Lesson for March 6, 2022
The Book of I Corinthians
Chapter 1:18-25
Verses 18-21
“For the word of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
The Greek word for the word is “logos,” which means the instructions from God, the complete expression of His thoughts on any subject, and His message delivered with authority and power. Logosis therefore a title for the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the only visibly revealed member of the Trinity. Jesus Christ is “the Logos” because He is the embodiment of everything that we can know about God – His essence, His character, His principles, etc. The word of the Cross is about the Person of Christ and the work He accomplished on the Cross for all mankind. The message of the Cross is the Gospel, which means good news.
For the word of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Unbelievers consider the message of the Cross foolishness because they are spiritually blind. However, we are all responsible for our own decisions, and unbelievers go to hell by their own choice, it is not God’s will for them to go there. Foolishness is the Greek word “moria,” which means ignorance. Those who reject the Gospel are willfully ignorant of God’s truth, and deliberately reject it because they consider its message foolishness. It is an unbeliever’s rejection of the Gospel that seals his/her fate in the Lake of Fire (hell), forever. However, up to their dying breath a person can believe in Christ and avoid the Lake of Fire.
But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Being saved means salvation continues into eternity and the Gospel is the power of God that provides salvation. It’s accurate information that people need, not persuasiveness or cleverness. Some of the Corinthian Christians had separated into cliques and were confusing people (including themselves) by putting an emphasis on things other than learning doctrine and developing their spiritual lives. They were no longer occupied with Christ, only with themselves. (Romans 1:16)
For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” This is a quotation from Isaiah 29:14. Paul quoted this verse to further explain that human wisdom and cleverness could not provide salvation. The city of Corinth was inundated with the culture of the Greeks. There were three kinds of people in Corinth who were attacking Christianity. First, there were the Stoics and the Epicureans who were philosophers. Second there were the Judaizers who were the religious legalists teaching keeping the Law of Moses for salvation and/or the spiritual life. Third, there were the professional Greek debaters who would take either side in any argument and seek to win by using human logic. So, there were three attacks on Christianity from outside the local church. The inside attacks came from the carnality within the church.
Where is the wise man? The wise man refers to the Greek philosophers and their human wisdom. A philosophical approach to the issues of life is a losing proposition and cannot solve mankind’s problem of separation from God.
Where is the scribe? refers to the Jewish theologians, called the Judaizers, sent to “straighten out” Paul’s message of grace. A scribe was a highly educated man who studied and made copies of the Mosaic Law. They had come to Corinth in order to infiltrate the local churches and neutralize the effectiveness of the grace of God among believers by teaching salvation and spirituality by keeping the Mosaic Law.
Where is the debater of this age? The Greeks loved to debate! These were the professional debaters who would take either side, without convictions about anything, and their objective was simply to win the argument regardless of which side they were on. Generally, the professional debaters were opposed to the message of the Gospel and argued against it trying to use logic in order to discredit it. The Gospel was introduced as God’s absolute truth. Debaters did not recognize absolute truth. They believed everything was relative. However, the truth that comes from God is an absolute and is not up for debate!
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? The fourth question shows that one of the great attacks made on the Corinthian Christians was human viewpoint versus divine viewpoint. This question reveals the human viewpoint of these believers, which was neutralizing their effectiveness for the cause of Christ. Human viewpoint cannot accept the plan of God as truth because it is based on grace and not human works or human merit. Therefore, the philosophers, the scribes, and the debaters rejected grace.
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God. There is no place for mankind’s efforts in the plan of God. The concept of grace could not be reconciled with the philosophies of the unbelieving intellectuals in Corinth. God’s perfect plan proves that the plans of mankind for the human race are foolish. Mankind’s plan has always been based on human effort, but God’s plan is always based on grace! Compare where mankind’s wisdom has gotten him so far with what the world would be like if Jesus Christ ruled it.
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God. Using human ability and human intelligence, the philosophers tried to understand God through rationalism and empiricism, but they couldn’t. However, those same philosophers learned most everything they had ever learned through faith (like we all do). But when it came to knowing God, they rejected faith as a means to know Him. (Psalm 19:1-7; Romans 1:18-32)
God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. This was a play on words by Paul. Paul knew that preaching the Gospel was not “foolishness.” But the philosophers, the scribes, and the debaters thought it was foolishness because it didn’t include human merit as a means of knowing God – it was too simple!
Verses 22-25
“For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, [we preach] Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The Jews had missed all the “signs” regarding their coming Messiah. Over 300 prophecies (signs) had been written about the coming Messiah (Savior) and they were blinded by their arrogance to all of them. On the other hand, the Greeks considered themselves intellectuals, and continually attempted to understand the world around them, including God, through human wisdom. The Greeks, of course, knew nothing of the Scriptures.
But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles, foolishness. To the Jews, the idea of Jesus dying on the Cross was something that they couldn’t understand because it was all about grace, not the Law of Moses as they understood it. The Jewish religious leaders (the scribes) did not understand grace, though it was taught throughout the Old Testament. Even the Law of Moses taught grace!!! Stumbling block is a Greek idiom for rejection of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Christ is called a stumbling block in Psalm 118:22, which is quoted in Romans 9:30-33, and I Peter 2:7-8.
To Greek philosophers and debaters, the Gospel did not fit into their “philosophical mold,” and they refused to abandon their criterion for knowledge, which was either rationalism or empiricism, and therefore they refused to respond to the Gospel on the basis of faith. Instead, they considered the Gospel foolishness.
But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Jews and Gentiles who personally believed in Jesus Christ are “the called.” Called is another word in Scripture for the doctrine of election. Christ was elected (chosen) by God the Father when He volunteered to become humanity and go to the Cross and pay the penalty for sin. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, they enter into union with Christ and are chosen for a service to God. The words chosen, called, elect or election all refer to being selected for a service. As Royal Family of God, every Church Age believer has been elected to a service, which is to represent Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 5:20)
Election also refers to the plan of God for believers, whereby He chooses or selects certain things to be true. The Greek word for election is “eklektos” and means picked out, selected, or chosen for privilege. The question that must be answered in order to clearly understand this doctrine is “What are these things that God chooses for the believer?” Please notice that it is not God choosing a person for salvation as some teach; rather it is God choosing certain things to be true of the believer. An unbeliever must still use his volition to choose to believe in Christ. (Ephesians 1:4; II Thessalonians 2:13-14)
The false doctrine that God chooses some to be saved and others to be lost is called “limited atonement.” What the Bible teaches is “unlimited atonement.” The Bible teaches that any person may come to Christ by faith in Him. God is not willing that anyone should go to hell but that all should come to know Christ as Savior. (II Peter 3:9)
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. God’s ability to save us and give us eternal life is based upon Christ’s payment for sin on the Cross. Therefore, Christ is the power of God. In the wisdom of God, Christ became humanity and carried out the plan of salvation. God the Father’s plan was centered in Christ. God is more intelligent than anyone who ever lived or ever will, therefore His plan (even though it is simple) is brilliant beyond the thoughts of any human being.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Foolishness means a foolish act. So, what is the so-called foolish act of God? In our context it is the Cross. “The preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness” is sarcasm. The “foolish act” of God was Christ dying on the Cross for our sins. Man’s plans all stop at physical death. Therefore, it was “foolish” for Christ to die on the Cross (according to the wisdom of man).
God’s wisdom is so much wiser than any human being’s wisdom because the death of Christ accomplished God’s plan of salvation without compromising His essence. The weakness of God refers to what the scribes, philosophers and debaters in Corinth thought about the Cross of Christ. They believed that mankind’s problems could not be solved by a single act of death by a human being. But Christ was no ordinary human being! Because of their spiritual blindness, they could not comprehend the plan of God. God’s so-called “weakness” was a stronger plan than anyone could design through human intellect or human philosophy. Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”