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PREACHING SKILLS The Wisdom of Men and the Power of God Basing Ministry on the true foundation of faith John Piper

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Why is it so crucial that our faith not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God? Does it really matter what our faith is based on as long as Christ is the object of our faith? For Paul it made a great difference what a preacher offers as the basis of faith. Why?

The reason can be found in chapter 1: if you try to base saving faith on the "wisdom of men," it ceases to be saving faith, because the content of that faith is regarded as foolishness by the world's wisdom. The genuineness of faith, and with it eternal life, is at stake in the basis we offer for faith. It is possible to offer a basis for faith which ruins faith. There is a kind of foundation which will destroy the superstructure of faith. That's why it is so crucial for our faith not to rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God—because if it rests in the wisdom of men it is a mirage, a bogus faith.

What is it about the wisdom of men which makes it destructive to faith? In verses 1 and 2 there is a contrast between trying to deliver a testimony of God with superior words of wisdom on the one hand, and preaching Jesus Christ as crucified on the other. Would it not be right, then, to say that for Paul, the "wisdom of men" is, at least, a use of the human mind which comes up with ideas contrary to the meaning of Christ's death? To put it another way, if we are following the dictates of merely human wisdom, the claim that the King and Creator of the world was executed like a criminal because we are such horrible sinners will simply be regarded as intolerable foolishness.

First Corinthians 1:18 offers a confirmation of this. What is it about the wisdom of men that makes it so destructive when we try to make it a basis for faith? Verse 18 says: "The word of the Cross is folly (or foolishness) 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 cleverness of the clever I will thwart. Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" The way God made foolish the "wisdom of the world" (which is the same as the "wisdom of men" in 1 Corinthians 2:5) is by planning a way of salvation which would be offensive to the wisdom of the world: namely, salvation through the ignominious execution of a lowly Jewish carpenter's son turned preacher, who happened to be the Son of God.

The word of the Cross is foolishness to the wisdom of this world. That's why the wisdom of men is destructive to faith and why Paul was, and we should be, very eager that no one turn to the wisdom of men as the basis of faith but that all turn to the power of God.

So the wisdom of men is destructive to faith because it regards the word of the Cross as foolishness. But why does it? What is there about human wisdom which causes it to regard Christ crucified as folly? Paul gives us the answer, I think, in chapter 1, verses 26 and following: "Consider your call brothers: not many of you were wise according to the flesh (i.e., worldly standards), not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise." Now drop down to his purpose in verse 29: "so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." God has set himself against the wisdom of the world so that no one might boast before God. The clear implication is that at the root and core of what Paul calls the "wisdom of men" is pride.

From all these verses, then, I suggest this definition of the "wisdom of the world": it is the use of the human mind to achieve and maintain a ground for boasting before God and man. Now it begins to become really clear why merely human wisdom regards the Cross of Christ as foolishness. The death of Christ on the cross is such a radical indictment of the hideousness of our sinfulness that human wisdom has to mount all its biggest guns to destroy the Cross, lest it lose its ground for boasting.

There are two possible responses to the death of Christ for our sin: we can regard it as foolish and so maintain our self-sufficiency and pride, or we can regard it as wisdom and so die with Christ. There is only one way that leads to life. Here's how Paul expresses it in Galatians 6:14: "Far be it from me to boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." If we put our trust in the crucified Christ for salvation, we die to the world, which means we give up every ground for boasting that the world, including our own minds, can offer. But since the "wisdom of men" is devoted 100 percent to maintaining its ground for boasting, it will always reject Christ crucified and attempt to defuse his power by calling him foolish.

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	Average Rating:  by 2 members. (Members, please login to rate this item.) Robert Daniels   (Registered User) Posted: July 24, 2009 Great sermon with a true reliance on God working through the simplicity of preaching God's Word. One weakness with a western hemisphere bent. Most Christians around the world do not have a copy of their own Bible to turn to in the pew or at home. Leafing through the Bible pages doesn't guarantee hearing the Lord well, though all sermons must be based on God's inerrant Word. I think the heart and ears of the preacher and congregation are more critical than inspecting chapter and verse. Clark Phillips   (Registered User) Posted: July 20, 2009 The emphasis here is apparent. Unless we fully rely on the inerrancy of God's word and recognize that these are His very words to us both generally to the Church Body, and specifically to each believer, the message will not be fully His to Us. I am reminded of time and time again in the Book of Revelation when the Angel of the Lord is speaking to John about what Jesus is saying to the seven churches in Asia Minor, and repeatedly admonishing this, "Let He who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches".