Who is Wisdom? (1/3)

Believers, the Book of Proverbs talks a lot about Wisdom. But who is this Wisdom that is the principal thing? He is none other than our Saviour Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says of our Heavenly Father:

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—“

See the Good News Translation:

“But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By Him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free.”

By Jesus Christ, “Wisdom from God” Himself, we are put right with God, become sanctified and redeemed. 

Wisdom is not something that we can muster up or acquire through human effort, hard work and experience. Wisdom is not knowledge. A person can acquire all the knowledge in the world and still not have wisdom. This is how come such a thing as medical doctors/oncologists who smoke or use illicit drugs exist. Bear in mind that the ONLY reason why you who are a non-smoker are so is because God is preventing Satan from sifting you like wheat in that area. NO ONE IS GOOD. Of ourselves, there is not a smidgen of good in our humanity. If a big enough temptation arose and we relied on the arm of flesh/human effort to stand as Peter did before he denied Christ, we’d all be chimneys by now. We have nothing to boast about in human effort. Everybody is the same in terms of humanity— none good. See God’s word concerning why even you and I who believe Jesus are not wallowing in horrid sins and Job-type calamities or denying Jesus up and down right now—

12 "So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously." 1 Corinthians 10.

If God was not screening and filtering, those trials where we fall flat on our face as Peter did with his denials; if God was not keeping us from being wounded in our conscience by the fiery darts of accusation of Satan the accuser, those sins or imperfections which we are often beating ourselves over, they would be the least of our problems. We would all be worshipping literal idols, be mired in depression and suicidal thoughts for our imperfections like Judas before he hung himself or worse, six feet under like Judas who plodded on in his human might to make things right by now! Even Elijah did not realise this truth as we see in his self-righteous reply to the Lord on the matter of him being the only one serving the Lord in Israel, until the Lord God opened his eyes to see that Elijah was standing only as a result of God’s Grace— undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. 

Romans 5:19 says - “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” 

As believers, we are made righteous 100% by Christ’s obedience and not our own puny efforts at obedience. Christ our “Wisdom from God” did it all. The absence of Wisdom (Jesus Christ) is how come a preacher can stand behind a pulpit and tell believers that human effort at obeying the law and doing its works is what makes one righteous before God. Notice that there is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) in their own equation for attaining righteousness. It is all about what YOU must do and not what CHRIST has done to make the sinner righteous. There is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) here. Beware of such teachings.

Matthew 1:21 says of Jesus Christ our “Wisdom from God”- 

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The absence of Wisdom (Jesus Christ) is how come a preacher can stand behind a pulpit and tell believers that—

 “You had better do your best to get rid of your sins and addictions or else God will punish you and the devil will attack you.” 

As if Peter loved denying Jesus and could not wait for another opportunity to do so. As if the sinner loves to wallow in his sins and has not been doing his best to stop!Beloved, understand this today— there are ONLY two reasons why people commit acts of sin and it is no coincidence that both are recorded for us as happening during Christ’s passion—

The first reason: many are like Peter who thought God's word- "the arm of flesh (human effort) will fail” is a joke; he thought that His Maker was wrong about his then upcoming denials and that he could never do that kind of thing. Peter ended up denying Jesus three times, something that he knew 100% and swore that he could never do. Many churchgoers are still holding onto that self-trust that Peter had. That kind of trust in the arm of flesh/human effort at doing right is what opens the door for Satan to sift  a person like wheat for the good that he claims to be able to produce when Christ says— “There is none good but God.” So let he that is standing take heed lest he falls.

The second reason: like Judas whom "Satan entered." — 

“Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.” Luke‬ ‭22:3-6‬ ‭‬‬

When the scales fall off the eyes of such, they are ridden with guilt and remorse, like Judas. The worst thing that anyone in this position can do is continue to rely on his human strength at obedience to make things right or in order to get back in to God's good Graces as many church leaders are pushing the flock to do today. The result is falling into Judas' depression and suicide mode because the arm of flesh will fail. For such religious leaders, notice that there is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) in their own equation of living in triumph over sin and it’s deathly consequences. It is all about what YOU must do and not about CHRIST (our “Wisdom from God”) restoring as He did Peter and saving from sins. There is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) here. Beware of their teachings. A good way to identify such wolves in sheep’s clothing is their constant call for you to come and break generational and other curses which Christ has redeemed us from with useless 70 days fast. Remember Galatians 3: - 

13 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

The absence of Wisdom (Jesus Christ) is how come a preacher can stand behind a pulpit and tell believers that generational or other curses still remain in their lives after they believed Jesus. Notice that there is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) in their own equation of redemption from the curse. It is all about what YOU must do to break curses and not about believing what CHRIST our “Wisdom from God” has done to redeem us from the curse. There is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) here. Beware of such teachings and teachers. 

Remember Romans 5:9- “And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God.”

The absence of Wisdom (Jesus Christ) is how come a preacher can stand behind a pulpit and tell believers that they are no longer righteous/godly because they sinned or will experience or are experiencing the wrath/anger of God for WHATEVER reason. Notice that there is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) in their own equation of salvation from God’s wrath. It is all about what YOU must do and not about what CHRIST (our Wisdom from God) has done to save us from sin, death and hell. There is no Wisdom (Jesus Christ) here. Beware of such teachings.

So much more. Believers, by God’s grace, believe right. Our salvation, from our being called to Christ, living a godly life here on earth and all the way to the Rapture when we will be with Christ forever is a full package that Christ paid for FULLY at the cross. It is akin to ordering several items from Jumia for your child and paying online at the check out point. The items do not all arrive at once. The Rapture- where we get our new body that can never be subject to the ravages of sin and death - is the final package in the order.  Imagine your child insisting on paying for the same items a second time with currency that cannot pay for said items before collecting each item you ordered for him from Jumia from the delivery guy. He is rejecting both the items and the price you paid for getting him those items. This way, your payment for him amounts to nothing. See Galatians 2:21-

“I do not ignore or nullify the [gracious gift of the] grace of God [His amazing, unmerited favor], for if righteousness comes through [observing] the Law, then Christ died needlessly. [His suffering and death would have had no purpose whatsoever.]”