The Foolishness of God

 Psalm 19:7-11; I Corinthians 1:18-25

 Psalm 19 goes on about the characteristics of God’s wisdom shown in God’s laws, decrees, precepts, and commandments. The words perfect, reviving the soul, sure, making wise the simple, right, clear, enlightening, pure, and true are used. They are said to be more desired – wanted than fine gold and sweeter than the honeycomb.

Paul on the other hand in Corinthians talks about the foolishness of the cross to those who are perishing. God in this act of love, bringing Christ on earth to die for our sins, made foolish the wisdom of the world. He calls out the scholar and the debater. He tells how the Jews looked for a sign and the Greeks – the Gentiles looked to human wisdom.

But as Paul points out, God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. The proclamation of Christ crucified is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. But God used this foolishness to save those who believe – those who put aside human wisdom and in faith believe in Christ and the power of God to save them.

In Psalm 19 it talks about how the decrees of the Lord are sure making wise the simple. Can we apply all these characteristics of the law to the foolishness of the cross of salvation in Christ. Does it not revive the soul, rejoice the heart, enlighten the eyes of the heart, and endure forever. Is it not true and righteous altogether? Psalm talks about the great reward in keeping them. Well, belief in Christ has the reward of living and serving in the God’s kingdom on earth, not to mention the promise of heaven.

I Corinthians 19:25 not only says God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom but that God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. What is this weakness? Could it be love for all of humankind even those who reject salvation due to their human wisdom. Yet we have received the power of God’s love in the free gift of salvation, to us “foolish” ones who believe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Setting Your Hope in God

 Disclaimer: Paul talks about the Rapture in this passage a concept I still struggle with. I believe that once you die you go direct to the Lord, so bodies awaiting till the rapture to rise is hard for me to grasp. I can see how Paul was comforting the Thessalonians here but was his concept correct? Add any comments you wish to this bafflement of mine. That said, I wrote this per the text. What do you all think? Psalms 78:1-7; I Thessalonians 4:13-18   The psalmist in Psalms 78 is not only telling his current audience to listen to his teaching but to pass it on from one generation to the next. Just like he has heard it from his ancestors, he asks the Israelites to teach them to the coming generations. They are to teach them to the children yet unborn so that these children will teach their children. Why? So, they should set their hope in God, not forgetting God’s works. Fast forward to the New Testament where Paul is passing on this hope to the Thessalonians. The question these bel
Read more

The Things that are God’s

  Matthew 22:34-40, I Thessalonians 2:3-8 In Matthew 22 the Pharisees and Herodians come up to Jesus to entrap him asking him if it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. You see to agree would be against the Jewish Nationalists – the Zealots while not to agree would be a crime of state. Jesus answers cleverly saying “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Now if I would have been in that crowd I would have asked, “What are the things that are of God?” Later in chapter 23 Jesus will tell the Pharisees that they’re concerned with insignificant things yet neglect the weightier matters of the law which are justice, mercy, and faith. This is a common theme you will read throughout the Old Testament which is summarized in Micah 6:8 as it tells what is required of you – what are the things of God that we are to give back. These are to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. These are the weightier matters of the law the Ph
Read more

Do What they Teach, Not What they Do

  Matthew 23: 1-12; I Thessalonians 2:9-13   Jesus when he talks about the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew 23 basically says: “Do what they teach but not what they do.” What he questions most is their motivation. They do what they do to be seen by others. They wear fancy robes and love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect. All this Jesus sums up in the word pride or not being humble. He states then that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Years later Paul writes to the Thessalonians telling how he did what Christ had instructed. That he was humble leading a life worthy of God, his motivation being for God’s glory not his own. He tells that not only are the Thessalonians his witnesses of this but God also. They have seen how pure, upright, and blameless his conduct has been. He encourages the Thessalonians to do the same. To live a life worthy of
Read more