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Let me read today’s passage: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, 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 discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 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?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom,
it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were
wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of
noble birth. 27 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; 28 God chose what is
low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing
things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and
our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is
written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
The world esteems wisdom.
We look for conventional wisdom, we study the wisdom of others. Listen to some comments on wisdom by people
over the ages:
Mohandas K. Gandhi: It is unwise to be too sure of one's own
wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest
might err.
Pierre Abelard: The beginning of wisdom is found
in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come
upon the truth.
Lin Yutang: Besides the noble art of getting
things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of
life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.
Stephen Hawking
[E]ver since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to
see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding
of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are
here and where we came from. Humanity’s deepest desire for knowledge is
justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less
than a complete description of the universe we live in.
Solomon The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.[2]
Helen Keller I do not want the peace that passeth
understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.
A lot has been written about wisdom, but God has some things
to say about foolishness.
OUTLINE
Thesis: For the word of the cross is folly to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
How could the message that our Savior died be good? It is that idea that the world finds impossible to comprehend. Yet I wonder how many of us who take the title of Christian really understand this ourselves? How is the crucifixion of Jesus the power of God to us? Trying to understand this with human wisdom & philosophy will only bankrupt you spiritually. Listen to this:
By human wisdom it is foolish to believe the savior of the
world would be killed as a lowdown criminal on a cross! Paul helps us to understand this by speaking
of the mystery of the church. The church
was not an entity referred to by the prophets, or Moses or any other OT
source. Yet we can see through the OT
God’s lovingkindness to the foreigner.
Rahab the Harlot, though a foreigner and a sinner whose reputation was
known to all has her name included in the genealogical line of Christ. Ruth, also a foreigner not only has her name
in Christ’s line but also a book of the Bible named for her. This is what Paul
says in Ephesians:
Paul in Ephesians said, “To bring to light for
everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all
things, 10 so
that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to
the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according
to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord”[3]
Where are we to turn for God’s manifold wisdom? The church!
The wisdom of the world, while of some value, pertains only to this physical
place. If you want wisdom that surpasses
this world, you need the Wisdom of God.
Look at what Solomon says on this matter:
Solomon
What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has
given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its
time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find
out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that
there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as
they live; 13 also
that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is
God’s gift to man.[4]
Did you notice that bit about eternity? he has put eternity into man’s heart
We desire to know that which is beyond our sphere of knowledge. But Solomon takes it further, yet so that he cannot find out what God has
done from the beginning to the end. God has limited our field of
knowledge. He has limited what we can
learn of Him & His plans. Only by
His Spirit can we know more of Him than is manifest in the world. All of us, all of us in the human race,
Christian’s & non-believers alike can only learn so much of Him and His
works. But by His Spirit we can know
much more.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach
Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to
those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the
weakness of God is stronger than men.
1. Humanly speaking:
How was salvation effected among the Jews? Obey The Law. The Christ was to conquer the Romans and become King! His purpose was not to save them Spiritually, They had that wrapped up in the Law. He was to save them nationally. When He came into
Paul to the Greeks Now while Paul was waiting for them at
Why do the Greeks want to believe in something, in
anything? For that matter why do we today like to
believe in something? Be cause of that “God
shaped void” spoken of by Solomon when he speaks of eternity in our
hearts. Human wisdom is trapped by God’s
desire that we can’t know everything from beginning to the end.
b. How
is salvation effected in America
Relationships
can save you: Desperate Housewives,
Friends, Sex in the City
Sex
can save you: The Porn
industry has grown immensely since the internet.
Money
can save you: Easy credit is
the answer to all our troubles-Just charge it!
Stuff
can save you: Everything
consumers can think of is available for a price.
Serve
yourself: You
deserve a break today; Have it your way;
What is the Gospel? Is it recognizing you’re a sinner & God has a wonderful plan for your life? No!!! It is the message of the cross! That our sins are nailed to the Cross with Christ is the greatest news anyone could hear. Did you ever notice that we like to celebrate Easter, but not Good Friday. Why do you suppose that is? Of course we pay lip service to Good Friday, and most of us know why we call Good Friday good, but Easter only validates the sacrifice on Friday was effective for all, since only God could raise himself from the dead. Jesus death on the cross is the good news because now our sins could be forgiven. Why are we so squeamish about the Cross? Listen to Paul:
Paul O
foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus
Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you
receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? [8]
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were
wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of
noble birth. 27 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; 28 God chose what is
low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing
things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
- Examine
yourselves. Are you Wise, Powerful,
from Noble Birth? How does this
affect your acceptance of Christ? Who
are we, to appear before the God of the universe?
Jesus At
that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that
you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them
to little children; 26 yes,
Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been
handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and
no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to
reveal him. 28 Come
to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon
you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. 30 For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”[10]
Children have a special place in God’s economy. Why? Because they simply believe God. Something innocent in the heart of a child
has God’s heart. I believe that something is humility. When have you seen a child boast in himself? He boasts in his Dad or His Mom. His strength come from another. I have a funny story to share with you about
my son Benjamin. When he was 4 years old
we were visiting my folks. My brother
took him and his cousin Jacob, 6 at the time, to the park. As fate would have it there were some older
boys, 10-12 years old playing there also.
But the older kids were not so innocent, they were putting sand on the
slides and just generally being mischievous.
Benjamin was indignant. He found
a 6 foot tall stick. This became his
staff. With Jacob at his side he
confronted the older boys, “You guys have
bad souls” My brother Scott told me the story.
Apparently Ben had no fear. He
was going to straighten these boys out. Fortunately, Scott took the staff away
and confronted the boys himself. I often wonder if Bens boldness was his simple
trust in God.
Sometimes I think our human wisdom gets in the way of
trusting in the Lord. Listen to
Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 8“How can you say, ‘We
are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’? But
behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be
dismayed and taken; behold,
they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?[11]
Rejecting the word of God removes the blessing of God’s
Spirit, thus His wisdom, from the life of the rejecter. Are you rejecting God’s Word?
30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God
made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 31
Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Jesus is our wisdom.
Jesus is our righteousness. Jesus is our sanctification. Jesus is our
redemption. Jesus is our all in
all. Without Christ where would we
be? There but for the grace of God go
I. Chris Rice has a song you may have
heard, The face of Christ. Listen to these lyrics:
He shares a room outside with a
dozen other guys And the only roof he knows is that sometimes starry sky A
tattered sleeping bag on a concrete slab is his bed
And it’s too cold to talk tonight So I just sit with him instead and
think
How did I find myself in a better place I can’t look down on the frown
on the other guy’s face ‘Cause when I stoop down low, look him square in the
eye I get a funny feeling, I just might be dealing With the face of Christ- Are you willing to go to the lengths of the Cross to show it? And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.[12]
Surrender to His will.
Deny yourself those things which interfere with God’s purposes for you
and in humility take the path He has laid out for you. When you do this, God’s purposes take off and
wonderful things begin. All successes can be laid at the feet of Jesus to whom
they are due. Then your boasting will be
not it yourself, but in the Lord! Listen
to this passage in Jeremiah on boasting in our God:
Jeremiah 23
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let
not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his
riches, 24 but
let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am
the Lord who practices steadfast
love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,
declares the Lord.”[13]
Earlier I shared a number of statements of wisdom given
through the ages. I want to examine
again one by Helen Keller:
Helen Keller I do not want the peace that passeth
understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.
All
this talk today causes me to think, are we to shelve our brains and just
believe? Is Helen right in what she
states? I think there is a wisdom that
comes from trusting God in humility which doesn’t require our shelving our
mental faculties. It really is a matter
of trust. "For the word of the cross is folly to
those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… to
those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the
weakness of God is stronger than men…31 Therefore, as it is written, “Let the
one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Let’s close by singing 2 verses of I have decided to follow
Jesus. The 2nd verse pertains
to this message, the world behind me, the Cross before me.
[1]Merriam-Webster,
I. (1996, c1993). Merriam-Webster's
collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (10th ed.). Springfield , Mass. , U.S.A.
[4]The Holy
Bible : English standard version. 2001
Emphasis added (Ec 3:9-13). Wheaton
[6]The Holy
Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ac 17:16-21; 31-32). Wheaton
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