1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world
by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe. 22 For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews
a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
The Holy Spirit uses the word Greek to refer to all non-Jews, or
Gentiles. Greek culture was the dominant culture of the part of the world in
which Paul lived. Greeks had always been a force in the Near East. They were
traders and colonists and they served as mercenaries in every empire’s armies
and their culture influenced every culture. The Roman Empire ruled but it was
Greek culture and language that dominated and would for centuries to come,
until the Islamic conquests.
Paul here notes the difference
between the oriental Jew and the occidental Greek. The children of Israel as a
people were born in signs and wonders.
Deuteronomy 26:8
And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with
an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
The Greeks valued arguments,
logic, and debate to prove whether a thing was true or not. They admired
novelty and hearing new arguments.
Acts 17:21 (For
all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing
else, but either to tell, or to hear some
new thing.)
Greek intellectual life was filled
with the diversion of philosophy and endless arguments about the meaning of
things.
So, Paul notes that the Jews and
Greeks seek proof of a different nature.
The Crucifixion as well as the
Resurrection of Christ were stumblingblocks to the Jews’ self-righteousness and
sense of identity as a unique and special people who had a peculiar
relationship with God that no one else had. The Cross opened up salvation to
everyone in a way that adherence to the Law given to Moses had not. To the
Greeks it was madness to believe that God would raise anyone from the dead.
Again, talking about Paul’s experience in Athens disputing with the Greeks.
Acts 17:32 ¶
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and
others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
Those who are called, both Jew and
Greek, and respond to the calling, are chosen and make up the Church.
All are called by God who knows what their response will be and are chosen on that basis.
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Revelation 17:14 These
shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord
of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
It is by God’s foreknowledge that this can be
and we are Elect based on that foreknowledge.
1Peter 1:2
Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be
multiplied.
By virtue of that Election based on
Foreknowledge we are destined or Predestinated to something after we are saved.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren. 30
Moreover whom he did predestinate,
them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he
justified, them he also glorified.
These are things that happen after we are saved but God knew they
would happen, as He knows all things, before He created the world.
Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
God made no person for the sole purpose of sending them to
perdition. He made those whom He knew by their own will would not accept His
free offer of amnesty in Christ to show His mercy to them that believe and that
it was nothing they did that saved them save faith, which He gives those who
believe.
Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under
sin, that the promise by faith
of Jesus Christ might be given to them
that believe.
Notice Paul’s argument in Romans.
Romans 9:14 ¶ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?
God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of
him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even
for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in
thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he
hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto
me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest
against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the
clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto
dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23
And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews
only, but also of the Gentiles?
There was a TV show that began in the 1960s called Star Trek. In
it one of its basic premises was that the crew of the Starship Enterprise was
not to interfere with the internal development of alien civilizations. Of
course, they interfered a lot which provided much of the basic plot lines for
the drama of the sci-fi series. This principle was referred to as the Prime
Directive.
Well, God has a sort of Prime Directive He goes by. We call it
Free Will. You have a choice to make, who you will follow, and you make this
choice even after you are saved, on a daily and sometimes a minute by minute
basis, even unconsciously. Beyond that choice you have little control over the
consequences as events tend to take over with each choice with every thought
and action. Preachers like to say that sin will take you further than you want
to go, make you stay longer than you want to stay, and pay more than you want
to pay. While God often interferes in a life, which believers are very aware
of, He typically lets us do what we want to do, providing guidance in the right
direction. But, God’s permissive will is the basis upon which we make our
decisions, unless we are striving to follow His perfect will and do what He
truly wants us to do. So, God typically gives us exactly what we want, even if
it goes against what He wants, but in the end we cannot thwart His will for us
overall. We can however make our journey to it a miserable one.
God ordains things and permits others. That is reality. We are
called to trust Him. Here is God’s wisdom.
First, He knew mankind would fall away in disobedience by virtue
of his Free Will and the demands of the flesh and and that he would continue to
struggle against God’s perfect will. He came to earth and lived in perfect
obedience to His own will and then permitted us to execute Him, dying for our
sins. Then, He rose from the dead for our justification before Himself, paying
the ransom required for our souls to Himself. He played all the parts so that
our salvation, even our faith, comes from Him, simply because mercy is a big
part of His nature and through our willingness to receive His gift.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest
any man should boast.
The fact is that a person whose mind does not stay on God will end
up worshipping themselves. God’s wisdom provides for us a focus on Him so we do
not fall into the abyss of self-worship. Self-worship is not just about elevating
what you want to the throne of your heart. It can also be about making your god
a carbon copy of your own beliefs, prejudices, bigotry, and paranoia. Self-worship
is the worst kind of idolatry today especially for Christians who create their
god in their own image.
But, God’s wisdom provides a way out and that way goes right
through the Cross and the Empty Tomb. Christ is the power of God and the wisdom
of God.
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