Confound it!

In keeping with the presumed folly of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God has chosen the so-called foolish ones of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise, the weak to confound the strong, the trivial and contemptible, the things that are not to bring to nothing those that are, in order that it may be manifest that no flesh can glory in His presence (1 Corinthians 1.18, 26–29).

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26–31

It is not a bad sign for the Church, but an indication of the genuineness of its calling, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are in it. In keeping with the presumed folly of this Gospel (v. 18: that of the death of Jesus Christ with or without His resurrection), God has chosen the so-called foolish ones of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise, the weak to confound the strong, the trivial and contemptible, the things that are not to bring to nothing those that are, in order that it may be manifest that no flesh can glory in His presence (vv. 26–29). From this God, in whose presence no flesh can glory, Christians have their life in Jesus Christ. They have it by the power of His resurrection from the dead.

For them, Jesus Christ … has been made by God Himself by His resurrection, not only justification, sanctification and redemption, but also and above all wisdom (v. 30) …

If a man boasts in the Lord, there are three reasons why he cannot at the same time boast also in his own wisdom, the human wisdom of the world,

1. Since he boasts in this other, the real wisdom of God, he has no more room for his own, human wisdom.
2. By this wisdom in which he may now glory human wisdom is for him unmasked as unwisdom, as utter and contemptible folly in his eyes.
3. He cannot wish to withdraw from his solidarity with divine wisdom even in regard to its supposed folly and the judgment to which it must be content to submit in this world.

Barth, K., Bromiley, G. W., & Torrance, T. F. (2004). Church dogmatics, Volume V: Index, with Aids for the Preacher (480–481). London; New York: T&T Clark.

Confound it!

Wisdom? (1 Corinthians 1.26-31)

If a man boasts in the Lord, there are three reasons why he cannot at the same time boast also in his own wisdom, the human wisdom of the world,

1. Since he boasts in this other, the real wisdom of God, he has no more room for his own, human wisdom.
2. By this wisdom in which he may now glory human wisdom is for him unmasked as unwisdom, as utter and contemptible folly in his eyes.
3. He cannot wish to withdraw from his solidarity with divine wisdom even in regard to its supposed folly and the judgment to which it must be content to submit in this world. – Barth, K

The endless cycle…

My son, remember!

Word!

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NASB)

enjoy, ron

Got Time?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Ecc 3:1)

“When are you going to post another blog entry?” asked my friend the other day. “I’m not sure”, I replied. “After all I’ve been rather busy with work, travel and family issues of late.”

But that got me to thinking. One huge feature of our daily lives is the awareness of time. We feel, think, and act in the time flow. Webster’s Dictionary defines time as: “The general concept, relation or fact of continuous or successive existence, capable of division into measurable portions, and comprising the past, present and future.” In any case, time bears powerfully on human emotions. Not only do we often regret the past, we occasionally fear the future and curb the present.

Time is frequently described as the fourth dimension, and is very important to scientific observation because the events that scientists attempt to measure and explain all occur within a time frame. However, we know from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that there is no standard or absolute time frame, because time can be defined only by measurement.

You see, the measurement of time is based on reoccurring natural phenomena. For example, a year is defined as the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one complete revolution around the Sun. A day is defined as the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one complete revolution on its axis. The year and the day are then broken down into more arbitrary units – months, hours, seconds, and so on.

Einstein and others have shown that objects cannot travel faster than the speed of light, which is 186,291 miles per second. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, if an object were to travel at the speed of light its mass would become infinite. Hence, the speed of light then could be a function of time, because time can only be defined by measurement.

God is both faster than light and not in a hurry at the same time. For example, it took 40 years for Moses to receive his commission to lead God’s people out of Egypt. God called Moses to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet God was in no hurry to bring that mission into fulfillment. God took His time to accomplish what He wanted with and in Moses. But what did God want?

Interestingly, Moses wrote, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12). We are often more focused on the time something takes than the wisdom we are gaining as we live each day. When we experience God’s presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives.

Even so, neither time nor wisdom will continue to excite us. Instead, what excites us is knowing Jesus Christ. As this happens, we are no longer focused on the wisdom because it is merely a result of our time with Jesus. In other words, wisdom is not the goal of our time with Jesus, but the by-product. Jesus is the Goal, alone and always!

God’s timing in our lives will always remain a mystery. God will take the time he needs to get your ear and to impress on you his direction for your life. But our own understanding of time begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly” (Romans 5: 6).

PS. Scientists now suggest that a particle called a tachyon (from the Greek for “swift“) may travel faster than the speed of light and cannot be slowed down. Some scientists believe that if tachyons could be detected and harnessed, they would help one to communicate anywhere in the universe instantaneously. So far the particle has not been found, but the new theoretical physics does account for this possibility.

Is time on your side? “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.” Habakkuk 2.3

enjoy, ron

Got Time?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Ecc 3:1)

“When are you going to post another blog entry?” asked my friend the other day. “I’m not sure”, I replied. “After all I’ve been rather busy with work, travel and family issues of late.”

But that got me to thinking. One huge feature of our daily lives is the awareness of time. We feel, think, and act in the time flow. Webster’s Dictionary defines time as: “The general concept, relation or fact of continuous or successive existence, capable of division into measurable portions, and comprising the past, present and future.” In any case, time bears powerfully on human emotions. Not only do we often regret the past, we occasionally fear the future and curb the present.

Time is frequently described as the fourth dimension, and is very important to scientific observation because the events that scientists attempt to measure and explain all occur within a time frame. However, we know from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that there is no standard or absolute time frame, because time can be defined only by measurement.

You see, the measurement of time is based on reoccurring natural phenomena. For example, a year is defined as the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one complete revolution around the Sun. A day is defined as the amount of time it takes for the Earth to make one complete revolution on its axis. The year and the day are then broken down into more arbitrary units – months, hours, seconds, and so on.

Einstein and others have shown that objects cannot travel faster than the speed of light, which is 186,291 miles per second. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, if an object were to travel at the speed of light its mass would become infinite. Hence, the speed of light then could be a function of time, because time can only be defined by measurement.

God is both faster than light and not in a hurry at the same time. For example, it took 40 years for Moses to receive his commission to lead God’s people out of Egypt. God called Moses to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet God was in no hurry to bring that mission into fulfillment. God took His time to accomplish what He wanted with and in Moses. But what did God want?

Interestingly, Moses wrote, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12). We are often more focused on the time something takes than the wisdom we are gaining as we live each day. When we experience God’s presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives.

Even so, neither time nor wisdom will continue to excite us. Instead, what excites us is knowing Jesus Christ. As this happens, we are no longer focused on the wisdom because it is merely a result of our time with Jesus. In other words, wisdom is not the goal of our time with Jesus, but the by-product. Jesus is the Goal, alone and always!

God’s timing in our lives will always remain a mystery. God will take the time he needs to get your ear and to impress on you his direction for your life. But our own understanding of time begins with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly” (Romans 5: 6).

PS. Scientists now suggest that a particle called a tachyon (from the Greek for “swift“) may travel faster than the speed of light and cannot be slowed down. Some scientists believe that if tachyons could be detected and harnessed, they would help one to communicate anywhere in the universe instantaneously. So far the particle has not been found, but the new theoretical physics does account for this possibility.

Is time on your side? “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.” Habakkuk 2.3

enjoy, ron

1 Corinthians 3.18-23

The following is an introduction to this week’s Sunday sermon. Specifically, I’ll be expositing verses 1 Corinthains 3.21-23.

Nearly 2000 years ago the church of Jesus Christ in Corinth was wrestling with problems similar to our own. Gluttony, hero worship, jealousy & dissension were prominent expressions of church life then as now. Their principal struggle, as is ours, turned on the question of what to do with worldly wisdom. They had the mind of Christ! Yet, spiritual ignorance & human arrogance was vitally eroding their essential understanding of His Person & Work.

Succumbing to creature influence, they were substituting worldly wisdom for God’s wisdom. Value swapping! Exchanging eternal value for temporal values! In other words, by placing inordinate worth on material things, their understanding of Spiritual things became confused & amorphous. As a consequence, Paul could not speak to them as to spiritual ones.

Keep in mind the Corinthian church was secure in Christ, confirmed to the end! It was a dynamic, spiritual community, not lacking in any gift (1 Cor. 1.1-9). But their fitness in impacting the Corinthian culture & in ministering to one another was being undermined by jealousy, factions, intellectual egotism, & selfish ambition.

Paul has already contrasted God’s wisdom with human wisdom several times in the first three chapters 1 Corinthians. Now here in 3:18-23 he continues to challenge his Corinthian brothers & sisters concerning their attraction to human wisdom. Paul carefully contrasts the wisdom of this world in vv 18-20 with the wisdom of God in vv 21-23.

Here’s the point: What these Corinthian Christians have done in pretending to be wise by the standards of the world is to show themselves foolish in the eyes of God. So Paul is saying, “You must stop exalting individuals, put an end to divisions, deny any wisdom that you think you have, & instead embrace God’s wisdom & the tremendous riches & blessings & resources & growth & health that God gives.”

Enjoy, ron