WORLDLY WISDOM WILL NOT BUILD GOD'S CHURCH
Sergius Paulus (the proconsul in Paphos) "summoned to him Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the Word of God [concerning salvation in the kingdom of God attained through Christ]. But Elymas the wise man, for that is the translation of his name [which he had given himself], opposed them, seeking to keep the proconsul from accepting the faith" (Acts 13:7-8 AMP).
The worldly-wise are those who present themselves as "experts" to those around them. They use deception and manipulation to oppose or pervert the truth to gain an advantage over people. They will use every wicked and unscrupulous method to captivate and hold others under their "spell." They plot to keep seekers from God and His saving purposes so they can accumulate a following. They become so enamored with their lust for power and glory, their consciences become seared, their reason depraved and their souls imprisoned with sin. They proclaim themselves wise and able to see but they are blind guides leading the immature and undiscerning to destruction. Such was the man Elymas. But God desired that Sergius Paulus would be saved. By His Holy Spirit, He spoke through Saul (who now is also call Paul, verse 9). Elymas persisted in his vain and perilous resistance to God's purposes and the Lord blinded him. "Then the proconsul believed--became a Christian--when he saw what had occurred for he was astonished and deeply touched at the teaching concerning the Lord and from [Him}" (Acts 13:12).
The worldly-wise will always resist the Truth of God and put themselves, and their followers, in danger of destruction. They have blinded themselves with the fire of their lusts. They have lost their minds to demonic deceptions because they refused to honor God. "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at--scorned, disdained or mocked [by mere pretensions of professions, or His precepts being set aside].--He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For whatever a man sows, that and only that is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap life eternal" (Galatians 6:7-8). Think about it.
Sergius Paulus (the proconsul in Paphos) "summoned to him Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the Word of God [concerning salvation in the kingdom of God attained through Christ]. But Elymas the wise man, for that is the translation of his name [which he had given himself], opposed them, seeking to keep the proconsul from accepting the faith" (Acts 13:7-8 AMP).
The worldly-wise are those who present themselves as "experts" to those around them. They use deception and manipulation to oppose or pervert the truth to gain an advantage over people. They will use every wicked and unscrupulous method to captivate and hold others under their "spell." They plot to keep seekers from God and His saving purposes so they can accumulate a following. They become so enamored with their lust for power and glory, their consciences become seared, their reason depraved and their souls imprisoned with sin. They proclaim themselves wise and able to see but they are blind guides leading the immature and undiscerning to destruction. Such was the man Elymas. But God desired that Sergius Paulus would be saved. By His Holy Spirit, He spoke through Saul (who now is also call Paul, verse 9). Elymas persisted in his vain and perilous resistance to God's purposes and the Lord blinded him. "Then the proconsul believed--became a Christian--when he saw what had occurred for he was astonished and deeply touched at the teaching concerning the Lord and from [Him}" (Acts 13:12).
The worldly-wise will always resist the Truth of God and put themselves, and their followers, in danger of destruction. They have blinded themselves with the fire of their lusts. They have lost their minds to demonic deceptions because they refused to honor God. "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at--scorned, disdained or mocked [by mere pretensions of professions, or His precepts being set aside].--He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For whatever a man sows, that and only that is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap life eternal" (Galatians 6:7-8). Think about it.
© S.M. Hudson, Hidden Treasure Ministries, December 2003. All rights reserved.
Categories: forgiveness
