It is a pity that there are not
too many believers in Jesus Christ that can make that clear distinction between
the wisdom of this age from the wisdom of God. Furthermore, the wisdom of God
is understood only by those who are spiritually matured because the wisdom of
God is a mystery which He 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. And so, when it comes to having faith in the power of God, which
is the other option to having faith in the wisdom of men, the substance of our
faith in the power of God is Jesus Christ, and the evidence of things not seen
is Christ living in us the hope of our glory as confirmed by the apostle Paul
who wrote:
“The mystery which has been
hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we
preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving
according to His working which works in me mightily” (Colossians
1:26-29).
The power which believers ought to have their
faith and confidence in is not in science, commerce, medicine or pharmacy,
these are all part and parcel of man’s wisdom whose leader is the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit which works in the sons of disobedience.
Our faith ought to be in the
power that resides and works in us as we have been duly admonished saying; “For
it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all
things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and
harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (
Philippians 2:13-15).
We also have the consolation
saying; “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians
3:16-21).
Having faith in the power that
dwells in us, we can all echo the Apostle Paul’s statement by saying; “I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me,” knowing and believing that, “He would grant us,
according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His
Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith;
that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all
the saints what is the width and length and depth and height ---to know the
love of Christ which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the
fullness of God.
So the faith that we believers should
have is in the power of Christ that works in us, and we know that all things
work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind” (Romans 8:28; 2 Timothy
1:7).
.Now just as there is a logo or symbol that depicts the vision and the driving force behind man’s wisdom which is the serpent, Satan the devil; there is also a logo or symbol that depicts the vision and the driving force that is behind the power of God which works in us.
This power is symbolized by the Word of God who; “In the
beginning was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was
made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines
in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it”. The Word later became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-5; 14).
Bread and wine are the other two
symbols in the believer’s logo, the bread represents the broken body of Jesus
Christ of whom it is said; “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our
sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and 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” (Isaiah
53:4-5).
The wine represents the shed
blood of Jesus Christ by which we receive redemption and forgiveness for our
sins as confirmed by the Apostle Paul who wrote; “In Him we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His
grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made
known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He
purposed in Himself.” And, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and
conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7-9;
Colossians 1:1-14).
The
root cause of the believer’s downfall is their ignorance and the improper
discernment of the Lord’s body as we have been forewarned saying; “Therefore
whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For
he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to
himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick
among you, and many sleep: For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be
judged” (1Corinthians
11:7-31).
Let
us not be unwise but be wise and understand what the will of God is and ask
ourselves this question: If the improper discernment of the Lord's body results
in weakness, sickness and premature death, what would be the result for those
who eats and drinks in a worthy manner, properly discerning the Lord’s body?
Food for thought!
This
is 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. This is the light which
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Our faith
therefore, ought not to be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
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With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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