One of the more difficult concepts that is core to understanding Christ’s work on the cross, is the means by which He came into genuine, humble agreement with God the Father, in order for atonement and salvation to be made possible. The apostle Paul mentions that what happened on the cross is a stumbling block to the Jews (it was scandalous in every regard) and sheer folly to the Gentiles (it was the most stupid concept imaginable). Yet, the apostle stated very clearly that the work of the cross was the unequalled, supreme wisdom of God, and only those who respond to the Gospel message get to understand, appreciate and cherish this wisdom. To everyone else, it is scandalous, humiliating and gross stupidity and on such a basis nothing good can possibly be achieved. But the apostle, who once thought this way, himself, had made a glorious discovery – the cross was the wisdom of God. It still is, and always will be. It is one of the three strands of the Gospel Paul preached. Here is what he wrote to the Corinthian church …
1 Corinthians 1:17-24 (ESV)
20 “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
But the big question for me, as I meditated on this passage on my holiday break, was this: “How was this wisdom of God released to the world through Christ?” If Christ had not obediently done what He did, the salvation wisdom of God would never have been made manifest. We get an important clue about this from one of Paul’s later letters, this time to the Philippian church. This is what he wrote, and it contains the ultimate truth that made the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ possible.
Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV)
[Paul] “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The apostle reveals several aspects of divine truth here. Obedience is not possible without humility, and humility is not possible until we are emptied of self. As long as there is a grain of self, real humility cannot be formed in us. And without genuine humility there can never be total obedience. Paul describes Christ’s character and faith in this very way here. He emptied Himself of self. His heart was fully devoted to the Father, and into His being – emptied of self – came the humility that produces obedience that honours the Father. This is the humility of the Father. Of course, this was no easy thing for even our Lord. In the Garden of Gethsemane He fights an epic battle in order to empty Himself. “Not My will be done, but Yours …”
In the ensuing hours He becomes our salvation – the wisdom of God personified. And the power of God. Now, when Paul speaks in both Philippians and 1 Corinthians about the wisdom of God and the cross, he is not so much talking about the crucifixion as an example to be followed, rather he is speaking about a mindset. A state of mind. The mind of Christ is to fully and completely carry out the will of the Father. In fact, He, himself, said once early in His ministry,
John 5:19 (ESV)
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”
The mind of Christ is to fully carry out His Father’s purposes – even if that means going to the cross and being executed in the most scandalous, humiliating and public way. How did Jesus ever come to such a state of mind? He emptied Himself. And that emptying of self released the redemptive, salvation wisdom of God that so many cannot come to grips with, until they repent, receive Christ and are born again. This is wisdom. God’s wisdom. It is more than data, information, or knowledge. And it is not released in full measure to any born again person unless they, too, empty themselves of self so that the rich wisdom of God can be made manifest in and through them. This is a moral and righteous thing, it is not intellectual pursuit. Which is why Paul said (above) in Philippians, “Have this mind among yourselves …” – it is no intellectual thing, but an emptying-of-self thing by which the wisdom and grace of God is released amongst the people of God. It is made manifest to the world. This is not the wisdom of human genius, or philosophies, it does not originate in this world, which leaves God out of all consideration. It is from above.
The Father planned that all humanity and creation should be saved through the obedience of His Son “unto death” rather than through human effort, however intellectually brilliant that might be.
We learn so much from these scriptures. The key thing here, though – apart from the salvation that came through Christ’s obedience – is that if we understand and learn the spiritual art of emptying ourselves of self and, thereby, increasingly have the same mind as Christ toward the Father, the wisdom of God is released to us in our discipleship journey. The supreme wisdom of God. Imagine a whole church in which the rich wisdom of God was visible! But this is God’s purpose.
Ephesians 3:10 (NLT)
“God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”
Yet, this emptying prerequisite is still a struggle for many believers and it limits them in thousands of ways. There is no limit to God’s wisdom. We have no idea!
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NIV)
However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived"— the things God has prepared for those who love Him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.”
As born agains, we are to learn and practice the art of emptying of self so that Holy Spirit fills those places with the wisdom of God.
Think on these things.
Ps Milton