1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (Pt 2)

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (ESV)

[7] But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. [8] None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

There are two mind boggling truths in the two verses above. First, the wisdom dispensed by the Spirit into the hearts of believers is a wisdom that precedes creation. “which God decreed before the ages” (1 Cor 2:7). Ephesians 1:4 says that God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” Not only does this wisdom precede creation, but it is for our glory. We often talk about doing everything to the glory of God, and that is as it should be. But what God did was planned from the beginning for our glory. In 1926 Robert Harkness wrote the hymn entitled Why Should He Love Me So? That is the question of the ages and yet God not only loved us, he planned our deliverance from before the foundation of the earth for our glory.

The second truth is found in verse eight. “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8). I think of chess games I have played where I thought I was making a good move only to discover that my move set me up for checkmate. Had I seen the danger I never would have made the move, but my folly set me up for sure defeat. Whether the rulers of this age are the Jewish and Roman leaders (this is likely what Paul had in mind), or whether they are Satan’s legions (another possibility), they eagerly sent Christ to the cross only to discover that his death led to his victorious resurrection. Checkmate. Had they only known.

God’s wisdom put in place a plan that is still working its purpose to this day. Conventional wisdom says that the church is irrelevant and dead. God has other plans. Conventional wisdom says that we need to adapt and change our teaching to become relevant. Methods change, but the message stays the same. It is grounded in the wisdom of God from before the ages. Conventional wisdom says that our beliefs are old, outdated, and confusing. God’s wisdom is a simple truth revealed by his Spirit and his Word to accomplish his purpose for our good. It never changes. Conventional wisdom is not all that wise. If the rulers of this age had only known.