righteousness, holiness, and redemption are given to
us. This transfer is what happens to us at salvation. It becomes our
official position in Christ Jesus.
But, by God’s grace the process of exchange
continues for the rest of
our lives. That continuing process is called sanctification.
Sanctification is at work within us to make our official position
become real in our everyday lives - in our thoughts, feelings and
choices. Through sanctification, to the extent that we have surrendered
our worldly wisdom and our ways to Him, His life in us will continue to
reveal His wisdom in us and through us.
This is what the Proverb means by “Though it
cost all you have…” As the
person of Christ is allowed to rule in us, the personification of His
wisdom is revealed in us. Wisdom, for us, is no longer placing our
faith in a compilation of information. Wisdom for us, is Christ in us.
And to the extent that His righteousness and His holiness reign in our
life, to that degree, His wisdom will be perfected in us. And so, verse
31 declares: “Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts,
boast in the Lord.’ "
In 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 Paul elaborates
further:
“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come
with eloquence or
superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I
resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and
him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much
trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and
persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power…”
Why does Paul make the point in verse four
that his preaching was not
with wise and persuasive words, but, instead, with a demonstration of
the Holy Spirit’s power?
The answer is in verse five – “so that your
faith might not rest on
men's wisdom, but on God's power.” His message and his preaching were
not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the
Spirit's power so that their faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but
on God's power!
Today, I refer to this verse (1 Cor 2:5) at
the end of the first
counseling session with most of my clients. I also stand on this verse
for myself and for my ministry. My message and my preaching are not
with worldly wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the
Holy Spirit’s power, so that their faith might not rest on my or any
other man’s wisdom, but on God's power.
And if the desire for change is
in the heart of the one to whom I am ministering, God's power always
shows up. Someone once said, and I concur, that “the Holy Spirit has
developed in me an incurable confidence in His ability to transform
people.”
Immediately after remarking that his preaching
was not with wise and
persuasive words, Paul goes on to say:
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom
among the mature, but not the
wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to
nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been
hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
1 Cor. 2:6,7
What is this message of wisdom among the
mature, this secret wisdom
that has been destined for our glory before time began? It is, as verse
five maintains, “that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on
God's power.” The secret message of wisdom among the mature is simply
that our faith must rest on God’s power, not our own efforts. Our faith
must rest on God's sanctifying power through Christ Jesus, which has
been destined for our glory before time
began.
Our glory is, of course,
a reflection of the glory of Christ as Christ is perfected within us.
Paul declares that this wisdom, available to us today, has previously
been hidden. And that it was destined for our glory before time began.
Therefore, it has never been available to anyone in the way that is
available to us today in Christ Jesus!
Now there are other avenues to certain
types of giftings of wisdom. For
example, in 1 Cor.12:8, we see that there is a gift of the Holy Spirit
that can be received from God. It is called the message of wisdom. It
is an immediate gifting for a specific purpose.
And in 1 Kings 3:7-13, Solomon requests
and receives wisdom from
God:
"Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant,
king in place of my
father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry
out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a
great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a
discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right
and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
In response to this
the LORD replies:
“Since you have asked for this and not for long life
or wealth for
yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for
discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I
will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never
have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will
give you what you have not asked for--both riches and honor--so that in
your lifetime you will have no equal among kings”
Solomon was given a wise and discerning heart
for discernment in
administering justice. He was told that in this kind of wisdom, there
will never have been anyone like him, nor will there ever be. Yet,
Solomon did not possess the kind of wisdom available to us through
Christ Jesus. Solomon was the recipient of a special gifting of wisdom
by the Spirit of God. But he was not a recipient of the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit in the same way that brings transformation of the soul
to Christians in the New Covenant.
Only the people of the New Covenant have this
special presence of the
Holy Spirit available to them. We have available to us, as Paul says, a
wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before
time began. The gifting that Solomon had received certainly helped to
persuade him to make proper moral choices along the way, because this
was the direction in which the Holy Spirit would be guiding him. But,
it was not enough to save him from his fleshly desires:
"King Solomon, however, loved many foreign
women besides Pharaoh's
daughter--Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They
were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites: "You
must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your
hearts after their gods."
Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in
love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred
concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his
wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully
devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the
detestable god of the Ammonites."
1 Kings 11:1-5
This was a man who had received a gift of
wisdom that was unparalleled
in the history of mankind!
"So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD;
he did not follow the LORD
completely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem,
Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and
for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all
his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their
gods."
1 Kings 11:6-8
How could a man with such unparalleled wisdom
do such foolish things?
Well, one reason may be that Solomon was a believer, but he was not
“born again.” He was justified through his faith in God, but he
did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him in the same capacity
that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Solomon had
inspiration. We have inspiration and transformation. We do not have
inspiration alone. Instead, we have the opportunity, if we will
surrender our souls, to experience holy living as a supernatural
product of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit within us.
Inspiration alone is not enough to produce consistent moral character.
The power of inner sanctification is required. This is “God's secret
wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our
glory before time began.”
This same wisdom that has been destined for
our glory before time
began, is also spoken of in 2 Cor 3:17,18 – “Now the Lord is the
Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we,
who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes
from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
As we increase in Christ, who has become
for us wisdom from God,
we increase in wisdom. As we increase in His previously secret wisdom,
we increase in the reflection of His glory, because we are increasing
in Christ. You do not read of such things in the Old Testament. It is
an entirely new thing that God is doing.
Returning to 1 Cor 2:8, we read,
“None of the rulers of this age
understood it, for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
The rulers of Jesus’ time could not understand
this wisdom because they
did not really desire true wisdom, which is righteousness from God by
the power of God. Thus, they were not receptive to the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. And yet, if they had understood, they would not have
crucified the Lord of Glory. And if Christ had not been crucified we
would not have received the avenue of salvation available to us through
our faith in the sacrifice of Christ. So, in their ignorance, “the
rulers of this age” unknowingly fulfilled God's will and, as a result,
the purposes of perfect wisdom prevailed.
The rulers of that time may not have
understood this wisdom, but as for
us:
However, as it is written: “ No eye has seen,
no ear has heard, no mind
has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- but God
has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:9-10
God has revealed to us by his Spirit the
secret wisdom that has been
hidden and destined for our glory before time began. All that we need
to know about the secret wisdom that God has prepared for us in this
life is available to us through the Holy Spirit:
“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man
except the man's spirit
within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the
Spirit of God.
We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from
God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what
we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by
the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”
1 Cor. 2:11-13
The teaching of the Holy Spirit is not merely
informational, it is
transformational. We received the Spirit from God that we may
understand what God has freely given us. But we do not understand
simply by being told. We come to the fullness of understanding by
surrendering our opposition to the truth we receive so that we may be
transformed inwardly by the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember what we
read in verse four, “My message and my preaching were not with
wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's
power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's
power.” (Italics mine)
We are not simply collectors of information
about God; we are receivers
of living truth. Truth and wisdom are more than facts. They are a
person. We receive living truth and wisdom through surrendering to the
process of the character of Christ being perfected within us by the
power of the Holy Spirit. As Christ lives and reigns in us, truth and
wisdom live and reign in us.
1 Cor. 2:14 states,
“The man
without the Spirit does not accept
the things that come from
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot
understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Yes, the man without the Spirit does not
accept the things that come
from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. But even
though we have the indwelling Spirit in our hearts, we must continue to
be willing to submit to the Holy Spirit's conviction and ongoing
sanctification in order to receive spiritual discernment.
Otherwise, we will behave very much like someone who has not received
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
A number of years ago, I was attending some
revival meetings that were
being held in a large rented space in a nearby shopping center. The
presence of God was being experienced powerfully and intimately by
many, if not most, of the people who attended these meetings. For
several evenings, there was a man lying on the floor toward the back
wall. He was apparently encountering the presence of God in such a way
that he was filled with joy and expressing his joy through laughter.
Fairly loud laughter – sporadically - all night long – night
after night! I became irritated by his behavior and I began to wonder
why he wasn’t being ushered out of the room. The laughter sometimes
made it difficult to hear what the speaker was preaching about.
Eventually, I began to judge the man as being “in the flesh.” I
felt that he was out of order because of his disruptive behavior in the
meeting.
Later that night the Lord inquired of me – had I
ever been to a party
where people were drinking alcoholic beverages?
I had - many times
before receiving Christ as my Lord and Savior.
And was there ever a
person at any of these parties who had become very
intoxicated and laughed and talked in a loud and annoying manner?
Yes, many times.
The Lord explained, ‘Well, this is a man very
much like those that you
have experienced at those parties. Except that this man is filled with
the intoxicating presence of the Holy Spirit, and yes, his “flesh” is
reacting to the presence of the Spirit. But, because of your irritation
with his vocal reaction to the joy he has been experiencing from the
presence of the Holy Spirit, you have judged this man as being entirely
“in the flesh.” ’
My critical judgment toward this man had
caused me to be
oblivious to the larger picture. Temporarily, I did not accept this
thing that came from the Spirit of God, for it was foolishness to me,
and I could not understand it, because it had to be spiritually
discerned. But as I submitted to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I
was able to discern the truth and see the larger picture. When I was
willing to repent of judging this man by his personal reaction to the
presence of God, I was able to access God’s process of exchange for my
own soul. I was willing to give up my prejudiced, stereotypical views
and allow God to replace them with His living wisdom.
In the next verse, 1 Corinthians 2:15 we read,
“The spiritual man makes judgments about all
things, but he himself is
not subject to any man's judgment.”
This does not indicate infallibility in making
judgments, but it does
accentuate that, in spiritual matters, such a person operates in a
completely different realm from that of the natural person. Any natural
man, that is, anyone who is without the Spirit of God dwelling within
them is unable to accurately evaluate matters that are in the realm of
the Spirit. This realm of the Spirit, the realm of the spiritual man,
whereby the spiritual man is able to make spiritual judgments about all
things is specifically described in verse 16:
“For who has known the mind of the Lord that
he may instruct him?” But
we have the mind of Christ.”
The realm of the spiritual
man is, specifically, the mind of Christ. That place where “the
spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not
subject to any man's judgment,” is the place where we allow Christ to
rule within us. Where Christ has been allowed to rule within us - there
is wisdom personified. And from this wisdom, from wisdom personified,
we are able to spiritually discern the ways and the will of God. For
Christ has become for us wisdom from God.
Let us pray:
“Lord God, just as we received Christ
Jesus as Lord, we commit ourselves to continue to live in him, rooted
and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as we are being taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness. Through the wisdom of Christ in us,
we will guard our hearts, that no one takes us captive through hollow
and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the
basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all
the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and we have been given
fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority”
“…Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and
honor and power and
strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
Rev 7:12
Copyright © 2000
by R. Thomas Brass. All rights reserved.
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