The Foolishness of God
1 Cor 1:21-25 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (22) For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: (23) But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; (24) But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Crucifying the Son of God Afresh
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Causing the Offense to Abound.
Rom 5:19-21 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (20) Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: (21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
How Does God cause the Offense to Abound?
Matt 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Luke 19:21-22 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. (22) And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
Our Father repeats back to us our own thoughts concerning judgment while at the same time making us aware that there is a path to forgiveness.
“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still”
It is not possible to change a man’s mind that distrusts you and believes false things about you. The foolishness of God is to allow false perceptions to be fostered and abound in the heart till the point that a decision must be made. To seek mercy or to suffer the judgment of one’s own wrong thoughts.
What was man convinced of?
Christ looked upon our world before He came to it, and He saw that Satan’s power was exercised upon the human family. And because of the transgression of Adam he claimed the whole human family. He pointed to their calamities and diseases and reflected [them] upon God. He said God would have no mercy upon them and they might as well be under his control. {Ms16-1893.3}
In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed, that justice was inconsistent with mercy, and that, should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. Every sin must meet its punishment, urged Satan; and if God should remit the punishment of sin, He would not be a God of truth and justice. DA 761.4
The condemning power of Satan would lead him to institute a theory of justice inconsistent with mercy. He claims to be officiating as the voice and power of God, claims that his decisions are justice, are pure and without fault. Thus he takes his position on the judgment seat and declares that his counsels are infallible. Here his merciless justice comes in, a counterfeit of justice, abhorrent to God. {CTr 11.4}
Adam was convinced that God would not forgive them or show them mercy and that the calamities that fell upon them because of their own choices were evidence of the punishment of God.
Example of Cain when he killed Abel.
Even before Adam ate the fruit he was influenced by these ideas concerning justice.
An expression of sadness came over the face of Adam. He appeared astonished and alarmed. To the words of Eve he replied that this must be the foe against whom they had been warned; and by the divine sentence she must die. {PP 56.1}
Key to Third Angel page 14 – bottom. With these words…
Connect the word MUST in the following quote
To Adam, the offering of the first sacrifice was a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which only God could give. It was the first time he had ever witnessed death, and he knew that had he been obedient to God, there would have been no death of man or beast. PP 68
This must comes from Adam who believed that Eve MUST die and this MUST is transferred to the sacrifice of the lamb.
Key to Third Angel 15,16 Explain PP 68
God did not require sacrifice or offering. This came from Adam. The offering of the Son of God was the only thing that what satisfy the justice that man had inherited from Satan.
Explanation of Gen 3:22
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, (Genesis 3:22-23)
What did Adam accept from Satan?
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
It was Satan's plan that Adam and Eve should by disobedience incur God's displeasure; and then, if they failed to obtain forgiveness, he hoped that they would eat of the tree of life, and thus perpetuate an existence of sin and misery. PP 60
I heard an angel ask, "Who of the family of Adam have passed that flaming sword, and have partaken of the tree of life?" I heard another angel answer, "Not one of the family of Adam has passed that flaming sword, and partaken of that tree; therefore there is not an immortal sinner." EW 218
What is the flaming sword?
Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
The Word of God.
Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Luke 19:21-22 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. (22) And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
Here we see the process of the Jealous God
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
What was the iniquity of Adam that was being visited?
Adam believed that God would not forgive. Adam believed that he would be like God knowing good and evil. Adam hoped to eat of the tree of life and become an immortal sinner as this was Satan’s plan and suggestion to him. Adam believed that God would punish sin with death without mercy and Adam suggested his wife was the cause of the problem and the blame rested on her and on God for making her.
He resolved to share her fate; if she must die, he would die with her. After all, he reasoned, might not the words of the wise serpent be true? PP 56.2
God deals with Adam as Adam judges. He speaks to him as Adam understands. In order to cause the offense to abound.
God speaks back to Adam the judgment that he himself had determined and believed. It is the perfect mirror. Adam could interpret the words of God as confirming his own thoughts. The man is become as one of us knowing Good and evil. This can be understood as Adam thought but God did not know evil as Adam knew evil. God never transgressed the law. God knew evil in the sense that in all their affliction He was afflicted. Christ and the Father tasted the evil that Adam had embraced. Man was driven from the garden in the same way God drove Lucifer from heaven and hardened Pharaohs heart. Mercy pleaded with their souls but they refused it and chose to believe that sin can’t be forgiven and thus they were driven from the presence of God in fear. The presence of God in the Garden near the tree as manifested in the angels made them afraid to approach the tree because of their idolatry concerning his character. Because of the falsehood they believed about Him. The glory of the Lord was devouring fire in their eyes and they hid themselves.
Thus God judged Adam from his own mouth.
As Adam raised the knife to kill the lamb and realised that it was his own sin that caused this lamb to die, it caused him to lament his actions but in that lamb was the only path he understood that could lead to forgiveness. There was no other possible way in his mind – or ours to believe we can be forgiven.
Thus God speaks to back to man his own thoughts. This seems like foolishness but a man can’t be convinced against his will and he can’t conceive of something beyond his natural understanding. So God speaks to man in a way he can understand and shows him his sinfulness by reflecting back to him his thoughts.
