However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
1 Corinthians 2:6

In the third century B.C., Alexandria, Egypt, was the intellectual capital of the world. This was due in no small part to the Great Library of Alexandria, which housed upwards of four hundred thousand scrolls. By the time of Christ, the library had deteriorated and been partially destroyed by fire—with its ancient wisdom lost.

While it is a shame that such a prodigious amount of intellectual achievement did not survive, the loss of the library and its contents is a metaphor for “the world’s wisdom.” The wisdom of man rises and falls with the ages. That truth is compared to the wisdom of God, “which God ordained before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7). Another way of saying it is: Truth never changes. The truth about God, His creation, and His purposes existed “before the ages.” We are now the beneficiaries not of wisdom compiled in a certain age but of wisdom that existed before all the ages.

If you would be wise, seek the wisdom found in God and His Word—wisdom which abides forever (Isaiah 40:8).

The heavens declare Thy glory, Lord, in every star Thy wisdom shines.
Isaac Watts