The Wisdom & Folly of God & Men (Part 1) 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

The Wisdom & Folly of God & Men
Sermon Summary 

(1 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. (19) For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (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. (22) For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, (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. (25) For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (ESV)

All throughout Scripture there is a recurring theme that arises when the ways of God are compared with the ways of fallen humanity. So often, what appears wise and strong in the eyes of the world is actually weak and foolish in the eyes of God. And what appears weak and foolish in the eyes of the world is often the very thing God uses to display his great wisdom and strength. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the gospel.

In the cross of Jesus Christ God has destroyed the wisdom of the world. And he has done it in two ways. First, it is God’s purpose to take what the world sees as wise (namely, following its own thoughts and ways) and show it to be foolish. Second, it is God’s purpose to take what looks foolish to the world (namely, the cross) and show it to be wise.

1. God takes what the world sees as wise and shows it to be foolish.

Verse 19 says: “For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’” It is God’s purposes to destroy the wisdom of the world. Paul asks in verse 20, “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?” The wise man was the person who had well developed worldview that could explain all of life apart from the God of the Bible. Today we might think of the person who promotes atheistic evolution. You’re nothing but a combination of time plus chance plus matter. Those feelings you have, your sense of right and wrong, they’re just a culturally conditioned firing of chemicals in your brain. It’s the postmodern worldview. All truth is found within. Just follow your own heart. Foolishness.

The scribe was the expert in the Law of God. He is not mastered by the word. Rather, he believes he has mastered it. Think of the biblical scholar who engages in higher criticism of the Bible. The PhD who can tell you what parts God inspired and which parts he didn’t.

The debater was the person who was skilled in oratory and rhetoric, and could convincingly present his case with the power of their own words.

In light of all this learning and expertise, Paul asks the question at the end of verse 20, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” How so? He has made it foolish in the sense that none of it, absolutely none of it leads to God. That’s the first half of verse 21: “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom…”

Lost and fallen humanity has a way of looking at life and explaining it, but none of it leads to repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It cannot bring us to God. God has taken what this world sees as wise, and shown it to be foolish.

2. God takes what the world sees as foolish and shows it to be wise.

But God has also taken what this world sees as foolish (the cross) and shown it to be wise. That’s the second half of verse 21: “it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”

Paul is not saying that the gospel really is foolish, but that it appears that way to the unbeliever. Verses 22-23: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, (23) but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” The Jews demand signs. During Jesus’ own ministry they would not believe unless they saw a miraculous sign. “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign,” Jesus said. The Greeks seek wisdom. We must be able to make sense of everything before we believe. God must fit our mold and fit in our box.

This is still the case today. There are those who will not believe unless they see God, or unless he performs some great miracle. There are those who in the name of “wisdom” believe that Christianity should be jettisoned.

Christopher Dawkins in his book, The God Delusion, says that the Victorian era was “the last time when it was possible for an educated person to admit to believing in miracles like the virgin birth without embarrassment.” He says, “When pressed, many educated Christians today are too loyal to deny the virgin birth and the resurrection. But it embarrasses them because their rational minds know it is absurd, so they would much rather not be asked.” (1)

But of course, it’s not just Dawkins, it’s also the people you work with who don’t understand why you are so serious about this Jesus thing. It’s those family member who patronize you and say, “that’s nice,” when it comes to your beliefs.

It may even be you. Maybe you’re the skeptic this morning. Maybe you refuse to believe until God heals you or someone you love. Perhaps you are keeping your distance from God until it all makes sense and you can figure God out. Of course, the problem with those objections is that it puts us in God’s place and God in our place. It puts us on the bench and God in the dock.

What we need to see is that what appears foolish and weak when it comes to the gospel is actually wise and strong. That’s verse 25: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” In that moment that God appeared the most foolish—a dying man—he was actually carrying out his all-wise plan. In the moment that God appeared the weakest—dying on a cross—he was revealing his strong and might arm to save. The Jewish people were expecting a Messiah who would conquer the Romans, put down God’s enemies, and establish God’s kingdom. What they got instead was a dead man on a cross. And in that moment that it appeared to his disciples that all hope was lost, in fact God’s people were being saved.

What is the cross to you? Is it foolish and weak? Or do you see in it the wisdom and power of God?

(1) “The Dawkins Delusion,” at www.albertmohler.com