For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!

Ecclesiastes 2

For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! Ecclesiastes 2:16

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Ecclesiastes 2:12-17, which is the second division of Ecclesiastes 2 per the commentary.  While there is some speculation to whom Solomon is addressing when he refers to his son in this text, a strong candidate is Rehoboam (see also starting 1 Kings 11, and 2 Chronicles 9). The commentary first describes how Solomon seeks to help his son avoid the mistakes and sin he made over the course of his life.  It then describes vv13-14 and the value of wisdom: "[w]isdom helps you navigate this world without stumbling because it allows you to see clearly the pitfalls, and it allows you to discern the right decision in each situation."  The commentary then shares how although wisdom has value, again apart from God there is no lasting value: "wisdom is better than foolishness, but the value is only relative, and it does not last. Why? Wisdom’s gain over folly is fleeting because both the wise and the fool share the same fate. Death is the great equalizer. That is Solomon’s point. What is the use in exerting all of this energy to be wise if this world is all there is and we all end up as worm food in the end? Why deny myself the seeming fun of the foolish life and work hard to be wise when we all end up the same? Death makes meaningless even trying to live the right kind of life in this world."  Additionally, much of humanity toils for value by striving for a "righteous" or "good" life but again Solomon shares how in the end in our fallen world it is futile - bad things happen to "righteous" and "good" people and vice-versa for less than righteous and good people.  We seek justice and judgement but Solomon once again points out how this, apart from God, is futile.   

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - freely giving me salvation and blessing me every day (without ceasing) new mercies.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1 Corinthians 1

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:25

I continue my study of 1 Corinthians.  I am assisted in my study by the Christ-Centered Exposition Series commentary for this book.  Today my focus is a review - aided by the commentary - of 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.  The commentary* provide three (3) divisions for the text:

1. The Word of the Cross Separates the Lost and Saved (1:18): the commentary* describes how Paul "sets the table" in v18 by dividing "all of humanity into two camps: the perishing and the saved." The "word of the cross" is explained as core to the gospel as "unimaginable" according earthly standards of wisdom.  "The perishing simply cannot believe the cross is the way of salvation: that seems absurd."  Of course for believers, the cross is not only understood but it is - as the commentary* describes -    "the cross of Christ is the power of God that saves us in three tenses! It delivered us in the past from the penalty of sin (justification). It delivers us in the present from the power of sin (sanctification). It will deliver us in the future from the presence of sin (glorification). Nothing other than Jesus’s death on the cross could save us."
   
2. The Wisdom of the Cross Highlights the Foolishness of Worldly Wisdom (1:19-21): Here the commentary refers us to Isaiah 55:8 and 29:14 as the basis for v19-21 where God's wisdom is described as superior and contrasted to the inferiority of worldly wisdom that is incapable of matching God's wisdom - worldly wisdom in the face of God's wisdom is rendered as foolishness.  The commentary* shares "[n]o matter how smart you think you are, God says, you are a fool to do life without Christ and his cross." It goes on the share: "[p]eople do not save themselves. God does! Humans are not saved by what they know (by a philosophy) but by the one they believe in (a person brutally executed on a cross for the forgiveness of sins). The message of a crucified Savior strips prideful humans of all their genius and intellectual achievements. It drives us to our knees at the foot of a horrible instrument of execution [(Christ's death on the cross)]."
   
3. The Witness to the Cross Is a Hindrance to Some but the Power of God to Others (1:22-25). Here the commentary describes how the text shows how for some - (a) Paul's intended audience: the Jews and Greeks of the day, (b) those who today seek worldly knowledge above God (as an idol) - the cross and the gospel is not accepted.  At the same, those to whom God reveals Himself see the cross and the gospel as divine and offering salvation. The commentary* shares "the cross God outsmarted the wise and overpowered the strong. God’s seemingly foolish and weak thing is wiser and more powerful than anything mere mortals can come up with."
   

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves and who went to the cross to save those whom You love and call - thank You Jesus for making me one of Your elect and for the salvation You provide.  I am not deserving.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

*Akin, Dr. Daniel L.; Merritt, James. Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

I continue my study of 1 Corinthians.  I am assisted in my study by the Christ-Centered Exposition Series commentary for this book.  Today my focus is a review - unaided by the commentary - of 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. Here the emphasis is the contrast in how God's wisdom (the Word) saves and has power - even as God uses ordinary and weak people as vessels through which He delivers the Word - in contrast to worldly wisdom and power which God manifests in kingdoms that are brought low and humbled at His will.  The text starts today by describing how God's Word is "folly" to those who spurn its teachings but the Word is God Himself and it is power for believers (John 1:1). The text then rhetorically challenges us to look elsewhere in the text where we may identify wisdom in the world, but are challenged us to see how God is the source of wisdom and how God both raises up those in power and also tears them down - all at His whim.  The text continues to state how God is not known through worldly wisdom, but instead through humans to whom God reveals Himself - ordinary and weak people such as Peter - and how God uses ordinary and weak people to save.  The world often seeks "signs" and "wisdom" just as the Jews and Greeks did (v22), but Christ - who died and rose again - and His Word is all that is need by those who are called and believed through faith.  This is of course very hard to understand by those who don't believe and that is the point - belief and faith is through God alone who chooses to reveal Himself to whom He chooses - not through any wisdom that is gained through human effort - it is divine!  We should be thankful that God chose us not through our own effort but through grace and election at God's will alone.  I am drawn to Isaiah 55:8 where it is written how God's ways and thoughts are not easily understood by the weak human mind - however sharp it may be by earthly standards. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who IS wisdom, gives wisdom, and who saves - all by grace.  Thank You for my salvation and for the wisdom You provide to guide me as a lamp for my feet and life. I am not deserving of my salvation and for the wisdom You alone provide.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.