Secret & Hidden Wisdom (1/9/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 Cor 2:6-13.

There are two ways of looking at the world and the events which have occurred and continue to occur within it. The first view is the humanistic and worldly viewpoint. It consists of the following points. 1) Mankind wasn't created but evolved over a period of billions of years. 2) There is no God, or if there is he isn't concerned with what happens in our world today. 3) If there is a God, and he really is a loving God, then all honest and sincere attempts to reach heaven will be honored. Isn't it interesting that points two and three aren't contradictory to the secular worldview?

The second perspective is the one gained by trusting in Yahweh's Word. 1) We believe that all things are created by Yahweh. 2) He remains fully and intimately involved with the day-to-day events in the lives of people. 3) There is only one way to heaven and that's through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. There is a distinction between being religious and truly seeking for biblical religion. Sincerity is good, but it must be guided by biblical truth.

For some reason the world has come to hate the name of Jesus (Isa, Yesu, Yeshua, etc). In the public arena it's OK to mention God or Lord, but not the name of Jesus. It's OK to say 'God bless America,' but not 'America bless God.' For a believer to use the name of Jesus in public is offensive to many secularists. We're told we're being intolerant and exclusive of other belief systems. The Bible clearly spells out that we should have some of that kind of critical thinking without animosity against other beliefs. There are clear differences between true biblical Christianity and other religions or philosophies. The words of 1 Cor 2:6 don't offer us the modern view of tolerant speaking. "We do speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing."

This passage clearly points out that the world is limited in its spiritual wisdom. Yahweh has secret and hidden wisdom which isn't available to all people. Not even all Christians understand everything, but consider that unbelievers can't see or understand these things at all. Salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus doesn't make any sense to a worldly mind. The riches of the Fruit or Gifts of the Spirit don't make any sense to them. The Trinity of the Father, Son, and Spirit don't make any sense to worldly knowledge.

Secret means veiled mysteries. These are heavenly things which humans naturally wonder about, but Yahweh has designed things so only the spiritual mind will be able to discern them. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit a true believer can and will understand more and more of Yahweh's mysteries as they mature in their faith. But the immature or unbelieving can't figure out these secrets.

Hidden means concealed. Yahweh has kept certain things hidden on purpose. He doesn't want men to know all truth, because we don't have the capacity to handle most of it without doing damage to ourselves and others. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Our natural curiosity has done a lot of damage down through the ages. And most humans have a desire to know secrets only so they can control others.

The rulers of this age are both the spiritual entities controlling cities and other geographic regions, and the people in control of our governmental structures. What a Christian clearly understands about Jesus is veiled and hidden from these demon princes and human rulers. The problem we face in this is that many of these humans are being influenced by these demonic forces. One of the strongest influences is the push to slight Christians. Ever notice how many unbelievers don't appreciate your faith?

The wisdom of this age says that when we face final judgment, God will weigh our good against our bad to make his determination and decision about our eternal future. That's partially true, but most humans don't believe that their bad will ever outweigh their good. Without spiritual wisdom they don't know that one sin breaks the whole code of Yahweh's Law. It's pointed out that if the rulers of Jesus' time had understood godly wisdom, they wouldn't have crucified the Lord of Glory. If humans had honest-to-goodness godly wisdom, we would have accepted Jesus without his having to die on the cross. Now human wisdom tells us the cross is too gory. It prefers that we talk about Jesus the good teacher or the meek and mild man of God.

Now we get down to the root cause of the world's problem. They can't see spiritually because they're anti-God. As much as they would say they're not against him, their lifestyles and actions show that they very clearly are against him. Believing that he exists is no big deal (check out James 2:19). trying to live by the Golden Rule isn't enough (Matt 5:20). Not believing that our Creator exists doesn't make his disappear. Denying his justice doesn't mean you won't eventually stand before him to give an account of your life. Without the veil being lifted through surrender to Jesus, there is a barrier to understanding and accepting Yahweh's Truth and Yahweh's standards for right living.

unspiritual minds. Our Father has graciously taken the lid off the box for true believers, enabling us to see what he wants to reveal to his children. Just remember that we'll gradually understand more and more of his truth, that we'll have to work our way to the bottom where the deep secrets are.

The world system is committed to at least four major issues. First, money. The world system is driven by money. It feeds on materialism. Of course, humans are even messing that up by accepting socialism as a guiding principle. Second, fame. That's another word for popularity. Fame is the longing to be known, to be somebody special to other people. Third, power. This is mostly about having influence. Humans love to maintain control over other individuals or groups. It includes the desire to manipulate and maneuver things for our personal pleasure. Fourth, pleasure. At its basic level pleasure has to do with fulfilling our sensual desires. You know, "If it feels good, do it."

It's very difficult for the world to accept the Christian worldview. Many think that there's too much to lose by giving themselves over to religion. They look at what they need to give up to serve Yahweh instead of seeing what they'll gain. They deny themselves the ultimate in joy and peace and hope and grace because of their fleshly lusts.

Think about how the Gospel message is so misunderstood in our world. Why is it so hard for humans to understand that all people are sinners and need a Savior? Mostly because they don't want to admit their need, their spiritual filth, their inability to save themselves. That's why there are so many works-based religious systems. I don't want to submit to a Master. I want to do this myself. Why is it so hard for humans to believe that their Creator would demand they come to him according to his prescribed plan? Again we go back to our natural selfishness. I want to do this my way. I don't want to be told how to live my life.

Unbelievers don't have the spiritual wisdom or insight to understand how much Yahweh loves all of his creation. There's no paradox about his punishment, it's called justice. Yahweh doesn't want to punish anyone for their sin. He wants all people to repent and seek his help to cleanse themselves. If we don't receive his grace, he must punish us to be just to those who have accepted his plan of salvation. How is it just that everyone gets into heaven no matter how they lived their lives?

Heaven is a free gift because of the sacrifice of Jesus. His perfect sacrifice made it possible for all human sin to be forgiven. Humans can't figure this out. They are often blinded by their own self-deceit because they refuse to admit their own hearts are inherently evil. Too many are only interested in being given a list of don'ts. Just tell me what to avoid and I'll be able to stay clean. The problem is that there is also a list of do's. If we don't do what's right we also sin (look at James 4:17).

Yahweh doesn't really want us to be religious, at least not in the way most humans understand the word. He wants to have a relationship of love and service with every individual. Just watch a news broadcast and it becomes quickly evident that the world system is failing to fix the problems of our world. Our world leaders or brilliant scholars or modernists don't have the answers. For example, we have a problem with debt so the human solution is more debt. Legislators continue to make more and more laws to help correct problems, and all they're doing is creating more problems.

But the true Church of Jesus Christ does have answers for the problems. We must remain faithful, seeking followers of our Creator to see the solutions. Yahweh promises us that we'll have solid vision, revelation, and wisdom if we'll seek him with our whole heart. To unlock the secrets we need to press into his presence and learn directly from him. To find the hidden wisdom he withholds from us for our good, we need to mature in our faith. Our Father won't give dangerous things to his immature followers. He's a good Father. Trust his wisdom in leading you and you'll begin to uncover amazing truth.

Blessings & Peace, Mike