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No matter your cultural or ethnic background, the wisdom of the cross is always upside down when compared to the wisdom of the world. The world teaches us to rely on ourselves and on our own knowledge, but the way of the cross teaches us that we must rely on the Spirit.
The power of the gospel does not depend on the wisdom of humans, but on God. Following ourselves is folly. In this soul-forming world, we need to listen to God in order to become who He has called us to be.
Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand spiritual truths. They will seem like foolishness to us unless the Spirit opens our eyes and our minds because they are inimical to the way of the world. The Spirit is the One who gives us wisdom and of revelation (Ephesians 1:17). This knowledge is personal and experiential; we know truth when we are in relationship with God, relying on the Spirit.
Apart from God’s revealed Word, we could not know truth. We would not know that we are chosen, holy, and blameless. Even so, we often don’t feel that way. But the Spirit has sealed us, and we are complete in Christ. Our hope has been transferred from temporal things to eternal things.
The Spirit of God uses the Word of God through us in order to convey the power and message of the gospel to others. The salvation of those around us does not ultimately depend on us, but God does use us as means to spread His truth. This is contrary to what the world teaches. The world tells us we must rely on ourselves, but the gospel teaches that we must rely on the Spirit.
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This teaching is based on Ken’s Handbook to Scripture.
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