I am sure we have come across this Scripture several times and we have quoted it. But what does it mean to us as leaders? How does it resonate with us as leaders? We will start by examining our text from 1 Corinthians 1:20 – 25. It says:
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who 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.
I am sure many of us, having read the account of the story of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we acknowledge and come to realize that Jesus demonstrated in His 3 and half years of ministry, such a profound wisdom and power. I am sure many of us when we read the account of Jesus, the parable He told, the revelations He shared, how He healed the sick, how the lame walked, how He created hands for one that did not have from birth, how He cast out demons from those that were oppressed by the devil, we will see that Jesus ministry was followed by signs of wisdom and power.
Many of us will look at the life of Jesus, it is such an enviable life. It is such a life that commanded results. He knew how to answer questions when questions were posed to Him and it looked as if there was no way around the question. He always had an answer. He demonstrated such a phenomenal wisdom and when He is confronted with challenges. He demonstrated the power of God like never before. None that the world has seen before and all these Jesus did so that we understand.
The Bible made us to understand in Matthew 3:11, when John the Baptist was speaking about the baptism of Jesus Christ, He said “I baptize with water. There is something about me, there is something about my ministry, there is something about my calling and this is the reality of my ministry. Even though you have seen John the Baptist burning with fire, you saw me with too much fire, you saw me come in the spirit of Elijah and you saw me demonstrate fire”. He said “Indeed the limit of these is this: I baptize you with water unto repentance. The whole essence, the product of your baptism, the product of my own ministry is to bring you to repentance so I baptize you with water.”
Listen to Podcast: Jesus: The Wisdom And The Power Of God
But he said concerning Jesus “but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, the proof of His own ministry carries a greater weight, there is something about His ministry that you have never encountered before. You have encountered John the Baptist, you have encountered me and you have encountered baptism unto repentance, baptism by water but there is one baptism you will encounter.” He said “He is mightier than I”. At a point, John said, “I must decrease for Him to increase, I must give way to Him because He is coming with a higher power, He is coming with an order that is different from mine, mightier in words and in deeds. He said “Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. I can’t even carry it talk more of putting my feet in it.”
Talking about Jesus, He said “This is what He will do, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”. John was saying that I baptize with water unto repentance but one is coming mightier than I whose sandals I cannot carry, He is coming also to baptize you but this is His baptism; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire; and what will this baptism provide in you? What will this baptism make you become? This baptism is unto what? That’s the question the Holy Spirit wants you to answer in your heart? The baptism of Jesus is the baptism of Holy Spirit and fire.
Revelations 1:6, the Bible says: “and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Jesus baptized us to become kings and priests. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire is unto the Holy one. A king rules by authority. Have you see a king? Have you seen a powerless king? In fact, you say to yourself, this man is no king Why? Because there is no power. You look at one called the king and what are you expecting? Power; the demonstration of power but when you look at a priest, wisdom; you expect a priest to have connected with God so much so that the priest communicates wisdom.
A priest is connected with God and He said “He has made us kings and priests unto our God.” How did He make us kings and priests? By the baptism in which He baptizes us. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire, it is unto dominion, unto kingship and a priestly order. Matthew 3:11, it says: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
In Isaiah 11:2, the Bible makes us to understand the spirit that came upon Jesus. When you look at the list, you will see the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of might and the spirit of Power. The Holy Spirit that He baptizes us with is an embodiment of wisdom and power. "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."
In Matthew 4:23-25, we are not just looking at Jesus to feel good. We are looking at Jesus to make us understand ourselves, what we have been called to, what we have been baptized unto, because we have been baptized unto Christ. What is the essence of that baptism?
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him — from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Did you see that He healed them, demonstrating power? So when we say that we are baptized into Jesus, we must understand the baptism to which we have been baptized into. It is not a feel good baptism, it is not a baptism for us to sit down and be reminiscing. "In 1987 when I became born again, what a powerful experience." "When the Holy Spirit came into my heart, it was such a wonderful experience, you know, I just felt good. That calmness in my spirit. The grace I felt, you know the kind of joy in my heart." It doesn’t stop at the level of joy. You are baptized unto something that is not just unto joy. It is not just unto feeling good. It is unto wisdom and power because that is what Jesus demonstrated. John 7:15, let us also look at how Jesus demonstrated wisdom. "And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"
How does this man produce this kind of result? How does this man show this kind of level of wisdom? We didn’t hear that He went to the school of Galilee, we didn’t hear that He had a degree in theology or a masters in divinity. How come this man who haven’t studied is producing this kind of results? Because of His baptism.
The Holy Spirit is just stirring waters in our hearts so we understand the life which we have been called to in Christ. When Apostle Paul said “I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live,” He said “the life I live, I live by faith in the son of God who loves me and gave himself for me. I have been baptized in Jesus Christ, you can’t see me anymore, what you will see now is my life in the baptism of Jesus Christ.” In Matthew 3:11, John revealed that baptism to us, He said “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. So, Apostle Paul was simply saying “I have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. I am no longer visible for you to see, what you will see expressed through my life is my baptism.”
Let’s see what the Bible says in Acts 1:8. Jesus was speaking to His disciples so that you don’t just look at the life of Jesus. Let us also look at Jesus in the life of the Apostles and how they also demonstrated Jesus, the wisdom and the power of God. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
This is the promise, this is the baptism He said in Matthew 3:11, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Now Jesus is saying to the Apostles before He had ascended into heaven. "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come unto you. When you are baptized with the Holy Spirit and you shall be witnesses of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth, you will witness me." Also in Acts 2:36-39, the Bible says"
36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
What happened to them? Divided tongues as of fire. Baptism of fire came upon them as of fire. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
In verse 36-39 when they heard this, when they heard wisdom, when they saw the demonstration of God’s power through these men that hitherto has been fidgeting, have been afraid and hiding. When this boldness came upon them, see what happened, it said “they were cold to their hearts and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostle ‘Men and Brethren, what shall we do’? But Peter said to them “Repent, let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are far of and as to many as the lord our God will call”.
When the baptism of the Holy Spirit came, there was a demonstration of wisdom and power, you have so received Christ. I don’t know for how long that you have said you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. What are you demonstrating? Are you demonstrating wisdom and power at the level of God or are you just deceiving yourself, forming godliness and denying the power that is in it? Because the power of Jesus is in His baptism. If you have received Jesus and have not so been baptized by Him; you don’t yet have a part in Him. Jesus is the wisdom and the power of God. He lived to demonstrate that wisdom. He lived to demonstrate that power.
I want us to briefly look at a life of a brother called Peter. When Peter was with Jesus, He was a passionate brother, he loved Jesus, he always had Jesus with him at a point. When Jesus was about to leave, Peter said “Lord you will not die because I always want to be with you. I always want to continue with you. The way I walk with you and you make me feel good. Jesus, you will not die, you will remain with me, we will be together like this.” Jesus rebuked him because Peter was myopic; he didn’t know what was coming, he didn’t know that for him to transcend from the Peter that he is to the peter that Jesus required him to be, he needed a baptism.
See what happened in Luke 22:56, let’s look at Peter before the baptism, let’s see the kind of man he was.
"And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him." 57 But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him." 58 And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" 59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."
He was a fearful man. You won’t see any power in Peter here. You won’t see any wisdom in him. In fact, he demonstrated foolishness. When a small girl approached Peter, he was afraid of a little girl. That was Peter before. Peter, at this point had fellowshipped with Jesus for a good number of years but Peter here did not demonstrate wisdom and power but let’s see the same Peter in Acts 4:13. "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus."
Even though Peter had been with Jesus, had seen Jesus, had met Jesus, had fellowshipped with Jesus. In Luke 22, Peter did not share in the nature of Jesus, Peter did not share in the testimony of Jesus, he did not share the life of Jesus but here, in Acts 4 after the baptism of the Holy Spirit, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men and they marveled and they realized and they had been with Jesus.”
Therefore, Jesus is the wisdom and the of God, and the only way to demonstrate this wisdom and power; is by allowing the Holy Spirit to baptize us with fire.
God bless you.
