The Wisdom of this Age is Passing Away
There is something that’s been tearing me apart lately, and it’s that which tears the Church apart. As I was reading the following from 1 Corinthians 1, I was filled desire, unquenchable desire.
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought…one says, ‘I follow Paul”; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another ‘I follow Christ.’
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?”
When he names off people, I can just hear him saying, ‘I follow Calvin,’ or ‘I follow Augustine,” or “I follow Lewis,” or, heaven forbid, “I follow Marx.”
Woe to me if I am first associated with a man, and not with Christ!
Paul goes on to say that he didn’t come with worldly wisdom, ‘lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.’ The problem is that people assume that because a teacher is Christian, they do not teach the wisdom of the world. I think the reality is something else entirely. It may seem ridiculous for me to quote anything but the Bible here, but I just read something by Kierkegaard that hits this point directly on the head.
“The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.”
Our minds have tamed us. We want to control what is going on and we don’t want to be led by the Spirit. It is easier that way. We cling to the wisdom of this age.
I recently spoke at a forum at my school, Seattle Pacific University, on homosexuality. There was an openly gay lawyer there that got pretty incensed when I said that before God delivered me “homosexuality was destroying me” and that it was a demonic stronghold in my life. He was livid at my statements and said things like, “The American Psychological Association says that it is harmful to try to change,” and some such nonsense. A friend also spoke to me recently about his journey through sexual addiction. He went to Sexaholics Anonymous and psychiatrists that said he needed pills and psychologists that said that he was, not sinful, but “ill.” Not until he rejected these avenues and embraced the Scriptures and Christ as his only way out, and acknowledged his sin, did he find freedom.
We are like unto the builders of Babel. We mock God with our wisdom and claim the ability to ascend to the heights without His aid. Paul goes on to ask, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? …He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
There are men that I listen to that fear God and teach the Scriptures that learned what they know at seminary, and then there are men that I am certain have stood in the counsel of the Lord. I want to stand in the counsel of the Lord. I have seen a man speak that prayed for a matter of seconds that caused all in his presence to fall upon the floor weeping. I have seen men speak that have such authority that the whole room groans under the power of the Holy Spirit. I want to stand in his counsel.
Damn the wisdom of men, I want the power of God.
I want to be able to say, as Paul said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that you faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
amen
You are totally correct, you are under a demonic stronghold but because of your belief in Yeshua, you can be released from this opression. Put on the full armour of God every day to protect your mind and thoughts and flesh. I’ll be praying for you and asking God to place His angels around you as a hedge of protection and the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide you. Continue to cry out to Him for only He is the solution. Those that try to say that homosexuality is not a sin but an “illness” or something we are born into are simply trying to convince themselves that what they are doing is nothing they need to be accountable for. Stand on God’s Word and promises, Phil 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Jer 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Psalm 23 says, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” I found this site which speaks about how God loves the sinner yet hates the sin and thought you might like to read it http://www.savior-of-all.com/perfect.html . Take care and know that you are precious in Jesus’ sight and I feel it took great courage to speak out.
Hi, Nate.
Great post! 1 Corinthians is a wonderful book. I didn’t realize it until I started to study it. I think you’re right that many people are afraid to be alone with the Bible or to look at it too closely. Actually, it isn’t a simple book. It may seem so to you and me because we have the “mind of Christ”. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us. I won’t go into that too much because I could go on and on, and have done on my own blog. If you’re interested, take a look at my study of 1 Corinthians.
The Bible is both simple and immensely complex. The longer you look at it, the more complex it seems to become. Maybe it’s kind of like looking at a living organism. On the surface, it’s a puppy, say, but the closer you look at the puppy, the more you realize what a wonderful creation he is. There are muscles and ligaments and organs and neurons and cells that are like little, incredibly intricate worlds in themselves, then there is this unbelievable atomic structure and who knows how much more that we have yet to imagine, let alone discover. I think the Bible is like that. The deeper we go, the more we realize we lack the maturity to even see below the surface.
The thing I wanted to say to you, though, is this. God gives us a new heart when we commit ourselves into His hands. We all think we understand this, but maybe we don’t, entirely. I’ve been reading a book, The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard, that talks about this. The thing is that we really can’t do the stuff Jesus commanded. Really. So when you read all those things that kind of scare you because you know you can’t do them, remember that it is God who works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure.
That’s not to say we don’t obey Jesus’ commandments. The point is, though, to obey them by looking to Him and becoming the sorts of people who naturally do those things commanded by the law. You should pick up a copy of this book. I believe it’s helping me in my journey toward becoming like Jesus and I’ll bet it would be a blessing to you as well.
Grace and Peace to you,
Cindy
Yes, we should take Jesus at His Word, reading to find what He actually said. Too often I read to find a loophole: Can I be a Christian and still …..?(fill in the blank with my favorite sin)
When you get people incensed, that is one sign you may be speaking the Truth. I pray you will be one who stands in the counsel of the Lord. Keep speaking the Truth!