The Way of Wisdom

Wisdom is skill in the art of living life with each component under the dominion of God… Wisdom includes the ability to use the best means at the best time to accomplish the best ends. It is not merely a matter of information or knowledge, but of skillful and practical application of the truth to the ordinary facets of life. Kenneth Boa

The Way of Wisdom, of godly wisdom, is a way that we much need to consider in a day when wisdom, godly wisdom appears to be rapidly diminishing and vanishing.

Consider…

1 Corinthians 1:20-21.

1 Corinthians 1:20–21 ESV

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

Wisdom is a vanishing trait. The more man moves away from God, the more man rejects him, the less wisdom there is.

FOR wisdom, true wisdom, only comes from God. As man rejects him, we become more and more unwise.

For this reason, church, as followers of Christ, we need to grow more and more in wisdom.

We need to look to the true source of wisdom.

And…

Where is true wisdom found?

In God.

In the Word.

Paul, in this first letter to the Corinthian church was writing to address some significant matters. Among them, their need to find wisdom in God.

They were seeking after the wrong things. The Jews were demanding signs and wonders…The Greeks wanted wisdom/knowledge…

1 Corinthians 1:22-23.

1 Corinthians 1:22 ESV

22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

From the tone here, we can surmise that the wisdom that the Greeks were seeking was not from God…and it was wisdom/knowledge for wisdom/knowledge’s sake.

BOTH were apparently seeking the wrong things or seeking the right things with the wrong motives.

Paul knew where true wisdom and knowledge was found..

1 Corinthians 1:23 ESV

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

The Jews wanted signs…

The Geeks wanted wisdom

Paul gave them the gospel

He gave them the true source of knowledge and wisdom. Have gave them the truest sign.

The word.

Preaching is that wise means of God by which the wisdom of the world is shown to be foolishness, and the folly of the gospel, as the world conceives it, is shown to be true wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21). James Montgomery Boice

Man often runs after that which is less needful (or not needed at all) when what is truly needed is right there.

Paul was writing the first century church here to correct their focus.

Consider our current generations church and their ideas on what is needful in our churches…

What does our church in this generation view as important, as necessary? What do they see as needful in growing a church? Marketing.

No longer is the church seeking signs or even wisdom (the word).

They are seeking comforts and preferences, and pleasures.

The way to grow a church, they claim, is to market that which the people are looking for in a church.

Programs

Multi-media and social media integrations

Better music

Better esthetics (There is something to be said about being a good steward of what you have and caring for the “tools” you use for ministry…but this can be done without placing the main emphasis on the tool)

The comforts people are seeking (seating, coffee, etc)

What was/is God’s method for growing His Church?

The Word

Contemporary Christian literature is awash with the notion that, in order to be effective and successful, we must respond to market forces. In earlier generation, such an approach was unheard of. The tactic employed by Paul in Corinth was far closer to the model of the day. “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” That was his message. Even though the Corinthians we demanding miracles and wisdom, Paul did not give them what they wanted. Indeed, he continued to supply the one thing they clearly did not want – preaching. He rejected the style and content that was most acceptable in his day… It is not possible to give people what they want to hear and proclaim the message of the Cross at one and the same time. Alistair Begg

Point is, man’s wisdom does not align with God’s.

What will grow a church? Sound and faithful teaching of the Word AND a people who desire such, who accept such, who grow by such.

As you read over the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians, you come to find out very quickly that…

worldly wisdom is from man

That it is folly

That it is childish

That it divides

On the other hand

God wisdom is from God, from the Spirit, from the Word

That is is truth

That it is mature

That it unites

The wisdom of man is death and leads to only death and heartache

But the wisdom of God is life and blessing.

Problem is, we tend STILL to live leaning too much on the wisdom of man and too little on the wisdom of God.

This morning, as we look to the new year, I want to challenge us with this…what wisdom is guiding our lives?

What wisdom are we leaning upon?

If we want to grow as a church, as individuals, we must learn to seek the wisdom that God calls good and reject the temptation to rely upon our own.

Using a series of Paul Tripp mediations, I want to walk through 1 Corinthians 1-2 this week and next and consider a few nuggets of godly wisdom that can lead us in the year ahead.

Body

We can wait in patience, for God is faithful to the end - 1 Corinthians 1:4-9.

1 Corinthians 1:4–9 ESV

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

While we wait for the revealing our Lord Jesus Christ…

While we wait for the full and final revealing and unveiling for his return, we CAN wait IN PATIENCE for we know that He will sustain us, guiltless till the end. He WILL be faithful…for He called us into this fellowship and we can trust that.

Man’s wisdom, all too often, thinks that we need to assist God in carrying out his plans a little quicker.

Man, in his wisdom, thinks that we know better than God when he should act.

Wisdom brings patience when we trust that God will be faithful to the end and we can trust in His timing.

Paul tells the church that in every way, you were enriched…

You are not lacking any gift….

You are being sustained to the end…

BECAUSE GOD IS FAITHFUL.

Yes, it’s true - God will remain faithful even when you’re not because his faithfulness rests on who he is, not on what you’re doing.” Paul Tripp

Worldly wisdom tries to tell us that it is based upon OUR performance, our works, our deeds, our faithfulness.

EXAMPLE: Christians who say, I go to church, I give my money, I serve faithfully, I do my devotions, I try to do what God wants…why then is my life so hard? Why do I still struggle so much, suffer so much?

People who struggle to understand why they have trouble when they are doing “everything” that God wants them to…

…have bought into the lie that God’s faithfulness to them, God’s goodness to them is TIED to their performance and deeds.

Christians who expect that God will be “faithful” and keep their life free of trouble because they are doing a good job living for Him.

That is worldly wisdom.

It is man centered wisdom. The thought is that God should be serving us by keeping our life comfortable when we do what is right.

I think you will find that, in general, worldly wisdom, man’s wisdom will often (if not always) be centered around man and not around God.

Truthfully, aren’t we glad that God’s faithfulness is NOT based upon our works but upon His person?

What would happen if God’s faithfulness was based upon our works?

Let me warn us all though, the fact that God’s faithfulness is not based upon our works but upon his faithfulness in no way gives us an excuse for disobedience, laziness, or apathy. We ARE given commands and expectations as follower of Jesus. We ARE expected to obey God’s commands. And we ARE held accountable for doing so.

HOWEVER, when we fail to do so perfectly, which will be often in this sin cursed life, God remains faithful.

HOWEVER, wisdom and truth says, BECAUSE OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS, he takes what we offer and give and brings good out of it, brings fruit out of it.

God does what God does.

God is who God is.

He will do what He will do.

And while we will stand accountable for how well we serve and obey Him, HIS faithfulness, HIS work, HIS will IS NOT dependent on whether or not we are faithful and true.

Worldly wisdom wants to make God’s faithfulness dependent on our deeds and faithfulness (or lack thereof).

Another example of man’s wisdom, is seen in the statement, “God helps those who help themselves.”

What is the problem with this statement?

You will never find in the Bible, but many Christians seem to think is true.

We cannot help ourselves. God has to intervene to help us or we would remain helpless.

God is faithful. Period.

This faithfulness is informed and empowered by HIS character and nature.

God is faithful, BY WHOM YOU WERE CALLED…Jesus.

God is faithful BASED UPON THE SON’s FAITHFULNESS.

And how faithful is the son?

For this reason, we can have confidence and hope that even when we are struggling to remain faithful to God…

Even when we are struggling to walk in righteousness

Even when we are struggling for joy

Even when our obedience lags and wanders

GOD HAS NOT GIVEN UP or ABANDONED the task. He is still hard at work, His faithfulness as steady as His person.

Take that hope into the new year.

Worship was given as a means to protect our focus - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.

One of the affects that our worship, both in private and in our corporate gatherings, should be that our view of life is being shaped and altered to align with the wisdom of God in His word.

As we come to the word in our daily lives…

As we open up the scriptures personally and privately…

As we humbly serve one another, exercising our gifts day by day…

As we come together to hear the teaching and preaching of the word…

As we come together, exercising our gifts and ministries for one another…

We should be challenged and challenging one another in the area of wisdom and understanding.

Let us continue to consider what Paul says to the believers at Corinth.

1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The word of the cross is folly….

Literally nonsense…foolishness.

Man’s idea of the hero is the one who arrives in might, in strength, and in epic deliverance.

Man’s idea of the hero is the one who comes with masculine, muscular strength and unapologetically puts down all the villains.

Man could not contrive of a hero who come in meekness, “weakness,” and simply die without even lifting a finger or word to defend Himself.

Israel certainly could not conceive of this kind of hero.

Any hero stories that show one dying to save everyone else have come SINCE the example of Christ and are truly but shadows of the greatest hero story ever told.

For the world, for the Jew, the very thought of their hero, their deliverer coming and dying on a cross…this was an offense and utterly deplorable concept.

1 Corinthians 1:19–25 ESV

19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

God, for His part, LOVES to humiliate the wisdom we think we possess.

He LOVES to do it BECAUSE by doing so, opens the way for TRUE wisdom to be seen and embraced.

The wisdom we so desperately cling to, thinking it is all that…God has shown to be nothing but utter foolishness.

And when we see it as the utter foolishness, our gaze is invited to lift upward to another, to a greater wisdom.

The wisdom of God, to contrive of a salvation plan such as the cross, totally humiliates the wisdom man thinks he possess and draws us to consider the sheer genius of it.

The cross, the empty tomb then becomes the center piece of all our worship and life.

Even at Christmas, it bears the center…

THUS, our worship, personal and corporate, confront us and challenge us with how we ought to view all of life. It challenges where our focus ought to be time and time again.

Corporate worship is designed to confront you with a view of life that has at its center a dead man’s cross and a living man’s empty tomb. Paul Tripp

I add to this, private or personal because BOTH our corporate and our private worship should seek to accomplish this.

Church, how do you and I view life?

Is our every decision made in light of the gospel, in light of the cross?

Practically speaking, what does it look like to have a view of life that is informed and shaped by the cross and empty tomb?

We tend to approach life in terms of our preferences and desires. In short, we tend to approach life in terms of our selfish wants and wishes.

When we want to sit and relax while others do the work to serve us.

When we refuse to be inconvenienced for the sake of others

When we fight and squabbler over our preferences instead of deferring to another’s desire and interests

We insist OUR way must be the way it is done.

The cross invites us to come, not selfishly, but SELFLESSLY.

Living life in light of the gospel means that I have to lay down my life, my wants, my preferences, my desires IN ORDER TO PLACE ANOTHER’S ABOVE MY OWN.

When we live life in light of the gospel, it means that even though I REALLY do not want to do something, because God calls me to live selflessly and place another’s needs and wants above my own, I will happily and joyfully do what I know means a lot to another to do, because it is not about me, but it is about loving and serving others.

It means sharing that last helping of my favorite Christmas dish because living in light of the gospel means I do not put my interests and wants first.

It means that even though I would rather sit and relax, I get up to go help because is not about putting my wants and desires first.

It means letting someone else have the favorite seat in the house.

It means letting someone else go first instead of insisting I go first because they ALWAYS get to go first

It means taking time to stop talking and really listen to what is important to someone else.

It means be slow to become defensive and quick to listen for the heart and desires, and needs of another.

It means we show more grace and patience that is deserved because we know how much we have recieved and we know that change takes time.

It means that we are always living in a loving way; unselfishly choosing for another’s highest good.

It means be sensitive to the needs and cares of others and not only looking out for my own.

It means living selflessly, just like Christ did when He died for us.

It means that perhaps we do live more by taking the short of the stick and sacrificing than being treated fairly and clinging to our rights.

It means living with a dead man’s cross and a living man’s tomb EVER AND ALWAYS in the center of our focus.

The wisdom of God lives with THIS FOCUS in mind, at all times.

It means learning to live with a mentality of OUTDOING one another in honor…Romans 12:10 “10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

This is the heart of what Philippians 2 speaks about.

Philippians 2:1-11.

Philippians 2:1–11 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Living according the wisdom of God means allowing our private and corporate worship to challenge us to have a view of life that keeps the cross and the empty tomb ever and always in view…and that subsequently calls us to selfless living.

Do you realize how much more peace, joy, and unity there would be in the world if we all learned to live with this view in mind, all the time?

Man’s wisdom tells us to live with a view of life that includes the desires of our hearts, our passions and interests, our goals and dreams.

God’s wisdom teaches us to live with HIS.

Which, by the way, as we grow in our love for God BECOMES our desires and goals.

The Way of wisdom teaches us that worship gives us a means to keep the proper focus in every day of our lives.

The way of wisdom calls us to consider the truth of God’s faithfulness

Thirdly, the way of wisdom tells us that…

We can trust even when we do not understand - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.

Look at these same verses again but pick up reading at verse 26.

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 ESV

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

How much do you think you really understand and know about life and this world in which we live?

The older I get, the more I learn, the more I realize how little I actually know or understand.

This is wisdom. To understand that we know or understand pathetically little.

In fact, the more we learn from science, the more we realize there is still SO MUCH MORE that we fail to grasp.

Articulated in these verses is the reality that, at times, more often than not, we will lack knowledge and understanding.

And truthfully, what wisdom and knowledge we do display comes from Him, above.

And in truth, we tend to find, what we think we know, what we think we understand gets obliterated in view of God’s fuller and more complete understanding.

All that we TRULY know and understand comes ONLY as we look to HIS knowledge and understanding.

Worldly wisdom is teaching us to trust in ourselves, that we know what is best, that we are good and true and if we follow our hearts, we will be led into what is right.

And yet…

Jeremiah 17:9.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

This tells me that the heart of man, unregenerated is sick.

And even regenerated it is still plagued by sin and the fleshly desires.

We are not trustworthy. We are not good.

The wisdom of this world deceptively teaches that believing in the inherent goodness of one’s “self” is foundational to a fulfilled life. However, this erroneous viewpoint overlooks the devastating results of Adam and Eve’s failure to obey God. Scripture teaches that a fulfilled life is not dependent of having a “good self-image” or a “higher self-esteem.” Instead, fulfillment in living depends on your relationship to God and a biblical response to the problem of “self.” John Broger

Truth is, Church, we lack true knowledge and understanding.

We lack the view full, the full picture of things.

We fail to see as clearly as we need to.

We need another who is higher, wiser, smarter, and more knowledgeable.

And we have such one.

Since we lack knowledge and wisdom, we are called to behold and trust in the infinite wisdom of God.

Since we do not have it, we are called to and invited to the one who does.

THIS demands and dictates that you and I, ALL OF US, be avid and diligent students of the word…

Reading for knowledge

AND

Understanding

SO THAT

We may LIVE OUT what we learn.

It also means we learn to trust God, even when we do not yet fully understand…

We will ALWAYS lack understanding

Thus, if we wait till we know all or understand all before we trust, we will never trust.

Being aware of our short sightedness, our inadequacies, are incomplete knowledge and understanding, we have to lean upon the one who knows no lack.

If you trust only when you understand, you’ll live with lots of doubt. God’s wisdom is bigger than anything your mind can conceive. Paul Tripp

Truth is…we may OFTEN be called to trust, to obey even when we lack understanding and knowledge.

Joseph and Mary, as we saw, were prime examples of this.

As we considered the Hebrews Faith Hall of Fame in chapter 11 on Christmas Eve, history of FULL Of people who lacked understanding, lacked complete knowledge, lacked a full view of what God had in mind…

AND YET THEY TRUSTED

and said YES to impossible things.

God calls us to TRUST HIM, not plans, not understanding.

Proverbs 3:5-6.

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

What do these verses call us to trust in?

Wisdom?

Understanding?

Knowledge?

NO. A person. God.

And when we trust Him, we can act without full understanding because we do not need to see the full plan before we can act upon it.

Conclusion

Big Idea: The way of wisdom invites us to trust in God’s wisdom; the safest and truest wisdom to guide our lives.

The Way of Wisdom Challenges Us in Six Ways (Not Exhaustive)

We can wait in patience, for God is faithful to the end - 1 Corinthians 1:4-9.

Worship was given as a means to protect our focus - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.

We can trust even when we do not understand - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.

The Way of Wisdom challenges us to trust in God’s faithfulness.

It challenges us to view our private and corporate worship as a means to affect our view of life and shape it into an eternal view.

It challenges us to trust God even in our uncertainty and incomplete knowledge and understanding.

To search for wisdom apart from Christ means not simply foolhardiness but utter insanity. John Calvin

Next week, we will consider three more challenges of the Way of Wisdom.

It is my prayer that as we seek for wisdom, we would do so NOT in foolhardy or INSANE ways, but in truth and discernment.

If we accept the challenges of The Way of Wisdom, we will find that we WILL BE growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.

Application

What does it mean for you to embrace a 'Way of Godly Wisdom' in your life?

What practical steps can you take to ensure your actions align with God's wisdom rather than worldly wisdom?

How can you practice putting others' needs above your own in school or at home?

Why is it important to view corporate worship as a means of shaping our understanding of life?

In what specific ways can your faith community support each other in seeking God’s wisdom?

What are some common influences in your life that may lead you away from seeking godly wisdom?

What role does prayer play in maintaining trust in God's wisdom during tough decisions?

How can you differentiate between trusting God's wisdom and relying on your own understanding when making choices?

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