Saturday 3 May 2025
But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (v. 7)
Background
The Greek word for wisdom, ‘sophia’, has given us our English word, sophisticated, a word that hints at the mixed blessing that it can be. Wisdom has strong biblical roots. In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, where wisdom is one of God’s great gifts, it is a guide through the maze of life’s dillemmas and problems. But – and this seems to be Paul’s point here – wisdom too easily becomes a weapon we use to get our own way, to make us look good at the expense of others, to (as we say) 'get one over' on other people.
There’s a sense that within the Corinthian church there were those who claimed to have special spiritual insights that were denied to others; they alone were spiritual, they alone were wise. Paul sees this as falling into the trap of taking a superficial understanding of wisdom. Christians, he believes, need to look for the deeper wisdom of God, a wisdom that often runs against the current of the age. As we might say today, Christian wisdom is counter-cultural.
This is why Christians need to orient themselves to the God who is revealed in the loving humility of the Cross, so that the Holy Spirit can shape their understanding and lead them into fresh insights.
To Ponder:
- Think of the ways in which ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ are portrayed in your culture.
- How might a Christian understanding of wisdom challenge these?
Prayer
Great are you, O Lord …you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you. (Saint Augustine, Confessions)
Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck
Richard is a supernumerary presbyter, living in Gloucestershire after a ministry that has taken him to Tonga, London, Gloucester and Belfast. He was formerly Principal of the West of England Ministerial Training Course and of Edgehill Theological College.