Last Sunday, David spoke about the message of the cross; a key message for Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. This message seemed weakness to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who believe, Paul says, Christ crucified is 'the power of God and the wisdom of God.' We're going to think a bit more about that this morning, especially the wisdom of God and how we can know that wisdom through the Spirit.
Paul, we're told, arrived in Corinth in 'weakness and in fear and in much trembling. That's not very surprising. Corinth was a proud, sophisticated city and one of star attractions included public speaking competitions - enough to make any potential preacher very nervous! One writer comments 'The really clever orators could offer to speak on any subject somebody shouted out, and then make a witty and persuasive speech, showing off all kinds of verbal skills and techniques.' It was a kind of sophisticated entertainment. People in church were perhaps rather mesmerised by this too. They may have been disappointed in Paul because he was not a speaker like Apollos who came from the intellectually lively city of Alexandria and probably had a more polished way of speaking than Paul.
Of course, Paul was educated too, but he says: 'I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.' His confidence is not in his skill as a speaker but in the Christ he proclaims. Paul's concern was that the Corinthians' faith would not depend on his persuasive oratory, but on the power of God as seen in Christ crucified. That's true for us too: our faith does not depend on the wisdom and skill of powerful and eloquent preachers but on the message of the cross, and the grace of God at work through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Does all this mean that the Christian faith rejects all human wisdom? This is a question which someone raised after David's sermon last week and it's an important question. Of course, the answer is no. As human beings we are to use our intelligence, our knowledge, and the wisdom we learn through experience of life, the world and other people. Some of the books of the Old Testament are known collectively as the Wisdom Literature. These include the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes which express this kind of experiental wisdom in pithy and often shrewd sayings. King Solomon was known far and wide for his wisdom, a wisdom which included knowledge of plants and animals and a shrewd understanding of human nature.
But there is often a distinction made between wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom is not about having a lot of clever knowledge and information and then feeling superior about that (perhaps the way the Corinthians were in danger of seeing wisdom). As it says in the book of Proverbs, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' Wisdom is associated with humility rather than pride; we learn wisdom when we have an awareness of who we are before God and that all wisdom ultimately comes from him.
Paul's focus in these words to the Corinthians is not so much about wisdom about daily life and the natural world, as wisdom about God and the ways of God. How can we learn this wisdom? Not through our own sophisticated arguments and ideas; the wisdom of God is revealed to us in Christ, through the Spirit.
Yes, we do speak about wisdom, Paul says, but it not the wisdom of this age or the rulers of this age. God's wisdom is 'secret and hidden, decreed before the ages...' God's wisdom has been there before the beginning of time; his wisdom and purposes have been at work through creation, through the story of Israel, and are now revealed through the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
But the ruling powers could not see God's wisdom at work in Jesus; his way of being, speaking and acting was so much at odds with those of the secular and religious authorities of the day. They could not perceive God's wisdom at work. As Paul says: 'None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.' Paradoxically, for those with eyes to see, it is in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection that he is revealed as the Lord of glory. And this is all for our sake. God's wisdom, decreed from before all time, is also 'for our glory', we're told. We are caught up in the strange purposes of God, and we will ultimately be transformed and share in the glory of Christ.
Can we understand this wisdom of God? This wisdom is only for the 'mature', Paul says. The Corinthians may have liked to think of themselves as mature, in terms of being 'clever', possessing gifts and knowledge, belonging to an intellectual or super-spiritual elite. But Paul later in chapter 3 of the letter, tells them in fact that they are 'childish' and immature. In their concern for status and their own self-reliant knowledge and gifts they are following the wisdom of this world, rather than understanding God's wisdom.
For Paul, the 'mature' doesn't refer to those who think they have arrived, but to those who are are on the way, seeking to follow Christ crucified and risen, aware of their own need of grace and always open to receive.
David and I recently re-read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. It's an allegorical tale about heaven and hell, but the point of the story is to get us to think about our thoughts, attitudes and actions in this present world and what kind of person we are becoming. In the story, a variety of characters arrive as visitors to heaven. Many of them are full of their own importance and keen to meet other famous, significant and influential people; they cannot understand that what is great and wise on earth and what is great and wise in heaven is different. In a striking passage, a beautiful lady shining in light walks past, surrounded by many hundreds of attendants. The narrator wonders who this eminent person is, and thinks she must have been someone of great significance on earth. His guide replies 'No. It's someone you'll never have heard of. Her name on earth was Sarah Smith and she lived at Golders Green' but 'yes, she is one of the great ones. You have heard that fame in this country and fame on earth are two different things.'
Sarah Smith in C.S. Lewis' story is someone who has grown in the wisdom of God rather than puffed up with her own status, and she is taken up in the light of God's glory.
This is of course only a story, an allegory, but there are indeed glorious things beyond our understanding and our imagination that God has prepared for us: 'what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him', And these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
hisis how we know God's secret wisdom, through the Spirit. The Spirit 'searches everything, even the depth of God' and reveals God to us. Paul uses a simple human analogy to explain this in v 11. The translation we have here is a bit confusing; a clearer translation is this: 'for what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him?' Onlyyouknow what's going on inside your own head, your inner thoughts. And even if I say, "I know what you're thinking" – I could be totally wrong. I really don't know, unless you tell me. If you speak your mind, then I know your thoughts and your intentions– or as much as you are prepared to tell me. We cannot know the deepest aspect of another person unless they reveal it in some way.
It's the same with God, says Paul. We cannot know God's self, his purposes, unless he reveals himself to us. As human beings we cannot search out the hidden things of God unaided through our own wisdom and knowledge. But he chooses to share his thoughts, his very self, with us, through his Spirit. Paul is not talking here about our own 'spiritual capacities', our own 'spirituality', but the Spirit we receive from God
Receiving the Spirit and growing in the wisdom of God is also related to loving him. God has prepared wonderful things, wisdom beyond our own understanding for those who love him. As one writer points out: 'we relate to God not primarily through knowledge or wisdom but through love.' We need to use our minds and the intellectual capacities God has given us but our relationship with God is not based on clever arguments but on love; his love for us and our love for him. Paul emphasises this later in his letter in the famous chapter, 1 Cor 13.
We need the Spirit of God to help us to discern the wisdom of God and grow in his love. Otherwise his ways will seem foolish nonsense to us.
So what is the wisdom of God? This mysterious wisdom, 'secret and hidden....decreed before the ages' is not some esoteric knowledge for the super spiritual; God's wisdom is Christ crucified, the wisdom of endless self-giving and self-sacrificial love. The wisdom of God is not something additional to Christ crucified. The Spirit always leads us back to the cross. We never move on from the cross of Christ to something higher – only to a more profound understanding of the cross. What the Spirit reveals, the hidden wisdom of God, is Christ, crucified and risen.
But this is not just wisdom, out there, separate from us, but a wisdom we are called to live out in our daily lives. Paul ends this chapter, saying that, through the Spirit, 'we have the mind of Christ'. We are to have the 'mind', 'mind-set', 'character' 'disposition' of Christ, the one who humbly served others and laid down his life for us.
To have the mind of Christ, to discern the wisdom of God through the Spirit, to love God, is not simply about a personal, spiritual inner life, it is about practical daily living. When we know Christ, receive the Spirit, and love God, then, as it says in our gospel reading, our 'light will shine before others, so that they may see (our) good works and give glory to (our) Father in heaven.'
Let us pray for the Spirit that we might know the wisdom of God in Christ ever more deeply and live out this wisdom of self-giving love in our daily lives.
Helen Marshall