1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16 - Part B

God uses normal dudes and do dads average shows average people so that when an amazing thing happens to that life you go, it still doesn't use thoughts and ways today on connect scriptures credible insight about the wisdom of God want to share about an exciting opportunity to take your knowledge of God's word even deeper personal or small group Bible study is a great way to learn God's word. What you want to learn more, go deeper. Calvin College offers classes in biblical studies classes like Old Testament service. Immerse yourself in the entire Old Testament Genesis to Malachi, take evening classes on campus or at any time.

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The Greeks believed human wisdom blamed the natural process of human reasoning life even though there was much of life. They could not understand. They believe that they could at least get their minds adequately around an explanation. And so the Greeks would look at the universe. They look to life on earth and the biosphere. They looked at the heavens what it what they could see of it and they noticed that there were patterns of life that existed every day there were four seasons of the day was so many hours long, etc. they they saw that there was a predictable pattern, and they sought to come up with an answer. A reason for this predictable pattern, and they call that reason Bilal Goss the word, the message so it's interesting the process for the law Goss or the message of the cross. The real explanation of salvation through Christ and the meaning of life based on that is foolishness to them and this is why John begins his book the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the law Goss the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

Nothing was made that he didn't make. He begins with the mindset of that of the Greek way of thinking. Paul asked where is the wise, and in the wisdom and wisdom and the wisdom of God the world. True wisdom did not know God and he's in a tell you why you please God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believed for the Jews request a sign, but the Greeks seek after Sofiya wisdom, the Jews did demand a sign when Jesus was doing his ministry when he was up in galley up in Capernaum, where he headquartered his ministry for 3 1/2 years, the Jewish leaders came to him one day and they said Rabbi we want you to show us a sign that we may believe they just came right out and say we seek a sign we want to believe, but we need you to approve that you're the Messiah, and here's why they believe the Messiah was coming, but the Messiah they believed in was a conquering Messiah, a conquering hero wife because there Old Testament predicted that in the messianic era earth would be made knew there would be longevity that the that the animal kingdom would be tamed today, etc. etc. just an entire kingdom age is predicted, but the Old Testament also predicted a suffering aspect to the Messiah. Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 and so what happened one of two things happened as Judaism came into being in the New Testament there was a school of thought.

In Judaism that either spiritualized the suffering aspect of the Messiah.

Isaiah 53 Psalm 22 said it must refer to Israel not to the Messiah, not to a person, but there was another school of thought that believed that there would not be one, but two messiahs there would be a suffering Messiah, then there would be a glorious Messiah. And so there was a division in Jewish thinking at the time of the New Testament in Judaism as to which this was so, we who are New Testament believers, we believe that Jesus will fulfill both into Cummings. He came wants to deal with sin will come again to rule and reign with those who have been saved and forgiven of sin that's always here we we can we get that picture but the Jews of Jesus time are expecting a conquering Messiah, so they wanted a sideshow is assigned to the Messiah. Fear the guy shows a side and it's interesting that Jesus said a wicked and adulterous generation seek that seeks after sign no sign will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights. The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights that your sign death, burial and resurrection. Of course they didn't understand that at the time whose request to sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block stumbling block is because they expect a conquering Messiah. A king who will set up the kingdom will overthrow the yoke of Rome and let the Jews be predominant in preeminent in the world and to the Greeks foolishness. The idea that you would follow a God who came down to die for people. The Greek ideology of the gods is that they were capricious, powerful true tantrums of follow the same lust as humans do, and you had to appease them. So the idea that God would humble himself and become a person and die humans is like the was foolishness. They didn't get no wisdom to them and that at all but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God because the foolishness of God is wiser than men in the weakness of God is stronger than for you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called we're getting into my what I call my life verse I get asked what is your life.

Verse I always have difficulty with that one because I base my life on all of the verses or many of them not one of them, but this comes pretty close.

I remember when I first discovered this section. It was so freaking to me. First was look around brethren. You see your calling brother. Not many wise how many mighty, not many noble after the flesh recalled and is true the majority of the people who were saved in Corinth. Christians of Corinth were probably either slaves or what they called freed men former slaves who had been made free. They they were not highborn people. They were not of the Roman nobility. So you see your calling. You can look around your church in Corinth, brethren, not many mighty, not many wise, not many noble, are called and we look around some of us are are some of yours really supersmart in the advance I get all that but then there's the rest of us just just simple people and I think if you look throughout church history you find there are exceptions to the rule. There are some noble, some mighty some really brilliant people I've known a few Paul the apostle certainly was of that ilk. But for the most part people that get saved are plain old Joe's people like us look at the disciples fishermen blue-collar fishermen a tax collector despised tax collectors, Jewish zealot, a Galilean Hicks for the most part, the kind that the people in Jerusalem put their nose up at and regarded them as lowbrow look down on. So you see your calling brother. And that's what you see but verse 27 God and here's the verse that I often cling to God has chosen or made a deliberate choice.

God's chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise God's ways are so counterintuitive they defy they contradict normal human wisdom and that shouldn't surprise you.

For God said to the prophet Isaiah Isaiah chapter 55, my thoughts are not your thoughts, as the Lord, nor are my ways your ways. When God the father had his son born into the world.

He didn't have them born in Rome but Bethlehem, Bethlehem.

That's like a little hick town and Judah shepherding out the farmers thing out there. Bethlehem yeah yeah born in Bethlehem and then raised in Nazareth.

Nazareth had his own reputation. One of the disciples later on was a Connecticut thing at all come out of Nazareth. Nazareth, Bethlehem, Nazareth, not Rome, not Athens.

See God is so often contrary to human wisdom. And yet it's the wisdom of God. Why does God do this, why does God choose normal people on not noble, not mighty, not super brilliant.

Again, I'm not saying there are exceptions to this, but the general rule and I hope you will feel depreciated or deprecated by that I I place myself along with that. Maybe you are all the exception. I'm the rule I don't know but here's why.

Here's what well it's reading to find out I'm I'm I'm unaware I'm explaining so much of the text will tell you and verse 28. The base things of the world and the things which are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring nothing to nothing. The things that are here is, here's the reason that no flash should glory in his presence. That's why nobody can brag. See if God only picked mighty and noble and brilliant awesome. And people all the time. Then when those people get used by God. Some of us will look at them in the will.

No wonder God use them there so brilliant there so articulate their so knowledgeable you're so amazing and awesome, but God doesn't do that God does his work so that when you see his work. You go, I don't quite get it, but it must be the Lord right it's like after the resurrection.

When Jesus appeared on the shores of Galilee and they let out their nets and the nets were so full that they were breaking and they figured out. That's gotta be on the guy I'm sure the just gave us the command to put her nets down must be Jesus and Peter looked up and said it's so Lord Wendy Civic is the nets were breaking and the only guy that told him to do that earlier a few years before that to fish on one side of the boat in the next almost broke. Was Jesus so it happened again.

It's the Lord and so God uses normal dudes and doodads average Joe's average people so that when an amazing thing happens to that life you go. It's the Lord it's the Lord, and he gets the glory. Otherwise you go that person is amazing that person is awesome and so God will often bypass certain individuals, especially those who think they're so awesome and great and brilliant and noble and intelligent.

What is you need to get a good grip on who you really are God's chosen the foolish things of this world base things, the things which are not to put to put to shame those things that that are you know in we just read it right that we were in first Samuel chapter 16 we saw how Samuel went to the house of Jesse to find the next king after Saul had sinned and he looked at Ely out the oldest and he was so tall and he thought his mind. Man, that's king material tall, good-looking, amazingly strong that he so Schwarzenegger asked and the Lord had to say. Don't look at his appearance or the height of his stature, for I have refused him for the Lord does not see as man sees for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart so God takes humble broken simple hearts, and he uses us that no flash should glory in his presence.

What Paul does here is you get he opens up God's toolbox says okay looking God's toolbox church. What you see foolish things, weak things, despised things they say take your pick which one are you see so we can never say well I don't have much to give to God it I really can't do much for the kingdom. Oh, I beg to differ was a little boy who came to Jesus with a few fish in a couple loaves and Jesus fed thousands of people with the little bit that he had was battered and scarred in the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while to waste much time on the old violin so we held it up with a smile where my bedding good folks, he cried, will start the bidding for me a dollar a dollar to only two, two dollars will make it 33 dollars once three dollars twice but no from the room far back a gray-haired man stepped forward and picked up the bow and wiping the dust from the old violin tightening up the loose strings. He played a melody, pure and sweet as sweet as the angels sing when the music ceased the auctioneer in a voice that was quiet and low said now what are my bid for the old violin as he held it up with the ball thousand dollars 2000 2000 omega-3 3000 wants 3000 twice going and gone. Said he and the people cheered, but some of them said we do not quite understand what changes were Swift came the reply. Touch of the Masters hand and many a man with his life out of tune, battered and scarred by sin or auction sheep to the old bio art to the thoughtless crowd much like the old violin a mess of pottage, a glass of wine a song, and he travels on is going once he's going twice he's going and he's almost gone but the master comes in the thoughtless crowd can never quite understand the worth of a soul, and the change that is wrought by the touch of the Masters hand that you are not the old violin feet up somebody tries avoiding the master comes tunes that baby outplays his song through you and he loves to do it. He loves to restore instead of getting the new latest model God likes vintage. He takes the beaten battered model says I can work with at work wonders with I got say there's some about a vintage you take a 1957 Chevy restore that baby. I take that over any new Chevrolet anything modern cool Apple play whatever is just something about the no flesh should glory in his presence, but I love him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Jesus Christ, God's wisdom that one sacrifice did it all that added as it is written, he who glories let him glory in the Lord. That's one of my favorite text that he is referencing in Jeremiah chapter 9 says let not the wise man glory in his wisdom or the mighty man glory in his might.

But let that him that glories glory – that he knows and understands me, says the Lord.

So he is quoting him the glory glory in the Lord now again I just want to try a few thousand that is he's talking about unity right in the church are dividing your say I'm at the sky and I'm a backup so one of the reasons to be unified is because people are perishing. Another reason to be unified is because all of us, including the earthly leaders in your rallying against our foolish things are frail centers who are redeemed, so follow Christ. Instead of those individuals. Chapter 2 verse one and I am forever when I came to you did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God talking to Corinth after he was in the city of Athens, poking the Correnti came with a very basic simple message came with the gospel. Typically, when people would go to cities like Corinth or Athens any of the Greek enclaves a speakers would come in and and and typically and in Greek thinking they were called sophists. Sophists were were wisdom tellers and the Sophist would come with a carefully spun the story or very clever and articulate ways of talking to attract a crowd to gain a following all said when I came to you I did not I deliberately did not do that. I came with a very straightforward simple gospel message. Just refresh your memory and ask 18 when it comes to Corinth because the synagogue and he shares the gospel in the synagogue.

He convinces some of the Jews in many of the non-Jews to believe it creates a stir, so he goes into a house next to the synagogue, as he is kicked out of the synagogue and he begins teaching there.

It was pretty straightforward gospel stop.

Not that Paul couldn't speak in high terms member I said that there's not many mighty, not many wise I many noble Paul was an exception. He was pretty wise and Paul can do philosophy with the best of keep in mind Paul was in Athens in acts chapter 17 in the stead on the Areopagus Mars Hill and there were the Athenian philosophers who were gathered around him and it says that the men of Athens and the visitors came either to hear or to tell of some new thing and so Paul stood up and he said you know I go around the city and I know for sure or religious group. You even have a statute to the unknown God and so we start using some in their culture of philosophy of their culture. A religious icon begins to point to the one true God that they don't know.

But then he starts quoting secular philosophers in his message for in him we live and move and have our being. That's a direct quote from a payment needs, who is a Cretan philosopher and then he says for we also are his offspring. Another quote from a different philosopher inheritance of solely so he pulls from the sub philosophical world, so he was very able to do that but for the most part, usually and in Corinth, especially he didn't come with excellence of speech you didn't come. Quoting the philosophers he just declared as it says that blunt simple testimony of God for verse two.

I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified on cluttered message of the cross that Skip the message from the series expound first right to tell you about a resource that will help you unlock the riches and mysteries in God's work in this world record is again confirmed that the Bible is the best-selling of all time, research, and portions of Scripture then translated into nearly 3500 different languages. There's a difference between having access to password and allowing it to change your life into this practical Bible study from Skype. I think observation was legal interpretation which must lead to application somebody once but if you want the meetings in the street is where you take the Bible truths and you put shoe leather on them is where the rubber meets the road. You do what Jesus said to increase the effectiveness of your personal Bible study to study the Bible and enjoy it. Thanking you when you get $25 or more to help keep his teaching ministry on and take the mystery out of studying Scripture, 892 or get online securely connect.com/offer come back tomorrow.

Skip Heitzig six years help God's wisdom illuminates your life is talking about the wisdom of God sending Jesus Christ for the sin of mankind. That's the wisdom of God that God is salvation. Maybe that doesn't glory