God's Mysterious and Hidden Wisdom

“We speak the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, which God predestined before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew. For if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

–1 Corinthians 2:7-8

I want to offer a short thought about this verse, considering there’s been debate about who the Apostle Paul was speaking of when he mentions the “rulers of this age.”

I truly believe that in this verse, Paul is speaking of the forces of darkness, and not the human rulers that were in power during the time of Jesus’s crucifixion. It seems evident to me that Satan and his followers had no clue what killing Jesus would actually mean.

Why would they have conspired to kill Christ, if they knew that by doing so SALVATION would enter the world?

The simple answer is that they wouldn’t have…and I believe that’s what Paul is getting at in this scripture.

For me, part of the beauty of SALVATION is that God held its eventual reality covertly; until Jesus actually died on the cross.

You can study Old Testament scripture and see the clues God left about His plan (Psalm 22), but it’s never all spelled out in one place and the cross and crucifixion is never literally referred to.

You can study the New Testament scripture, especially the interactions Jesus had with Satan and demons (Matthew 8:28-29), and again; there’s no evidence that the enemy knew of God’s plan. They certainly recognized Jesus, but they had no idea what He was up to.

God didn’t want the powers of darkness to know the plan and that meant leaving it a beautiful mystery until the time of His death and resurrection…even to those that followed Jesus the closest.

Not even the disciples understood that Jesus had come to die for the sins of the world. See how Peter responded when Jesus told them that He would die in Jerusalem:

And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This will never happen to you!" But He turned around and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!"

Matthew 16:22-23

I wanted to speak to this scripture because I think it beautifully reveals that God ALWAYS had a plan for SALVATION, and He was not going to let anyone in the human or spiritual world know about it until His plan was fulfilled. Brothers and sisters, YOU mean that much to Him…then, now, and forever.