Christ, the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and who was God, in whom all things were created, —as the life and the light of the world, —“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1.10-13
Worldly Ignorance —“He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” John 1.10. “The world through wisdom did not know God.” 1 Corinthians 1.21. The wisdom of this world does not reveal Christ, but conceals Him. No man can ever learn of Christ by worldly wisdom. It is Mr. Worldly Wiseman that turns Christian out of the right way. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” 1 Corinthians 3.19
The Depths of Ignorance —“The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider.” says the Lord. Isaiah 1.3. Therefore the wisdom of this world does not rise to the level of the intelligence of brutes. Yes, it sinks men below the level of brutes, when it is given full chance to develop; because men “became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Romans 1.21-23. It is impossible that men should rise above the object that they worship, and the description, which follows the scripture just, quoted shows that the worshippers of beasts and creeping things did actually fall below them. But all that was simply the full development of worldly wisdom.
True Wisdom —The Bible does not discredit wisdom or science. It is only “science falsely so called,” and the boasted wisdom of the world, which is not wisdom at all, but only foolishness, that is spoken against. “For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.” Proverbs 2.6, 7. “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28.28. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know.” John 7.17. It is by faith that we understand. Hebrews 11.3
The Cross and Knowledge —Wisdom comes from God alone. To know Him embraces everything that is worth knowing or having. “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, or let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me.” Jeremiah 9.23, 24. But by the Spirit of the Lord Paul said, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6.14. Since we can glory only in the knowledge of God, and only in the cross, it follows that it is only in the cross that we can learn to know God. The world knew not Christ, because they wanted
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