The Church, Part 9, Continued

We pick up where we left off.

There is a wisdom that is “earthly, unspiritual, and demonic” (James 3:14). This is the wisdom of “the wise,” that is, those who think that they are wise. It is this wisdom that God intends to thwart and destroy (1 Corinthians 1:18, 19). He frustrates this wisdom with what these worldly-wise regard as foolish. For example, take the victory that God gave to Israel over the Midianites under Gideon (Judges 6). First, God chose a man, Gideon, who was somewhat doubtful and unbelieving (Judges 6:13) and fearful and cowardly (vv. 15, 27), which is shown in the fleece incident (vv. 36–40) and the hesitancy at the battlefront (7:9–14).

Second, God reduced Israel’s fighting force to a mere 300 men facing an enemy that numbered in the thousands (7:2–9). The reason for this is that God did not want Israel to boast and take credit for the victory (v. 2). The victory over Midian in the power of God was never in doubt, but it appeared to violate all normal expectations of the worldly wise.

Suffering is a similar situation and is important to divine victory. The many biblical references to suffering are largely ignored in western culture because suffering is wrongly equated with weakness. Facing death in a Roman prison, Paul’s final letter to Timothy speaks of the end of his labors, the hope of eternal glory. The path to this glory involved his selflessly enduring suffering for the sake of others (2 Timothy 2:10). He supports this with a hymn that includes “if we endure [hupomeno, to suffer patiently], we will also reign with him.”  What appears as defeat is actually the path to victory for Spirit-guided believers pressing forward in the will of God (1 Corinthians 15:57).

This is illustrated by Jesus’ death, which was carried out under the violent rage of wicked people and rulers against the Lord and His Anointed (Psalm 2:1, 2). However, Christ’s death was a predetermined plan to victory (Isaiah 53:10; Acts 2:30–36; 4:25–28). In their worldly wisdom, wicked men sought to stop Jesus because He threatened their power. As He hung there for several hours, He literally quoted Psalm 22:1 (Matthew 27:46). This Psalm includes “Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me” (Psalm 22:12). Although, not specifically quoted, Matthew does record the battalion of Roman soldiers present (v. 27). They were the bulls of Bashan through whom the demonic forces worked, thinking that they were winning the conflict. What they viewed as Christ’s defeat was actually His triumph. As Paul explains, “A secret and hidden wisdom of God [is what] God decreed before the ages for our glory.  None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2:7, 8).

To apply this wisdom to the church, understand that when the enemy attacks the church to defeat them with deception, distraction, or opposition, the true churches are already victorious. If the enemy understood this, they would stop what they were doing.