CHRIST IS THE POWER OF GOD AND THE WISDOM FROM GOD [PART 3]

This is our last installment in this series.

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²⁰ Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world’s wisdom? These are the things that are being held in esteem. The problem with the world is that people have been trying to understand God through philosophy. Philosophy stems from the concepts and ideas of man. It is the creation of man and the flesh, so it is subject to the frailty of man. God cannot be interpreted with something that is vile and inferior. The writer of Ecclesiastes spent time and money pursuing these strongholds of human wisdom. This is what he has to say about the whole pursuit.

Ecclesiastes 1 AMP: ¹³ And I applied myself by heart and mind to seek and search out by [human] wisdom all human activity under heaven. ...The teacher of this word – believed to be Solomon the wisest man that ever lived- was not a casual pursuer of knowledge as the above scripture shows us. He became a scholar and actively investigated or used ‘scientific’ enquiry to discover, interrogate all that is under the heavens.

Ecclesiastes 1 AMP:¹⁴ I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a striving after the wind and a feeding on wind.¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.¹⁶ I entered into counsel with my own mind, saying, Behold, I have acquired great [human] wisdom, yes, more than all who have been over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of [moral] wisdom and [scientific] knowledge.¹⁷ And I gave my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction];I perceived that this also is a searching after wind and a feeding on it.¹⁸ For in much [human] wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Note that the teacher is saying that human wisdom is defective, lacking and crooked. It is empty akin to chasing the wind. He goes on to say finally that the accumulation of human wisdom does not actually give answers instead it brings sorrow and angst perhaps because it turns out to be ‘a searching after wind and a feeding on it’. If you want to know consult the word of God. Let me give you a practical example. For a long time the world’s leading thinkers believed that the world was flat. And yet in Isaiah 40:22, He talks about the ‘circle of the earth’. How did Isaiah know this without even going into deep space? He was told by the Creator because God reveals the secrets of creation to His people. I am not saying that all scientific enquiries are anti God. No, I am saying the one that deny God and His existence are. Back to Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²¹ For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him). So beloved we cannot know God through earthly wisdom, the two will never meet. To know God you first have to believe He is. It will never make sense to the senses, logic or current thinking. God is beyond those earthly parameters. God in His wisdom is pleased with you when you join a gathering of believers to worship. He says do not forsake the gathering of the saints. The bible is the biggest authority handed over to man by God. It contains a divine body of knowledge for successful living. Every other body of knowledge is foolishness because the bible is superior to any other book. Do you know that the bible predates man? It is the Word of God, the Word of God is God.

According to the current system of the world, people who are wise are those that are rich, renowned or acclaimed as scholars etc but without Christ they are foolish. The text we are looking at points us to different types of people. There are two categories focused on in 1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²² for while Jews [demandingly] ask for signs and miracles and Greeks pursue philosophy and wisdom.

Let us apply the above mentioned to modern day man. The first group wants proofs before they can be open in the form of signs. In an attempt to interpret God on their own terms they will only believe in God and His word if and when He performs signs and miracles on their own terms, thereby denying the power of God thereof which is Christ Jesus, the Messiah.  If we go back  to the Jewish nation, [in 1 Corinthians 1:22] the bible tells us that because that was their preoccupation they did not know when Christ came; instead they crucified Him like they did the other prophets. His coming shall not be through the interpretation of signs, remember when Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees He said, ‘you will look to the heavens for signs’ because He knew that was what they would look for.

The Greeks on the other hand wanted wisdom but they were using limited scientific philosophy to try to gain understanding. These two inventions from the Greek and Jews are the two main tenets from which knowledge and modern wisdom come from. Every course you study at educational institutions as you know them today originates from philosophy. These things stem from men trying to interpret God through the wisdom of men. If you look at the origins of the word PhD its Greek meaning is ‘love of wisdom’.  The body of knowledge came from theology, then philosophy etc. That is why when you have a PhD its pointing to the origins of the body of human knowledge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy [follow this link to read more on the history behind PhD’s ].

God is saying I am not mortal, I am supernatural. You cannot interpret the supernatural with the natural, the immortal with the mortal. The only way you can interpret the spiritual is through the spiritual. You can only get it through the power and wisdom of God, Christ the Word. In fact it can lead the body of Christ astray; the more preachers bring in these philosophies - the more they lead the church astray. Modern theories try to exclude God and try to nullify Him. BUT GOD is raising up men and women within the scientific community that He will use to prove this body of knowledge as foolishness.

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²³ We preach Christ (the Messiah) crucified, [preaching which] to the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block [that springs a snare or trap], and to the Gentiles it is absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense. Unfortunately, the devil has invented dead religions that make people believe that they are worshipping/serving God and yet they are not. This dead religion has become the opium of the masses, where people belong to churches that are being headed by satan by virtue of his influence on the teaching and activities that happen there.  You will find that somewhere in its structures there is someone connected to satan and giving him access to the congregation. Sadly, Jesus is not welcome in such churches.

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²⁴ But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), Christ [is] the Power of God and the Wisdom of God.Paul is explaining that if we want the wisdom of God, we need to align ourselves with the power of God. Jesus is the only way and access to this power.

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²⁵ [This is] because the foolish thing [that has its source in] God is wiser than men, and the weak thing [that springs] from God is stronger than men. There is no foolishness in God but what He is saying is that those things that man considers foolish are actually the source of lasting wisdom. The thing about earthly wisdom is that because it is not founded on eternal truths it is temporal and inevitably replaced by a new truth. Not so with the Word of Truth. It is an everlasting covenant that is flawless. Don’t mind people who tell you that the bible is full of contradictions. It is not. But one thing is for sure, one cannot interpret it in the flesh.

The bible tells us that it is the Spirit of God that searches the deep things of God. These are the mysteries and wisdoms contained in the word. Child of God this bible we read is too much. It contains layers of meaning and revelation that can never be exhausted. Why? Simply because it was authored by One Who’s ways and thinking are higher than our own. So then when you are walking in the paths of God, does it mean we should feel proud of the manner in which God speaks to us or reveals Himself to us? No! The bible cautions us that much knowledge puffs up a man. What safety net has God put in place to help us guard against this?

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²⁶ For [simply] consider your own call, brethren; not many [of you were considered to be] wise according to human estimates and standards, not many influential and powerful, not many of high and noble birth.

Firstly no matter how high GOD takes you, never forget the following; all of us have a testimony on how we came to Christ. Remember how some people thought you were crazy. God does not look at how influential people are. In fact He goes out of His way to pick what the world looks down on to display His power. It becomes obvious to all that this is not the working of a man/woman but of God Almighty.  

Many influential people have made themselves demigods; others have been created by the global media machine. They are called role models, stars, celebrities or idols openly. Millions gather around the world in stadiums and auditoriums to pay homage to them. With people screaming, crying, and fainting and in a state because their idol has sung a song, played on the field or is on TV. This is people worshipping other human beings. That is why there is a versatility of perverted values and norms all over the world. That is why it is harder for such people to come to God. They believe they do not need Him; they believe their wealth and influence can buy them whatever they want but sadly all this ‘fame’ comes at a heavy cost for them. This is folly and pride which the bible warns always comes before a fall. Let us get back to the safeguard against pride for a believer.

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ²⁷ [No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. ²⁸ And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,²⁹ So that no mortal man should [have pretence for glorying and] boast in the presence of God. The ordinary man in the street should not glory or boast by any way. That is why God uses the weak to put the strong to shame. So when God uses you, it’s not your power or anointing. You are simply HIS vessel. When you understand this truth you will also understand that God is saying, ‘I have already given you me. Know Christ because Christ is the revelation of God to man.’ Why are you trying to know me through vain and empty things? Holy Spirit is there to reveal Himself to you let Him teach you.

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ³⁰ But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin] glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord. That is what Christ came to do. He came to justify and purify us. There are 3 principal things Christ did for us, He makes us righteous, He consecrates us and redeems us. What a gift, we must share this knowledge. When we go out and preach the word and tell people, believe God in Christ because He is the only way it is because of this very knowledge. We who are in Christ know that it is no longer us trying to keep the law but Christ has completed everything for us. So Christ becomes our eternal ransom. God sent Christ because he could see that man could not fulfil the law. He came to consecrate and redeem us. That is why the bible says:

1 Corinthians 1: AMP ³¹ So then, as it is written, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord. Remember that Christ did it all. Matt 3: AMP ² And saying, Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Why did Christ first say that man should repent? He did so because He wanted to change the face of the world where the mind of God will reign before the return of Christ. Before this time these things were not possible. But when He came, He made it all possible. There is no breakage of law that does not attract a penalty.

Prayer point

Oh God, in the name of Jesus, let the fullness of your righteousness, your consecration and redemption envelope my loved ones and I.  Let Christ come in His fullness, come into us and envelope our body soul and spirit. Amen!

[Sing Open the eyes of my heart]