How to receive God's wisdom this Christmas
A central feature of most Christmas celebrations is the exchanging of gifts. While much of contemporary giving and receiving is simply materialism out of control, the practice itself is thoroughly rooted in God’s character and nature. At the very first Christmas, the magi brought gifts to the Savior to reflect the reason for His birth. Behind even the magi, though, stands the sovereign Lord, lavishing humanity with the gift of His only Son. The gifts of the magi were only possible as a response to the God who first sent His Son (John 3:16).
The Savior’s birth was God’s greatest gift to the world. In fact, it was a gift that bestowed, not only the Son, but also innumerable blessings connected to who Jesus is and what He accomplished. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:30 describes four gifts God gave us, which we will study in this holiday series.
The first is the gift of wisdom. Christ entered the world both to expose the folly of human wisdom and to reveal the wisdom of the eternal God. It’s possible to be the most highly educated person but the greatest fool. By nature, human beings are opposed to God and His wisdom, preferring the world’s folly. The Lord, therefore, gave His Son, who became to us wisdom from God.
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How does Jesus reveal God’s wisdom? That wisdom is manifest most clearly at the cross. There we discern the folly of the world’s wisdom and the hidden glory of God’s wisdom.
The Corinthians lived in a culture that prized human wisdom, which was devoid of divine truth. In fact, this society — like most throughout history — scorned the cross as foolishness. The Corinthian believers misunderstood the nature of God’s wisdom revealed in the cross of Christ. Paul thus takes them to task, exposing the false wisdom prioritized by the world, reminding them of God’s true wisdom. There are three concepts in this passage that are considered wisdom by the world but shown to be folly by the cross.
First, through Christ’s cross, we see the folly of conflict.
The world’s wisdom created conflict among the Corinthian believers. These Christians fought over the silliest of issues, namely, which teacher they preferred. In Corinthian culture, prestige rubbed off on those who were connected to figures of status. So, these members were separating over the issue of identifying with certain preachers, creating division in the Church.
It should be noted that Paul, Apollos, and Peter, who this church was dividing over, were not teaching something different from Jesus’ words. The Corinthians were not parting ways over doctrine or substance. Instead, they were creating conflict solely to obtain prestige, power, and influence in the church. We see here that what unites the church is not a loose affiliation with our Lord but rather a profound love for the truth of Christ and a trust in Jesus of Nazareth as He is presented in Scripture. The Corinthians were selfishly attempting to fracture that unity.
Much of our conflict in the church is the result, not of disagreeing over substantive issues, but of a self-centered attitude. Like the Corinthians, we want credit, glory, and recognition, so we put others down and exalt ourselves. We can do this indirectly by exalting someone affiliated with us, or we can be bolder about these attempts. Most of what threatens the unity of our churches, family, and friendships have nothing to do with the truth of the Gospel. Rather, these factions are simply selfish distractions, which are usually rewarded in the world.
When we come to the cross, however, the so-called wisdom that creates conflict for personal gain is revealed as evil. Though Jesus Christ was infinitely worthy of worship, He took upon Himself our sin, shame, and unworthiness on the cross. If anyone could have exploited conflict for personal gain, it would have been Jesus! Yet, the wisdom of God does not use our weakness to His advantage, but instead confers grace and brings about peace and unity.
The stress that often comes during this time of year can increase tensions, resulting in conflict. When we encounter these situations, we should ask if we are seeking our way, or if we are looking for the good of others. The world’s wisdom results in conflict. God’s wisdom in Christ results in unity in the truth.
Second, through Jesus’ cross, we see the folly of cleverness.
If anyone had a minimalistic ministry philosophy, it was Paul, who shunned all tactics that smacked of cultural cleverness, relying exclusively on the proclamation of the gospel in the power of the Spirit. This approach was consistent with Paul’s belief that the cross is God’s wisdom that triumphantly unmasks the folly of worldly wisdom.
Paul rejected cleverness for the good of his converts. He wanted those who came to faith through his ministry to understand that they had not been tricked by a clever marketer, but that they had been transformed by the true and living God. The same should be true of us today. When we share the Gospel, do people see God’s power or do they hear a salesperson? The wisdom of God teaches us to rely completely on the Lord’s power through the cross of Christ for our hope, rejecting all human cleverness that coddles unbelievers in their sin.
Finally, through Jesus’ cross, we see the folly of celebrity.
The Corinthians desired to be esteemed by the world. They wanted recognition for being strong, noble, mighty, and wise. Paul reminds them, however, of the reality of their status in the world’s eyes. Society regarded them as weak, nobodies, and fools. Instead of their current, misguided mindset, not only should they recognize who they really were, the Corinthians needed to be satisfied because God chose them for salvation in Christ. They should boast, not in worldly status, prestige, wisdom, or recognition — but in Jesus Christ, who was their wisdom!
A desire for celebrity might be the greatest weakness in the Evangelical world. Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, once said, “The evangelical system is a star system … The people who tend to wield influence are those who rise to the top of ‘media empires.’” Mouw added, “Evangelicals tend to be quite fickle. We go for certain kinds of trendy things.” That last part encapsulates a major problem. Many Christians don’t want to quietly, faithfully, and obediently live out God’s calling and wait for His reward. We want recognition now.
This unholy desire is not just relegated to pastors or church leaders. How often do our hearts want recognition for our accomplishments? We might not pine for worldwide fame, but we have at some point yearned to be a celebrity in our circles of influence. The human heart craves any and all recognition from men, and the wisdom of the world is designed to obtain such status. God’s wisdom, however, is revealed in Jesus at the cross, where He died alone, in shame, as a condemned criminal — although He was worthy of the worship of all of creation for all eternity. The world’s wisdom feels better to our flesh but always ends in destruction, and God’s wisdom conflicts with our natural instincts but ends in resurrected life.
God gave His wisdom as a gift at Christmas, teaching us to reject conflict that arises from selfishness, cleverness that nullifies His saving power, and celebrity that exalts self over Christ. Yet this wisdom does not come natural to us. As a result, we should continually go to the Gospel, from the manger to the cross to the empty tomb, to be infused with the wisdom of God.
Will we receive His gift this Christmas?
Dr. Robb Brunansky is the Pastor-Teacher of Desert Hills Bible Church in Glendale, Arizona. Follow him on Twitter at @RobbBrunansky.
