18-3-11, 1 Cor. 1:18, War of Wisdoms Pt. 1, The Wisdom of the World
Sages and Stooges: Having the Right Kind of Wisdom & Being the Right Kind of Fool • Sermon • Submitted
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SERIES INTRODUCTION
SERIES INTRODUCTION
Sages and Stooges: Having the Right Kind of Wisdom & Being the Right Kind of Fool
In this series, we are going to talk about wisdom and folly.
Obviously, we all like to be wise and none of us want to be fools. We want to be sages instead of stooges. We want to make good decisions in life about important things like our families, careers, money, and especially our souls.
Wisdom: My FIL was telling me the other day about a neat and legal way he was able to take advantage of the earned income tax credit. When it comes to taxes, he is pretty wise.
My FIL was telling me the other day about a neat and legal way he was able to take advantage of the earned income tax credit. When it comes to taxes, he is pretty wise.
How will you know if we’ve succeeded in being wise?
How will you know if we’ve succeeded? Generally, results reveal if you made wise decisions or not. Wisdom results in gain and folly results in loss. Wise people make educated guesses which tend to yield good results. Fools make decisions on emotion, impulse, and wishful thinking and end up suffering loss. Really, wisdom and folly are best judged in hindsight.
Generally, results reveal if you made wise decisions or not. Wisdom results in gain and folly results in loss. Really, wisdom and folly are best judged in hindsight.
Wise people make educated guesses which tend to yield good results.
Fools make decisions on ignorance, emotion, impulse, and wishful thinking and end up suffering loss.
We want to make decisions that in the end prove to be wise.
We want to make decisions that in the end prove to be wise.
So, how do we learn to be wise?
Especially when it comes to important things like family (how to raise kids), career (whether to make a move or not), money (investing it without losing it), and our souls (our spiritual selves, heaven and hell).
This last one is our focus for this series. How can you be wise in spiritual matters. How can you believe wisely?
This last one is our focus for this series. How can you be wise in spiritual matters. How can you believe wisely?
So, where do you go to get wise advice? Who do you follow? (ask Alexa?) Books?
So, where do you go to get wise advice? Who do you follow? (ask Alexa?)
You find a teacher. However, be careful, what is wise to one person is foolish to another. Even fools think what their are doing is wise. You have to consider the source.
What is wise and what is foolish depends on who you ask. You have to consider the source.
If you ask a stooge, his idea of wisdom is probably going to be different from that of a sage.
You have to consider the source.
Scripture teaches that there are two sources of wisdom, but only one is legitimate. There is the world’s wisdom and God’s wisdom. These contradict each other.
In the end, only God’s wisdom will prove to be wise. But, worldly wisdom is incredibly attractive. It sounds so good on so may subjects. but in the end it results in loss.
It glitters and sparkles so much that even Christians get duped into it occasionally.
My hope with this series, is that you will learn to identify and choose to follow God’s wisdom.
Example
You also have to consider the end result.
If you trust it, you will have everything you could possibly want in the end.
Really, wisdom and folly are best judged in hindsight.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
In our eyes, someone might be doing something that looks rather foolish, but in his own eyes, he’s brilliant. Generally, we have to wait for the outcome of our actions to see who was really wise and who was really foolish.
In this series, we are going to see there is disagreement between what the world calls wisdom and what God calls wisdom.
In this series, we are going to see there is disagreement between what the world calls wisdom and what God calls wisdom.
We’re going to learn that in the end, God’s definitions of wisdom and folly will stand and the world’s standards will fall.
Every day you have a choice to make regarding which expression of wisdom you will follow. God’s wisdom, or the worlds wisdom.
INTRODUCTION
Perspective
INTRODUCTION
This week and next week I want to dig into the differences between the world’s wisdom and God’s wisdom. This week we are going to take a good look at the features of worldly wisdom.
BOOK
BOOK
BOOK
CONTEXT
CONTEXT
The church in Corinth became a troubled congregation. Paul evangelized Corinth and helped to establish a church there during his second missionary journey. Many Jewish and Gentile Corinthians experienced the mighty power of Christ and were born again.
Paul spent 18 months in Corinth teaching the Christians about the Scriptures and showing them how to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ.
However, after Paul left…cultural forces, divisive personalities, and false teachers invaded the congregation.
The Corinthians lost their focus on Christ and became intrigued with worldly wisdom.
As a result, they became divisive, haughty, and they adopted attitudes and actions which were in conflict with the wisdom of God.
They were getting off track and they were heading toward loss.
The Corinthians had become entranced with worldly wisdom and this led them to attitudes and actions which were in conflict with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul writes to them to help them to get back to the right perspective...
They listened to worldly wisdom, which declared the gospel message as folly.
They failed to see that the cross and resurrection of Christ are the manifest wisdom of God. They followed the sages of their day which called the gospel foolishness which had changed them from death to life.
Paul writes to them to help them to get back to the right perspective...
Paul writes to them to help them straighten things out and get them back on the right track.
PASSAGE
PASSAGE
What is God’s Wisdom?
What is God’s Wisdom?
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
This verse is a thesis statement.
Through chapter 4, Paul’s is going to explain the differences between God’s wisdom and worldly wisdom.
God’s Wisdom is Content
God’s Wisdom is Content
God’s Wisdom is Content
Here, Paul names the centerpiece of the wisdom of God. He calls it the “word of the cross”.
Next week we’ll dig into the wisdom of God which centers on on the gospel message, and therefore it centers on Christ.
Next week we’ll dig into the wisdom of God which centers on on the gospel message, and therefore it centers on Christ.
God made you and me to be with Him.
Our sins keep us from Him.
Sins cannot be undone by good deeds.
Paying the price for our sins, Christ died on the cross and was raised from the dead.
Everyone who repents, believes, and receives Christ will be saved.
Life eternal begins today.
Paul says that this message is powerful. It has traction to save those who believe. It results in Christians receiving everything worth having, the divine inheritance, the kingdom, heaven, God’s glory, God’s presence.
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
God’s Wisdom is Folly to the Wise of the World
God’s Wisdom is Folly to the Wise of the World
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
On the other hand, those who hold to worldly wisdom, they reject the center piece of God’s wisdom, epitomized in the cross, as folly. Paul says that in the end they will suffer the loss of everything, even their very souls. They will perish.
In 1:18, Paul explains that there are those who hold to worldly wisdom, they reject the center piece of God’s wisdom, epitomized in the cross, as folly.
PASSAGE
On the other hand, those who hold to worldly wisdom, they reject the center piece of God’s wisdom, epitomized in the cross, as folly. Paul says that in the end they will suffer the loss of everything, even their very souls. They will perish.
Gain and Loss
Gain and Loss
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Paul says that in the end they will suffer the loss of everything, even their very souls. He sums up this loss by saying they will perish.
Paul says that in the end they will suffer the loss of everything, even their very souls. He sums up this loss by saying they will perish.
Perish=apollymi destroyed, to fail to get, Under the condemnation of God.
When you perish, you get nothing, not joy, not heavenly wealth, not life.
As in the story of the rich man and Lazarus , there is an accompanying knowledge of what was missed.
Gospel Message Rejected
Paul summarizes this difference of worldview in vv. 23-24...
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Christ is the power and wisdom of God (24), but to those who hold to worldly wisdom, they can’t accept the message of Christ crucified.
Paul describes the content of the gospel as a stumbling block (offense) (23) and folly (moronic) to unbelievers (24).
So these who favor worldly wisdom reject the powerful content of the Gospel. Instead they embrace a set of values...
Worldly wisdom values human performance and talent.
Worldly wisdom values human performance and talent.
In Greco-roman culture, the art of rhetorical persuasion was highly valued. There was an obsession with professional orators who could entertain and instruct.
Worldly wisdom values human performance and talent.
Paul’s preaching failed to measure up to the cultural standard. Not necessarily because Paul couldn’t do it, he just felt that oratory performance detracted from the content of the gospel message
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
When Paul came to Corinth, he did not come preaching with all the embellishments of human eloquence and wisdom, but he emphasized the content of the gospel message.
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
When Paul came to Corinth, he did not come preaching with all the embellishments of human eloquence and wisdom, but he emphasized the content of the gospel message.
People heard the gospel message and were saved! In Paul’s understanding, this was a good thing, because it proved the power of the gospel message.
Yet, people heard the gospel and were saved! In Paul’s understanding, this was a good thing, because it proved the power of the gospel message.
excel in speech and philosophy. Instead, he was there in weakness, fear, and trembling.
However, after Paul’s departure, the Corinthian Christians became again enamored with the oratory skills of preachers rather than the substance of what they preached.
Paul spoke to them much like many of you who get to do America’s number one fear.
Today, we still fall for this. In the church, we can buy into this worldly wisdom that says that talent, merit, and performance are really what matter.
In Corinthian culture,
In Corinthian culture, the art of rhetorical persuasion was highly valued. There was an obsession with professional orator who entertained and instructed.
This value came into the You can see why a segment of the church became enamored with Apollos who was a very talented and precise speaker.
In summary, Worldly wisdom praises human ability over the content of what’s said.
You see that the church embraced this because they were more concerned of the oratory skills of the preachers than they were of the gospel message.
,
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians
The “word of the cross” likely refers to the content of the message (supported by reference to 1:23).
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Today, we still fall for this. In the church, we can buy into this worldly wisdom that says that talent, merit, and performance are really what matter.
Pretend you have two preachers who preach the same gospel message, we tend to favor the one who used to play college football, if he can really tell funny stories, if he’s grown a church into an empire, or he has written a bestseller.
Sadly, we favor such preaches even when their message is off of orthodox. He may not be all that accurate in what he said biblically, but he sure did entertain.
Paul’s saying that none of these performance factors carry weight when it comes to the gospel. They detract from true wisdom which is embodied in the content of the gospel message. Paul says only the content of the gospel has the power to change lives.
You see this today because there are a lot of great preachers on the radio. People get really excited about the person on the radio, but the Bible message never makes it into their lives and manifests itself as life-change.
You see this today because there are a lot of great preachers on the radio. People get really excited about the person on the radio, but the Bible message never makes it into their lives and manifests itself as life-change.
People get really excited about the person on the radio, but the Bible message never makes it into their lives and manifests itself as life-change.
You see this today because there are a lot of great preachers on the radio. People get really excited about the person on the radio, but the Bible message never makes it into their lives and manifests itself as life-change.
You see this today because there are a lot of great preachers on the radio. People get really excited about the person on the radio, but the Bible message never makes it into their lives and manifests itself as life-change.
People can get really excited when pro-football players come to church and give a testimony.
In this passage, Paul wants us to know a second thing worldly wisdom values,
Today, people are consumed with idea that salvation is a matter of their performance of the person in righteousness instead of in the performance of the message to transform a person into a righteous being. The idea that salvation is a result of our personal performance has it’s source in the worldly wisdom.
Yet, Paul says the real power is not in the talent and performance of the person preaching, but it is in the gospel message itself.
Today, people are consumed with idea that salvation is a matter of their performance of the person in righteousness instead of in the performance of the message to transform a person into a righteous being.
In this passage, Paul wants us to know a second thing worldly wisdom values,
In this passage, Paul wants us to know a second thing,
Worldly Wisdom trusts in power and position
Worldly Wisdom trusts in power and position
Worldly Wisdom = Power and prestige
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
:17
In the middle of this passage, Paul talks about unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Greeks. These two groups reject the word of the cross.
Worldly Wisdom = Power and prestige
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
1 cor. 1.
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
1
Paul alludes to why each one rejects the gospel. Neither of them like the content of the gospel about Jesus Christ crucified. It rubbed against their value of power.
Crucifixion was a brutal method of execution. It was a criminal death penalty of torture. You’d have to press up on pierced hands and feet in order to catch a breath.
Those who were crucified were ashamed.
Those who were crucified were humiliated. No one would want to be associated with such a person.
Further, it was unpleasant to talk about. You’d have to press up on pierced hands and feet in order to catch a breath. was common seen in this culture as the worst expression of execution.
Crucifixion was considered so crude that no one would bring it up in polite conversation.
It was considered so crude that no one would bring it up in polite conversation.
Yet, in the gospel, a poor Jewish man mutilated, shamed, and killed on a cross was the means by which people were saved.
This totally goes against worldly wisdom which celebrated power, form, and beauty.
For the Jews, they awaited a Messiah whom they envisioned to be a conquering king. . He would come to cast off Roman oppression and establish Israel again as the world kingdom. Power, power, power!
From a Jewish perspective the one crucified was under God’s curse. It didn’t fit with their expectations.
The Greeks had their philosophers who created ideas in their minds like Plato’s forms, the logos- the unifying concept of truth in the universe. They saw the spiritual as good and powerful and material as evil and weak. Therefore, they scoffed at the idea of the resurrection.
We believe Jesus is both, but at different times. During His first advent He was the suffering servant. Upon His return He will be the Conquering King.
The Jews had the law of God, which came to them on Mt. Sinai under the power of a pillar of cloud and fire. They understood authority and had built a stronghold of religious rule in Israel.
Before they would ever give up this power, they demanded miraculous signs for Jesus to prove He was the messiah, because He didn’t look like it to them. Never mind that He did plenty of miracles.
The Greeks had their philosophers who created ideas in their minds like Plato’s forms, the logos- the unifying concept of truth in the universe. They saw the spiritual as good and powerful and material as evil and weak. Therefore, they scoffed at the idea of the resurrection.
A crucified Messiah was weak and offensive to the unbelieving Jews and nonsensical to the unbelieving Greeks.
Worldly wisdom of the Jews and Greeks also celebrated position...
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
Paul points out the irony that the Corinthian Christians were infatuated with worldly wisdom that celebrated people’s social status when most of them lacked that same position, noble birth, wealth.
So the idea of the Messiah being crucified didn’t fit with this wordly wisdom. From a Jewish perspective the one crucified was under God’s curse. Such a person was a criminal and weak.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
From a Jewish perspective the one crucified was under God’s curse.
In Corinth, there were two groups which rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. They rejected it because of its apparent weakness.
They mis-understood the prophecies of the Messiah as the suffering servant (Is. 53).
From a Jewish perspective the one crucified was under God’s curse.
We believe Jesus is both, but at different times. During His first advent He was the suffering servant. Upon His return He will be the Conquering King.
The Jews had the law of God, which came to them on Mt. Sinai under the pillar of cloud and fire. They understood authority and had built a stronghold of religious rule in Israel.
The Jews had the law of God, which came to them on Mt. Sinai under the pillar of cloud and fire. They understood authority and had built a stronghold of religious rule in Israel.
Before they would ever give up this power, they demanded miraculous signs for Jesus to prove He was the messiah, because He didn’t look like it to them. Never mind that He did plenty of miracles.
The Greeks had their philosophers who created ideas in their minds like Plato’s forms, the logos- the unifying concept of truth in the universe. They saw the spiritual as good and the physical as bad. They scoffed at the idea of the resurrection
A crucified Messiah was weak and offensive to the unbelieving Jews and nonsensical to the unbelieving Greeks.
Further, it was unpleasant to talk about. You’d have to press up on pierced hands and feet in order to catch a breath. was common seen in this culture as the worst expression of execution.
You’d have to press up on pierced hands and feet in order to catch a breath. was common seen in this culture as the worst expression of execution.
It was considered so crude that no one would bring it up in polite conversation.
Yet, in the gospel, a poor Jewish man mutilated and killed on a cross was the means by which people were saved.
The wisdom of the world favors culture and beauty over truth.
This totally went against worldly wisdom which celebrated power, form, and beauty.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
1 cor. 1:
Paul wants us to know a third value about world wisdom...
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
Paul wants us to know a third thing about world wisdom.
Worldly Wisdom is human-centered and God-mocking.
Worldly Wisdom is human-centered and God-mocking.
says that those who adhere to worldly wisdom call divine wisdom folly. In this they call God’s word foolish. They mock God in saying this.
Not only do they disparage and mock the special revelation of the gospel, they do this with the general revelation of creation. Paul explains...
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
They become wise in their own eyes. The result of buying into worldly wisdom which praises power, talent, position, and humanity, is that it gets people thinking that they are something special. Haughtiness soon follows.
Pretty soon people think they are capable to rewrite the rules. In so doing, they declare themselves to be smarter than God. Moreover, they claim that God doesn’t even exist.
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
Is. 5.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
The result of worldly wisdom is wickedness.
The result of worldly wisdom is wickedness.
As the Corinthians Christians became enamored with worldly wisdomThe big problem in the Corinthians church became arrogance. This was at the root of their disunity.
1 cor
As the Corinthians Christians became enamored with worldly wisdom, they became proud. This was at the root of their disunity.
The big problem in the Corinthians church became arrogance. This was at the root of their disunity.
21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
In their haughtiness, they became self-centered, insistent on their own rights at the expense of the weak and marginalized. They became obsessed with their own social advancement rather than the gospel message’s advancement.
LOOK
LOOK
LOOK
In summary:
Worldly wisdom values human performance and talent.
Worldly Wisdom trusts in power and position
Worldly Wisdom is human-centered and God-mocking.
The result of worldly wisdom is wickedness.
The result of worldly wisdom is wickedness.
An Example of Worldly Wisdom
An Example of Worldly Wisdom
Worldly wisdom has not changed much over the years:
Worldly wisdom has not changed much over the years.
Stephen Hawking Says He knows What happened before the Dawn of Time- www.foxnews.com
He tells physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson that there was almost infinitely small quantum foam before the Big Bang. This matter existed in the singularity where the density would have been infinite and all the laws of physics would have broken down.
Time existed in a ‘bent’” state. It would have existed in something called imaginary time.
It would have existed in something called imaginary time. Imaginary time may sound like science fiction,but nevertheless, it is a genuine scientific concept.
“The density would have been infinite,” Hawking says.
“It would have been what is called, a singularity. At a singularity, all the laws of physics would have broken down.
It would have existed in something called imaginary time. Imaginary time may sound like science fiction,but nevertheless, it is a genuine scientific concept.
One can picture it in the following way. One can think of ordinary, real, time as a horizontal line. On the left, one has the past, and on the right, the future. But there’s another kind of time in the vertical direction.
There’s no raw physics that supports his idea. Yet...
There’s no raw physics that supports his idea.
Performance
Power
You might ask yourself if you are under the spell of worldly wisdom.
Position
Human centered, God-mocking- He says he does not need a creator for His story of the universe.
This is the essence of Worldly Wisdom.
You might ask yourself if you are under the spell of worldly wisdom.
Personal Evaluation
Personal Evaluation
You might ask yourself if you are under the spell of worldly wisdom.
The
1. Are you enamored with people with amazing resumes or do you care most about the content of their preaching? If a person is a little off orthodox, to they make it up to you by his or her charm?
2. Are you constantly trying to figure out how to climb the corporate ladder, get rich, look a certain way on social media.
3. Are you impressed with being powerful and commanding, trying to associate yourself with the high and mighty in society?
4. Have you adopted more sophisticated philosophies and scientific theories which trump the word of scripture because you think the Bible needs a “little help” so as not to sound too much like fairy tales?
5. Do you find yourself too smart for church and caring more for yourself and your interests more than for the Christ community?
If these describe you, you’ve gotten too big for your britches. You’ve become entranced with worldly wisdom.
Be forewarned
The present age is doomed and is already in the process of passing away. That “wisdom” will result in the loss of all you have.
31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
Scripture calls to you to get back on the right track, the wise track, the track which will prove wise in the end and full of blessing, the track which holds the word of God to be inerrant and infallible, the word which preaches the gospel, Christ the Son of God, crucified for sin and raised from the dead.
Scripture calls to you to get back on the right track, the wise track, the track which will prove wise in the end and full of blessing, the track which holds the word of God to be inerrant and infallible, the word which preaches the gospel, Christ the Son of God, crucified for sin and raised from the dead.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
Counter cultural
TOOK
TOOK
31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
TOOK
Look yourself in the mirror and ask some honest questions. Have you duped like the Corinthians?
Don’t pass on the greater blessing.
Have you been changed by the content of the gospel?