WISDOM ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL
1 Corinthians 1:21-25 NKJV
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are 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.
Some people have always had a problem with the fact that salvation is not a product of intellectual prowess. They can not seem to get past the fact that the good news of Jesus is not complicated. So they make it complicated. Maybe they have forgotten the verse that said the common people heard Jesus gladly.
I am so glad that by wisdom we do not know God. God did not put salvation on the basis of wisdom but on the basis of faith. The gospel is proclaimed, and that causes faith to come. When someone acts on that faith, then God’s power for salvation takes place in their life. Paul calls this the foolishness of the message preached that saves those who believe.
Paul was working with the two contrasting oppositions to the gospel. The Jews wanted to see a sign. This was a point of contention the Jews had with Jesus during His time on earth. Show us a sign so we can believe. And even when Jesus performed signs and miracles, the religious leaders of that day attributed the signs to Satan. The Greeks were the intellectuals of their day. They needed something that tickled their intellect. They did not want to lower themselves to believe the foolishness of the gospel.
Paul contends that he was preaching Christ crucified. To the Jews, that was offensive, and to the Greeks or Gentiles, that was foolishness. But to those who believe Christ crucified was the power of God and the wisdom of God. To those who connect with the Lord by simple faith, this is wisdom on a different level. No human, living or dead, has ever been able to match wits with God. And the foolishness of God is way smarter than man’s wisdom. And the weakness of God is stronger than anything men can come up with. Paul was speaking to a church that came out of the Greek culture, so he was reminding them that the appeal to the intellect was not going to be there.
APPLICATION
It takes a level of humility to believe the gospel. And it takes a level of humility to realize that with God, no flesh has any room to brag. The gospel is the great equalizer. There are no levels of Christianity. We all have different job functions and assignments, but there are no super Christians and low-level Christians. Sure, some live out their beliefs in a stronger way, but when it comes to being loved and accepted by God, we all go through the same door. Jesus declared Himself to be The Way, and He still is. Human pride recoils at the idea of everyone being on the same level when it comes to God and salvation. There is something in man that wants to believe they have the advantage. But when it comes to God, none of us can get puffed up with pride.
This is another aspect of the gospel that makes it such good news. We don’t have to look a certain way, have a certain background, or attain to a certain level of education to come to God. We simply believe and then rejoice in what God’s wisdom and power accomplish in our lives.
PRAYER
Dear Father, thank You for Your high-level wisdom that is so much higher than man. You created billions of stars and planets, and mankind. No one even comes close to Your brilliance. Thank You. I did not have to be brilliant to come to You; I only had to believe!