18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS";
20 and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS."
21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you,
23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
V. 18 - “Let no man deceive himself” - That is one thing we are really, really good at doing! No one likes to think they are as bad as they actually are. Self-deception is one of the powerful tools we use against our own best interests. (See: Gal. 6:3) Our pride and arrogance blinds us to our faults. (See also: Prov. 11:2; 15:25; 16:5; 18, 19; 18:12; 21:4, 24)
“Thinks he is wise in this age” - You may think you have all under control...
“Must become foolish” - It is time to reassess. If the non-believing world (“this age”) is telling you that you are doing the right thing by rejecting God’s offer and guidance - remember, the world’s wisdom is not God’s wisdom.
Stop. Re-think what you are doing. What is better for you in the long run, i.e., eternity? You may need to be “foolish” (as the non-believing world considers “wise” vs. “foolish”) and turn to the Lord Jesus, confess your sin and be cleansed. That’s the point you actually become “wise”, when you trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (See: Prov. 3:5-8)
V. 19 - “the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God” - We think we are so smart. We are so scientific, understanding everything. We believe, we depend on SCIENCE! Yet we are so ignorant of the things of God. We look into the far reaches of the universe, trying to look back into time, to discover how the universe was made. We can’t even be sure, scientifically, when it was made. We have no idea, scientifically, how life started on the earth, how the animals came into being, nor humans. We have THEORIES! These are ‘scientific guesses’, masquerading as knowledge. (See Note 1, below) You may wish to reject the concept that God spoke the universe into existence. You are helpless in proving otherwise.
The physical universe is but a tiny part of what we don’t know about God. The areas of interpersonal relationships, of governments and governing, of peace and war - all of these, as we look at history show how little we know about what we are doing. Man’s inhumanity to man is not an isolated incident. It runs rampant throughout the world.
“For it is written....” - Quoted from Job 5:13. “He frustrates the plans of the crafty so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had planned! He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end.” Mankind operates upon its own knowledge and power. We see what devastation we cause - human-to-human. God wants us to assess what we are and do, and He provides a better way. Our own wisdom and craftiness brings pain and destruction. God provides love and forgiveness. We want the forgiveness, but do not want to give it. Because we refuse to live by God’s standards, we live in pain and suffering.
V. 20 - “and again” - Quoted from Psalm 94:11- “The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile.” If the thoughts of man are directed by the Lord, the futility begins to dwindle away. Human futility seems to be a permanent feature of our existence, most likely due stubbornness and habit. God’s wisdom within us must be nurtured. It is not natural to us. Rebellion and rejection of God and His ways are more natural to humans.
V. 21 - “So then let no one boast in men” - Don’t brag that you were saved by Paul, therefore you are a better Christian; or vice-versa for Apollos, or Peter.
“For all things belong to you” - This seems to be an odd, off-the-wall conclusion. Think on this - if you have Jesus, then Paul, Apollos, and Peter are mere bagatelles (I almost likened them to carnival trinkets, but that is a bridge too far. But, yet, they are not Christ. Wonderful and as grateful as we can be for their faithful service bringing the message of salvation - they are not Christ.)
If you are the Lord’s own, because you have believed in Him and accepted Him as Lord and Savior - you have the mind of Christ. (See: 1 Cor. 2:16) When Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we have the Holy Spirit. (See: John 14:16, 26; 15:26) He will place the necessary understanding in our mind and thoughts when needed. Christ is not an ancillary add-on to our lives. He is not a repair job, where the dents are pounded out, or “bondo” is used to fill in and smooth over damage, a new coat of paint added to cover blemishes. He is not “part of our lives - Jesus IS our life.
The "all things" referred to here are not new cars, new houses, fancy clothes, money, money, money! All the things the Lord gives - peace, forgiveness, sanctification, redemption, salvation, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, etc., - these are yours in full. How about love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness gentleness, and self-control? Yours in full! (See: Gal. 5:22-23) How about whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, or lovely, whatever is of good repute, excellence, and worthy of praise? Yours in full! What about the peace of God, and peace with God? Yours in full! (See: Phil. 4:8)
V. 22 - "All are yours" - What a list! The eight items in Philippians listed above encompass all there is or may be. Paul expands on those here in this verse to include: People they know, people important in their lives; the world around them; life; death; now and not-yet!
“Paul, Apollos, Cephas” - These men brought them to Christ, mentored them in their faith helping them grow closer to Jesus.
“world” - Where they live, their towns, their family, neighbors, authorities, governments, etc.
“life or death” - How you are living now. What will you be when you die.
“things present or things to come” - Every thing you will experience in this life, or the life to come.
“For all things belong to you” - Repeated for emphasis. Paul says the world is yours. You have new life in Christ. This isn’t just slogan, church-talk.
V. 23 - “and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God” - If “you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:9-10)
In Christ you have life. See: John 20:31; Rom. 6:3, 8:9; Gal. 3:27; Eph. 2:5, 13; Col. 2:6, 3:1; 2 Tim. 3:15; 1 John 1:3. See, also: John 3:35, 14:12, 28, 16:10, 20:17; Matt. 11:27, 16:27; Mark 8:38,13:32; Luke 10:22.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are His.
You are safe and secure. No one can take you away from Him. All power has been given to Christ from the Father. All power belongs to God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many people have the honor and privilege to serve Jesus Christ as missionaries, preachers, and teachers. Their job is to be the conduit through which the Spirit of God flows to tell the world of the love which Christ wants to share and bless the world. They are not the message, Christ is the message of hope and salvation.
It is important to realize that it is not just pastors and missionaries that are to take the Gospel into the world. It is you and me. We are to share the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ to our neighbors, our towns, our nation. Our life is to portray Jesus living in us. We are to speak words of grace and hope to those around us.
Note 1: I learned a couple of terms in my engineering career: one was "WAG", another was "SWAG", when referring to conclusions drawn. "WAG" is an acronym for "Wild-A..-Guess. "SWAG" is short for "Scientific-Wild-A..-Guess".
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