Answer: Our faith must NOT rest on men's wisdom,
(1 Corinthians 2:5).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Faith cannot rest, or stand on the wisdom of men. That
would be like trying to bring what is pure from the impure
(Job 14:4)! Faith can only rest, stand, endure
in GOD'S power. God does not change like shifting
shadows, but gives us birth through the Word of Truth (James
1:17-18):
Psalm 111:10: "The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good
understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise."
Proverbs 2:6: "For the Lord gives
wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and
understanding."
Proverbs 21:30: "There is no
wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the
Lord."
Isaiah 29:13-14: "The Lord
says: 'These people come near to Me with their mouth
and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from
Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by
men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with
wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the
intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.'"
Jeremiah 8:9: "The wise will be put
to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have
rejected the Word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they
have?"
Jeremiah 9:23-24: "This is what the
Lord says: 'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or
the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his
riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he
understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, Who exercises
kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I
delight,' declares the Lord."
Romans 1:16: "I am not ashamed of
the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile."
Romans 11:33: "Oh, the depth of the
riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!"
1 Corinthians 1:17-25: "For Christ
did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel--not with
words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its
power. For the Message of the cross is foolishness to those
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of
God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the
wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will
frustrate.' Where is the wise man? Where is the
scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made
foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of
God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased
through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for
wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews
and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of
God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than man's
strength."
1 Corinthians 3:18-23: "Do not
deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the
standards of this age, he should become a "fool' so
that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is
foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the
wise in their craftiness'; and again, "The Lord knows
that the thoughts of the wise are futile.' So then, no
more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or
Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or
the future--all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ
is of God."
2 Corinthians 1:12: "Now this is
our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted
ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you,
in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so
not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's
grace."
2 Corinthians 4:4-7: "The god of
this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot
see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the
image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus
Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus'
sake. For God, Who said, 'Let light shine out of
darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show
that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from
us."
Ephesians 3:7-12: "I became a
servant of this Gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through
the working of His power. Although I am less than the least
of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to
everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past
was kept hidden in God, Who created all things. His intent
was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should
be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ
Jesus our Lord. In Him and through faith in Him we may
approach God with freedom and confidence."
Colossians 2:1-4: "I want you to
know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea,
and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is
that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that
they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order
that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in Whom are
hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you
this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding
arguments."
Colossians 2:8-12: "See to it that
no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,
which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this
world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness
of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness
in Christ, Who is the head over every power and authority. In
Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful
nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with
the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in
baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God,
Who raised Him from the dead."
Colossians 2:20 through
3:2: "Since you died with Christ to the
basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged
to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not
taste! Do not touch!'? These are all destined to perish
with use, because they are based on human commands and
teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of
wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and
their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in
restraining sensual indulgence. Since, then, you have been
raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ
is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things
above, not on earthly things."
2 Thessalonians 1:11: "With this in mind,
we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of
His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good
purpose of yours and every act prompted by your
faith."
James 3:13-17: "Who is wise and
understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds
done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you
harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not
boast about it or deny the truth. Such 'wisdom'
does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the
devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there
you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom
that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,
considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial
and sincere."
1 Peter 1:21: "Through Him [Christ]
you believe in God, Who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him,
and so your faith and hope are in God."
Revelation 7:11-12: "All the angels
were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four
living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne
and worshiped God, saying: 'Amen! Praise and
glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to
our God for ever and ever. Amen!'"
