The Hidden Wisdom of God 1 Cor. 2:1-12

Today we’re going to talk about the wisdom of God that’s revealed to us only in the gospel. It’s not something we could know or figure out just by common sense.

It’s been said that anyone can be complicated but it takes a genius to be simple.

There’s some truth to that. To take profound concepts and communicate them in simple ways, is a difficult thing to do, and a rare gift.

In 1905 a man came up with a very simple equation, E=mc2, but that little equation changed the world. It paved the way for much of today’s technology, including nuclear technology.

It took a genius to figure out that simple equation. Yet years later that genius who was named Albert Einstein said, “I’ve solved the scientific equation, but now I’m struggling to solve the spiritual equation.”.

He was an agnostic and couldn’t get to that place of faith. That’s because it takes God to get you there.

God has solved the spiritual equation in the simple words of the gospel. Yet as simple as it is, nothing is more profound. The gospel is so profound that it wouldn’t be known to us if God hadn’t revealed it.

Sometimes in his epistles Paul refers to the gospel as a mystery, or secret that was hidden in the mind of God, but now has been revealed to us in the gospel.

Verse 7 of our epistle says, “We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages.”

All the things we’re taught in the gospel, God knew from eternity, before the world was even created. Before he made us, he already knew how he would save us from our sin.

God revealed those truths over time in His Word. Ultimately, he revealed them in the person of Christ.

In Christ is all the wisdom of God; he’s the living gospel for the world. And so we look to him for life.

The irony is, Jesus didn’t necessarily look like the wisdom of God to the world.

He was just a lowly carpenter’s son. Shouldn’t he have been born into an aristocratic family, so that could he have been taught by the greatest minds of the day; the Einsteins of that time, if you will? In those days that would have been the Greek philosophers.

Jesus didn’t come into the world to gain the wisdom of the world, but to give a greater wisdom to the world, God’s eternal wisdom in the gospel.

And he did it in the most amazing way. When he taught, it was often in parables, which had to be figured out. And sometimes he did confusing things like wash the feet of his disciples. But the most amazing thing he did to show God’s wisdom was die on a cross.

There are some who say, “He couldn’t have been too smart; he got himself crucified.”

But in getting himself crucified Jesus knew exactly what he was doing; he was saving the world in the only way it could be saved.  

That’s why he died the way he did, and that’s why the apostles were so careful to make the cross of Christ the heart of their message, even though they were often ridiculed for it.

Paul says in our epistle, When I came to you, brothers,  I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified… so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

The idea of a God who was crucified like a criminal seemed ridiculous and offensive to people at the time. They were all too familiar with the horror of crucifixion, probably having seen it with their own eyes.

Even though it wasn’t “culturally correct”, the apostles continued to proclaim the message of the cross, because they knew that without it there is no gospel for the world.

Paul says in verses 23 and 24, “We preach Christ crucified… foolishness to the Gentiles, but those who are called (who believe), the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

A religion that teaches salvation through the death of a man on a cross may seem crazy to the world, but it’s amazing love to those who believe it.

One of the ploys of the devil, working through a secular-minded culture, is to label people who believe the gospel as irrational, or unintelligent, or narrow-minded.

The line of reasoning is that if Christians would be reasonable, they wouldn’t believe such foolishness as the incarnation of Christ (God becoming a man), or his miracles, and certainly not his resurrection.

These things have been scientifically disproved, some would say, and Christians only believe them because they’ve been brain-washed, or because they’re weak-minded.

First, these things have not and will not be scientifically disproved, because science isn’t capable of doing that.

Science can only deal with natural things and not supernatural or miraculous things, like the incarnation of Christ, and the resurrection, and heavenly life. These are things science can’t determine one way or another.

Secondly, while faith is above reason, in the sense that it holds to the miraculous  and the supernatural, it holds unto God, faith does involve the use of reason and intellect. That’s why God gave us the Bible to learn from, using our God-given minds.

And that’s why our mission is to know Christ and make him known. Those things involve human reason.

So never let anyone tell you the gospel is irrational, or unreasonable. Quite the opposite; it’s reason that’s been enlightened by God, who gave us our minds to use in godly ways.

Thirdly, God gives us more than just knowledge, he gives us wisdom.

Knowledge is a gift, but without wisdom, knowledge can easily be used for bad purposes. That’s because of our sinful nature that can abuse even knowledge.

We need to know more than just how to gain knowledge; we need to know how to apply it the right ways, in godly, loving ways.

Knowledge, when combined with love, makes wisdom. There’s no greater love than the love shown by Christ on the cross. To embrace this greatest love of all is the truly reasonable, and more than that, wise thing to do.

There’s nothing rational about rejecting the promises of the gospel. There’s nothing smart, and certainly nothing wise, about refusing the love that’s offered in the gospel.

True wisdom is letting Christ love you, and loving Him back, and then sharing that love with others.

The wisdom of the gospel is a beautiful thing. There’s nothing more beautiful than love, especially God’s love for the world, and His love for you, which was shown on the cross.

Faith in Christ is what opens our eyes to see that beauty, and to know the wisdom of it.

If something or someone ever tries to make you feel foolish for believing the Bible, or tries to discredit the gospel, remember that it’s the wisdom and love of God for you, and for the world.

So with Paul in Romans 1:16 we say, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe!

In a culture that’s increasingly deserting the gospel and degrading it, let us have the wisdom and courage to hold on to it, and learn from it, and honor it, for it’s the power and love of God for the world, for you and for all who believe.

Finally, the gospel is the peace of God for you, which passes understanding, and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.