The Will THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 1 Cor. 1:19.
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of he world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him [of God] are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Cor. 1:27-31).
I'm glad today that we have been promised wisdom, because the simplicity of the gospel is a hard subject to understand. One of the reasons it is so hard to understand is because it is so simple. For a long time we have been looking for something deep and theological, when the truth is, it is simple. And God sometimes has to help us realize how simple it really is.
We had a teacher in college who used to tell us that "great art conceals art." He had to explain that to us. He said that many things that are so profound are profound in their simplicity. At first glance, that which is really great may be so unobtrusive that it doesn't appear great.
I'm thankful that Jesus is our wisdom. Please notice that there is no such thing as wisdom apart from Jesus. We are not given wisdom as an entity in itself--wisdom is in Jesus. He is made unto us wisdom.
Jesus came into this world and depended upon His Father for wisdom. God was His wisdom. The wisdom we see demonstrated in His life came from His Father. That same wisdom is available to us today, through connection with Jesus. It is wisdom that enables us to understand in its completeness the theme of salvation by faith in Jesus. It's hard, because there is something about the human mind that resists the idea that there is no way in which we can save ourselves. But the truth is that all we can do is to come to Jesus just as we are, and continue to come to Him day by day, in order to continue the experience of salvation. There is wisdom from above to help us understand and accept this simple gospel.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 1 Cor. 1:19.
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of he world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him [of God] are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Cor. 1:27-31).
I'm glad today that we have been promised wisdom, because the simplicity of the gospel is a hard subject to understand. One of the reasons it is so hard to understand is because it is so simple. For a long time we have been looking for something deep and theological, when the truth is, it is simple. And God sometimes has to help us realize how simple it really is.
We had a teacher in college who used to tell us that "great art conceals art." He had to explain that to us. He said that many things that are so profound are profound in their simplicity. At first glance, that which is really great may be so unobtrusive that it doesn't appear great.
I'm thankful that Jesus is our wisdom. Please notice that there is no such thing as wisdom apart from Jesus. We are not given wisdom as an entity in itself--wisdom is in Jesus. He is made unto us wisdom.
Jesus came into this world and depended upon His Father for wisdom. God was His wisdom. The wisdom we see demonstrated in His life came from His Father. That same wisdom is available to us today, through connection with Jesus. It is wisdom that enables us to understand in its completeness the theme of salvation by faith in Jesus. It's hard, because there is something about the human mind that resists the idea that there is no way in which we can save ourselves. But the truth is that all we can do is to come to Jesus just as we are, and continue to come to Him day by day, in order to continue the experience of salvation. There is wisdom from above to help us understand and accept this simple gospel.
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