CHRIST THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE WISDOM OF GOD
[p. 252] CHRIST THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE WISDOM OF GOD
Man’s wisdom is limited to this life, but we have to consider the fact that there is something beyond this life. If there was something before it, there must be something after it, there must be something beyond it in regard of man. If a man has been a great author, or if he has accumulated great wealth, he leaves it all behind him, and the wisdom which he has got would be unsuitable to another world. If such a man passes into a scene where there is no money making, his wisdom is of no avail there. Wisdom should be serviceable to man, not only with regard to this life, but also to that which is beyond it.
The thief had wisdom with regard to that which is beyond; he said, “Lord, remember me when thou comest in thy kingdom”. He had wisdom which availed him not only at that moment, but also to the life beyond. I will tell you what wisdom really is, it is the apprehension of Christ. He has been content (pleased) to become wisdom for man, not only for this life, but for that which is beyond, that is, for eternity. That is the place in which God has been pleased to place Christ in regard of man. You have an illustration of it in chapter 7 of this gospel. Christ was as near Simon as He was to the woman, but she only of the two apprehended Christ as wisdom both for the present and the future, and I am sure she never went back to the habits of her former life. Simon, on the other hand, never apprehended Christ as wisdom. I do not seek to help people in regard of this world, but my desire is that they may have wisdom not only for this world, but also for the life beyond.
Christ is the wisdom of God, and what I understand [p. 253] by the expression is that Christ is the resource of God and is able to carry out all God’s purposes; He has become Man, and hence is wisdom to man. We read that wisdom crieth in the streets where men do congregate. Every form of folly is to lead men from the path of rectitude; but wisdom is capable of directing us into the right road, so that we may be found in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment, that is, the path of God’s will.
Everything depends on the apprehension of the position God has set Christ in with regard to men. You cannot alter the position, the mediator between God and men is Christ Jesus. The point is to apprehend Him in that position, which is, that He gave Himself a ransom for all. There are plenty of people who do not deny it, but I should like to ask them, Have you ever come in contact with the Mediator? He has something to give. Have you received anything from Him? Then the next point is that you turn to the Mediator; the responsibility of man lies there, in order that he may receive something from Him. The Mediator is a giver. Christ gives the water of life, and man takes the water of life. The great point is that there is a Mediator who is available to men, that is, to every man. The wisdom of every man would be to turn to the Mediator and receive the living water. “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”. This is the last appeal we get in the Bible, and it comes from heaven. There are some who do not know what living water is. It is that which satisfies the thirst of man and enables him to live. If a man is dying of thirst, water becomes life to him.
I have spoken of Christ as wisdom, I want to make that plain. The apostle John speaks of Him as the Word. The Word was wisdom incarnate. He was wisdom in this way, that He was the perfect answer to every question that was presented to Him. Men questioned Him, but the answer given was never [p. 254] satisfactory to men, for it exposed them. Christ Himself was the answer. Men came temptingly, and wanted an answer to suit their question; but, as has been often said, He answered the questioner and not the question. The Pharisees with the Herodians came to the Lord to tempt Him, and asked whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not. But suppose they had apprehended that Christ was God they never would have said a word more, but would have confessed they were not rendering to God the things that are His.
I take another case. The Sadducees came tempting Him in regard of the resurrection, and the Lord gave them an answer that exposed them; but He Himself was the answer to the question. If they had apprehended Him as the resurrection and the life they never would have questioned Him at all. Then other people came asking Him, which was the great commandment of the law. Well, Christ was the law (He expressed it), and He gave them an answer which confounded them. So also in regard of the young man who came to the Lord and questioned Him as to eternal life; he wanted an answer according to his mind; he was fond of the world, had great riches, and came in a way tempting the Lord; but if he had apprehended that the Lord was eternal life he never would have asked the question; he wanted eternal life without Christ, like many in our day, but Christ was Himself the answer to his question.
Christ is the answer to every right and proper question which can possibly arise in the heart of man. You may have every kind of difficulty, but Christ is the solution of them all. If it be as to anything beyond this life, or with regard to going through this world, you will find the answer to it in Christ. You may not see it all in a moment, but you will find Him the answer to every difficulty, every right question which may arise in your mind.
Now with regard to the passage we have read, “A certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall [p. 255] I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good; none is good, save one, that is God”. To begin with, he had no true thought of Christ; he called Him good teacher, or good master; he had no true apprehension of who Christ was, and I think that is why people fail in the present day. It is not a question of what Christ teaches, but of what He is; He was the answer to the ruler’s question. He does not tell you anything about mediation, but He is the Mediator; He is the Son, the Man appointed by God, in whose name there is forgiveness of sins; to Him men may turn and become attached to Him. That is really what the Lord propounded to the ruler. The point for the ruler was that he should become attached to Christ. I think the earth would be useless unless it were attached to the sun. The gold of the earth would be of no value without the sun, and so man is useless if he is not attached to Christ, and the simple reason is that he is out of gear, and not attached to the Sun of righteousness. The Lord answered the ruler’s question, but it was only to bring conviction home to him. He says, in effect, ‘If thou wilt be perfect, sell all that thou hast’. To be perfect was to apprehend the situation, and the solution was to apprehend the presence of Christ and follow Him. You could not say that any one was perfect who did not follow Christ. But in order to follow Christ the ruler had to leave the world. Many are spoken of in the gospels who tried to follow Christ and still maintain a connection with the world; but it was futile. In a kind of way the world was lost, even Christ’s own brethren rejected Him. The ruler’s riches were his link with the world, and in order to follow Christ he had to break that link. That is what it is to be perfect, and that involved that Christ was wisdom; in coming to Christ he really owned that he had no wisdom of his own. The point was to come to Christ as wisdom, and be prepared to submit himself to Christ; and that is what the Lord meant when He said, “Come, follow me”. If he had [p. 256] remained in possession of what he had, he never would have continued, even though he had begun to follow Christ.
All men need wisdom. There are very clever politicians in the world, but a politician could never tell you what was going to happen in six months’ time. They are not characterised by very great wisdom. So in regard of men who pile up great fortunes, and do not know what effect it will produce. Man is not wise enough of himself and he wants wisdom; all classes want wisdom, and the real answer to that want is Christ Himself; He is the Mediator, and is available to all men, the point is for the soul to come in contact with the Mediator; He gives and man takes. Christ first gave Himself, and now He is the giver of living water. It is not a question of coming to make terms with Christ; this ruler would have liked to come to terms, but God will not allow you to make terms; you have neither wisdom, strength, nor ability, and you have to be content to take what He gives. Nothing can be more simple than that. You must not come to the Lord and say, “Good Master”. You must remember you have to come to God. The ruler did not apprehend Him as God, and the Lord would not have it.
The one essential thing for all is to come to Christ, I wish every one pressed it more — the coming to Christ as God. God is presented to you in Him. I do not think that any one will get anything from Christ unless he recognises Him as God. It will not do to say, “Good Master”. If you are going to be perfect you must sell all that you have, that is, come to Christ Himself and leave the world. How is the snare to be broken? There is only one way, and that is by the presentation of the grace of God.
Men think the world to be everything, but God does not think so. He that will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God, and God is going to break in pieces the world system. Man may be competent to get a [p. 257] position in the world, but does not know what lies before him. The great thing is to see things from the divine point of view. God does not think men are competent to go through this world. If a man has his face towards Christ then his back is turned upon the world. When the Lord comes, He will turn this world upside down and wipe it out, as a man does a dish.
What does man get by coming to Christ? He gets peace, Christ is the Prince of peace, and He now preaches peace. The ruler’s spirit was in a turmoil, Christ made peace by the blood of His cross, and if a man turns to Christ he gets peace. He also receives living water, and is attached to Christ. The Lord said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me”. He becomes the chief point of attraction. You cannot give people too much encouragement to come to Christ, because He is the point of attraction to draw men out of this world.
The ruler was not at all prepared to break with this present world, so he went away sorrowful, because he preferred his possessions to Christ. Alas! that is what people prefer in the present day. Have you come to Christ? Have you apprehended Him as Mediator? He is available and accessible to every man. Do not be content with the mere statement, you have to come to Him as a poor sinful creature, in order that you may take from Christ the living water and be attached to Him in the power of the Holy Spirit; otherwise you are all out of gear. Christ gives peace and living water; come to Him without any reserve and be content to turn your back on this present evil world. You will then get peace, living water, and wisdom, not only for time but also for eternity. He will lead you in the paths of righteousness, and you will have treasure in heaven.