Day 30

Being A Fool Has Nothing

To Do With Education

Roger and Eileen Himes

www.ThePracticalGospel.com

Today, let’s look at how we connect with the revelation contained in what Paul calls ‘the gospel of Christ,’ and ‘the gospel of God.’ This is of ultimate importance because this addresses HOW the seed comes into us that grows deep roots, and good fruit. Paul refers to this, in I Corinthians, as THE WISDOM OF GOD. He says we have the wisdom of God — but of course it is implied that we are allowing the seed to come into us.

Many very highly educated, deep thinking, very visible preachers and instructors do NOT let the wisdom of God come into them. They are over their heads in a theology, or a certain religious philosophy that they adhere to. This is all they preach. This blocks the Vine and branch flow of God’s wisdom — his gospel truth into us.

Many times, the Bible uses the word ‘fools’ or ‘foolish.’ This is not talking about intellect, education, or someone being dumb. You can have a Ph.D., M.D., J.D., M.Div., Rev., or any other designation after your name and still be a ‘fool,’ by Bible standards.

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GOSPEL TRUTH #59

Being wise or foolish does not involve grey matter between our ears. It is a matter of the heart, not the head. It involves the decisions and the choices we make, and level and degree of responsiveness we live. In relationship with God this translates into belief and trust. It is not a matter of IQ (intelligence quotient), but a matter of SQ (spiritual quotient).

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Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish builders shows this (Matt 7:24-26). Neither one of the builders were dummies. They were both equally smart, and both built a house. The difference between the two of them was their belief in God’s wisdom (the words of Jesus), and how they responded to God’s wisdom.

There are two types of wisdom: (1) human, and (2) divine — man and God — the creature and the Creator. Earlier we looked at how we can DO many good things, and still MISS God. The Pharisees searched the word of God diligently, but only had human wisdom (John 5:38-40).

I have done some research and reading into the subject, and I find that most Bible Schools and seminaries do not teach any type of gospel revelation. Maybe it’s because they don’t know it, or because it is too hard to teach — I don’t know. Evangelical seminaries teach salvation or being born again, but NO other revelation of the gospel. Then their students become our pastors. They are the ones who teach us, and we’ve already seen that ‘children live what they learn.’

People approach life in one of three ways: (1) independent of God, (2) partly dependent on God, and (3) totally dependent on God. Those who are unbelievers and in the world, are in group one. But sadly, the vast majority of Christians are in group two. They mix human and divine wisdom — not to mention the Old and New Testaments — and arrive at a man-made theology that ‘fits them.’ But they don’t have revelation of the gospel — the wisdom of God.

The gospel transforms minds to become totally dependent on God. But if we don’t submit to the gospel, our minds are not transformed by it.

Most Bible schools, and the pastors they graduate have a lot of IQ, but the SQ they have is limited to group two — it’s a mixture of theology and true things in the Bible. But often does NOT evolve around gospel truth, except regarding salvation. Paul says the gospel is the power of God because it contains A REVELATION FROM GOD (Rom 1:16).

As The Parable of the Sower says, our heart — our field — must be open to God as you read, seeking his deeper gospel revelation. You will never get more than an elementary grasp of the gospel with a SQ. With so much focus on IQ, and seminary training, this is where a SELF focused life is born. It goes back to learning good things from The Tree of Knowledge. Man’s wisdom is built on things that are TRUE; God’s wisdom is built on gospel TRUTH. There are many things in the Bible that are true, but are not truth. This mind becomes conformed to certain things, not transformed (Rom 12:1-2).

Hosea 4:6 says people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Romans 10:1-2 talks about people have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. In Luke 24:45 we see Jesus opening minds to understand the scripture. This is not talking about dummies. This is talking about highly educated people, — at least in things of GOD. Ancient Jews were much more familiar with the word of God than 99% of us are! They even had to memorize huge sections of it. Unlike us, for many of them, God’s word was their ONLY source of education.

Being wise, biblically, requires GOSPEL revelation from God.

God’s wisdom is NOT unattainable. Isaiah 55:8-9 says God’s thoughts and ways are high above our thoughts and ways. Psalms talks of Moses knowing the ways of God — the people only knowing the acts of God. Humans can live in the wisdom of God, but they must be separated to the gospel of God to do so.

Jesus brought us the gospel, and died that it might be revealed to us. Our job is to live in its truth. This is the wisdom of God. Paul says, God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (I Cor 1:30). Our job is to receive the seed of this.

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GOSPEL TRUTH #60

Make sure to grasp this: the wisdom of God is not attainable by us, but it is available to us. Paul says the gospel is the MYSTERY of God. No human mind is going to figure out God’s mystery. We are in two different dimensions… paradigms… realities. But God does impart his mystery to those who are separated unto it, and seeking it. The prophets of the Old Testament did this with regard to the New Testament (I Pet 1:9-11). In the New Testament, we are meant to be this way with regard to the wisdom and ways of God. It is when we seek God himself that he reveals his wisdom and ways to us.

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Paul says some Christians are ‘ever learning, but never able to come into a knowledge of the truth’ (II Tim 3:7). I think this describes the vast majority of believers. There is a scriptural ignorance today among the rank and file, let alone gospel ignorance. From what I hear preached from a lot of pulpits, this isn’t limited to the rank and file. Remember that being wise or foolish does not depend on education.

Jesus said it: we must repent and believe gospel truth. God wants ALL Christians — from rank and file to pastors — (1) to be saved, and (2) to come into a knowledge of the truth (I Tim 2:4).

>This is a TWO-step process of God. Many believe when they become saved, they come into the truth. This is NOT true! We are told that many just ever keep learning, but never come into a knowledge of the truth. Coming into the truth requires a choice to be separated unto the gospel. It requires continuing in the gospel. This is how God’s wisdom is born in us.

Paul had been in Bible school all his life — a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was one of the most educated, smartest men of his day, revered by others. But he had to have the gospel REVEALED to him (Gal 1;15). This new dispensation of the gospel was REVEALED to him (Eph 3:1-3). The gospel was committed unto his trust (I Tim 1:11, I Cor 9:17).

I personally believe God chose Paul for OUR benefit.
If he’d chosen any disciple of Jesus, we’d be able to say they had
‘an inside track’ with God because they knew Jesus in the flesh.
We can’t say this about Paul. He had to receive
the wisdom of God by faith, just like we do.
He had lots of letters after his name, but these did him NO good.
Paul became separated unto the gospel (Rom 1;1).
He had to continue in the gospel.
He gave place to NOTHING other than the gospel
so the gospel would continue with us (Gal 2:5).

Man has been seeking truth since the beginning of time. All of us have seen the picture or statue of ‘the thinker.’ All of us know the stories of the wise guru on the mountain top that truth seekers go to.

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve ate from The Tree of Knowledge because they thought it would make them ‘wise like God.’ Satan wasn’t tempting Eve with GOD’S wisdom, but just with wisdom in general: the wisdom of man. He told her it would make her like God. This is not the goal. The goal is God. Remember, it’s all about choice and decision. We get to choose which tree we eat from, and we should NOT choose The Tree of Knowledge. Can you see how all of this goes back to Genesis, and is traceable all through scripture?

The Old Covenant law made people wise in the things OF God, but not IN God himself. We should not seek the things OF God (Matt 6:33, John 5:38-40). Our focus should be God himself, not his gifts. Thus, Paul says our goal should be to know HIM (Phil 3:10).

Christ himself is the power and the wisdom of God (I Cor 1:24). David was a man ‘after God’s own heart,’ as Acts 13:22 says, because he sought the wisdom of God. You can see it in his Psalms. You know God HAD to reveal it to him because he lived 1,000 years before the cross. David’s wisdom came from the revelation of God, which is the same way the wisdom of God must come to us too. James says all good things come from above, from the Father of lights (James 1:17).

If we’re content in human wisdom, we will never know the wisdom of God. If we’re content in our schooling (even with an M.Div. degree), we’ll never know God’s wisdom. If we’re content with sermons we hear from ANY pulpit, we’ll never know the mystery of God’s gospel.

It requires a decision to personally choose it, and chase after it — as Paul says to ’continue’ in it, and to ’keep’ ourselves in it. We must WILL ourselves to hear God’s voice, as Paul says in Hebrews. In short, gospel truth must be our light, our love and our life. It propels, energizes, and empowers us, and causes us to grow good fruit in our lives. Some call this ‘absolute surrender.’ Others call it ‘total submission.’

On Day 26, we also saw how the Old Testament tells us we should give ourselves to (1) study of the law, (2) practicing the law, (3) and teaching it (Ezra 7:10). In the New Testament, the focus is not the law, but the gospel. Thus, by comparison of the Old v. the New, this would read that we should give ourselves to (1) the study of the gospel, (2) the practice of the gospel, and (3) the teaching of the gospel — being fathers of the gospel (I Cor 4:15).

Paul says to give ourselves to: (1) reading scripture, (2) exhortation, and (3) doctrine (I Tim 4:13). This is much the same thing — studying the gospel, exhorting others with the power of the gospel, and teaching them good doctrine: the gospel truth. This is a picture of the gospel at work in us. The first is receiving the seed. The second is the seed taking root in us, and us helping it to take root in others. The third is good fruit: sharing the wisdom of God with others.