Sermons - Cornerstone Christian Fellowship

Wisdom From God

Apr 09, 2023 by: John Herbert | Series: What Shall I Do...

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1 Co 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Today's study on the Lord's resurrection is a companion study to the series 'What Shall I Do...'

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Sunday April 9th 2023
Resurrection Sunday 
Wisdom From God

1) 1 Co 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God…………… 30 But of Him [out of Him] you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

According to these verses, Christ is both the power of God and the wisdom of God and He ‘became for us wisdom from God’ and became for us ‘righteousness and sanctification and redemption’, also from God.
	a). As the Word became flesh, so Christ became the physical embodiment of God’s wisdom recorded in the written Word. And for us, His life, His death, and His resurrection reveal that wisdom, and if we will receive with meekness the wisdom of the implanted Word of Truth brought forth from above, then we may attain the righteousness, sanctification, and redemption that God has provided for us through His Son.
	b). And we might note that these four things which Christ became for us don’t begin with redemption, rather redemption is seen to follow wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification. Which tells us we are dealing with the redemption of the soul, the subject of the good news that Paul had taken to the Corinthian Church – 1 Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

Paul, ‘first of all’, delivered to the Corinthian Church that which He had also received, ‘that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, beginning with salvation by grace through faith, and he then taught them that Christ was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.’ And providing they had not believed this second part in vain and would hold fast the Word of Truth, the gospel he had preached to them, then this good news would result in redemption for them with respect to life in the age to come.
	c). And as we look at this, we come again to a familiar theme, to receive and believe the wisdom brought forth from above, exemplified in Christ. To do this, leads to righteousness, to producing the righteous acts of the saints. The wisdom from above through the practice of righteousness, good works, brings about sanctification, the process of separation and cleansing from the world and the old man, which, when brought to its goal, brings redemption, allowing God’s regal purpose for Man’s creation will be fulfilled.
	d). And as we see from the verses from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, Christ accomplished this through His death, burial, and resurrection, ‘according to the Scriptures’, and we will remember that on the day of the Lord’s resurrection it was to all that was said of Him, ‘according to the Scriptures’, that He turned to teach His disciples about Himself, within the context of His Kingdom – Lk 24:25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

And of course, the place the Lord began was Moses.

2). Ge 1:1 In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

Here then is the place of beginning; the beginning of the record of God’s dealings with the heavens and the earth and Man within the framework of seven-thousand-years of time. The beginning of the process to restore that which was ruined and the beginning of God’s revelation concerning the Word made flesh; the same place where Jesus began on the road to Emmaus, the beginning of the power and the wisdom of God.
	a). The sovereign act of God’s power that began the process of redemption for the earth found in the place of death is inextricably connected to the Lamb ‘slain from the foundation of the world’ as redemption is not possible apart from the death and shed blood of God, the wisdom of God revealed - Ge 1:9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.

The slaying of the Lamb automatically calls to mind His resurrection, and here on the third day in Genesis Chapter 1 the Lord’s resurrection is foreshadowed in the events of this day. Having become sin for us His soul was taken to the place of death, but on the third day death was overcome by the power of God, by the One who is ‘the resurrection and the life’, the wisdom of God – Jn 12:23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

1 Co 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.

And in our Lord’s resurrection is the certainty of the out-resurrection from the dead for the faithful Christian and the deliverance of Israel, with respect to the Millennial Kingdom, and the certainty that every human being who experiences physical death will be raised from the dead to be judged, each one in his own order. Here is the wisdom of God once more.

Ge 1:14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.

And on the fourth day, following resurrection on the third day, comes the foundational picture of rulership from the heavens over the earth. A foundation that is climaxed on the sixth day with the creation of the Man and the Woman – Ge 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion…………

And here of course is the foundational picture for Christ and His Bride, who together will rule from the heavens over the earth during the Seventh Day – Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying:
“What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little while lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

This is the wisdom of God. This is the wisdom that Christ became for us, providing the guarantee of the fulfillment of God’s regal purpose through His resurrection. And we have received this wisdom brought forth from above through the written Word that reveals the living Word – 
1 Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

And so, we will understand, by comparing spiritual things with spiritual, that in order to one day find ourselves in the position whereby all things are put under our feet, we must once again be in the image and likeness of God, just as Adam and the Woman before the fall; a redeemed spirit, a redeemed soul and a redeemed body, a body covered in glory, and this must follow the restorative process for a ruined creation set out in Genesis Chapter 1 and follow the progression seen in wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption in 1 Corinthians Chapter 1; all are contingent upon Christ’s resurrection.
	c). We will realize that for us this will only be accomplished by the power of God as we choose to walk in resurrection, allowing the child training of the Lord and following the leading of the Spirit and not the old man that we may become righteous, be sanctified, and ultimately redeemed at the Judgment Seat.
	d). And to walk in the power of His resurrection producing the fruits of righteousness, is only possible because Christ was raised from the dead - 1Co 15:12 ¶ Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Here is a false teaching that had arisen in the church in Corinth, part of the leavening process that began early in the dispensation. To deny the resurrection of Christ through denying the resurrection of the dead is to challenge Christ’s deity, to challenge the power of God’s work in us, to invalidate His wisdom. If there is no resurrection it would make it impossible for members of the human race to once again be in the image and likeness of God, thereby destroying the Seventh Day - 1Co 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Now let’s think about this further, if Christ is not risen then everything that has been preached here over the last eighteen years has been a lie, meaning that both the preaching and our faith that has come from hearing the Word of Truth preached would be empty and futile.
	e). Our faith would be empty and futile because our faith is in the hope that is set before us, a hope that is inseparable from the resurrection of Christ - 1Pe 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has brought us forth from above to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Heb 11:1 ¶ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

And here we have it clearly, we are being continually brought forth from above by the wisdom of God to a ‘living hope’, a hope that is alive as it is in the person of Jesus Christ through, or as a result of, His resurrection from the dead.
	f). And so, if Christ is not risen there is no living hope and therefore, there can be no Seventh Day, there can be no Bride. In fact, if Christ is not risen then Jesus is not the Christ at all, as the OT Scriptures clearly teach that the Christ would be raised from the dead on the Third Day – 
Ps 16:8 ¶ I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. 10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

And if Jesus is not the Christ, then His death and shed blood did not take away our sin to provide for our redemption from the world, and nor could we now have a High Priest in the heavens to whom we can boldly go in time of need, and we would remain dead in our trespasses and sins even to this day.
	g). If there is no resurrection from the dead, then all those who have died, from Adam to Abraham, would not be raised on the Third Day either. All those who make up the Children of Israel, from Abraham to Christ, would not be raised on the Third Day; Israel will not be at the head of the nations and all the nations of the earth could not therefore be blessed and God’s promise to Abraham would be a lie.

3). But faced with such falsehood there is only one thing to consider, ‘What does the Scripture say?’ And there is no better place to go than the day of the Lord’s resurrection itself - Jn 19:38 ¶ After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

The detail we will take note of here is the mixture of myrrh and aloes that weighed about a hundred pounds that was spread upon the body of Jesus and then wrapped with strips of linen.
	a). I am sure the picture is an obvious one.  Christ’s body was encased with the spices and the strips of linen and would have resembled after some fashion an Egyptian mummy. 
	b). So, keeping this picture in our mind let’s now move to the first day of the week following the Lord’s crucifixion - Jn 20:1 ¶ Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.

What was it that Peter and John saw when they entered that tomb that caused them to believe that Christ was risen from the dead? Simply, the empty shell of spices and linen strips that had held His body.
	c). The linen strips had not been unwrapped, the hundred pounds of spices had not been scraped off, they were in exactly the same shape as when the Lord’s body was placed in the tomb, but His body was no longer inside. And the napkin that had been around His head was not in the same place to reveal the empty shell.
	d). Jesus hadn’t come to life in the place He was laying, like Lazarus had. He didn’t have to have the stone removed to let Him out or need help with His grave clothes as Lazarus did. Jesus the power of God and the wisdom from God for us, raised Himself from the dead – 
Jn 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life

And He did this in conjunction with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God’s Divine power. Let’s be clear, Jesus didn’t ‘wake up’ and then walk out of the tomb, no, in the minutest particle of time, in the twinkling of an eye, His body, soul and spirit were instantly reunited at a location outside of the tomb. One moment His body was there in the shell and the next it wasn’t. It is that simple.
	e). And as for the stone in front of the tomb, that had been taken away to let the disciples in, not to let Jesus out.
	f). So how can we know it happened this way? Because of the events later that day - Jn 20:19 ¶ Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

The doors were shut and yet Jesus stood in their midst. He didn’t walk through the wall He was just instantly there; an event that was repeated some eight days later when Thomas was present.
	g). And how was this possible? Because the risen Christ had the same body of flesh and bone as He died in, but now the lifegiving force within Him was no longer the blood, as His blood was poured out on the cross, but the Holy Spirit. And a Spirit animated body, as we see with Jesus, is neither bound by time nor space – Re 1:18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Let’s think about this by calling to mind - 1Pe 3:18 ¶ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh [His body of flesh, bone and blood] but made alive by the Spirit, [animated by the Spirit not the blood] 19 by whom also [in His Spirit animated body] He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

Here, we will remember, is where Jesus appeared in Tartarus in His Spirit animated, resurrected body to declare to the fallen angels who had cohabited with the daughters of men during the days of Noah, that not only was the Seed of the Woman they tried to prevent now here, but had also proven Himself worthy, through His death and resurrection to redeem that which the first Adam had forfeited. The wisdom of God was revealed, the power of God displayed.
	h). And to make this proclamation Jesus didn’t have to make a journey to the center of the earth, He was just there.
	i). Then, if we continue with the Scripture from Peter – 
1Pe 3:21 ¶ There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

Now let’s consider what we see here, the antitype of the flood of Noah, baptism, is what saves us. We know that we are not talking about spirit salvation and nor are we talking about a literal immersion in water, but rather the process that brings about the salvation of our soul through keeping our old man in the place of death. Dying to self, pictured through baptism, will give us ‘the answer of a good conscience toward God’ when we stand at the Judgment Seat. And according to the Scripture this is only made possible ‘through the resurrection of Jesus Christ’ – 
Ro 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Now here is an important key for us, if Christ is not risen then we cannot keep our old man in the place of death, because doing so is an action that can only be accomplished in the spirit because of Christ being raised from the dead. Therefore, if Christ is not risen our soul cannot be saved, and if our soul cannot be saved then it doesn’t matter how we live.
	j). Do we remember what Jesus said in - Jn 16:7 ¶ "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you…….13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

If Christ is not risen, then He could not send the Holy Spirit as the sending of the Spirit was dependent upon His ‘going away’. If the Spirit was not sent, then none of the things detailed in these verses would be possible.
	k). But right here is where we should jump for joy because our own experience is validated by the truth of this Scripture. We know that the Scripture is true because the Holy Spirit has taken what is Christ’s and has declared it to us. He has shown us things to come. The power of God and the wisdom of God revealed to us through His resurrected Son. And in this we can testify to the veracity of the Word of Truth. We can with boldness and absolute certainty shout from the rooftops, Christ is risen from the dead.

4). Because Christ is risen from the dead, the proclamation of the Word of Truth is not empty, and our faith is not futile. Our hope is certain and irrevocable, and the prize is still there before us. For the Third Day is almost upon us when the dead in Christ will rise first and those who remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. Now is not the time to be despondent, nor to be fearful or anxious, now is the time to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God by receiving with meekness the wisdom brought forth from above, that He might exalt us in due time. Now is the time to have the boldness and determination of Caleb and declare before the Lord in the face of an uncertain world, ‘Give me that mountain’.
	a). The Lord is risen, He is risen indeed – and because of this astounding reality we are able to choose to walk in the power of His resurrection every day, producing the righteous acts of the saints done in the meekness of wisdom, as we move inexorably towards His Kingdom where the ‘Man and the Woman’ will have dominion together in the Seventh Day. Do not be deceived my beloved brethren – 
1 Co1: 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God…………… 30 But of Him [out of Him] you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

More next time if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed.

Wisdom From God

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Wisdom From God

Apr 09, 2023

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: What Shall I Do...

Category: Sunday Morning

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A Recap from the Sermon