Wisdom of this Age

1 Corinthians 2.6-16

In the passage today Paul tells us that a large percentage of people go through life blinded to the spiritual world. They cannot understand the things of God. For them the world of the Spirit is a hidden wisdom, a secret wisdom, an unknowable wisdom. God is a big mystery.

The cause of this, according to Paul, is that like a fish swimming in the ocean, we swim in a sea he calls "the wisdom of this age." This wisdom keeps us dulled to all that the spiritual world can offer.

What is this "wisdom of this age?" Well, it involves things like consumerism, self-centeredness, hyper-competitiveness, status seeking, power-mongering, insecurity, etc. But at heart the "wisdom of this age" involves two main tenets.

1. This world is all there is. Some people believe there is no God. We call them atheists. Others are not sure and live as if there is no God. We call them agnostics. Far greater people affirm there is a God, but live each day without prayer, without guidance, without any reference to the God they say they believe in. We call them functional atheists.

If you believe that this world is all there is, then you will not to be open to the world of the Spirit. It will be hidden to you.

2. Therefore, its all about me. We all must worship something, and many worship self. If your world is totally self-focused, then there will be no room for God. God will essentially be crowded out. In our narcissistic culture this attitude runs rampant.

So, what do we do? According to Paul, there is only one way to move away from an orientation that follows the wisdom of this world. And that involves the Spirit of God chipping away at your worldview.

Everything good that happens to us involves the initiative of God towards us. The Methodists call this prevenient grace.

Would you be open to the Spirit of God changing the way you think? He might just open up a whole new world for you.