THE SMART GOD-1 Corinthians 1:18-24–We don’t often say that God is smart. We tend to prefer more spiritual-sounding words to describe his wisdom, knowledge or understanding. Even so, our God is amazingly smart, and we are better off when we acknowledge it. Ever since Eve looked at the forbidden fruit and saw that it looked good to eat, humans have struggled to accept the fact that God knows more about life on earth than we do. Most of our sins are related in some way to our tendency to think that we are smarter than God when it comes to knowing right and wrong, or how best to live in the world our infinitely smart God created.
The many acts of faith recorded in the Bible were the result of someone accepting the idea that God knew things they didn’t know. Abraham thought he knew that men his age don’t father children, but God knew better. Old Testament prophets were often ignored because their audiences thought they had better ideas than God. Mary knew that virgins don’t get pregnant, but God knew things she didn’t know. Both Jews and Gentiles thought that salvation through the crucifixion and resurrection of an incarnate Son of God was objectionable and foolish. Christians may not understand just how redemption works, but we believe that God knows things we don’t know, and what he knows will save us from eternal destruction.
The testimony of God’s magnificent creation is that our God is really smart.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge (Psalm 19:1-2).