Attention:
Three guys were pulled out of detective training for special attention, because they were not very bright. The police chief was interrogating them to determine if they were smart enough to become detectives. If not, they would be released from training. Things had not gone well so far.
To test their skills in recognizing a suspect, he shows the first detective a picture for five seconds & then hides it.
"This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?" The first guy answers, "That's easy, we'll catch him fast because he only has one eye!"
The policeman says, "Well...uh...that's because the picture only shows his PROFILE." Slightly flustered by this ridiculous response, the chief sends him out of the room & calls in the second guy. He shows him the picture for five seconds at & asks him, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The second guy laughs, rolls his eyes & says, "Ha! He'd be too easy to catch because he only has one ear!"
The policeman angrily responds, "What's the matter with you two? Of course only one eye & one ear are showing because it's a picture of his PROFILE!
Is that the best answer you can come up with?"
Extremely frustrated at this point, he show the picture to the third guy & asks, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?" He quickly adds, "Please take your time & think about your answer."
The guy looks at the picture intently for a moment & says, "Hmmmm... for one thing, the suspect wears contacts."
The chief is surprised & speechless because he really doesn't know himself if the suspect wears contacts or not. "Well that is an interesting answer... wait here a few minutes while I check this file & I'll get back to you on that." He leaves the room & goes into his office, checks the suspect's file in his computer, & comes back with a beaming smile on his face.
"Wow, I can't believe it..it's true! The suspect does in fact wear contacts. Good Work! How were you able to make such an astute observation?"
"That's easy," the guy replied. "He can't wear regular glasses because he only has one eye & one ear."
Worldly Wisdom is much like that.
The great irony is that worldly wisdom is considered 'wisdom' at all.
The LIMITATIONS/Irony Of WORLDLY WISDOM-I—1Corinthians 1:18-25
Paul related the irony of worldly wisdom to the Corinthians believers.
True wisdom resides in God’s seeming ‘foolishness’ regarding the cross-work of Christ.
The irony of (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom is in its being relegated to foolishness.
What is the irony in (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom?
OR Rather...
How is (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom limited?
5 ironies of (prevailing/popular)worldly wisdom.
1—Worldly wisdom is limited by...
The CROSS(:17-18)
Explanation:(:17-18)
:17—“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.”
“Of no effect/Void”—kenow—1) To empty, make empty—1a) of Christ, he laid aside equality with or the form of God; 2) To make void—2a) Deprive of force, render vain, useless, of no effect; 3) To make void—3a) Cause a thing to be seen to be empty, hollow, false. Strong—To make empty, i.e. figuratively--To abase, neutralize, falsify. Used 5X.
:18—“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The Gospel consists of the necessity “of the cross.”
The Cross places all people of all history(past/present/future) in one of two categories...Contrast
A.—The PERISHING
This Gospel(‘Good News’/“message”) is utter “foolishness” to “those who are perishing”, i.e., no one who is a (current)rejector of the Gospel/“message of the cross” is accepted as being among the “saved.” However there is abundant Scriptural evidence to assure us that absolutely everyone has potential to be saved.
“Are Perishing/Perish”(See :19)—apollumi—Pres. Middle--OR--Passive Part.—apollumenoiv—1) To destroy—1a) To put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin, 1b) Render useless, 1c) To kill, 1d) To declare that one must be put to death, 1e) metaph. To devote or give over to eternal misery in hell, 1f) To perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed; 2) To destroy—2a) To lose. Strong—To destroy fully, reflexively--To perish, or lose), literally or figuratively.
B.—The SAVED
However, in contrast, there are those “who are being saved.” These “saved” ones(including Paul & Sosthenes), believe the “message of the cross” represents/presents/expresses the very “power of God.” Thus they are in a present process of continually “being saved” just as the “perishing” are within a present process of continual lostness.
The Bible(OT) predicts/explains this:
Isa. 29:13-14—“Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed.”
“Being Saved/Saved”—swzw—Pres. Passive Part.—swzomenoiv—1) To save, keep safe & sound, to rescue from danger or destruction. Strong—To save, i.e. Deliver or protect (literally or figuratively).
“Sharp contrast to those that are perishing & same construction with the articular participle.”—RWP
“Power”—dunamiv—1) Strength power, ability. Dunamiv is Power, natural ability, general & inherent.
Argumentation:
Jn. 9:39-41—“And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, & that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, & said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.”
If you claim that you are just ‘good as gold’ as far as God is concerned, then you are effectively declaring that you “see,” though you are, in fact, “blind,” & “Therefore your sin remains.”
Jn. 3:14-21—““And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.””
Lk. 2:25-35—“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, & this man was just & devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, & the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms & blessed God & said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” And Joseph & His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, & said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall & rising of many in Israel, & for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.””
2Cor. 4:1-4—“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing[apollumi], whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
Jn. 8:12—“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
Isa. 53:1-6, 8, 10-12—:1-6—“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised & rejected by men, A Man of sorrows & acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, & we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, & afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”..... :8—“He was taken from prison & from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”..... :10-12—“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, & be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”
Gal. 6:14—“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, & I to the world.”
Jn. 12:37-43—“But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes & hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts & turn, So that I should heal them.” These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory & spoke of Him. Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
Isa 44:18—“They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.”
God shut their eyes & their hearts. But how?...By giving them the freedom to choose either light & life or darkness & death.
Ezek. 34:11-17—“‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep & seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep & deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy & dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples & gather them from the countries, & will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys & in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, & their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold & feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, & I will make them lie down,” says the Lord GOD. “I will seek what was lost & bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken & strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat & the strong, & feed them in judgment.” ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I shall judge between sheep & sheep, between rams & goats.”
How accomplished/Done? Thru the Cross.
1Pet. 2:24-25—“who Himself[Christ] bore our sins in His own body on the tree[Deut. 21:22-23], that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed[Isa. 53:5]. For you were like sheep going astray[Isa. 53:6], but have now returned to the Shepherd & Overseer of your souls.”
Col. 2:13-15—“And you, being dead in your trespasses & the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities & powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
Illustration:
A young man visiting a church(only at the insistence of a girl he liked) said, “I’m sick of hearing talk about being saved!”/Whatever he was looking for was not truth...He was looking for comfort while remaining in sin!/He wanted to hear that his choices of music were okay, that homosexuality is acceptable, that the TV programs & movies he enjoyed were of no consequence, drug use is alright, etc. In short that personal preferences & decisions made are his alone...& are gospel!/The CROSS
Application:
?For you, Is worldly wisdom Limited by The CROSS?
?Your Wisdom Limited...Is your Wisdom worldly?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
3 detective trainees.
Action:
Worldly wisdom is limited by...
1. The CROSS(:18)
Presented 08/18/2013am to:
FBC’belle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
