The Wisdom of God: A Message from 1 Corinthians

2 days ago
6 min read

Hello lovelies! It's been a minute since I've shared my takeaways from God's word, mainly because I've been busy reading it and reflecting on it in a different medium. But this morning, I began a study of 1 Corinthians and very quickly a topic of discussion emerged.

Context

1st Corinthians is one of Paul's letters, and is written to the believers in Corinth, Greece. What I found fascinating in learning about Corinth is that it was the political captial of Greece as well as a major place of trade and business that connected travelers from the East and West. The geographic location of Corinth made it the hub for Mediterranean trade, which brought together people of different backgrounds and beliefs. While this can be a beautiful thing, it can also be a destructive thing for those whose faith is not yet strong.

The believers in Corinth found themselves exposed to pagan worship (worship of Greek gods and goddesses) as well as worldly wisdom, often referred to by Paul as "the wisdom of men." Moral disagreements arose within the church and many believers fell into sin. This letter was written to remind the Corinthians of the truth, and that truth is what we'll unpack in the rest of this post.

Scripture

"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." 1 Corinthians 1:18

"Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 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." 1 Corinthians 1:20-21

In these first two verses, Paul reveals that the word of God will sound foolish to those who are of the world, those who do not believe in the wisdom of God, which is revealed to us through Christ Jesus who was sent for our redemption, who revealed the mystery of God, and who died for our salvation.

The story of Jesus Christ is one that requires faith to believe in. All rules of logic would suggest the resurrection is impossible. But for those with the faith to believe in Him, all other wisdom will be revealed. Paul seeks to remind the believers of Corinth to not let logic or the wisdom of men persuade them away from what their faith has already revealed to them--the power and wisdom of God.

"For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 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." 1 Corinthians 2:2-5

Paul credits his ability to preach with the power of God. He humbles himself in contrast to the false teachers seeking to glorify themselves before the Corinthians. These false teachers, present througout the Bible and throughout history, claim to have special knowledge only attainable through them. This is one of the ways Satan seeks to steer believers off the straight and narrow path. If he can't get you to deny God, he will confuse you by getting you to follow a false god.

Paul sets the example for believers to ground themselves in the truth of the crucifixion for it is the foundation of our faith. We believe not just that the Son of God came to dwell among mankind in the flesh, but that He died for our sins and through the washing of His blood--our ultimate sacrifice--we are made clean and blameless in the sight of the Father. The life of Jesus Christ provides wisdom, but the death of Jesus Christ provides salvation.

"...we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory...God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." 1 Corinthians 2:7, 10-12

This collection of verses reveals the purpose of the Holy Spirit who is present with us while our Lord and Savior is in Heaven. Paul implored a Greek philosophical belief that "like is known only by the like" to drive home the truth. He gives the example that only a man's spirit knows his innermost parts. Think of the person who knows you best, the person you've shared the most with. Even still, there are probably some things you've kept to yourself. You know yourself better than anyone--except God. Likewise, the only one who knows God's innermost being is the Spirit of God.

God has given us His Spirit so that He may reveal Himself to us and we may know Him the way He knows us. Paul is reminding the Corinthians to live by the Spirit, to let the Holy Spirit be their teacher not the false teachers, and to let the God Most High be their God, not the false gods and goddesses prevalently worshipped in this region.

Takeaway

In the early days of the church, Paul often had to fight against false teachers and false wisdom by reminding believers of the truth of Jesus Christ which reveals both the power and wisdom of God.

"For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

Today, we fight our battles against the influence of the world with the same truth or rather wisdom. It is a wisdom that comes only by faith in what seems foolish on the surface, but with eyes to see and ears to hear--given to us by the Holy Spirit--what is foolish becomes foundational.

This particular point really hit home for me today, and is the reason I wanted to write this post. I have spent most of my life in a state of both ignorance and disregard for the word of God. For many years, I chose not to read my Bible, not to seek the word of God, because (1) I didn't want to feel convicted for my worldly ways, and (2) I didn't think it was still relevant. The little I did know felt foolish in today's society.

It felt foolish to me to wait until marriage to have sex. It felt foolish to me to not test out living with a partner before marriage. Logic and fear whisper, "You don't know what you're getting into. You need to assess every aspect of this match before committing." This is not only rooted in fear, which we know does not come from God, but is also rooted in pride--the idea that we know better than God.

When I held these beliefs, I was living my life in the driver's seat, clinging to control, taking on the responsibility to make all the decisions. I did not yet understand the importance or even the possibility of submitting my life to Christ. My ignorance stemmed from my childhood experiences which taught me to be self-reliant and independent and also the lack of a solid Biblical foundation. My early church experiences taught the importance of belief in Christ but not submission to Christ, but in the wise words of James, "even the demons believe and tremble." James 2:19

A heart and mind submitted to Christ reveals the foolishness of the worldly mindset. The logical beliefs I once held have given way to a spiritual wisdom I cannot turn my back on. This spiritual wisdom is what Paul seeks to remind the Corinthians of.