The Wisdom of God
A Sermon on Isaiah 40:13-14
Originally preached June 27, 1954
Scripture
13Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 14With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
Sermon Description
How has God turned the wisdom of the world into foolishness? The answer is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the opposite of what the world tells is wise and mighty. In this sermon on Isaiah 40:13–14 titled “The Wisdom of God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones confronts the worldly pursuit of high-minded thinkers and well-educated leaders. Jesus came from a lowly family in Nazareth. He did not bring a message for the wise and proud, but for the lowly and humble. He did not come to conquer with an army, but to die for the sins of many and to deliver them from Satan. The cross is foolishness to the wise, as the apostle Paul says. What does this mean for Christians today? It means that Christians must not look to worldly wisdom and authority to spread the message of Christ, but they should come as servants as Jesus Himself did. The church cannot become like the world to reach the world, for Jesus never changed who He was and instead He trusted God the Father and did all that He commanded of Him. Christians must trust in the humble power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not the vain and passing wisdom of this world.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon is based on Isaiah 40:13-14 which emphasizes God's wisdom and ways are inscrutable.
- The prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul expound on these verses to help people believe in God's message.
- People struggle to believe because they fail to realize who God is - his power, glory and inscrutability.
- The sermon focuses on God's inscrutability - his ways and mind are beyond human understanding.
- Romans 11:33-36 and 1 Corinthians 2 quote Isaiah 40:13-14 and expound on God's inscrutability.
- 1 Corinthians 2 explains God's wisdom is different from human wisdom. It is hidden and mysterious.
- Natural man cannot receive or understand God's wisdom - it seems like foolishness. Only through the Spirit can one understand.
- God's wisdom in the gospel is a mystery hidden from the world but revealed to believers by the Spirit.
- The gospel is God's wisdom and way of salvation - the incarnation, the cross and free grace.
- The incarnation - the Lord of glory becoming a babe and man - is a mystery beyond comprehension.
- The cross - the Lord of glory crucified - is a paradox and mystery.
- Salvation by grace - freely given by God to those with nothing - is extraordinary and unlike anything in the world.
- We must come to God admitting our inability to understand his wisdom and depend on his Spirit.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding God's Ways: Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by "the inscrutability of God's ways"?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the inscrutability of God's ways refers to the fact that God's ways are beyond human understanding. He explains this through Isaiah 40:13-14, emphasizing that no one has directed God's Spirit or been His counselor. Lloyd-Jones states, "The ways of God are beyond our understanding. They're inscrutable, they're eternal, like his power and like his glory." This is one of the fundamental difficulties people have with believing the Christian faith—they cannot fully comprehend God's ways with their finite minds.
Why do people find it difficult to accept the Christian message according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that people find it difficult to accept the Christian message because they approach it with the wrong attitude. He states, "The difficulty about believing the christian message is not a matter of details. It's the matter of one's whole approach." People expect to fully understand God's wisdom using human intellect, but the sermon emphasizes that "God's wisdom is so exalted because it is from God that you don't understand it and you think it's folly." People reject what they cannot comprehend, failing to realize that divine wisdom cannot be measured by human standards.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrast God's wisdom with human wisdom?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrasts God's wisdom with human wisdom by emphasizing that the gospel is "God's wisdom, not man's wisdom." He explains that while the Greeks sought human wisdom and philosophical understanding, God's wisdom is entirely different—it's "God coming down" rather than "men reaching up." He states, "The world has thrown up its great men. Christ came down from heaven." Human wisdom focuses on theories, understanding, and explanations, while God's wisdom is revealed in the mystery of Christ crucified—something that appears foolish to human intellect but is the ultimate expression of divine wisdom.
What does the sermon say about the Holy Spirit's role in understanding the gospel?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the Holy Spirit's role is absolutely essential for understanding the gospel. He quotes the apostle Paul saying, "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." Lloyd-Jones explains that even when the gospel is presented clearly, people cannot understand it without the Spirit's help: "The spirit of God has enlightened him. His mind has been opened to the truth. The mystery has been revealed. The spirit is essential." Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the mind of God to humans, just as only a person's own spirit knows their innermost thoughts.
What are the key elements of "God's wisdom" as outlined in the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones outlines several key elements of God's wisdom as revealed in the gospel:
- The Incarnation - "The Lord of glory is the babe of Bethlehem... God and man, two natures in one person"
- The Crucifixion - "The Lord of glory, crucified" - the creator of life dying for His creation
- Salvation "unto our glory" - God's plan to save humanity through Christ's sacrifice rather than through human moral improvement
- Free grace - "A salvation that is given for nothing. Freely given without money and without price" - God offers forgiveness and reconciliation as a gift rather than something to be earned
Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that these elements of God's wisdom are contrary to human expectations and understanding, yet they form the heart of the gospel message.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the proper approach to the gospel?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the proper approach to the gospel as one of humility, childlike faith, and dependence on God's Spirit. He states that we must "put aside all your ordinary canons of thought and all your terms of reference and all your usual measurements." Rather than demanding understanding before belief, we should "come as a child, as a suppliant... empty handed, empty headed, in a sense and listen and receive the revelation." The appropriate response is to confess "utter dependence upon him" and ask God to grant His Spirit for enlightenment. Lloyd-Jones concludes that we must acknowledge our "pride of intellect" and instead accept God's way even when we don't fully understand it.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones call the gospel a "hidden wisdom" or "mystery"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones calls the gospel a "hidden wisdom" or "mystery" because it's a divine truth that cannot be discovered by human intellect alone. He explains that this wisdom is hidden in several ways: the average person is "quite ignorant about God's way of salvation" and "doesn't seem to know that anything's happened"; even when Christ was physically present, many failed to recognize Him as "the Lord of glory"; and natural human understanding cannot comprehend spiritual truths without divine revelation. It's a mystery that was "ordained before the foundation of the world" and can only be understood when the Holy Spirit reveals it. The gospel's elements—incarnation, crucifixion, and free grace—are all mysterious truths that transcend human reasoning.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.