Wisdom From God

The time portal image raises the basic question underneath Paul’s words: if the future is known, life in the present gets reordered. Paul says Christians really do know the future, not in a science fiction way, but because God has revealed where history is going. The cross and resurrection of Jesus give a different perspective, a different purpose, and a different mission. The cross is the wisdom of God because it is victory through death and weakness instead of strength, and because it shows both the depth of human sin and the depth of God’s love.

Paul does not reject wisdom altogether. Paul rejects man’s wisdom, the wisdom of self promotion and advancement that made sense in Corinth and still makes sense now. The word telios points to the “mature,” but Paul’s point is not that only elite Christians get access to God’s wisdom. The contrast is not mature Christians versus immature Christians. The contrast is those who belong to Christ versus the rulers of this age, the people who crucified the Lord of glory because they did not understand God’s plan.

God’s wisdom is apocalyptic wisdom, wisdom from the age to come breaking into the present age. This wisdom knows that Jesus is the Son of God in the flesh, that he died for sinners, that his death was decreed by God from eternity past, and that his resurrection means victory over sin and death. The mystery is not secret knowledge for a spiritual upper class. The gospel is an “open secret,” plain enough to be proclaimed everywhere, yet only rightly understood by the Spirit.

The Spirit gives believers access to the mind of Christ. The Spirit does not mainly give wisdom through private visions or some Jedi level of insight, but through the revealed will of God in Scripture. God’s Word, taken in deeply, trains discernment. The Christian who marinates more in the world than in Scripture should not be surprised by worldly instincts.

Paul’s wisdom leads to a strange kind of life in the present. Christ followers should do things that make sense only in light of the world to come: love enemies, do good to those who hate them, and show mercy to hurting people. The future Christ has promised does not pull believers out of the present. The future makes them fully present with hope, repentance, grace, and courage, because problems are an opportunity for the gospel.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The Cross Reorders True Wisdom The cross exposes the emptiness of wisdom built on strength, status, and self promotion. God’s wisdom comes through weakness, through the death of Christ, and through a victory that the world would never have designed. The Christian mind begins to change when the cross becomes the lens for judging what is real, valuable, and lasting. [06:19]
• 2. The Gospel Is An Open Secret The gospel is not hidden because God made it obscure. The “open secret” is proclaimed plainly wherever the church is present, yet it is received as either the greatest truth ever told or complete nonsense. The Spirit makes the difference, giving sinners the eyes to see grace where natural wisdom sees foolishness. [13:16]
• 3. The Spirit Gives Shared Wisdom The Spirit is poured out on all believers, not just on the impressive, mature, educated, or spiritually elite. God’s wisdom is not a secret tier of Christianity, and it is not some Jedi level of achievement. The same Spirit who grants faith also gives access to the mind of Christ through the Word of God. [14:49]
• 4. Scripture Trains Spiritual Discernment Discernment does not fall out of the sky while a believer waits passively for a miracle. The Spirit trains judgment as Scripture is read deeply, patiently, and repeatedly. The Christian who wants to understand the world rightly has to marinate in God’s Word more than in the world’s noise. [15:58]
• 5. Future Hope Changes Present Love The future return of Christ should make present life look strange in the best possible way. Love for enemies, mercy toward the broken, and grace toward sinners only make sense in light of the world that is coming. The more broken the present world appears, the greater the opportunity for gospel-shaped love to become visible. [22:01]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:38] - The Time Portal Question
• [05:26] - Christians Know The Future
• [06:19] - The Cross As God’s Wisdom
• [07:15] - True Wisdom Versus Man’s Wisdom
• [08:05] - What “Mature” Means
• [09:00] - The Rulers Of This Age
• [10:05] - Wisdom From The Age To Come
• [11:45] - The Spirit Reveals God’s Wisdom
• [13:16] - The Gospel As Open Secret
• [14:49] - No Jedi Level Christianity
• [16:18] - Marinating In God’s Word
• [17:59] - Spiritual Discernment For Real Life
• [19:24] - Living Differently Because Christ Returns
• [22:31] - Problems As Gospel Opportunities

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. [18:54]

Luke 6:27-28
But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. [18:49]

Observation questions

1. In 1 Corinthians 2, who does Paul contrast with “the mature,” and what did those rulers of this age do that showed they did not understand God’s wisdom? [09:08]
2. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, what does the Spirit reveal, and what does Paul say believers have received from God?
3. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, what two very different ways do people respond to the message of the cross?
4. What are some examples of the kind of actions that make sense only in light of the world to come? [18:36]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says God’s wisdom is “not a wisdom of this age.” What does that suggest about the difference between worldly success and gospel-shaped wisdom? [10:22]
2. Paul calls the gospel a mystery revealed by the Spirit. Why might the same message sound like life and hope to one person, but foolishness to another? [13:16]
3. Paul ends by saying, “we have the mind of Christ.” What does that seem to mean in everyday Christian life, especially when making decisions or trying to understand the world? [18:18]
4. Jesus commands his people to love enemies and love one another. Why do those commands only fully make sense when seen in light of Christ’s cross and the future he has promised? [19:00]

Application questions

1. Where are worldly ideas of wisdom most tempting right now—status, being right, self-protection, getting ahead, being admired? How is the cross confronting that in a personal way? [06:25]
2. The Spirit gives access to God’s wisdom through God’s Word. What does it actually look like for someone in this group to “marinate” more in Scripture than in the world’s noise this week? [16:39]
3. When a hard situation comes up, is the first instinct usually panic, control, avoidance, or prayerful discernment? What might it look like to slow down and seek the mind of Christ in one specific situation right now? [17:59]
4. Jesus says to love enemies, do good to those who hate, bless those who curse, and pray for those who abuse. Who is difficult to love right now, and what would one concrete act of obedience look like this week? [18:49]
5. The future Christ promises does not pull his people out of the present; it makes them fully present with hope. In what area of life is it hardest to be present with hope instead of cynicism or despair? [22:07]
6. The more broken the world appears, the greater the opportunity to show love, grace, and mercy. What problem, pain, or mess in everyday life might actually be an opening for gospel-shaped love right now? [22:19]
7. This wisdom begins with acknowledging sin and receiving Christ’s grace anew. Is there any area of sin, pride, resentment, or spiritual drift that needs honest repentance before trying to help anyone else? [22:44]