The Foolishness of Man and the Wisdom of God

 

Text: Selected Scriptures

 

November 29, 2009

 

Introduction:

 

Growing up, I was given a book entitled Heroes Not Zeroes. The book recounts the lives of the major Biblical characters and sets them forth as great heroes for whom we are to imitate and order our lives.

While serving as a youth intern, I remember listening to messages at summer camp on David and Goliath. The pastor spoke about all the “giants” that we meet in our lives and how like David we needed to learn how to take our sling and 5 stones and slay the “giants” in our lives.

Certainly, there are lessons we can learn from the example of believers who have gone before us (cf., 1 Cor. 10:6). But, the question we want to ask is, “What is this the best way to read and understand the Bible?”

When we look at the Biblical account, do we find heroes or zeroes? Are Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Samson, Jonah, etc… great heroes to whom we are to aspire to become like? Are they the leading characters of the Bible’s story?

When we read the Bible, do we find obedient, moral examples or disobedient, immoral failures? Do we find wise or foolish men and women? What do we find when we look at the flow of redemptive history in the Bible?

Let’s start with Abraham. How does the Bible present Abraham?

 

Abraham

Paul calls him ungodly (Rom. 4:4). He was a pagan, idolater (Joshua 24:2). Even after his justification, out of unbelief towards God’s promise, Abraham devises a human solution to Sarah’s barrenness and sleeps with Hagar (Gen. 16). In Genesis 20:2, we again find Abraham willing to sell his wife this time to Abimelech king of Gerar for his own self protection (see also Gen. 12:10-20).

 

Moses

What about Moses? He was a murderer (Ex. 2:11-15). Moreover, the book of Deuteronomy ends with Moses not entering into the Promised Land as a result of his serious anger toward God when he struck the rock at Meribah (Numbers 20:2-13; Deut. 1:37-38; 34:4).

 

Children of Israel

What about the children of Israel who entered the Promised Land? The Biblical account once again is quite grim. Again, we find an endless cycle that spirals down.

 

Judges

Then we come to the time of the Judges and even the good guys (i.e., the Judges) are portrayed as moral disasters and utterly foolish failures. Chapter 19 of Judges is so morally revolting it would easily gain an R-rating in movie theaters today.

 

Kings

Next, we move to the era of the Kings of Israel. What do we find here? Do we find wise, upright, moral leaders faithfully following and governing God’s people according to God’s law? No! What we find are foolish, immoral, disobedient, disasters!

Saul was an unmitigated disaster for Israel. David, a man after God’s own heart, was a lying, adulterous, murderer (2 Samuel 11). One can only imagine what he would have done had he not been a man after God’s own heart!

Solomon, David’s son and the wisest King of Israel, proved to be nothing more than a foolish, failure. 1 Kings 11:3 says that Solomon “had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.”

Just a few centuries later, the Davidic Dynasty had run itself into the ground. Both the Northern (Assyrian Captivity and Fall of Israel, 722 B.C.) and Southern Kingdoms (Babylonian Captivity and Fall of Judah, 586 B.C.) were driven into exile. When the children of Israel were brought out of exile, it was a hollow return and the OT ends in Malachi with a curse (Mal. 4:6).

 

This brief overview of Old Testament history does not give us the impression of heroic, moral, wise, obedient examples to pattern our lives after. Rather, the entire flow of redemptive history presents to us a picture of what Paul shows to us in his letters, that there is none righteous no not one!

The whole of redemptive history points out that the entire human race is nothing but a bunch of wretched, foolish sinners who stand in need of grace! The Bible then is not a record of heroes but rather of zeroes. It is an accounting of unwise, foolish, failing sinners, who have been graciously justified and redeemed by Christ (cf., Rom. 4, Abraham and David set forth as examples of “ungodly”).

Thinking back to Solomon, for all his wisdom, we find that perfect wisdom ultimately eludes him (and all men). Solomon, the kingly figure fails, but he stands in the line of the promise given to David concerning the one who will come and live and rule in perfect wisdom. Who is this promised one?

 

Jesus: The Wisdom of God

Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise God made to David (Lk. 1:27, 69). The gospels describe Jesus as increasing in wisdom and in favor with God and men (Lk. 2:52). Jesus is revealed as the perfect wise man who became for us wisdom from God (1 Cor. 1:30).

What does it mean for Jesus to become wisdom for us?

The wise man, Proverbs says, fears the Lord and orders his or her life according to the law of God. Jesus, then, is the only truly perfectly wise man who has ever lived.

In John 8:29, Jesus said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

As we have seen the Biblical account records for us nothing but human failure. No man ever lived to do those things that are always pleasing to God. Instead, as we have seen, the Bible depicts again and again how prone man is to do foolish things, to think and act in an unwise manner.

All of our actions, thoughts and desires are tainted by our sin and foolishness. In Romans 1:22, Paul writing of the universal sinfulness of man states, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools.”

Both problems, our sin and our foolishness, are really one and the same. And, both problems are dealt with through our being justified by grace through faith in Christ alone.

Through faith, Christ’s righteousness is credited to us and there is no longer condemnation. And, because we are united to Him by faith, we are now accounted truly wise in Him.

The most foolish thing a man can do is to continue living his or her life in rejection of Christ. The wisest act is to trust in Jesus, who has become for us not only the righteousness of God but also our wisdom.

This means that when we act foolish and our wisdom is lacking, we can repent with the assurance that there is no condemnation. This is Good News!

 

The Lord’s Supper

This brings us now to the Lord’s Supper. In this visible gospel, we have set before us both the wisdom and righteousness of God.

The Lord’s Supper is a continual reminder to foolish, failing sinners that Jesus has become for us not only the righteousness of God but also our wisdom.

The wisest and most righteous act we can do is to come humbly to this visible gospel, looking away from ourselves, confessing our utter lack of righteousness and wisdom, acknowledging our foolish thoughts and deeds and assuring ourselves of God’s great mercy and grace.

The Lord’s Supper is one of the greatest “gospel-blessings” the Lord has given to His people for their ongoing assurance of the forgiveness of their sins as well as God’s favor toward them.

In the Lord’s Supper we are reminded and assured that God has received us, once for all, into His family, that He is our Father and we are His sons. It is is God’s visible pledge of His continuing gracious liberality toward us (Eph. 1:7-8).

The Lord’s Supper is as John Calvin noted “a spiritual banquet, wherein Christ attests Himself to be the life-giving bread, ” (John 6:51], (4.17.1). It is upon Him that we find a never-ending supply of spiritual nourishment for our Christian walk.

Because God’s gracious liberality to us in Christ (Eph. 1:7-8) is hard for us to believe, God has accommodated to our lowly capacity and given us simple elements of bread and wine to continually remind and assure us of His grace toward us.

His never ending love and favor toward you is as real as the piece of bread and cup of juice you hold and taste. Thus, gospel-centered/driven believers (and churches) recognize and avail themselves regularly of the guarantees and tokens of God’s favor to them in this ordinance. They understand the purpose and central importance of this ordinance for their spiritual edification and assurance.

Walter Marshall notes,

 

The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is not only to help you remember Christ’s death in the history of it, but in the mystery of it. His body was broken for you, and his blood was shed for you as the blood of the New Covenant for the forgiveness of sins. God wants you to receive and enjoy all the promises of the New Covenant that are recorded (Hebrews 8:10-12). The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remind you that Christ’s body and blood are bread and drink, a totally sufficient food to nourish your soul to everlasting life. Take, eat, and drink of him by faith. This will assure you that when you truly believe in him, he is as closely united to you by his Spirit as the food you eat and drink is united to your body,” (The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, p. 205; emphasis mine).

 

Don’t miss Marshall’s words, “God wants you to receive and enjoy all the promises of the New Covenant that are recorded (Hebrews 8:10-12).” God wants us not only to receive but also enjoy! The Lord’s Supper is a spiritual banquet of delight! God’s favor is placarded before us in the humble signs of bread and wine for our delight in Him and our enjoyment of all of His spiritual blessings!

O, how great this gift is in light of those too frequent moments when we are acutely aware of our sins and foolishness. 

Through the Lord’s Supper we can assure ourselves that eternal life is ours and that the Kingdom of Heaven, into which Christ has already entered, can no more be cut off from us than from Him. 

We can assure ourselves that we cannot be condemned for our sins because our guilt has been forgiven since Christ willed to take it upon Himself as if it were his own. By this Gospel means, we come to taste and see that the Lord is Good!

 

 

© John Fonville

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