Paul
the apostle desired that the “faith”
of the
Corinthians “should not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God”,
and in chapter two and verse four of First
Corinthians, Paul the apostle continued his letter by sharing how he
and his companions spoke
“wisdom among them that are perfect”
where we read:
Howbeit
we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of
this world,
nor of
the princes of this world, that come to nought:
The
verse begins, “Howbeit
we speak wisdom among them that are perfect:”
Paul began
with the word, “Howbeit”
which means “Moreover and” “we
speak” or
“Paul and his companions utter, emit, articulate and declare ”
“wisdom”
or “broad and full of intelligence, knowledge of very diverse
matters and skill in management of affairs” “among”
which means
“with and by” “them that are
perfect”
or “brought to their end, finished and complete”. Paul and his
companions declared the “wisdom” of
God to the people who thought themselves “complete and finished”.
The
verse goes on to say, “
yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world,
that come to nought:”. Paul
continued with the words, “yet not”
or “moreover
and” “the wisdom”
which means “broad and full of intelligence, knowledge of very
diverse matters and skill in management of affairs” “of
this world”
which refers to “the unbroken age, perpetuity of time and
eternity”, “nor of the princes”
which means “neither of the rulers, commanders, chiefs and leaders”
“of this world”
or “the unbroken age, perpetuity of time and eternity”,
“that come to nought” or
“that renders idle, unemployed, inactive and inoperative”.
However, the “wisdom”
conveyed by Paul and his companions was “eternal” rather than
from the “chief people” in this world whose “wisdom”
becomes “idle and inoperative”.
When
we meditate upon these words from Paul, we see how he did not rely
upon the “wisdom” of men to share the “gospel”
with the Corinthians. Rather than the Corinthians trusting in
“worldly wisdom”, Paul wanted the church members to rely upon the
“power of God”. We should believe in, rely upon, trust in
and cling to the “gospel” of Jesus Christ through God's
power. All other “wisdom” is temporary and ends in
futility and emptiness. When we share Jesus Christ with others, let
us always remember, God's power will have a greater effect than any
convincing words of intelligence, knowledge and skill.
Next
time Paul shares how he spoke “the
wisdom of God in a mystery”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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