Based on 1 Corinthians 2 (New King James Version)
“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”
There may be some of you that may not understand what will be shared today, but my prayer, or even more importantly, God’s desire is for everyone to come to understand what God has really done for humanity, as it is written: “Who [God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:4-5. And we also see God’s desire through the following passage that practically the entire world has either read or heard: “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.” John 3:16. So then, God desires for everyone to understand, but of course, that all depends on how it is received, and what dictates that is what a person desires, what they truly value. And for that, a certain level of intellect is required, not the type that comes from a university or a special course, or anything like that, but rather, enough intellect to understand the reality we live day-by-day, the ability to be able to see beyond the distractions and vanities of this world that Satan uses to deviate our attention from the Truth.
Let us start by asking: “What is the Truth?” And here is where we need some amount of the intelligence we were talking about. What is irrefutable is that we live in a temporary world, starting with our own lives. No one can physically live forever. This should be obvious, but many times, the simple or obvious eludes even the most intellectual of people, because it all depends on what is in the heart of a person. As the saying goes: “There is no worse blind man than the one that doesn’t want to see.” And so, if everything that we see will end, and our end will come sooner or later, then we should, at minimum, ask ourselves this, “What happens after?”
The second thing we will see of what is true is that not only do we know (or should know) that everything in this world is temporary, but also, that everything in this world is unstable and unpredictable. In other words, not only will all of us leave this world at some point, but also, that anything can happen to anyone at any moment, without exception. The poor, the middle class, the rich, the powerful, the famous; they all die. And what we all have in common is that we don’t know when nor how the end will be, and that there is nothing we can do about it. If you watch the news or read some history, or just look around, you will realize that no one has been able to control this aspect of reality. The most foolish and senseless people erroneously think that they have all of the time in the world, and that nothing will ever happen to them. But this life is very uncertain, and right now, we are being taught a very good lesson, right? But, let’s think yet a little more. Who is in a worse situation, the person that thinks that nothing will ever happen to them, or the person that knows that something will happen, but chooses not to worry about it? The race is very close, and many compete to obtain the prize (per se) of being the most foolish. That’s why I say that, to able to understand what we are seeing today, some level of intelligence is required, like that of a child.
But, in summary, if we understand that we all have a sure end here on earth, and we don’t know when, or how, and that there is no way to avoid it, then what should we do about it? This is what the Word teaches regarding these realities: “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’” Mark 8:34-38. So, you need to ask yourself, “What worth do you give to your soul? If you are more concerned about the here and now then about what is to come, then do you truly value your soul?” You can say whatever you want, but everything can be seen in the way you live your life, where you put forth your efforts. As it is written: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21.
So then, the wisdom of God is revealed through Christ crucified. God saw our condition, and that our soul was dead in its sins. And if we die physically in that fallen state, our soul dies forever also. And the only way that a soul can have eternal life is that an eternal being [God] lay down His life for us and pay for all of our sins. There is no greater wisdom, nor anything else has greater value, nor has greater love for us, that He took care of our greatest and most urgent need, something no one nor nothing else, not even ourselves, could have done for us. God died for all humanity so that all humanity could have access to eternal life which is only possible through Jesus Christ. And so, it doesn’t matter anymore when our moment comes. If our faith and life is set on Christ (completely) and we live our lives according to that faith, we will be ready for whatever comes our way, no matter when and how it happens. I hope you understand your reality and that Christ is the only way we have to eternal life. Have you understood God’s wisdom through His crucified and resurrected Christ so that you can have the hope of eternal life? Lord bless! John