Audio - The Wisdom and Knowledge of God
Play Audio
MP3 Download (21.1mb)
The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
The Wisdom and Knowledge of God
August 26, 2007
TEXT: NKJ 1 Corinthians 1:18 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. 19 For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to
nothing the understanding of the prudent." 20 Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom
of this world? 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. 26 For you see
your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of
the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the
world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the
world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are
not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in
His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom
from God -- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption -- 31 that, as
it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."
The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God—yet from the beginning of time
man has sought after the wisdom of this world—that is what caused the fall of
man into sin—God created man and gave him his helper, woman—God placed them in
the Garden of Eden—God gave them everything in the garden except the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil—they had access to the tree of life—they had eternity
with God
NKJ Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of
Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of
every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it
you shall surely die."
NKJ Genesis 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to
her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the
presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
They lost everything because they ate the only forbidden fruit in the entire
garden—they were tempted by the devil—and they ate the fruit to obtain worldly
knowledge—the knowledge of good and evil—God gave them everything they
needed—but they wanted more—they turned away from the things of God—and they
went to the things that did not make them better children of God—but made them
followers of the devil—what a lesson that first book of the Bible provides!
There is no shortage of Scripture verses devoted to man’s quest for
knowledge—but we will confine our search to a few relevant areas—however, no
discussion of the wisdom of men would be complete without mention of King
Solomon—when God made him king over His people—Solomon prayed to God for the
wisdom to do a good job—and God answered that prayer
NKJ 2 Chronicles 1:7 On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him,
"Ask! What shall I give you?" 8 And Solomon said to God: "You have shown great
mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. 9 "Now, O LORD
God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me
king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. 10 "Now give me
wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who
can judge this great people of Yours?" 11 And God said to Solomon: "Because this
was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life
of your enemies, nor have you asked long life -- but have asked wisdom and
knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you
king -- 12 "wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches
and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you,
nor shall any after you have the like."
Paul, the author of today’s text, was a master of the teachings of the Old
Testament—consider some of the references to wisdom—beginning with the words of
King Solomon
NKJ Proverbs 2:1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands
within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to
understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for
understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden
treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the
knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and
understanding;
Many other Proverbs of Solomon teach us about wisdom—but the great summary of
these teachings is contained in one verse
NKJ Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
The prophet Job gives us understanding of the application of these
words—WISDOM—UNDERSTANDING
NKJ Job 28:28 And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.' "
Job’s words hold true throughout the Scriptures—it is wise to fear the Lord—not
as if to tremble at the thought of God—but to fear that we might not be doing
His will—to understand is to depart from evil—therefore, to live your life for
God is to fear disobeying the commands of God and to turn away from the things
of the devil—that is, the pleasures, lusts, and teachings of this world
With the Old Testament teaching as background—we approach the closing verses of
the text
TEXT: NKJ 1 Corinthians 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who
became for us wisdom from God -- and righteousness and sanctification and
redemption -- 31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the
LORD."
And how do we have the wisdom of God in Jesus?—Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to
each believer to teach all things—to give us the wisdom to understand how to
obey God—Paul taught us this in the same letter to the Corinthians
NKJ 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that
the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Paul prayed that the Colossians would be filled with wisdom and knowledge of
God—hence they could understand how to live God-pleasing lives
NKJ Colossians 1:9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not
cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of
His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy
of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to
His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving
thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of
the saints in the light.
We recently spoke of the spiritual gifts Christians receive—and how they are to
be shared—Paul addresses these gifts as they pertain to helping each other learn
about salvation and obedience to God
NKJ Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints
for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we
should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful
plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him
who is the head -- Christ -- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit
together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by
which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of
itself in love.
God wants every one to be saved—and He wants each of us to use the gifts He
gives us to serve each other and lift each other up—bringing us to unity in
knowledge—if you understand something as it relates to God’s Word—you are
responsible to share that with the rest of us—that is what Paul taught Timothy
as he prepared him for ministry—Paul wanted Timothy to preach the Wisdom of the
Word in truth so men could know God—because there would come a time when will
follow false teachings rather than the Word of God—it is the same today
NKJ 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort,
with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have
itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn
their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
In closing, consider these lessons of Paul to us—God wants all men to be
saved—and finally, how shall they be saved if they do not hear the Word?—it is
the Word that has the power of salvation
NKJ 1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth.
NKJ Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Leave here seeking wisdom and knowledge—realize that it is not knowing about
God—but knowing God—it is your responsibility to share what you find—and work to
help others understand all things until you are called to your home of
glory—heaven
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!