WISDOM AND FOOLISHNESS

 

  “Wisdom” is a consequence of having knowledge. The forbidden tree introduced new knowledge. Only “good” was known before sin. Innocence superseded wisdom. Since then, children have been known by their innocence since their knowledge is limited. Only with the learning of knowledge is innocence diminished and wisdom elevated.

  Once the fruit of the forbidden tree was eaten, “evil” knowledge was consumed. What were the fruits of the Wisdom Tree (What the Jews call the Tree of Knowledge)?

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)

  How is it known that those are fruits of the Wisdom Tree? Because subsequently nine of the twelve fruit of the Spirit are listed: Two trees; two sets of “fruits” and two doctrines. The Tree of Life presented the Fruit of the Spirit and is the Doctrine of Christ, and the Wisdom Tree presented fruits of the Evil One and are the doctrine of sin. “Sin” is essentially emancipation from God and the refusal of His fruit for the evil fruits. Sin is desiring to choose and harvest the fruits that are most appealing. Now examine the fruit of the Spirit:

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23) (Only the Latin Vulgate enumerates all twelve fruits: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance, gentleness, faith, modesty, self-control, and chastity).

  The three additional ones are in bold print above. Wisdom is not defined well in Merriam-Webster Dictionary. A better definition is my own, The use of knowledge for sufficiency and efficiency. In scriptural terms, it is using the Fruit of the Spirit rather the works of the flesh. The Fruit of the Spirit is from God, and all twelve fruits are together as one. For instance, without kindness charity is impossible, and without gentleness, patience is impossible. “Sufficiency” are all twelve fruits. “Efficiency” are the twelve fruits as one fruit. The Vulgate list is better because they do not include love, but all twelve are ways to love.

  Now consider the fruits of the Wisdom Tree. They are “works.” Note the difference; “fruit” is what the Spirit gives to you to return to God and others, and “works” are things you “pick” for your own pleasure. Hence, the Fruit of the Spirit are good things, and the works of the flesh are evil things. The Fruit of the Spirit are sufficient and efficient for life, and the works of the flesh are insufficient for life and inefficient for growth. In fact, works stunt spiritual growth. They are in the way of the Way of God.

  The works list are weaknesses and the Fruit list are powers. The Serpent’s fruits made powerful Adam, weak Adam. It turned Adam from a Godlike Man to a Serpentine woos that grovels in the dust for nourishment; and made his works inefficient, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” (Gen 3:19). Bread is nourishment for sufficiency. Sweating for the bread is works.

  Sin caused insufficiency and inefficiency. That came from the “Wisdom Tree” but ironically it was not wisdom; it is foolishness. The Jews were foolish. They still think that the Tree of Knowledge bore wisdom. It did not; it bore foolishness. Only the Tree of Life’s fruit was wise to eat!

  Paul provided to the Corinthians the source of wisdom: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom” (1 Cor 1:30). “Something” changes Christians from foolish to wise. Jesus Christ transforms evil people into righteous people: in “righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” What is the “something” that changes the foolish into the wise? “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise” (1 Cor 1:18). The Holy Cross is where Jesus redeemed sinners from the death sentence. To the “wise” that is foolishness; that a wooden cross was sufficient and efficient for the redemption of sins. The foolish “wise” guys thought that they must do some thing or even one thing for redemption. Look at the list of works again. What fruit therein would be sufficient and efficient for redemption? All of them together are insufficient and heresy alone is certainly inefficient.

  The Corinthian Church turned to one of the works that they thought was sufficient and inefficient. They turned to the doctrine of men. The Cross became a stumbling block to the Jews and to the Greeks foolishness (1 Cor 1:22). They were all wrong.

  The Cross is the “sign” of redemption for the Jews because on it was plainly written, “King of the Jews.” It was foolishness to the Greeks because for them a Cross was irrational for redemption; that a wooden cross could save them from death was not scientific. Both peoples missed the mark. It was not the Cross itself, but what happened on the Cross. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice (i.e., God Himself died so that sinners needed not.) That makes perfect sense.

  Both peoples looked at the Cross and saw merely wood. Perhaps the most spiritually acute saw it as a Tree, as Paul called it. Both groups missed the point of the Cross. The Tree of Life was cut down in the Body, Spirit, and Mind of Jesus. Not only did God’s Flesh experience death on the Cross, but so did God in Mind and Spirit. How is that known? Jesus gave up the Ghost, and Jesus felt isolated when He sensed that the Father had abandoned Him.

  Which “tree” deserved to be cut down? The Wisdom Tree because as it turned out, its fruits were putrid. There was nothing wise on the Wisdom Tree. What is wisdom, then? Deciding from which tree to eat the fruits. There are Laws against eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, but as Paul wrote about the Fruit of the Spirit, “Against such there is no law” (Gal 5:23).

  “Foolishness” is breaking the Law. God sees all and knows all things. The penalty, or wage, of sin is death (Rom 6:23). There is one penalty and one “wage” and that is death. The fruits of the Wisdom Tree do not have a penalty different for every fruit, but all have the same penalty. “Fornication” for instance is “heresy” because rather than infidelity of the flesh with another person, fornication is infidelity with another “god” especially yourself as God since sexual sins are not only sins against God but yourself! (1 Cor 6:18).

  Corinth was a corrupt city as it was a major international crossroad of the civilized world. Every imaginable sin was surely there, and  the Christians were likely tempted by them all. Perhaps one of the teachers taught that, rather than by grace, that doing work against works was sufficient and efficient for salvation. Perhaps the Church at Corinth had been taught works as the Way to eternal life. Apparently, Paul was effective in his warnings. Seven Churches in Asia were reproved because each of the seven Churches had heresies. Corinth is not listed as one of the seven Churches with a wrong Spirit.

  Paul made the dissidents feel foolish with his letter. There had been a spirit of wisdom, coming not from God but the evil one. They had been teaching the “Foolish Tree,” and all along it was the Tree of Life which is the Wisdom Tree, as true wisdom comes from God and foolishness from Satan:

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:12-16)

  Wisdom comes from the Mind of Christ. Wisdom comes from partaking the Fruit of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom is when the Holy Ghost grows the Fruit of the Spirit in the souls of men. When Christians diminish themselves and trust God, the Holy Ghost gives them not one fruit, but twelve fruit of the Spirit. If anyone is lacking in one, they are lacking in all! That fruit is not from the “Serpent Tree” nor the “Judas Tree;” they are from the Tree of Life (Jesus) and the Tree of Life (the Cross).