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The Two Types of Wisdom and Strength

What I am sharing in this post helped me a great deal, I hope it can help you as well.  If you are not a follower of Christ this may sound like foolishness.

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Are you a follower of Christ who seeks wisdom and strength? Wisdom and strength sounds good right?  We are taught to do this by our parents and our teachers from a very young age.  Most of us study and pray and listen to sermons just for this purpose, but…

There are two types of wisdom and strength, there is God’s wisdom and strength and there is fleshly wisdom and strength. How do we tell the difference?

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There is a big difference between the wisdom and strength of God and wisdom and strength “according to the flesh”.  We should not mix the one with the other because we don’t see the difference.  This difference should be thoroughly understood by every follower of Christ.

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,…30 But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,” -1 Cor 1:26-27, 30

According to this passage God chooses the foolish and weak and He shames the wise and strong. If we are becoming wise and strong and excellent “according to the flesh” (1 Cor1:26), we are setting ourselves up to be opposed by the Lord.

If you are anything like me the difference between Godly and fleshly wisdom is not always obvious, but there is a clear distinction. We know from the passage above that “Christ Jesus has become to us wisdom from God.”  But from the same passage we also know that God chooses the weak and foolish in order to shame the strong and wise.  There is Jesus-wisdom and there is fleshly-wisdom and these are diametrically opposed to one another.

The fastest and easiest way to tell the difference between fleshly and Godly wisdom (either in yourself or in the advise of others), is to ask the following questions:

  • Are they trying to dominate and compete with others?
  • Am I building or seeking hierarchies putting myself at (or near) the top?
  • Are you or others finding pleasure in out-doing, out-witting, or one-upping others?
  • Am I demanding or trying to see my way (or my vision) and will be done? (even Jesus prayed “not my will but your will be done..”)

Answering yes to these questions suggests a strength and wisdom “according to the flesh”.  I’ve been guilty of walking according to fleshly wisdom, I’ve also heard entire sermons of nothing but boasting in fleshly wisdom and in fleshly strength. God opposes this, we should not pretend to follow or serve God when he is actively opposing or shaming us.

Someone who always gets or is accustomed to getting their way is a menace to what God is doing in the earth.

Gods “wisdom and strength” looks like turning the other cheek when it is struck (Matthew 5:39), it looks like sitting down and letting others speak (Luke 4:20), it looks like giving the coat and the shirt to the guy demanding just the shirt (Matthew 5:40). Gods kingdom, (his ruling presence) is with the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3).

We who seek to serve and follow the Lord should know beyond all confusion what God opposes and shames and what ‘he chooses’ and ‘gives the kingdom’ to. There is a big difference and it becomes easy to notice within yourself and others, once understood.

Jesus Christ is our wisdom and strength, no need to mingle and mix him with fleshly strength. He and his wisdom is all we need.

Remember that the world is passing away and its ruler, but at the same time, the kingdom and rule of Jesus Christ is ever increasing and it will never end.

What about you, do you live your life according to fleshly or godly wisdom and strength? Or a little of both?  Please comment below.

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Nine Paradoxes of The Christian Life

The Kingdom of Christ Began in the Midst Of The Satanic Kingdom

Jesus Christ is himself the kingdom of God, whether he is located in heaven or on earth. He began his kingdom here on earth dwelling in his people by and through his Spirit. He did this within and on an earth which was entirely enslaved by death and Satan. Within and among Satan’s domain and kingdom. This fact causes there to be paradoxes that can be confusing if we do not have understanding. An understanding which only comes with knowing Jesus Christ.

Jesus began his kingdom right in the midst of the old Satanic kingdom already in existence. What a brilliant takeover, now we who have Christ within are to trample Satan underfoot as planned in the beginning. The presence of God within Jesus Christ is the presence of the kingdom of God.

The future of everything and everyone…his future is present in his people from every time and age. We are now living in the age after the kingdom has begun but before Satan’s expulsion and death’s final defeat.

For more on this gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ click here or here:

Taking Over

We are living during the expansion of the kingdom of God on earth. Through the ages of time and expansion of the human race. This expansion is hostile and unwelcome and results in spiritual and sometimes physical violence (Matthew 11:12).

There are at least nine paradoxes of the Christian life. Actually there are probably many more than nine but for the sake of a short post I highlight nine. Living within paradox is confusing and so it helps to have understanding.

paradox – (noun) a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

Perhaps our confusing existence is one reason Jesus made our top daily priority be ‘seeking the kingdom of God.]

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be added to you” – Jesus

Nine paradoxes of the Christian life:

  1. We are to live by the Life of Christ and we are to die to our own lives. For a Christian, death to the self-life yields the life of Christ on the earth.  (1 Corinthians 15:31)
  2. As we are weakened we are made strong in Christ. (1 Cor 1:27, 2 Cor 12:10)
  3. As we are made poor we are enriched, and we enrich many. (2 Cor 6:10)
  4. We are in the world yet, not of the world. (John 17:16)
  5. Some of us suffer and are persecuted yet we are more than conquerors. (Rom 8:18 and Rom 8:37)
  6. All things, even bad things, in our lives work together for the good of those called to God’s purposes. (Rom 8:28)
  7. Defeat, losing and humility lead to our victory and success.
  8. God and Jesus’ greatest moment of defeat and man’s cruelest moment of sin was at the same moment. The well-planned and greatest victory for them both. (Matt 27:46-64)
  9. Self abasement and servanthood brings greatness not promotion and authority we so often pursue. (Matthew 20:25)

Bonus Paradox: ‘God so loved the world’ vs ‘love not the world’, click here for more on this one.

These paradoxes are mind-blowing to me, what a brilliant and amazing takeover of humanity by Jesus Christ. What seemed like the biggest defeat for Jesus, his killing, was the plan all along. It resulted in the greatest defeat of Satan. What a Lord who saves in the midst of so many paradoxes, what a priceless gift we have in Jesus Christ.

Which paradox is the most amazing to you?

What other paradoxes have you found in scripture?

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Making Sense of the Christian Life In One Sentence

I used to believe and teach the following about the Christian life:

  • God wants to bless us materially and emotionally.
  • God has only good things for us.
  • We will walk in strength and prosperity.
  • No weapon formed against us will prosper.
  • God has a great future and a specific plan prepared for our lives.

And the most important one:

  • Faith brings about all of these blessings into our reality.

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Many Christians had a problem with these beliefs as I would share them outside of my like-minded church circle, especially the last one. Believing the above required that I also believe the following:

  • A lack of faith was the reason people didn’t have all these things in their lives.
  • Those not blessed materially and emotionally somehow brought that upon themselves.
  • The bad things in people’s lives were only the weapon of the enemy and were a result of their lack of faith, or their sinful ways.

These beliefs can feed and strengthen the self-righteous mindset.

I have since realized that these beliefs are true but they are incomplete, they don’t fully reflect reality, and therefore they often don’t make sense.

I realized that there is not an ‘either-or’ battle about suffering, pain, lack and Gods blessings that many love to take a side on:

  • Suffering is often a tool used by God to bring people to himself.
  • Suffering is a reality in this world and as we suffer we often are sharing in the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
  • Death to self is a powerful key to Christian maturity.
  • Faith is only one aspect of the Christian life that we develop as we understand the reality of who Jesus Christ is and as we mature.
  • Faith is not and should not be taught as a thing or an attitude in and of itself, faith comes from a revelation of Jesus Christ.
  • Faith is not an independent thing or mindset to strive for and achieve (and then judge people about), that is just self-righteousness.

Making sense of the Christian life in one sentence:

The blessings from heaven, the promise of ‘no weapon formed against you shall prosper’ (Isaiah 54:17), the purpose of God for our lives, our bright future found in God, our life’s calling are all true and available to us but… they are found on the other side of ‘death to self’.

This concept of death to self is explained in 2 Corinthians chapter four.

2 Corinthians 4:10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.

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Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Blessings and lack, abundance and suffering are both our reality. Both are a part of the gospel, it is not either-or.  Power, blessings, authority, impact, love, family, AND… not getting his way, suffering, losing, weakness, abandonment were true for Jesus Christ and both are often true for us.

They reside on the other side of death to self, they reside on the other side of us not getting our way, on the other side of us not defending ourselves,  on the other side of us accepting our weakness.  On the other side of us not relying on our strengths, and our talents, and our skills.  They reside on the other side of us doing to others as we’d have them do to us.

This truth has huge repercussions for daily life, in our experiences and how we react to the world.

Getting to the other side of death to self is not easy for the strong, or for the talented, or for the young and powerful.  It is not easy for the great-ones among us.

But Jesus Christ will get all of his bride over there…one way or the other.

Please comment below.

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