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Secret Wisdom

Secret Wisdom
Words of Faith 4-28-17
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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1 Corinthians 2
[6] 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. [7] No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. [8] None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. [9] However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--
[10] but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

Sometimes we lose sight of just how big God is. We can get so focused on the worry of the moment or the flurry of the day that we miss the fact that God has been at this for a very long time! He is really good at being in charge of things. His plan for salvation was not some accident that He turned around for good, as some have suggested. God started thinking about you and your days even before time began.
Paul made it clear that he had not come to the Corinthians with worldly eloquence. He had come preaching the simple message of Jesus Christ crucified. He had not tried to use the brilliant and persuasive tools of the rhetorician. He had not leaned on the sparkle of human personality or the cleverness of a philosopher.
But this did not mean that God puts a premium on ignorance and rejects wisdom of any sort. There is a secret wisdom taught by the Spirit which Paul wanted his readers to grasp firmly.
The secret wisdom that comes from God had been hidden but now had been revealed among "the mature". The phrase Paul used is an interesting one because it literally means a person who is "complete" in labor, growth, mental and moral character. Paul was probably referring to the individuals mentions in the final greetings of this letter. They are the same people he later describes as spiritual people.
The reason the rulers of this age did not understand this wisdom was because they lacked the Spirit, and thus were coming to nothing. It is the presence of the Spirit that awakens us to the things of God and reveals to us His secret wisdom.
The message which Paul proclaimed was God's secret wisdom and was known only by God's revelation. The power of the cross can only be grasped through the Spirit opening our eyes. Jesus once said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children (Matt 11:25). At the heart of this wisdom is the plan of salvation intended for our glory, determined before time began. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (Eph. 1:4).
Paul clearly saw the glory of God revealed in the event and person of the crucified Christ. As Jesus approached the crucifixion He looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you" (John 17:1). Jesus proclaimed that His glory was manifested in the crucifixion.
Paul rightly linked the glory of God with the crucified Lord. Even though the both Jews and Gentiles were involved in the central act of God's plan of salvation, this was an utter paradox to both. As Paul wrote: We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1:23).
The blessings of salvation were prepared by the Father, carried out by the Son, and applied by the Spirit to all believers who as a result love God. The only way the Corinthians could know this was by the Spirit, who knows and reveals these deep things of God about salvation.
Isn't that a huge thought? Isn't this an enormous God? Don't you suppose that He can handle the worries and difficulties of your day?

Father God, I give thanks for Your secret wisdom. You are bigger than the flurry of my day or the worries of my week. I give thanks that You have always had a plan. I rejoice in knowing that You prepared the plan for my salvation before time began. I delight in knowing that Jesus carried out that plan and that the Spirit is applying it to my life. I am in awe of the cross. In Jesus' name.