18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent."
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching.
22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,
23 but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
The section of 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16 compares worldly wisdom (or, fleshly wisdom) with spiritual wisdom.
| 1:18-25 - Foolishness vs. wisdom 1:26-31 - God shames the worldly wise 2:1-5 - Spirit and power 2:6-9 - Wisdom in a mystery 2:10-16 - Wisdom revealed by the Holy Spirit |
V. 18 - “The message about the cross is... foolishness” - Verse 18 compares the response of two kinds of people to the gospel - those who do not choose to believe and have faith, and those who do. It is binary. There is no ‘almost believe’, or ‘kind of believe’. I used the term ‘choose to believe’ to impress that you get to make the decision. We are not coerced. We are not tricked or scammed. God says, "Here are the facts. Here is the truth. Do you accept to believe in Me?”
That decision is available to you until you die; your decision is then validated.
If you choose not to believe, there is no salvation. God’s method of saving you from sin made no sense to you, it was “foolish” to believe. God loves you - but you reject that offer of love. He has a wonderful plan for your life - but you want to do it yourself. Jesus said there was no other way to God - but you insist you can find a way on your own. He has provided a way - but that is “too simple”. All these “excuses” add up to the same thing - you choose not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“[The message about the cross is]... power of God” - The other side of the binary choice. You accept His offer of love. You want to know the plan He has for your life. (See: John 10:10b) You believe Jesus is “the only name under heaven by which man may be saved.” (Acts 4:12) You accept that your way is fraught with danger and death, so you seek relief or help. (See: Pro 14:12)
The same power that raised Jesus Christ from death to life is now yours because of your faith in Him. That power brings peace to your soul; brings comfort and solace during trials and troubles. (See: John 14:27) You now have power to love the unlovable. His power gives you a future and a hope. (See: Jer 29:11, Pro 24:14, John 14:21, 23)
V. 19 - “For it is written” - The following sentence is quoted from Isa 29:14. The passage in Isaiah is fascinating. God is speaking to the rebellious people of Israel. He has given them all the information in His book (or scroll). But the people have excuses. “The book is sealed!” “I can’t read!” God accuses them of worshipping by rote - going through the motions. He is going to do wonderful, exceedingly marvelous things for them!
The things God will do is going to confound the wisest among them. The smart people will have no explanation of what Christ has done for us.
V. 20 - “Where is the wise man... expert in the Mosaic law... debater of this age?” - Paul has thrown down the gauntlet; issued the challenge. If you are so smart, why don’t you have an answer that actually challenges God?
Tell us, O wise men, how do you eliminate sin, cleanse a soul, make people perfect? What no answer? Explain, please, scribes and Pharisees - where does the Law take away the sin? Stand before God, and prevail with reasoned logic that will subdue His claim to make you acceptable to a Holy Lord God. Demonstrate how we can be sinless and holy by our own power!
“Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?” - No answer to that claim? No learned person, no religious rules and procedures, no forceful arguments can bridge that expanse between sin and holiness. It is not your sinful actions that condemn you, they are simply manifestations of a deeper spiritual problem. You have a sin nature. God has the answer - man does not, can not. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:5-6 )
V. 21 - “in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God” - Mankind cannot know God by its personal effort. All the education in the world cannot provide enough learning so we can personally know God. We may have a collection of data about God. For example: We may watch hours of news on TV, and read newspapers or magazines, listen to various podasts about President Trump. You have tons of information about the president. On the other hand, you don't live with him, talk to him, nor ask him why he does certain things. You do not know President Trump. This is neither and apology for the president, nor an accusation of him, but an acknowledgment there is a vast gap between knowing about someone and knowing them. There must be a personal revelation to begin to know that person. God has revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ.
Turn to Genesis, chapter 3. If Adam or Eve had truly known God they would have believed Him when instructed to not eat from that one tree.
“God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching” - People will be saved when they hear the truth of the gospel; that is, saved by faith in Jesus. There are those that think it is foolish to talk of being saved by God and not by their own power. That is the ‘fooolisihness’ that Paul preaches, that Christian preachers, teachers, and believers talk about. There is a way that leads to life, as Paul says in Romans, “But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:8-14)
There it is, boiled down: You hear the Gospel. If you believe the Gospel, you are saved by faith in Christ. You learned about salvation in Christ when told about it. (Okay, not exclusively by hearing, but generally.) You can now preach the Gospel so others can be saved. It may seem silly that such an important facet is transmitted to each other by preaching and telling.
Part of the message of salvation is telling others what Christ has done for you, personally. “Jesus Christ has done this for me. My life has changed because Jesus saved me from sin”, etc. “Believe by the foolishness of preaching.” Your life belongs to Christ. He has paid the the price for your sin. Because of that, you are commissioned by the Lord to share that message of salvation. You have been saved. Share that information with those around you. Amen, and Thank You.
V. 22 - “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom” - Neither group of people are particularly ‘bright’ when it comes to salvation, and dealing with God. Go figure! Jews demanded “signs” for proof of God’s calling or blessing (See: Jdg 6:17; 1 Sam. 14:10; 2 Ki. 20:9; Matt. 12:38, 16:1). God also gave them “signs” as a reminder to the people that He was with them, always. The Greeks are well known for philosophy and wisdom - Plato, Socrates, Aristotle (the really famous ones. Type in ‘list of Greek philosophers’ into your web browser, whether “DuckDuckGo” or “Google” to see a long list!
V. 23 - “but we preach about a crucified Christ” - Paul’s message is straightforward: Salvation is in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Christ died for our sin. He paid the penalty so we do not have to do so. Belief in Jesus is the criterium. No other task, no other duties - believe and be saved. No philosophical discussions, no logical conundrums to work out. By your faith place your life in His hands; by your faith accept His grace freely offered to you.
“a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” - Jews were hyper-focused on obedience to the strictures of the Law. It is no surprise that the “Talmud” is many, many volumes (think quantity of volumes like the Encyclopedia Britannica) and the “Torah”. The ‘Law’ had become more than the last few chapters of Exodus, plus a large portion of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Why was Jesus a stumbling block for the Jews? Did He violate the Law? Did His followers flaunt their disregard of the Law? That Christ is the fulfillment of the Law, meant that the Jews no longer needed to be so strictly obedient to the Law (nor do we). This had to be a slap in the face for them. The anchor of obedience to the laws no longer held them in check. They had to seem adrift. The idea that salvation comes through belief in lieu of obedience was a scandal to the Jews.
The concept of Jesus’ sacrifice taking away the penalty for sin made no sense to the Greeks. It was not “logical”.
V. 24 - “To those who are the called” - Discovering Christ as Savior is not accidental. (Kinda like: “I was just walking down the road and I tripped over this guy I didn’t even see until I fell over Him...”) No. Jesus calls each one of us. (See: Luk 5:32; Matt 2:17; Acts 2:39) The call to come to Him is universal, and yet, it is very personal. You are not ‘a face in the crowd’. Jesus knows each person, cares for each person. He speaks to each heart, individually. He came to save me! He came to save you! He says, “Come to Me and be saved!” (See: Matt 9:13, 11:28, 19:21).
“Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” - Only God can conquer death. Only God can give life, both physical and spiritual life. Only God through the wisdom of God do we come to God through faith in Christ. It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who saves us and not we ourselves. It is not by our effort, our wisdom, our intelligence, our skill that our souls can be saved from death. It is Jesus Christ by the will of God - period.
V. 25 - “wiser than human wisdom... stronger than human strength“. The wise men (and women) can plan and calculate; can critique God’s method and declare it ‘silly’. But His ‘silliness’ is wiser than our wisdom; wiser than any human’s wisdom. If we try to work our way into God’s presence, there will always be a slip-up, a mistake, an “Oops!” along the way - we are not perfect, nor can we be perfect. Perfection is required to dwell in the household of God. He has provided that in Jesus Christ.
God’s weakness - Jesus allowed Himself to be lead to the cross and crucified for us. He was not captured and forced to be executed. It was not weakness that lead Him to trial before Pilate! He was not helpless when nailed to the cross. He was fully aware of the death He was to endure. Think on that. He knew how bad it was going to be. I am reminded of the videos of the victims leaping from the top floors of the Twin Trade Towers in New York on 9/11. I turn away and shudder. These people knew they were falling to their death, but believed it could not be as bad a dying the flames and rubble of the towers! Jesus knew it was going to be bad, and did it anyway!
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