No 26
(The wisdom of the Christian)
Who of God is made unto us wisdom.”1 Cor
Our intellect seeks rest and by nature
seeks it apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The educated, even when converted, sometimes look upon the simplicities
of the cross of Christ with too little reverence. They are tempted in the same
way that the Grecians were taken and want to mix philosophy with the revelation
of God. The temptation of a refined, highly educated person is to depart from
the simple truth of Christ crucified and to invent a more intellectual
doctrine. This led the early Christian churches into all sorts of heresies such
as Gnosticism that said that spiritual knowledge is more important than faith
for salvation. Whoever we are and
whatever our education may be, if we be the Lord’s, be assured we will find no
rest in philosophizing divinity. We may receive this dogma of one great scholar
or a dream from a profound thinker but what the chaff is to the wheat that will
these be to the pure word of God. Even when our reason is well guided, it can
only find out the A B C’s
of truth and even that lacks certainty while in Christ Jesus
there all the fullness of wisdom and knowledge is found. All attempts on the
part of Christians to be content with systems of religion will fail; true heirs
of heaven must come back to the simple reality which gives us joy and peace
that only Jesus Christ can give. He came into the world to save sinners and
Jesus satisfies the most elevated intellect. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise
wisdom and instruction” Proverbs 1:7 “The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they
that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” Psalm 111:10