Wisdom of God

1Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

Christ crucified is to the Jews a stumblingblock and to the Greeks foolishness. These are two groups of people that reject the gospel. The first person I will focus on is the Jew. This was a person that was very respected as a person. He went to the temple very devoutly. He tithed all he had, right down to the mint and cummin (down to the spice rack). You would see him fasting twice a week with a face full of sadness and sorrow. He would wear these robes which were long and flowing and would pray on the street corners so that all could see. He had the law of Moses written between his eyes and came from a pure Hebrew bloodline. If he saw a "Gentile dog" walking in his direction he would cross to the other side of the street so he would not dirty him self by coming in too close proximity. He was the religious of his day and he considered him self to be superior in every way. Not only in bloodline or tradition, but in everything about his lifestyle. He was a "good man". He loved the law and the righteousness he got from obeying it. When he heard of Jesus, that he was a lowly carpenter, he scoffed. When he heard that this Messiah was a Nazarene, he laughed. Would he forsake his father's religion and bow down to a carpenter? Would he he reject his religion and all the effort and work that he put into it, and now put his faith in this supposed deliverer? NEVER! Here he was obeying the laws of God, getting recognition from his peers and gaining in righteousness, and now he was to throw it all away for a Man? Absolutely absurd! Christ crucified was a stumblingblock to him. The Jew could not accept it.

Perhaps there is a "Jew" reading this today. Let me introduce you to yourself. Perhaps you come from a real pious family who are well thought of in your community. You love the "church". You love it right down to the stain glass windows, the arched doorway, the red carpet and the glass chandeliers. You love the life, the aura of it, the people, and even the positive messages that make you feel so wonderful. You love it when the preacher takes a cute story from the bible and gleans some wisdom from it that you can apply to your life to make it better and better. You are so proud to be a member of the one true denomination and you thumb your nose at everyone else. Christ will be to you a stumblingblock. You get real uncomfortable when you hear talk of such things as Jesus dying for the ungodly. When you hear a song sung like "There is power in the blood", it makes you shudder. It is all just a doctrine to you. It's not real. If I were to tell you that all your going to the "house of God" is for nothing... If I tell you that all your singing and praying, pass for nothing in the sight of God because you are a hypocrite, dead in your trespasses and sins... If I tell you unless you get your heart right, all the externals will do you no good... You would tell me to get lost. If I preached to you the externals, like reading your bible, fasting, having daily devotions, you would gladly hear me. If I had told you that you needed to do this or that to be saved, you would gladly had listened to me. If I took a week to tell you all that you must DO to be saved, you would heard me with eagerness. If I had told you that you must take your socks off and walk fifty miles in your bare feet, you would have started off first thing in the morning. But to hear that Salvation is a free gift and it is only offered to the ungodly sinner, you won't have any of it. If I tell you that it is Christ's righteousness that saves you and not your own, you dismiss it immediately. If I tell you that Christ on the cross, was a statement from God, of what you deserve, but that He took your place, you would turn and walk away. Let me ask you a question, "Jew". When you stare death in the face, will your religion save you? When you stand before the throne of God, will you take comfort that finally all your efforts and good works will pay off? Christ crucified is to you a stumblingblock.

The other person I will deal with is the Greek. The Greek loves wisdom. He either despises all religion or he thinks that they all have something good to offer. He is found everywhere. In the work place, in the university or college dorm, on television or radio. He loves little quaint expressions and wise sayings from the great philosophers. Ask him a question and he knows it all. Whatever it might be, politics, economics, religion, but as soon as you talk to him of Christ, it is foolishness to him and he won't hear of it. Ask him about "New Age" or Buddhism, he will talk your ear off, but Jesus bleeding on a cross for his sins is foolishness.

If this describes you let me ask you a few questions. When death stares you in the face, will your wisdom mean anything then? When tribulation comes, will wisdom give you comfort? When you begin to drown in misery, depression and guilt, will your wisdom cheer you up? Will your philosophy give you eternal life? No sir! Without the promises of God to hold you up, all your learning and wisdom will do you no good. It will only make your path a little slipperier as you slide down into the pit of hell.

1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God

Here is the wisdom of God. God viewed humanity with all their ungodliness and sin, and saw that something needed to be done. He knew that the judgment must fall because of sin and He saw all their religion and self effort was insufficient and was sick of it. What did He do? Even while we (mankind) were still enemies of God, sinning at every opportunity, God showed His great love and when the time was right, God sent forth His Son, born of a virgin, to live amongst us so that He could feel with our infirmities and taste death for every man. His name was Jesus and He lived like us and was tempted in every way as we are, but without sin. He had every desire as we have. He was fully man, yet fully God and He lived perfectly. Someone had to pay for our sin... Either we who committed the sin or someone to take our place. Jesus qualified as a perfect substitute and God laid the sin of the world on Him and He died on the cross as if He were all the sinners on earth. He went into the depths of the earth for three days and then resurrected in a glorified body, ascended to heaven and is currently seated at the right hand of God, waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. One day soon He is coming back for all those that believe this, to take them with Him to heaven where there will be a great big family reunion, with singing and dancing! If you noticed, this is God's righteousness not ours. The gospel is all God's righteousness and He reserved salvation for those that are ungodly sinners who work not! That is who salvation is for. Why? Because God will not have some man glory in His presence. God will not have man say to Him, "I did it, or I deserve it". All that is required is faith. You can see how this poses a problem for the self righteous man. It is very humbling to know that all your right doing and self effort will never be enough to get to heaven but that one must rely completely on the right doing of another, which is God Himself. Absolutely beautiful! Marvelous! Oh the wisdom of God! To those that are saved, it is the power and wisdom of God.