Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 194 True Wisdom - Part 4 (a series in 1 Corinthians chapters 1-4) 1 Corinthians 2:1-8 ASV (1) And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. (2) For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. (3) And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. (4) And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: (5) that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (6) We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nought: (7) but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory: (8) which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory: Christianity is a faith not a philosophy. It is not a mere believing of the persuasive words of men but a living trust in the power of God. Paul did the OPPOSITE of the Greek rhetoricians and philosophers and many preachers even today. Paul did NOT come with a) excellency of speech or wisdom b) powerful personal presence /strength of persona (he was in weakness and in fear and in much trembling) c) persuasive words of wisdom. He thus eliminated most of what we learn of "preaching techniques" in homiletics! Paul did not want people's faith to rest on his reasoning ability - because then a person with better reasoning ability might come along and demolish it! . (4) And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: (5) that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Paul came with God's power and demonstrated God's power in healings and miracles and the works of an apostle. Romans 15:18-19 ASV For I will not dare to speak of any things save those which Christ wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed, (19) in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ; Signs and wonders, words and deeds and the power of the Holy Spirit were part of Paul's apostolic anointing and ministry and the means he used to convince people that Jesus was alive and well and in their midst. 2 Corinthians 12:12 ASV (12) Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, by signs and wonders and mighty works. One great healing miracle is more convincing than a three hour lecture on the logic of Christianity. Lazarus rising from the grave is more convincing than John putting people to sleep! We remember events better than we remember arguments, we are convinced by evidence more than we are convinced by syllogisms or moved by metaphors. The wisdom of God in Christ is a salvation wisdom and a wisdom of existential power. Its not wisdom of wealth or success or political advantage. That's why the rulers of this age do not understand it. The gospel gives us power of sin, death and inner decay. It brings physical, mental and emotional healing. But it does not generally make us millionaires. Few books on success advocate conversion to Christianity! Kingdom wisdom puzzles and threatens the rulers of this age such as the Jewish High Priest and Pilate. Unselfish love is incomprehensible to such calculating minds. (6) We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nought: (7) but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory: (8) which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory: The rulers of this age are "coming to nought", death and judgment will claim them, and eventually their kingdoms will be "beaten as fine dust", vanish under the impact of the Rock (Daniel 2), and become the kingdom of Christ. "Revelation 11:15 ASV And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever." On the other hand Christians are "coming to something" - eternal, immortal resurrected beings of glory (1 Cor 15:35-55) and coregents with Christ (Rev 20:6). God's wisdom is hidden, planned from long ago, secretly removed from the eyes of the powerful and surprisingly - UNTO OUR GLORY (verse 7). God will give us a glory that kings and presidents will long for! Jesus is the Lord of glory (verse 8), he dispenses glory, He controls it, its under His power and control and He will give to us in due time. 2 Timothy 2:10 ASV Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Its like this - there are two trains, one is a Hell-bound train, and the other is headed for Glory. Each one has a fixed destination, each train as a whole is pre-destined. But the passengers can get off and change trains. No-one on either train will be thrown off. If you are on the Glory bound train, Jesus will not throw you off. And if you are on the Hell-bound train, the Devil wants you aboard. But you can jump! You can repent of being on the Hell-bound train with its glitter and sin and illusions and you can realize your destiny and jump aboard the Glory bound train. And once you are aboard that train, everything changes - because of what Christ has done you are going to Glory. That's it. God's plan for you is glorification. "Rom 8:30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." You don't get to Glory by walking there. You get to glory as an act of grace by climbing onto the Glory-bound train - which of course is Christ. God's hidden wisdom - that eternal life and great glory are found in Christ was not understood. Herod who loved glory did not grasp it, neither did Pilate or Caesar or the chief priests or the scribes or the Pharisees. They all wanted a 'place' here and now, a position, a few fleeting years at the top of the tree - before they died, were assassinated or were deposed. Jesus threatened their place, their immediate significance (when in fact He was offering them what they most wanted in all the world). So they had Jesus killed! "(8) which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" The wisdom Paul preached, the wisdom of the cross and resurrection, demonstrated in the power of God and in signs and wonders, is a true and abiding wisdom. Its source is beyond intellect, beyond persuasion, beyond charisma and beyond personal power. It's a wisdom grounded in God. A wisdom that has conquered the world while the names of the Greek orators are largely forgotten. In our ministries we should not seek to demonstrate our intellect or our rhetorical ability, rather we should seek to demonstrate Christ, to portray Him clearly in word and deed, in signs and wonders and the power of the Holy Spirit so that the faith of our hearers will not rest on man's wisdom but on the power of God. Blessings, John Edmiston Were you blessed by Eternity Daily Bible Study? To subscribe just send a blank email to: eternity-dbs-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org Read and interesting article on Technology & Spirituality http://www.aibi.ph/missions/sociotech.htm Visit the Eternity Daily Bible Study Archives - http://www.aibi.ph/eternity/ Study at the Asian Internet Bible Institute- Free online non-formal, in-service, bible and ministry training: http://www.aibi.ph