Tonight, I am going to be watching the Fox News debate, featuring the "top 10" candidates running for POTUS (President of the United States). It will be the first time these candidates as a group have had the opportunity to share their "vision for America" with the American public, on a large scale.
Now, don't worry....I am not going to tout a particular candidate or slam another here. That is not the purpose of this blog. To be honest, I have not made up my mind yet about who I will support in the next presidential election. But, in reading the scripture passage for this morning I got to thinking about how these 10 men are going to get up there tonight and tell us that they have "the answers". And, I prayed for them. I prayed that the man (or woman) God has foreordained to succeed Barak Obama would distinguish himself in such a way that people would recognize him for his wisdom....not just any wisdom, but for having godly wisdom. I prayed for us, in this country. We desperately need Jesus Christ and His wisdom. We are in one heck of a mess.
If you've ever noticed the header on my blog page, you have seen the Bible verse I chose over a year ago, when I began to share my morning devotional time with you. Prior to that, I was not familiar with the verse, Daniel 12:3 - - -
Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever.
This verse speaks of God's wisdom applied to the human life. It says that if a person is wise they will lead many to righteousness. In 1 Corinthians 2:6-13 (NET), our text for today, Paul is addressing the Corinthians' current situation. It is much like ours today.
6 Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. 7 Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.9 But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 10 God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God. 13 And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.
In that day, there were many people running around, proclaiming that they had it "all figured out", that they had "the answer". The Corinthians, who had heard and embraced the truth of the gospel, had begun to doubt and to become confused. As we saw yesterday, Paul began with the centrality of the cross of Christ. Jesus' finished work on our behalf is the necessary starting point; it cannot be circumvented or ignored.
Paul didn't stop there, though. He went on to emphasize that there is only one Source for true wisdom, and that is the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus Christ is where eternal life begins, and it is through the Holy Spirit that eternal life continues. It is God's purpose for us that we be taught by His Spirit, so that we can walk (resplendent!) in His wisdom. There is no substitute. Our eternal life began in Christ the moment we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. The first phase of that eternal life is now. How, then, shall we live, with that eternity in mind?
Paul points out that this wisdom is neither common nor easily discerned (vs. 7). It is only through the Spirit that God can reveal to us those things He has purposed for us to know. Certainly, there is plenty that God chooses not to reveal to any man or woman. Our finite brains would not be able to contain such information! We cannot even conceive of all that God has for us (vs. 9).
So, as I listen to the candidates tonight and in the days ahead, I am listening for a man or woman who exemplifies godly wisdom, because I know that it is only Almighty God who has "the answers". Only He can rescue our people from the pit in which we currently find ourselves. The wisdom of man simply won't do.
Many so-called Christians today may say they want to know God, to receive His wisdom; but, they really don't. If they did, they would not bristle at preaching/teaching that contains doctrinal truths from Scripture, attempting to explain God's wisdom away or even rejecting it. The Holy Spirit teaches...if we will let Him. The Holy Spirit wants to change us Christians, to make us more like the Savior! The problem is: we often don't want to be changed.
What about my own life? Sometimes, I'm like the little child who makes a request to one parent, doesn't like the answer, and so goes to the other parent hoping to get a different one! I pray to be more teachable, to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to me those mysterious things, those deep things of God; and, not that I will merely see them, but that I will put such wisdom into action!
Dear Father, I want to be a "sharer of the very life of God"1. Teach me, Holy Spirit! The gift of spiritual discernment is the heritage and right of every child of God, every person who embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, so that by Your Spirit and in Your name, I may lead many to righteousness. In Jesus' name, amen.
Source:
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. 460. Print.
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