Power Behind Wisdom

Intro: Over recent weeks we have been looking at rhetoric or worldly wisdom in contrast with God’s wisdom. We continue that a bit today, but we add to it the strong look at the impact your view of wisdom has in inviting others into the Faith.

Since God works beyond the realm of human things and beyond human understanding and beyond what humans could ever do themselves, many people reject belief in Christianity and instead try to follow logic, experiential science, and while they may consider things that would be hard to do, they are incapable of accepting this that people could never accomplish.

While our faith may never make sense to some people, to us it is nothing less than God doing what only God could do.

Overview of the passage.

Trinitarian passage

God the Father at the end of v1

Son at the end of v2

Spirit at the end of v4

As a whole at the end of v5

Compare and contrast passage

There is a sharp contrast. The two are mutually exclusive.

Excellence of speech, human wisdom:

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (4678. σοφία sophía)

Specifically of the learning and philosophy current among the Greeks and Romans in the apostolic age intended to draw away the minds of men from divine truth, and which stood in contrast with the simplicity of the gospel;

Vs

Testimony/Mystery of God, a Crucified Christ, and a Powerful Holy Spirit.

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament Chapter 2

Wisdom of this world

Wisdom of God

1. A wisdom of words (1:17; 2:4)

1. A wisdom of power, not words alone

(2:4–5)

2. Man’s words (2:4)

2. The Spirit’s words (2:13)

3. The spirit of the world (2:12)

3. The Spirit of God (2:12)

4. Foolishness to God (1:20)

4. Foolishness to men (2:14)

5. The philosopher (1:20)

5. The preacher (1:31; 2:4)

6. Ignorance (1:21)

6. Knowledge of God (2:12)

7. Leads to condemnation (1:18)

7. Leads to glory (1:18; 2:7)

Sharing our faith like the Apostle Paul

How not to do evangelism

Long “one sided” speeches

1 Corinthians 2:13 NKJV

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

When we think about it, we say we want people to have a relationship with God, but then we often give them a lecture and hand them a baptism certificate once we get them wet.

Relationships take time. Relationships take understanding, and even appreciation of what is being offered. While they can spring up instantaneously, most often they take time together.

rhetorical debate

1 Corinthians 2:4 NKJV

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

There is no need to come across as having all the answers. Some of the most annoying people I know always have answers for everything. They might not be super smart, and often are not wise, but they are real quick to share the answer to everyone else’s problems.

2 Peter 1:16 NCV

When we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling just clever stories that someone invented. But we saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes.

Nor should we wait till we have all the answers to share our faith. Living like we are saved, forgiven, and have peace with God will be a rebuke to some and attractive to others.

Proverbs 11:30 ESV

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

c. Boastful and arrogant and as inappropriate as a bull in a china shop.

1 Corinthians 2:3 NKJV

I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

Many who stand on street corners and preach would be guilty of failing to understand this verse. Weakness is not equal to frail, fear does not come from ignorance, and Paul’s trembling does not come from uncertainty, but the gravity of the eternal consequences of getting this point across.

How to approach sharing Christ

a. Declaring the God of our salvation

note the end of verse 1 “declaring to you the testimony of God”

2 Corinthians 1:12 NKJV

For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.

We are not trying to win people to ourselves, our church property, our “club” or our way of thinking. We want people to know God and His salvation, His forgiveness, His mercy, His grace!

Colossians 1:27 NKJV

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

b. Declare the Cross

1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

1 Corinthians 1:23 NKJV

but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

Our faith is not about our feelings or our blessings! As the new song today said, it is about God paying the price for our sin.

Verse 1

The wages of my sin was death You knew I couldn’t pay the debt You paid it with Your final breath Hallelujah, hallelujah

Verse 2 You took the wrath that I deserved Your holy blood broke every curse Your mercy had the final word Hallelujah, hallelujah

Chorus

We sing Christ and Christ crucified

In You we’re raised from death to life We sing Christ and Christ crucified Hallelujah, hallelujah

Verse 3 No sin is bigger than Your blood No shame is stronger than Your love You said it’s finished, it is done Hallelujah, hallelujah

Verse 4 Death couldn’t keep You in the ground You rose in power and took hell down That power’s living in us now Hallelujah, hallelujah

Our rebellion against God was powerfully dealt with. It cost our Saviour His life. I had so many wonderful songs running through my mind this week: His Robes for Mine, Consider Christ, Wonderful Grace of Jesus, and more.

Conclusion: Our Faith is nothing less than God doing God size things.

Human wisdom can not understand how God the Father could ask His Son to die for others (but God’s wisdom already knew the outcome of Resurrection Sunday morning). Human wisdom can’t understand how the death of our leader benefits us immeasurably (substitutionary Atonement). These massive differences are precisely why we need to follow the Apostle Paul’s lead and focus our speech and witnessing on God and what He has done rather than on what sounds good.

q1. When you think of sharing your faith, do you think of sharing God?

Paul declared the testimony of God in weakness, fear and trembling?

q2 How do we declare, even with boldness, and yet maintain a personal understanding of inadequacy for the task at hand?