I. The Gospel is superior to all human wisdom.—It is “not the word of men.” 1. Human wisdom is limited in its range. The greatest mind is restricted in its knowledge, and imperfect in using what it knows. A celebrated Roman scholar once exclaimed with petulance and disgust: “The human mind wanders in a diseased delirium, and it is therefore not surprising that there is no possible folly which philosophers, at one time or another, have not propounded as a lesson of wisdom.”
2. Human wisdom is changeable.—Aristotle, the great father of natural philosophy, summed up his impressions on this subject with his usual hard, unyielding logic when ye said: “There is no difference between what men call knowledge and mere opinion; therefore, as all opinion is uncertain, there can be no certainty in human knowledge.”
3. Human wisdom is unsatisfying.—It is with a sigh of bitter disappointment that one of the most profound thinkers of antiquity concluded his long and deep inquiry into human affairs, and summed up the result with these sad, melancholy words: “Nothing can be known; nothing therefore can be learned; nothing can be certain; the senses are limited and delusive; intellect is weak; life is short!”
II. The Gospel is essentially Divine.—1. It is authoritative. There is an old proverb, “When the lion roars, the beasts of the forest tremble.” So when the Gospel speaks, unbelievers may well be filled with fear. Milton thus describes Adam in his innocency advancing to meet his celestial Visitor: He—
"walks forth without more train
Accompanied than with His own complete
Perfections: in Himself was all His state."
In like manner God’s Word comes to us clothed with the majesty and authority of its own innate power. It bends the ear to attention, the mind to faith, the heart to reverence, the will and conscience to obedience.
2. It is immutable.—It is “the word of the Lord that liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter i. 23). (1) Its promises are sure; (2) its threatenings will certainly be executed.
3. It is complete.—There is nothing to add, nothing to subtract. It contains the fullest revelation of God, of man, of eternal issues—such as can never be found elsewhere.
4. It is worthy of universal credence.—“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.” It is to the everlasting commendation of the Thessalonians, and of millions since their day, that when they heard the Word of God they “received it, not at the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God.”
This next paragraph includes the word “niggardly,” which is a fine word, meaning “stingy,” “grasping,” or “parsimonious;” but to someone who is not familiar with the word or not paying complete attention, it can sound like a racial slur. When teaching this material, please strongly consider substituting a synonym.