1 Corinthians 2:6-13 Sermon

The Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

What’s Church For? Wisdom

1 Corinthians 2:6-13

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. (NIV)

I don’t usually do this, but I’d like to get some idea of the degree of collective wisdom among us this morning.  Those of you who have a doctorate (Ph.D) in anything, please raise your hands.  Alright, now those of you who are members of the high IQ society, Mensa, please raise your hands.  OK, how about a show of hands for those of you whose SAT or ACT scores ranked in the top 10^th percentile?  Hmmmm… we may have our work cut out for us in the smarts department.

Just one more question: how many of you know and have sung the song, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so?”  And how many of you believe that song to be true?  Ah, then there it is, as it turns out we have a sanctuary full of the world’s smartest people here this morning.  By the world’s standards of wisdom, we may not measure up, but by the standard that matters – God’s standard of wisdom – we’ve got a bunch of geniuses here this morning.

While spiritual wisdom may not be as highly praised by the world as its own worldly wisdom, worldly wisdom has its limits, doesn’t it?  After all, do you remember who your valedictorian was in high school?  Are you able to name any of the recent winners of Jeopardy?  How many Nobel Prize winners can you name, from any of the categories?  The point is not that such wisdom has no value, nor would we ever discourage our young people from continuing to pursue an excellent education.  The point, rather, is that what this world views as wisdom has its limits and does not in the end always seem to carry the same weight as may have been thought at first.  That’s what Solomon was trying to say when he wrote, “Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done? I saw wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Then I thought in my heart, ‘The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said in my heart, ‘This too is meaningless.’ For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!” (Ecclesiastes 2:12-16).

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul was making a similar point when distinguishing between worldly and spiritual wisdom.  He was careful to point out that it wasn’t wise logic or persuasive preaching that brought people to faith, but the power of the Holy Spirit.  However, once the necessity of the Holy Spirit’s hand at work became understood, Paul could then return back to that concept of wisdom and put it in its proper context.  “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age” (v.6).  On the one hand, worldly wisdom, like that of the Greeks, never was and never will be responsible for bringing anyone to faith.  On the other hand, neither did those considered wise in the world have the monopoly on wisdom, since wisdom – albeit a spiritual wisdom – is also a part of the mature, that is, believers.  And if we find wisdom among believers, then we can reasonably conclude that the church is for wisdom.

That wisdom, Paul wrote, is “not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age” (v.6).  Consider how that wisdom, the wisdom of this age, often showcased by the rulers of this age (or in some cases, not), has served mankind.  Sure, it has led to much advancement and innovation in virtually every pursuit across the board.  Yet, such wisdom still falls short in being able to answer the questions of life, the ones man has wrestled with since he has existed.  Worldly wisdom simply cannot adequately answer why we die or what happens to us when we die.  Neither can it tell us what our purpose is while we’re still alive.  It cannot explain why there is always sickness and suffering in the world.  It cannot explain why there will always be wars.  It cannot explain inequality and injustice.  So finally, if wisdom, capable and qualified as it is to contribute so much to the world, can’t answer such questions, then don’t we have to draw the same conclusion Paul did about those whose only wisdom is worldly wisdom?  Aren’t they “coming to nothing” (v.6)? 

And, if that’s the case, then how foolish are we to chase after worldly wisdom if it comes at the expense of spiritual wisdom?  How worthless it is to spend our time acquiring knowledge that will serve us only for this life, while remaining ignorant about the wisdom of God.  Surely we wouldn’t claim to be more intelligent than Solomon, yet don’t we cast his words of caution aside when our pursuit of worldly wisdom overshadows our desire to increase our spiritual wisdom.

 

To emphasize his point and to prove what happens when people only know worldly wisdom, Paul raised the question about the leaders of Jesus’ day crucifying him.  He pointed out that if the rulers of Jesus’ day were guided by anything other than worldly wisdom, surely “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (v.8).  Had they known who Jesus truly was, had they known what he came to do and why he came to do it, surely they would have dealt with him differently and not put him to death.  But they didn’t, for they were driven by worldly wisdom.

In contrast to those whose wisdom is limited to include only the wisdom of this world. Paul speaks about another group of people: the mature.  It’s interesting to note how Paul refers to those who do have the wisdom that is not of this world.  The word translated “mature” is the same word Jesus spoke from the cross when he announced, “It is finished.”  The mature are those in whom the Holy Spirit’s desired goal of working faith has been accomplished, or finished.  While they have not yet reached the ultimate goal of heaven, the whole point and purpose of their time here on earth has been completed if they are believers who have been brought to faith.  They are mature.  In the sense of reaching the goal of bringing people to saving faith, that work has been finished in them.  They are mature.  You and I are mature. 

But that doesn’t mean we have no desire to continue growing in that wisdom; quite the opposite is true!  In fact, one of the indicators of that maturity is the growing desire to center more of our lives on the Word of God.  Though the world recognizes that wisdom is associated with studying and reading and books, there is one book it refuses to treat with the same courtesy: the Bible.  Worldly wisdom can do without the Bible.  Should this surprise us?  Absolutely not, and why?  Because it doesn’t know the Author. 

Think about that for a moment.  If you had an established relationship – friendly or even on some greater level – and you discovered that the other person in this relationship was a published author, do you think you’d be more inclined to spend a little time reading what this friend has written?  So it is with you and me, believers, who personally know the Author of the Bible.  We know the One whose divine inspiration is behind every letter of every word of Scripture.  We know him and his boundless love for us in Christ.  And so because we know him, we want to grow in our wisdom of who he is and all that he does for us by reading it in his Word, the Bible, the source of eternal wisdom.

Furthermore, the Bible is the only place that wisdom is revealed, for only there does the Holy Spirit reveal himself to us.  Paul wrote, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (v.11).  The picture Paul is using here calls to mind a not uncommon situation.  As you are sitting and listening to a speaker or a presentation, the individual next to you sighs loudly.  Why?  Is he tired or worn out?  Did he just recall an errand he still had to run that day?  Did he not appreciate something that was just said?  You wouldn’t know unless he explained to you why he sighed.  Only he knows what was behind that sigh, and unless he reveals it to you, you are only left to speculate.  In the same way, no one is able to know the thoughts of God unless the Holy Spirit reveals them.  And he does that in his Word.  Be wary of those who so confidently presume that God gave them this sign or that feeling or some other guidance apart from God’s revealed will in his Word.  While we don’t doubt that God is always at work in our lives, it’s not only presumptuous, but also be dangerous to habitually convince ourselves that this or that was God’s will when the Holy Spirit hasn’t clearly revealed as much through the Word.

Why?  Because it can easily overlook the main purpose for which God has given us his Word, and the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us.  Paul explained, “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us” (v.12).  God’s number one desire is that our eyes may be opened to see what he has freely given us, or, to state it another way that more literally reflects the original, to see that with which he has graced us.  Simply put, God wants men to know the forgiveness he won for them in Jesus Christ through his perfect life and innocent death.  That is the wisdom that matters to God.  So intensely does God long for all mankind to have and to grow in that wisdom, that he not only gave us a book, the Bible, to acquire that knowledge, but also font and communion rail, at which also he grants and grows spiritual wisdom.  Of course, where do we find all of these tools?  We find them in the church.  Should that surprise us?  Of course not, since wisdom is what Church is for. Amen.

                                                               

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)