Spiritual Wisdom

Franz Friday

Via “What is Christianity”

Adriaen van Stalbemt, "Paul & Barnabas at Lystra"

Finally, the Christian Church must make men wise and discerning, so wise and discerning indeed that in all matters of religion they can distinguish without fail between truth and error. To His followers Christ says: “Ye shall know the truth,” John 8, 31.32. But how do men acquire this spiritual understanding? St. Paul writes: “He that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man,” 1 Cor. 2, 15. Whom does he mean by “him who is spiritual”? The context shows that he is not speaking of pastors or of outstanding persons in the Church, but of all Christians, of such as have known and accepted the Gospel of Christ through faith, that is, of all who believe that they have a gracious God and salvation, not through their own good works, but through faith in Christ Crucified. This truth he proclaimed at Corinth and in fact everywhere else, as he testifies: “I determined to not know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” 1 Cor. 2, 2. The Gospel of salvation through the crucified Christ the apostle calls the “heavenly, hidden wisdom of God,” which the princes of this world did not know, but which God has revealed through His Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Christ. Whoever believes this wisdom, this Gospel of Christ, has spiritual knowledge and spiritual discernment. Right here, is the line of demarcation between human wisdom and human folly. Whoever believes that he is saved through faith in Christ, without his own works, is spiritually wise. But whoever maintains that Christianity consists in man’s own moral behavior is spiritually foolish; he is not merely partially, but totally blind, even though he should otherwise possess all the wisdom in the world. Christ, the Savior of sinners, who has reconciled the world unto God, is man’s only spiritual Light. Whoever has not been illumined by this Light, that is to say, whoever does not trust in Christ’s work and suffering, but seeks to establish his own righteousness, dwells in Stygian darkness. Such a person surely does not understand the Old Testament; for its very center is Christ, the Savior of sinners, as St. Peter testifies: “To Him give all the prophets witness that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins,” Acts 10, 43. Neither does he understand the New Testament, since also the entire New Testament is centered in Christ, the Savior of sinners, as St. Paul declares in his stirring confession: “I determined to not know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” 1 Cor. 2,2. In short, to him who does not believe the Gospel of Christ the whole Bible is unintelligible, a book sealed with seven seals, even though he might know its contents by heart. He may talk as much as he pleases about Christ, about Christian morality, about love toward God and his neighbor, etc; yet he has not the faintest conception of Christianity. In his blindness he believes that a dozen roads lead to heaven, and according to circumstances he may successively be a Turk, a Jew, a Buddhist, a papist, a Unitarian, a lodge-member, or anything else. The old proverb says: “All cats are gray in the dark.” All who believe that they must enter heaven through their own morality walk in spiritual darkness, yes, in utter darkness, and for this reason they regard all religions as essentially the same. However, as soon as the light of the Gospel of Christ, the Savior of sinners, shines into a man’s heart, then all erroneous notions with regard to spiritual things cease. Then he knows: Not a dozen ways lead to heaven, but only one way, namely, faith in Christ Crucified. Then he steadfastly and firmly rejects all religions as false which declare good works to be the meritorious cause of divine grace and salvation, and neither Turks, nor Jews, neither Buddhists, nor papists, neither Unitarians nor lodges, nor any other false religion can mislead him.