God's Wisdom vs. Man's Wisdom

Today, we're going to read from two passages of scripture, both of them short. It won't take too long. 1 Corinthians chapter 1:es 17 and 18. And then we'll read 1 Corinthians chapter 2:es 4-5. Paul writes this, "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ be made of none effect.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God." And from 1 Corinthians chapter 2, beginning at verse four, Paul said, "My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power." That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Lesson's title today is God's wisdom versus that of man's or man's wisdom. Last week, we began a study on the book of First Corinthians. very interesting book.

It is unique among Paul's letters. First, it's unique because it was written to answer questions that were sent to Paul from the Corinthian church. It sent them and asked him about some situations, things they were dealing with. But not only that, it is unique because it really wasn't written to develop a theological idea or to expound deep spiritual truths as Romans was or Ephesians, some of Paul's other books. But interestingly, it does do both because our theology will always inform our actions.

What we believe, the things we deeply believe, and the things that we study from the word of God will and should impact the way we live our lives. And so, you can never really separate the two. Paul is going to give some very practical instruction, but all along the way, he's throwing in here's why I tell you this. Here's why we believe this. So first Corinthians is a pastoral letter to those who were falling far short of the spiritual maturity that Paul hoped for.

So it was uh the many problems, many situations going on there and Paul had to address those as their founding pastor. And so as we saw last week, he he reprimanded them for being babes in Christ. He said, "You you haven't grown up. you're still where I left you uh when I started that church. It's interesting in some of his other epistles, Paul opens those letters extolling the good things that he knew about those that he was writing to. For instance, in Colossians, he wrote this in 1 three and four.

We give thanks to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have to all the saints. So he could commend them for that. I I'm hearing about the great faith you have and I'm hearing that you love one another.

And so I want to remember that to the Thessalonians in the first letter he wrote, he said, "We give thanks to God always for you, making mention you of prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith and your labor of love and the patience of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing, brethren, your election of God." We can see that how you are living. You you have that faith. You're patient even though they were going through tribulations. said, he said, "I I see this faith and the labor of love.

You're you're still living for God." And then he wrote him again in second Thessalonians, and he said, "We're bound to thank God always for you, brethren, because that your faith grows exceedingly." So now he he had commended them for their faith in the first letter. And he writes again, he said, "Your faith, it just keeps growing in the charity of every one of you toward one another aboundeth." So I'm seeing all this love of one another.

He said, ' So that we ourselves, he said, 'We actually glory you in the churches of God for your patience and your faith. So I'm talking about you as I go around. Look what's happening in Thessalonica. And yet see how they are still living for God. And finally, the church in Romans Rome, Paul wrote in Romans 1 7 and8. He said, "To all that be in lom, you're beloved of God. You're called to be saints. Grace and peace be unto you." He said first I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the world.

So he commends them for that faith. Then he gets to the Corinthians and it's not quite that way. Although he had founded that church and he had spent over a year and a half with them. He found very little which to commend them for. In fact, it's interesting. He could not rejoice in their faith. He could not rejoice in their hope. He could not rejoice in their love or their charity or all those kind of things. Here's what he did say. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.

So I'm thankful for God's grace that is upon you. You need it Corinthians because of the way you're living your lives. But then he said this that in everything and and this is a positive to some extent. He said that in everything you are enriched by him in all utterance, in all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ is concerned in you, so that you come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, to be sure, there's nothing wrong with gifts, right? Spiritual gifts. There's nothing wrong with that.

The Greek word there, charismas, these gifts of grace, gifts that God has given you. There is nothing wrong with that. Yet, the Corinthians viewed them as a badge of honor. and they felt that if because one was gifted with a gift that someone else didn't have, maybe they they felt like they were more spiritual than others and that they were on a different plane although they weren't living a life that was conducive to a Christians. And so this attitude was a cause of great divisions among the churches in Corenth.

And we see that I guess you could say and this is was a popular term in the 70s. Oh, they went charismatic. Well, that's what happened in Corenth. Charismatic talking about gifts, talking about the workings of the spirit. There's nothing wrong with the working of the spirit, but we still have to live the right kind of life, right? And so this attitude, it was a cause for great division because uh and we will get into that in later lessons as we look at some of the things Paul addressed.

But as we observed last week, the believers were spiritually immature. They had a fleshly or a carnal orientation and they behaved, Paul said, like mere men. You're not behaving like spiritual people. You're just behaving like the typical men and women of the world. He said some of them no doubt due to their giftings had an inflated view of their own wisdom and thought, well, I'm better than this person or that person because God has given me this gift. And and they looked at themselves with pride.

And last lesson we looked at the first part of chapter 1 and then we went over to chapter three and looked at some of those divisions and how Paul addressed the fact that they were divided under different leadership and different favorite preachers, if you will, and different ways they did that. Uh, but nestled in between those portions are the text for today's lessons. In some ways, I think Paul got a little ahead of himself. He would do that in his white writing.

and he would go off on a little bit of tangent then he'd come back to his subject and he wanted to adjust thress those divisions but he took about a chapter and a half to correct their views on what makes one wise in the kingdom of God and so that's a concept we are studying today so with that introduction let's let's dive right into the text in verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 1 Paul said Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Now, of course, we understand Paul had no issue with baptism. In fact, he makes it clear that it was an integral part of the gospel that he preached. He was But here's the thing. Paul was content to preach the gospel and let somebody else do the baptizing. He was content to say, "Here's let me present unto you Jesus. Let me turn you to Christ. Let me let me show you the power of the cross. let me do all these things.

And then when when they began to be saved, begin to express their faith in God, he would say, "You need to get baptized." And he would let somebody else. He knew his calling in Christ. I think that's important. We talked about that last week. He knew his calling in Christ. And he had no issues with others following those. In fact, if you think about it, his letters constantly, we see it in several of them. He talks about us all being one body. We're all part of the body of Christ, and we're all members, one of another.

And I think Paul understood he wasn't just writing that as an analogy for others, but it was a way of life for him. He was comfortable to say,"I planted and I'll let somebody else water it. I'll let somebody else take care of of growing it, and God is going to give the increase." So, he was comfortable in his calling and election that God had called him to to be the one that would establish the churches, but let someone else do some of the other work. And so, he attends his turns his attention to his preaching. He understood.

He said, "My preaching was not with wisdom of words." In the original language, that word of is not there. And so really, it is not with wisdom words. It's a little bit different there. If it wisdom of words, we kind of see wisdom as being an adjective describing the words. Uh they were wise words, but really both words are noun. And so what Paul was referring to was wisdom as defined by the Greek philosophers, wisdom words. These are a category, if you will, of words. This Greek philosophy kind of thing, these wisdom words.

And so this wisdom speech, this wisdom speaking, this wisdom talking round counter to the wisdom of God. And he said, "So I didn't come with wisdom words. I in other words, I didn't try to go with philosophy and convince you of why you should serve God or why God exists or anything else. He said, I just came preaching to you. And here's why. He said, lest the cross of Christ should be name made of none effect. That word none effect. That there means empty or useless or vain. I'm not coming to convince you with my great intellect.

I'm not coming to convince you with my mind, he said, and with my words of wisdom and all this philosophies and other things. What I'm coming is to preach the cross of Jesus Christ. That's where the power is. That's where the answer is, not in convincing you otherwise. The philosophies and the wisdom of men add nothing to the power of the cross. You could come up with all kinds of ideas of why it happened and try to figure everything out. But no ideas of man will ever save one soul.

It's only through the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross that we can be saved. Nothing else works. Not trying to figure out who we are and who God is and where we fit in this and and come up with all these philosophies and and everything else. It's only the blood of Jesus that can change our life. Aren't you thankful that blood never loses its power. It's just as real today and it's just as able to change life. In fact, he confirms this in the next B verse. He said, "The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.

But to us which are saved, it is the power of God." Some among the Corinthians apparently were convinced that worldly wisdom, wisdom, words, philosophy, as Paul would call it, vain deceit, other things like that. He said, "You would look at those things." They they somehow thought that's the message we're supposed to proclaim. We're going to go out in the world and we're going to debate and we're going to argue and we're we're going to come with wisdom words and philosophy and convince you that the right way. That erroneous view needed corrected.

And Paul informed them that the only legitimate message to declare was the wisdom of God as seen in the word of God. It was only the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And he would make it clear to them later in 1 Corinthians 15 what that gospel was. He said, "I declare unto you in 15:1, the gospel which I preached unto you, which you have received and wherein you stand and by which you are saved." He said, "This is it. It's the one you heard. It's the one you received. You stand in it.

You're saved in it. If you keep in memory what I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain. In other words, this is the gospel that you were given. Don't go off in some tangent and believe something else or try to figure it out with philosophy. He said, "I delivered unto you first of all, that's what I also received. Christ died for your sins according to the scripture. He was buried. And that he rose again on the third day according to the scripture." That's the gospel message.

You can come any other way and any other door in any other direction and you'll never get where the gospel message will take you. It's the death. It's the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He said that gospel that comes. He said the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. It them that perish that word the way it is written it is means they are perishing. They are in a process of perishing. They're heading toward spiritual death. And the reason that they are perishing is they have rejected the message of the cross.

You see, we're either dead in our trespasses of sin or we are made alive in Jesus Christ. There's really no other way about it. If we are not made alive by the power of the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ, if his death, burial, and resurrection, his gospel is not changing our lives, then we are dead in trespasses of sin. And so he said, they are perishing. The same message though that is foolishness to those that are perishing, it is the power of God unto salvation. I'm thankful for the power of God. Again, that word saved, it's it's an active thing.

It is a sense of we are being saved. Yes, there is a sense that we have been saved. He has saved us when he made possible a plan of salvation. There in sense we are being saved as we go through this life. It is a process of salvation and conforming to the image of Jesus Christ. And in a sense we will be saved in the future completely when we see him and this corruptible is changed to incorruptible and we are saved for eternity. Now last week we talked a little bit about Paul's state of mind when he left Athens and he came to Cor Corinth.

He was in a crisis moment if you will. But that moment solidified I think once and for all in Paul's mind the absolute necessity of preaching the cross. He had gone to Athens Athens and tried it a different way. He had tried wisdom words if you will. He talked their philosophy and tried to convince them of Jesus. But here's the thing. Without the cross, no other preaching will matter. Without the cross, can I tell you, we're not saved by learning to do good. There are some that want to take the Bible and pull out the good things that Jesus said.

Love your neighbor, be a good Samaritan, do all those things, but we'll just kind of throw out all the rest of it. Doesn't work that way. You will not be saved by just deciding to do good. You will not be saved by choosing to say, "From now on, I'm going to live godly. I'm going to clean up my life." We're not saved because we come to church every week. We're not saved for any of these reasons, although they are good. Without the work of the cross, they don't mean anything. It's only salvation through the blood of Jesus that puts us on the right path.

That puts us in the right position with God. That puts us in a place where we can do good, where we can live godly, where we can be a part of his kingdom and his body and his church. He goes on to say in verse 19, for it is written, God says, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. So you think you're wise. You think you know it all. You think you figured it out. You're philosopher with your philosophy and everything else. He said, "I'm going to destroy that wisdom.

I'm going to bring to nothing or I'm going to make useless the understanding of the prudent. It's not going to matter." Paul was appealing to Isaiah 29:14 where Isaiah wrote, he said, "Therefore," God speaking to to judgment that was ready to fall on Jerusalem and Judea because of their rejection of him.

He said, "Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work and not necessarily marvelous in a good way among his people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent man shall be hid." And so Paul reaches back and he grabs that scripture and he said, "This is what happens to the wise. It's going to be destroyed.

It's going to be brought to nothing." That idea is that many people would give lip service to God and they would claim to be Christian, but they don't really give their hearts to God. They really don't go to Calvary and they don't get covered by the blood of Jesus. their their approach to God is based on human traditions and ideas rather than on God's wisdom.

In fact, Isaiah 13 29:13 says it this may this people draw near to me with their mouths and with their lips they do honor me but they've removed their hearts far from me and their feet their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Word there precept means the commandments of men.

the problem for ancient Judah and it is a problem for those in the first century church and it is the problem for us today if we're not careful that rather than embracing what God's plan is and what God has to say which is God's wisdom they substitute human commandments and human wisdom and Jesus condemned that type of a thing he condemned it as Paul is doing here in Matthew 15 he says this he answered and said unto the scribes the Pharisees he said why do you transgress ress the commandments of God by your tradition. You've set up all these laws.

He said, "You're hypocrites." Well, did I say Isaiah pro prophesy of you, saying, "This people draws nigh to me with my mouth. They honor thee with their lips, but their heart is from far from me." But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. We could set all kinds of rules and regulations. Say this. That's what the Jews did.

They took the law and then they they just conflated it and added a whole bunch more to it and say, "Well, this is what this means and this is how you follow this one and this is what you do with that one and this is and they just made the law just pretty well useless because they had their own rule book." Jesus condemned it. You see, the wisdom of man will never surpass the wisdom of God. So Paul asked the question in verse 20, "So where is the wise, the Greek philosophers, those speaking the wisdom words? Where is the scribe?

That would be the the Jewish person that knew the word of God. Really the the legal scholars of the word of God, if you will, that that understood what and and went through there. Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer? The ones that would deny truth and debate against it. Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made the foolish? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? You see the wisdom of this world will never draw people to Jesus Christ. That was evident in Paul's day.

In fact, the fact the believing community did not include many who were considered wise by secular standard. He said, he said, "Look around you. Not many wise." Human wisdom can't stand before God. It's not that God just ignores it, but he exposes it as foolishness. You can you can choose to believe that. But let me show you what truth is is what he said. Rather than being captivated by worldly wisdom and rather than fearing that worldly wisdom would damage the gospel, Paul didn't worry about that. Jesus didn't worry about that.

God did not worry that the worldly wisdom was. We should recognize that the wisdom of the world is empty at its core. There is no substance. It will collapse. It will not stand. I mean even the psalmist said a couple thousand years before that that he will laugh at their command calamity. He said those that that think themselves wise. He said the fool has said in his heart there's no God. The foolish those that through their philosophies can write God out of the picture.

He said for after that in the wisdom verse 21 of God the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. That first part's a little confusing. For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. What Paul is saying is God in his wisdom decided that you can't get there through your wisdom. in God's wisdom because of the the world by its wisdom would never be able to find God. You'll never be wise enough to find God.

You'll never be in your own thinking and the only way that's for those that say, "Well, I'm working out my own way to God and you know, we all get there some way somehow and you do it that way and I'll do it." If you're doing it your way, you're not going to get there. You will never be wise enough because the way has already made by God himself. And he said it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Talking about preaching that Paul was not talking about just getting up and spouting words.

Preaching the message of the cross. Preaching the gospel message. I don't think Paul meant to call preaching foolish. He wasn't saying that. But he was pointing out that to those who thought they were wise, they looked at it and say, 'Well, that's silly. That's foolishness. And so Paul picks up that argument in the next verse in verse 22 and 23. He said, "For the Jews require a sign. The Greeks, they seek after wisdom. But here's what we do. We preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews, it's a stumbling block. And under the Greeks, it's foolishness.

The Jews require a sign. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, there were always those, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, others that would look at Jesus and they insisted, "Well, Lord, if you're really the Messiah, give us a sign. Show us something." Matthew 16 verse one. The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came and tempted a desiring him. Show us a sign from heaven.

And he answered them and he said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh a sign." But then he said this, "There shall be no sign given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." The fact that Jesus that the Jews wanted a confirming sign was not what made them wicked and adulterous. But the fact was they prevented them from discerning the signs of the times. They didn't understand. And the most significant sign of all was a sign of the prophet Jonah who was in the belly of the whale or the fish for three days and nights.

It was symbolic that Jesus said the son of man, he's going to be in the earth for three days and then he's going to rise again. It was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the sign that was given to him in which we was powerfully declared to be the son of God.

So when Paul wrote that the Jews require a sign then not point is not that there was no sign given but that they rejected it a sign that should have been convers convincing to anyone with faith but those who will not believe on Jesus even though he's risen from the dead will not believe on him and under any circumstances and he said so the Jews desire a sign and he said the Greeks all they're seeking after is wisdom wisdom words just as the believing Jews rejected the sign that had been given and insisted on other things.

So the unbelieving Greeks rejected the wisdom of God and their pursuit of secular education and secular wisdom. We saw that in Athens when Paul was there and he's speaking and and when he gets to a certain point, he said talking about Jesus, he said it was confirmed and that God raised him from the dead and they said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're done. We were listening to you while you were talking philosophy. We were listening to you while you were quoting our poets and everything else, but you're talking about somebody raising from the dead.

Yeah, we'll hear you. We'll talk to you later about that. In rejecting the resurrected Jesus, the unbeliev Jews rejected the wisdom of God. Rejected it. So Paul goes on, "But we preach Christ crucified. Neither G Greek nor Jew would accept the idea of crucifixion as a mean of salvation. They looked at that and said that doesn't make sense. That word crucified there Paul did talked about he said you are crucified. He was put to death and this continued proclamation of the crucifixion was a continuous stumbling back block to the unbelieving Jews.

said to the Jews, "It's it's a stumbling block. We we can't get over that." It's interesting that word there, scandalon, in the Greek, it's translated stumbling block. In our English would mean it was scandalous to them. It was a scandal. It didn't make sense. Now, we understand in Deuteronomy 21:22, Moses gave this instruction. If a man hath committed a sin worthy of death, and he be he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day.

And then it said, for he that is hanged, is a cursed of God. And so to the unbelieving Jews, to declare that their Messiah had been crucified, was lifted up for everybody to see on a cross was scandalous to them. They would look at Jesus and say, "You're a cursed of God." And so that was a stumbling block. What they didn't understand was he that knew no sin became sin for us. And that sin, yes, was a curse by God.

But God said, "Because you were faithful unto death and you bore the sins of many, I'm going to raise you from the dead." And to the Jews, it was a stumbling, but they couldn't get over these. He's a curse by God. No, you don't understand. He took your sin. It wasn't that he he that knew no sin took your sin. And so, it was a stumbling block. To the Greeks, they saw the crucifixion as foolish. Doesn't mean anything. The word there is from the Greek is where we get the word They said, "Well, that's moronic. That doesn't even make sense. That's silly.

That that's useless." The Romans viewed crucifixion as as a form of capital punishment that was usually reserved for slaves or for the the worst of crim criminals. And Roman society was built around status and power. And everybody kind of knew where your rank was. And to associate power, particularly the power of salvation to a crucified man made no sense to them. And so it appeared foolish. And Greek philosophy also made this distinction between heavenly spiritual things and earthly things. And they saw no connection really between the two.

And so they couldn't comprehend how the physical death of a man on a cross could do the spiritual work of redeeming man from sin. But thankfully in verse 24 we find there are those who embrace just that notion that one could die for my sins. But of them which are called you can be a Jew, you can be a Greek. We proclaim Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Whereas the unbelieving Jews are still seeking a sign although it's been given.

And the unbelieving Greeks or or the Gentiles, if you will, are still seeking wisdom, although the most exalted wisdom revealed. Those who believe preach Christ crucified. They've been convinced by the resurrection that he's the Messiah. They've embraced Jesus as the highest wisdom of God, not the wisdom of man. Ethnicity wasn't the issue here. He wasn't talking about Jews. They want He wasn't really He was just saying, "Well, that's where you happen. That's where your belief system is. Unbelieving Greeks, unbelieving Gentiles, unbelieving Jews.

But they're also both Jews, Greeks, bond, free, male, female. Paul Paul lists them all in other places. He said they're all saved by the power of God because they found the power of God in the wisdom of Jesus Christ. And then he he throws out a really an understatement or maybe even a a silly idea. He said the foolishness of God is wiser than men. We understand God's not foolish. But even if he were at his very lowest and there is no low point, it's going to be better than anything man can do.

And the weakness of God, although he's omnipotent and there is no weakness, he said if if you look at that and think that's weakness, it's still stronger than anything man can do. The gospel message, although it may be perceived by unbelievers to be foolish and weak, is actually wiser and stronger than you're ever going to be to try to figure it out yourself. Not only do unbelievers consider the gospel message to be foolish, sometimes they consider those who deliver it to be foolish. Somebody may be thinking that today as I teach this lesson.

The perception seems to be that intentional, I think God did that intentionally to avoid any occasion for us to boast. I didn't come up with this great idea of why you should live for God. I'm just going to tell you he died for your sins. I can't boast in that. He did it all. It's not my wisdom. And so Paul says, "You see your calling, brethren. There weren't many wise men after the flesh. Not many mighty.

Not many noble are called and he's pointing that out to them those in Corinth but it is true for all of us God you don't see a lot of people that are trying to figure it out in their head and they can't get beyond that and as Corinthians surveyed the congregation they saw that there were me those placed their faith in J in Jesus that many would not consider wise or mighty or noble if people became Christians because of persuasive and rheto rhetorical influence influence by speakers, the focus would be on those who convince them.

And so to avoid that, God uses those that the world might consider foolish and weak and of low social standing. I know not everyone that way, but you know what? I've seen preachers with little no education preach with the power and anointing of God. And he looks at, "Wow, how did they get that?" I've seen people healed. I've seen people saved because they responded to the message if someone would look at and say, "Well, that's just a a simple whatever." As a minister of the gospel or even if you're a saint teaching a Bible study, here's what we should do.

We need to study to do our best. We need to know what we can know from the word of God. But we must never forget the power is in the message, not in your presentation. Work on it. Get it down. But stay true to the message and realize it's the message that's going to make the difference. If you're hesitant to share the gospel because you say, "Well, I'm not qualified." Take Paul's word to heart. God will work in it. Go ahead and give that testimony. Go ahead and tell how God changed your life.

He goes on in verse 27, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, chosen the weak things to confound the things which are mighty and base things and things which are despised. God's chosen. Yay. And things which are not or don't even exist to bring it not things that are. Paul used all kind of disparaging terms there to convey an unbelievers the unbeliever's assessment of the message. Yeah. It seems to you foolish. God's using things that that you're looking at that that doesn't seem worth.

As far as you're concerned, the whole idea of man dying to redeem the human race is ludicrous. And with their exaltation of wisdom and power, the death of Jesus seemed to to be a foolish and a weak and a base thing. The good news was to them was just empty of any suspectment. But to those who believe the gospel is the power of God to salvation. I'm thankful to be among people that believe that today, that power is here today. That power has not changed.

If you will believe Jesus Christ died for your sins, if you repent of those sins and then express your faith in Jesus death through baptism in his name, you identify with him in baptism, you will experience the power of the resurrection as he fills you with the spirit. That's the gospel message. As Jesus was died and as he was buried and rose again, Paul said we die with him in repentance.

We die out to ourselves in our carnal nature and we say, "I'm going to crucify it as he was crucified." We are buried with him in baptism and we rise to walk in a newness of life as his spirit comes into our life. Embrace God's wisdom. Embrace it. Don't try to figure it out with your philosophies and your ideas, but embrace it and you will never regret it.

I encourage you today if you don't know the power of God through the power of the spirit and through the being cleansed by his blood looking to Calvary looking to Jesus as being the answer to your sin and answer that can put you in right standing with God. I encourage you to do that today. Paul said it this way in verse 29. Here's why God did it. that no flesh could glory in his presence. You don't earn your salvation. You can't come up with it the plan yourself. It's God's plan. It's God's way.

So, I can't boast and say, "Here, I come up with this great idea how everybody can be saved." No. Flesh can't do it. It's only through Jesus Christ. And then verse 30, just a beautiful verse. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus. You're in Christ Jesus who of God. He's made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi, sanctification, and redemption. It's all in Jesus Christ. In Christ alone, you receive the benefits of the gospel. Not human wisdom, but the wisdom of God through Jesus Christ. We're recipients of God's wisdom.

That's why Paul wrote the verse that we read in in chapter two. my speech and my preaching, it wasn't enticing words of man's wisdom. It was demonstration of the spirit and of power. Why? So your faith wouldn't stand in the wisdom of men. So it wasn't in all these wise philosophies and I'll follow him because of what he said. But it is the power of God. He said, "Yes, we do speak wisdom among them that are perfect. We do talk about the things of God. But yet it's not the wisdom of the world that we speak. We speak the wisdom of God. This hidden wisdom.

this this mystery of of godliness, this fact that Jesus came and gave his life for he said we preach that to you which none of the princes of this world knew if they do they would not had they would not have crucified the lord of glory so that is where wisdom lies that gospel message secondly he said you are recipent of the righteousness of god that is in Christ Jesus you can't be good enough to approach God righteousness is a legal word and has to do with a right standing with God. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

All those things, there is none that doeth righteous, know not one, the scripture tells us, but we are made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. For he hath made him, as we've said earlier, to be sin for us who knew no sin. And here's the reason, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. I can't boast in that in self. I can't boast in that with my intellect. It's only the work of Calvary. Because of what he did, I completed that blood. It covers me. He washed my sins away. He took care of it.

Third, we are recipients of the sanctification of God. That word sanctification implies a setting apart. God has set us apart for his purpose and for his use. Uh some would translate that word holiness, but but it is being set apart for God's purpose. Genuine holiness, genuine sanctification can't be done just by human wisdom. Well, I'm going to figure out a way to be better and I'm going to reform and I'm going to do this. No, it takes a sanctification of the spirit.

writer of Hebrews said, "By the which we are all we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, not in my works, not anything else. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." He set us apart. He's placed us in the kingdom of God. Aren't you thankful for that? Fourth, he said, "You are the recipients of redemption." That means he has bought us. You are bought with a price. You're not your own. would tell the Corinthians.

Peter said this, "You are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot. Not by your own wisdom, not by what you figured out, but by the blood of Jesus." And finally, because the gospel was not humanly conceived, it's not man's wisdom. Here's what he said. That according it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. in the Lord. If we do anything today, we need to thank Jesus for the blood that he shed for us.

Not by my wisdom, not by my works and deeds of righteousness, not by anything that I can do or I can conceive or I can think of or some plan that I come up with. It's only because of Jesus Christ. So, if we're going to glory, we're going to glory in him. Aren't you thankful to know Jesus? Amen. Let's stand. I think it'd be good if we would just glory in him for a little bit here. Just thank him for his goodness. So thankful, Lord, for your power. So thankful for your grace.

So thankful, Lord, for the giftings and the things that you have given and so many things. But most of all, thankful for the cross of Calvary. Thankful for the blood that you shed that can make us clean. Hallelujah. That can wash our sins completely away. That can put us in right standing with God. That sanctifies and separates us. that make us that holy people you desire us to be, Lord Jesus, that has redeemed us from our sinful lifestyle. We thank you for it, Jesus. We thank you. We lift you up. We glorify your name. We praise you. We exalt you.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Worthy is the lamb of God. Hallelujah. We thank you, Savior. We thank you, Savior.