Day 25: God’s Wisdom doesn’t change!

God indeed is the source of all true wisdom and He makes this available to His people. But God has another kind of wisdom. The key to God’s wisdom is the cross.

You see, the cross, to natural thinking, is the sum total of God’s foolishness. He sent His Son into the world to save the world and He allowed His Son to be seized by sinners, given a false trial, condemned to death and die in agony and shame. What could be more foolish than that if you are seeking to release your power to save mankind?

But Paul says, in actual fact, the cross, what happened on that, is the key to all wisdom and all power that comes from God. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18–20:

“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 doesn’t change. It’s our response. If we receive it in the natural it’s foolishness. If we let the Holy Spirit interpret it to us, it becomes the power of God.

In 1 Corinthians 2:4–8, Paul says:

“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

That’s so important. Now, I studied contemporary philosophy—what was contemporary in those days. The real exciting thing in those days was what they call linguistic philosophy. And I sat at the feet of the best known of all the professors, But today all that’s out of date. It’s completely changed. So if I had based my faith on that kind of wisdom, today I’d have no basis for it. Your faith has got to be based on the power of God, not on human wisdom because the power of God doesn’t change.

Then Paul goes on to say:

“However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.”

That’s an exciting statement! You have to admit that God has a wisdom that He ordained before creation and the purpose of His wisdom—listen to this—the purpose of His wisdom is to being us to His glory.

And then Paul goes on about this wisdom:

“…which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

The door to this secret, hidden wisdom is the cross. To the natural man, Paul says, the word of the cross is foolishness. A naked man dying in agony on a cross. How could God be behind such a scene as that? But when the Holy Spirit opens your understanding, you will find that the cross is the only doorway to the secret, hidden wisdom of God.

Reflect:

The wisdom of this age is temporary. What examples of this kind of wisdom are tempting you to rely upon?