1 Corinthians 2:6-10 (NIV)
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. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 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—
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
Even though Paul might not have been considered wise by many of those in the world (he was only even called insane by a Roman governor not too many years after this letter was written—Acts 26:24), he did possess a wisdom that was of a far higher sort than that of the most exalted philosophers of his day or since. This wisdom did not come from the musings of mere human beings, but from God Himself.
Paul calls this wisdom, “a mystery that has been hidden”, but it is only hidden from those who insist on attaining it through their own strength and striving. To those who come to God’s kingdom like children (Matthew 19:14), this wisdom is instantly accessible (Matthew 11:25-26).
To Paul, the surest sign that the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers did not have this divine wisdom is their conspiring together to crucify Jesus, the Lord of glory. Taking Him out of the way had seemed expedient at the time, but that was mere human short-sightedness, human wisdom based solely on physical realities, because it is blind to the spiritual dynamics of a situation, and often denies them altogether. But in using human wisdom and turning away from God’s wisdom, these leaders brought down judgment on themselves and their whole community. Choosing human wisdom over God’s wisdom always has terrible consequences.
But the wisdom of God is not inaccessible. Indeed, since Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, it has been completely accessible to all who are willing to set aside their own striving and simply trust in Jesus; those who are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit. These are the truly wise people of the world because they possess God’s divine wisdom.
Father, as You said through Isaiah (55:8-9 NIV), “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. And that is just as true today as it was all those centuries ago. But, Lord, far too many of Your people, leaders in the church, still tend to rely on their own logic and reason instead of looking to You to figure out the correct path in our current chaotic world. So, we miss the path of God’s wisdom, and end up leading the people in our congregations astray. Help us to set aside our own, small, human wisdom and turn again to You, the all-knowing, all-wise God, to guide our hearts, our minds and our actions today. Amen.