So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:5
What is the basis of your faith? Is it what you know? Is it your understanding of Scripture? Paul tells us to ground our faith not in our own wisdom but in the power of God. Yet, salvation comes through hearing the word of God, and wisdom is not absent. It is a different wisdom that is part of our faith. In other words, don’t throw away your Bible and don’t lean on “blind faith.” Use the Scriptures to gain a better wisdom.
Earlier in his letter, Paul wrote:
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24)
Thus our faith is based on wisdom, but it is a wisdom that comes from God and given in his power. God-given faith outsmarts human wisdom. To those who believe, our faith is in a king crucified, a savior who captivated himself to free his people.
To those who do not believe, this is folly and unimaginable. Human pride and wisdom does not allow for such heroics. Yet, God has made foolish the wisdom of the world (v. 20). In his wisdom, the cross of Jesus displays God’s power. In other words, God made a way of salvation that no person can possibly grasp in their own thinking.
This is important for believers to understand. Because in order to grow in our faith we must give up thoughts and assumptions that are destructive. We must turn away from thought patterns and wayward thinking that maintains pride and bolsters our own wisdom.
Instead, believers need to rely on the power that resurrects life. To trust not in our wisdom but in the power of God. The outcome of this is a strength that cannot be broken. A strong faith based on God and his wisdom, not on our own. It’s trusting a God who is self-sufficient, self-sustaining, all-powerful, and all-wise.
As you and I depend on God, not on ourselves, we declare how glorious God is. It is this way so that no one may boast in his presence (v. 29). Putting our trust in God, we grow in our faith, and God is seen for who he is. So we seek after wisdom, we grow in wisdom through his Word, but it is based on a power not of this world. It is a perceived foolishness and weakness that is grounded in eternal power. We thus, boast not in ourselves but in the Lord (v. 31)!