Truth, Or Man’s Wisdom?

Mankind has always sought answers to life’s questions.  Christians are no different.
However, Christians have the source from which to answer these questions while the non-Christian world has no such authoritative, inerrant source to which we can turn.  Instead, men only have the philosophical meanderings of other men, which come and go with every new movement.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the Church today has abandoned God’s unerring and perfect word instead choosing to adopt various schools of man’s wisdom to “do” church and to live the “Christian” life. [G1]

 

This scenario is nothing new.  Paul, the founder of the church in Corinth, had to confront the same issue with them.  His reproof of the Corinthian church is found in his first letter to Corinthians.[G2] [G3]

 

The first problem Paul identified was the existence of schisms (“divisions”) that had developed within the church as the members lined up to follow and prefer their favorite leader within the church (1:10-12ff).  This seems to be a carryover from their native culture as the common practice for Corinthians who sought after wisdom was to find a teacher to whom they would pledge their allegiance, and follow their teachings.

 

Paul condemned the practice as causing quarrels (v. 11) and redirected their attention to the centrality of Christ, His work on the cross, and the necessity of unity within his Church (v. 17).[1]  And he contrasted the God’s wisdom with the “wisdom of the wise” (v. 19), which was destroyed by the “foolishness” of the cross (v. 18).[G4]

 

Paul continued by describing the utter folly of following man’s philosophy.  Since not only does it not lead men to God, but because men choose to follow it believing themselves to be wise (Rom. 1:22), God has made such wisdom foolish by what is seen by mankind as foolish, the message of the cross[G5] .

 

God’s calling of those who were not the mighty, not the wise or influential, and through them to spread the foolish gospel, demonstrates the vanity of man’s wisdom and the futility of trusting in it (1 Cor. 1:26-28).  As a result, flesh and blood men have no grounds for boasting within themselves (v. 29).

 

Believers who choose to look to this world’s wisdom for guidance deny themselves the great and marvelous riches of resting in God’s blessings found in our position in Christ (v. 30).  It is in Him we find true wisdom (v. 30; Col. 2:3), we receive righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).

It behooves us to examine ourselves and see if we are dependent solely on God’s truth, or man’s wisdom.

Steve

 

[1] It is interesting how the same people who will adopt human philosophies to help guide them through life, philosophies that may well result in divisions and quarrels are the same people who complain that doctrine divides.

Deleted:,
Inserted: f
Deleted:F
Deleted:,
Inserted: kind