Ever feel overwhelmed by life’s choices? If mature Christians differ in their approach to life, how will I ever put my life together with wisdom?
Paul speaks of two kinds of wisdom—the wisdom of this age (v6), and God’s secret wisdom (v7). There are two distinct ways of putting your life together. It is important to grasp what they are, so that we can choose which one to follow.
The wisdom of this age…
The wisdom of this age is simply a way of putting your life together with yourself at the center. You look at the world and say “What do I want to get out of life and what will it take to get it?” Then you put your life together in the pursuit of these goals.
…will not bring you to God
“The world through its wisdom did not know Him.” 1 Corinthians 1:21 (NIV)
God, in His wisdom, chose to save those who believe in the cross of Jesus. If you want to know God, so He can make your life everything that you want it to be, then you’ll never know Him.
The world’s wisdom begins and ends with me—what I need and what I want. God cannot be found on the path of the world’s wisdom. If that’s where you’re walking, you will never find Him. You may believe in Him and you may pray to Him, but you will not know Him. You cannot add belief in Jesus to a self-centered view of life.
…has no room for Jesus Christ
“The rulers of this age did not understand God’s wisdom, for if they had they would not have crucified the lord of glory.” 1 Corinthians 1:8(NIV)
The wisdom of this world has no place for a Jesus who says “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). It does not gel with a Jesus who says “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me” (John 4:34). The wisdom of this world and the way of Jesus are like oil and water.
A person who tries to add Jesus to a self-centered view of life will end up taking the path of Judas. He came to the conclusion that following Jesus was not getting him where he wanted to go, so he traded Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The wisdom of this age has no room for Jesus. If you follow it, you have to crucify Christ.
…is coming to nothing
“The wisdom of this age or the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing…” 1 Corinthians 1:6 (NIV)
The wisdom of the world promises everything but it comes to nothing. If you put your life together with yourself at the center, what will you have to show at the end of your life?
The secret wisdom of God
God’s secret wisdom is a way of putting your life together with God at the center. This is what Jesus did. The way he put His life together was not to ask “What can I get out of this life on earth?” but “What has the Father called me to do while I am here? How can I be a means of bringing blessing to others?”
These questions lead to a very different way of putting your life together—the same way that Jesus put His life together. That’s what Paul means when he says “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:16).
This weeks Scripture: "We do, however speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age..." 1 Corinthians 1:6
This LifeKey is based on the message, You Are Wise, by Pastor Colin S. Smith on April 11, 2004 from the series, Be Yourself: Discovering Your New Identity in Christ. Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.
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