Wisdom Is Hidden In A Mystery
Betty always hid her bones. When I was growing up, we had a dog named, “Betty.” And she used to find animal carcasses and drag them home. But when you found them she would take the strangest course of action. If you found her treasured bones, she would drag them someplace else and bury them. They were her treasures. And she didn’t want you to have them or even know about them. So what did she do? She hid them from you. I mention that because in God’s word this morning we find the same pattern. In these words we see that this treasure of wisdom is hidden in a mystery. And first of all, it’s hidden in a mystery from the world. We read: “6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived— God has prepared these things for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:6–9 CSB17)
Betty used to bury her bones. That was her treasure. What does God hide? What is his treasure? Wisdom—true wisdom is what he hides. And he hides it from the world. And if you look around you in the world you see how true this is. The unbelieving world, for as much as it wants to be wise, has no wisdom. The unbelieving world wants love and stability. But they want this without marriage, the foundation of both. The world wants a version of morality—they want right and wrong to exist. But then they deny that there’s any truth out there in the world.
Wisdom, true wisdom is hidden from the world. And Paul proves it here in these words. If you were in a knife-fight with someone else, would you hand them a gun? But that’s exactly what the world did. They crucified the Lord of Glory. In that statement we find an amazing mystery. How is it that God was able to die? And yet, in Christ, we see that God died. These words are so very clear in what they say. They killed God in the person of Jesus. They would have not done that if they had any wisdom at all.
This wisdom is hidden from the world. But it is revealed to us. What an amazing mystery it is for us to ponder that in Christ, God died. If just a human died on the cross then the sins of the entire world could not have been paid for. But since the Lord of Glory died and rose, then the sins of the entire world were paid for. And that means so much to us. For we are sinners too. And one of the ways we sin is by concluding that God has to unveil and reveal all of his mysteries. Why did God allow me to lose my job? Why did he give me cancer or failing eyes? Why did he allow this tragedy to happen in the life of someone I love? So very often these questions remain mysteries. And we should know it is this way. We believe that there’s one God and three persons—a mystery. We believe that there’s one person of Christ, but two different and distinct natures, divine and human. It’s a mystery. We are used to mysteries. But when those mysteries affect us and our lives then we speak out and lash out. But how amazing it is that God reveals this mystery to us: The Lord of Glory was crucified. Since Jesus, both true God and true human died, our sins, even those sins we commit by not tolerating his mysteries, are forgiven.
This wisdom is hidden from the world. But it is revealed to us in a mystery so that we would know our sins are forgiven. But this wisdom is revealed in a mystery also so that we would know who it was who revealed this wisdom to us. Paul tells us: “10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10–12 CSB17)
Notice the example Paul gives. Who knows you? Who knows what you think from moment to moment and feel instant by instant? You are the one—and the only one who knows. Who is the only one who knows what God wants and feels? God is the only one. And the only way you can understand what is godly and spiritual is if God explains it to you. And he emphasizes this in the words which follow: “13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. 14 But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually. 15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For who has known the Lord’s mind, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:13–16 CSB17)
Unbelievers cannot understand spiritual issues. Here too is where we face a massive temptation to sin. We know Jesus. We know the Holy Spirit. We know and have the wisdom from God’s word. So what do we do? We go to our unbelieving friends and family members and try to argue them into heaven. With human thoughts and human reasoning we try to wrestle them into choosing Jesus and understanding him. But they don’t get it. And here in these words we hear why that is. The person without the Holy Spirit cannot understand any wisdom from God because they are unable to. They are unable to choose Jesus. Our great temptation to sin is to argue people into heaven. But what is the solution? The solution is simply to share God’s word. For through God’s word he is able to perform miracles. With God’s word the Holy Spirit is able to break down unbelief. He is able to reveal his wisdom. He is able to forgiven sin and strengthen faith. And if you want proof that God’s word is so powerful, just look at yourself. When you came into this world you were an unbeliever. But by his grace, his undeserved love, he chose you. He forgave you. He taught you. And by his Spirit he still does all of these through his word. And he teaches you to embrace and rejoice in all these mysteries in the bible, even though you really don’t understand them completely. And if he can do that with you, he can do the same with others.
And so, my dear friends in Christ, wisdom is hidden in a mystery. It is hidden in a mystery so that we would know that our sins are forgiven. And it is hidden in a mystery so that we would know who it was who revealed this wisdom to us: The Holy Spirit. Amen.