When Wisdom is Foolishness
1 Corinthians: Grime and Glory of The Church • Sermon • Submitted
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Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Even though, we are in another sermon and somewhat moving into a new thought for Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church, we are still not done with the topic of divisions.
A lot of what 1 Corinthians is about is taking this problem of division under a microscope and examining it from different angles.
So, in this passage we are in some ways looking at DIVISION from another angle and being forced to answer this question: Why do PEOPLE become fixated on personalities and people and rally around those personalities and people to the point of division?
Now, notice I did not ask why do people who are far from God and aren’t believers become fanatics of personalities like the Kardashians, Beyonce, and TikTok and YouTube stars. No, rather, I asked WHY DO PEOPLE! Which means I’m also asking why do Christians do this?!
Why do Christians have a celebrity problem?
Why are Christians not content with the Christian wisdom that’s around them or the Christian wisdom that’s in front of them…the Christian wisdom that’s near them? Why do they have to look to those with large followings to validate whether or not a message is right, good, and true?
There are many reasons why Christianity has the same problem with celebrity that we see in the world…but one reason is because of two simple lies that we often tell ourselves. The first lie is:
the more people a person has following them, the more valuable their words are.
The more money a person has behind them, the wiser their words are.
The more charismatic a person’s personality is, the more godly they are.
In other words, the more talented, gifted, well-spoken, wealthy, charismatic, powerful, a person is, the more credibility we give them.
The second lie we tell ourselves is very close to the first...
If we align ourselves with them, we will be more valuable, more powerful, wiser, and nearer to God ourselves.
We gravitate to these personalities because all of the illusions of power, strength, and wisdom that we see in them we hope others will eventually see in us when we are aligned with them...
Let me say this in another way: We have the same problem with celebrity inside of Christianity as there is outside of Christianity because as believers we too often see the world through the same lenses as unbelievers.
Their wisdom is our wisdom. So, when they say, “the powerful, the wealthy, the charismatic, the popular, the philosophically brilliant are the only ones worth following”, we say “yes and amen” and we either fall in line and follow those that they are following or we create our own Christianized versions of those people with the same ingredients but with
just a little bible knowledge sprinkled on top.
This is why we hear these calls in 1 Corinthians 1: I follow Paul! I follow Apollos! I follow Peter!
Because they’re convinced that who they say they follow speaks to who they actually are and who they want to be known as...
And who do they want to be known as…
They want to be known as REALLY SMART people.
They want to be known as REALLY STRONG, REALLY POWERFUL, REALLY CHARISMATIC, or REALLY GIFTED...
Why? Because they have ultimately bought into the lie that these are the only people who have value.
To this mentality Paul brings us verses 18-31.
Paul turns all of these worldly ideas on their head in 14 verses by teaching us that God’s Wisdom is not only not like man’s wisdom but it is greater than man’s wisdom…And that part of healing divides is learning how to value God’s wisdom over man’s wisdom.
So, how does Paul do it? First, he shows us that God’s Wisdom is unlike Man’s Wisdom and is Greater than Man’s wisdom by way of reminder
REMINDER
REMINDER
The first reminder is that the message we preach has always been one that was seen as foolish to the outside...
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.
Here is a SOBERING, SOBERING Truth…there are only two types of people in this world.
PEOPLE BEING SAVED and PEOPLE NOT BEING SAVED...
PEOPLE FACING ETERNAL DEATH and PEOPLE FACING ETERNAL LIFE...
And there is only one thing standing in between these two people...
A word. A message. Paul calls hear the word of the Cross…The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To the ears of the perishing, the message of the cross sounds UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!
If there is no GOD, who is ALL POWERFUL and ALL KNOWING and FULLY RIGHTEOUS and COMPLETELY HOLY, then there is no need for me to concern myself with whether or not this God demands Justice.
If there is no God that demands DIVINE JUSTICE, then there is no threat of ETERNAL DEATH...
If there is no threat of eternal death…than there is no need for a sacrifice worthy to pay the penalty for the SIN in my account that would lead to ETERNAL DEATH AS A RESULT OF THIS HOLY GOD’S DIVINE JUSTICE...
If any of those pieces break down in my understanding of eternity than the Cross becomes complete and total foolishness to me.
To take it a step further, that word for foolishness is also seen in Luke 14:34 in the describing salt as USELESS. For the one who is spiritually and eternally dying, the one whose ultimate purpose is his or hers own glory, What use is this cross?
However, to the ears of those being saved, the message of the cross is the power of God…but how?
Because those who are being saved have come to the realize that there is indeed a God, a creator of all things who is Holy and perfect and just and that though we were created by this God, we rebelled against this God, leading to us facing eternal judgment unless there is one who can stand in our place and accept the punishment and that one was Jesus when He stood in our place on the cross.
So, for those who embrace this truth, the cross is not foolishness, IT’S POWER!
Paul reminds the Corinthians that without an understanding of our need for the cross, it only makes sense that the cross would sound and appear to be foolish.
So, the reason that the cross appears foolish is not because people have too much information. It’s because they have too little of the information that counts. THEY CAN NOT SEE THEIR NEED for a RIGHTEOUS SUBSTITUTE CLEAR ENOUGH TO SEE THE POWER OF THE CROSS.
Now consider these words in here next to the words we hear Jesus say about those who are perishing:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
The number of people who are perishing are MANY. So what does this mean for those who think this Gospel is FOOLISHNESS? There will be MANY! So, don’t be waver if you find that there are not a lot of people who are willing to adjust their entire life around this message. The message is foolishness to the perishing
The second reminder Paul gives the Corinthians is a reminder of what God has been saying since the OT concerning His wisdom versus the world’s...
19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
This passage is a quote from Isaiah 29:14. God’s people had stopped listening to God and were relying on their own wisdom and own understanding when God spoke to the prophet and I’m going to destroy their wisdom and discernment to display that it is not because of their human wisdom that they live but it is because of me!
God’s wisdom has never aligned with Man’s Wisdom…
For man, it made sense to eat of the tree in the garden...
For man, it made sense to build a tower to the heavens trying to ascend to God’s throne...
For man, it made sense to crucify the Savior...
For man, it makes sense to attempt to find ETERNAL meaning and significance that will last in TEMPORARY things that are wasting away...
For man, it makes sense to look at the wealthiest, the most charismatic, the savviest with their words, and say “that is the person that is most worthy of me dedicating my life to following...
Proverbs 14:12 says for man, “12 There is a way that seems right...but its end is the way to death.”
Paul is reminding the Corinthians to not fall into this trap of measuring life by human wisdom because its end is always eventually destruction.
Paul now moves to showing us how God’s wisdom is greater than man’s wisdom by way of COMPARISON
COMPARISON
COMPARISON
Paul begins in verse 20 with this call to the mat so to speak...
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
It’s like he’s saying where are all the wise guys? That think their soooo smart with their endless debates and their oratorical and rhetorical flexing. Where are they when you need real answers???
o Where do I find peace?
o Where do I find joy unspeakable?
o Where do I find comfort at night from the many heartaches this life brings?
o Where do I find my purpose on this earth?
o How do I answer for Jesus?
o What happens to me when I die!!!
There are some questions that will always exceed the limits of human reason and none of these questions are greater than the questions dealing with eternity.
All the scholars, scribes, and debators in the world have yet to figure out what to do with this question...
God in his infinite wisdom decided that man would never reach him through their own wisdom, and it is that inability to reach Him, that incapacity to answer the more pressing questions about life, that ultimately marks their wisdom as foolish!!!
Paul narrows his focus in verses 22-25 by comparing the human wisdom of the Jews and the Greeks to the wisdom of God!
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
Here Paul is comparing two very different ways of trying to get to God and understand the purpose of life.
The Jews weren’t into the ivory tower speculative thinking that the Greeks often valued as true wisdom and power. The Jews wanted to see concrete examples of wisdom and power. Don’t talk me to DEATH! Show me a sign that you have what I’m looking for.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry many of the Jewish elite were constantly asking Him to perform signs to verify He was sent by God and He constantly refused to be on their time and agenda as to when He would
We find one such instance in Mark 8:11-13
11 The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
Given the expectation that they could demand a sign from the true Messiah, imagine their total dismissal of someone who would not only NOT give them that sign ON DEMAND but instead would give the sign of the cross.
When these Jews saw the cross, they would not have thought now there is a sign of blessing...
No, they would have looked back to Deuteronomy 21:23 “...for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
They would have denied him saying that he was cursed not understanding that he indeed become a curse in order to ensure we would no longer be cursed.
The Greeks on the other hand would have looked at the cross and said to themselves this is so unsophisticated, sooooo simple-minded, so CRUDE and unattractive. How on earth can it save?
They would have said all of that while conveniently ignoring that for all their sophisticated logic, rhetoric, oration, and philosophy on constant display, they still had no answer for what AILED THE HUMAN SOUL and what could actually CURE IT!
So, Jews with their concrete demand for signs and wonders miss the Savior. Greeks with their more abstract demand for intellectual brilliance miss the Savior.
The Sign Watchers and the Sophisticated Thinkers both stumble over Jesus because neither can understand how glory can possibly come through the gory
So how does one find him? The answer is TECHNICALLY you don’t! HE FINDS YOU!
1 Corinthians 1:24-25 “24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
How do we come to see true wisdom as it is revealed in the person and work of Jesus? Strength through weakness. Wisdom through foolishness. Power through sacrifice. God by His Spirit makes it known to us!
The Wisdom of this world comes through our demanding and taking, but the Wisdom of Heaven comes through an act of mercy as God graciously opens the eyes of our hearts to behold true power and wisdom through the Gospel. God gives us eyes to see and when we do EVERYTHING changes...
“When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.”
Scholar and Theologian Leon Morris puts it perfectly when he says “The sign-seeking Jews were blind to the significance of the greatest sign of all when it was before them. The wisdom-loving Greeks could not discern the most profound wisdom of all when they were confronted with it.”
So, Paul shows us that God’s Wisdom is Greater than Man’s Wisdom by reminding us of what God has always said concerning the wisdom of the world versus His wisdom and by reminding us of the two destinations of all people and how those destinations influence how we see God’s wisdom.
AND
Paul also shows us that God’s Wisdom is Greater than Man’s Wisdom by simply comparing them with one another and showing that man’s wisdom has no real answers to the problems that sin and eternity pose on the soul.
LASTLY
Paul will now show that God’s Wisdom is Greater than Man’s wisdom by pointing to our own EXPERIENCE as those called by God...
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
God’s Wisdom is shown to be greater than man’s wisdom in how it is seen in His Church...
This last point is the greatest blow to our worldly over-emphasis on celebrity, power, wealth, and intellect...
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.
Here we are scoring people based on:
How brilliant they are intellectually...
How much earthly power they possess...
Whether or not they came from a special family...
How much money they have...
How much cultural and/or physical strength they have...
And Paul is sitting here like…did y’all forget the people who are apart of this church?
IT’S OBVIOUS that God’s calling is not based on that because if it was MOST OF YOU WOULDN’T be here...
ILLUSTRATION: I remember over 20 years ago there was this REALLY REALLY popular hip-hop artist who was on the top of the game and retired to go into ministry. And me being the young Christian that I was said to myself and to plenty of others. Man, a LOT of people are going to get saved now because this guy got saved!
The same thing was probably said by many young Christians when they heard a similar story a few years ago about a REALLY REALLY popular hip-hop artist who was on top of their game and in the middle of it dedicated their life to the Lord and completely changed the content of their music.
I’m sure their were many young Christians who were saying to themselves man I know a lot of people are going to get saved now because this guy got saved.
But here is the problem with that…you’re thinking that God picks and chooses us using the same criteria as we normally do!
He doesn’t need our wealth, He doesn’t need our cultural power, He doesn’t need our celebrity.
And more often than not, he chooses the exact opposite of it!
The man or woman most in the will of God at this very moment could very well be someone we’ve NEVER HEARD of and may never HEAR about.
They may the discipler of a young Christian who God will one day use to prepare the way for revival!
Now it doesn’t mean that God has no room for the powerful, the wealthy and the prominent in His Kingdom...
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.
It does mean that He doesn’t need them in order for His Kingdom to advance.
It does mean that their status in the world holds no bearing on their status in the Kingdom
It does mean that God’s calling is not based on worldly standards.
Paul says this shouldn’t be anything new to you guys…JUST LOOK AT YOU!
The World didn’t really consider most you all that smart...
Most of you didn’t have any real influence, power, wealth...
The World didn’t even consider most of your families that significant...
Why is he bringing them down?
Because it’s the arrogance that leads to a divided church…
It’s the temptation to think that what the world considers special is what God considers special and then to try and align ourselves with those personalities in order to be seen as special as they are perceived to be...
It’s this mentality that leads to “I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Cephas...”
To that Paul says:
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
The lesser are the greater…
The weaker are the stronger…
The despised are the accepted...
God uses exactly the very ones the rejects…
God doesn’t need the biggest, the richest, the most gifted, the most talented. He takes the willing and uses them for His purpose...
City Light…we don’t have to have the most talented people to make much of God…we don’t have the most gifted people to make much of God…All we need is God to make much of God!
And if anyone wants to stand on his intellect, gifting, riches, and talent based on worldly standards, God has no use of them…Both James and Peter testify to this truth repeating the OT truth...
1 Peter 5:5 ...“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””
What about the foolish that rise to bring shame to the wise and the weak that rise to bring shame to the strong or the low that rise to bring shame to the high and lofty should they boast?
NO! why?
Notice the intentionality in Paul’s words…GOD CHOSE…GOD CHOSE…GOD CHOSE…Consider your CALLING!
So for those who want to take pride and create celebrity out of Paul, Apollos, or Peter…Paul would say…everything I’ve been given to lead was given to me by God for God!
Why does God orchestrate it this way...
The End of Wisdom
The End of Wisdom
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
He orchestrates it this way so no one can get the credit for the work but Him...
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
He orchestrates it this way so we come to realize that it is ultimately not because of someone’s talent that we are in Christ Jesus, it’s not because of someone’s gifting that we are in Christ Jesus, it’s not because of someone’s intelligence that we are in Christ Jesus...
It is because of God that we are in Christ Jesus...
He orchestrates it this way so that we no longer look to the world and its standards for our wisdom, for our power, for our redemption, for our sense of belonging and acceptance, for our growth and maturation.
WE LOOK TO CHRIST!!!!
---- Wisdom is about a reverence of God (Proverbs 1).
True Wisdom is declaring HALLELUJAH ALL I HAVE IS CHRIST!!!!1