WISDOM OF GOD

There were some very clever people in the assembly of Christians in Corinth. They had all the latest philosophies off pat, ready to astound their hearers with the power of human wisdom, philosophical argument and inevitable conclusions. Many who heard them were impressed, even carried away. Yet, some were not so sure. As they listened to these preachers, they remembered when Paul had come among them. He too had preached, yet his preaching had not been the same, as he reminded them. He had not come ‘with excellency of speech or of wisdom’, 2. 1. He had been with them ‘in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling’, 2. 3, and his preaching ‘was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God’, 2. 4-5.

The problem was that worldly wisdom ‘knew not God’, 1.21, and God had determined to undermine the wisdom of mankind. ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise’, said God, v. 19. The Christian message is ‘Jesus Christ and him crucified’, 2. 2. What wisdom is there in that? How could the message of God’s salvation of sinners through the violent public execution of a Jew be sensible? The Jews were offended at the thought, and the concept was foolishness to the philosopher. Yet, to those called by God and to God, Christ is the wisdom of God because in Him God has revealed and accomplished all His purposes and counsels. Many see Christ as the very personification of wisdom in Proverbs chapter 8.

Yet, the world does not see Him as wisdom. In fact, to the world, a crucified Christ is ‘the foolish thing of God’, v. 25 W. E. Vine. The ironic thing is that the foolish thing of God is wiser than all the wisdom of men and the weakness of God, assuming the possibility for the sake of argument, is still stronger than men. All the mental ability and physical strength of mankind is as nothing to God. And ‘not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty are called’, vv. 26-27. Instead, God has chosen the foolish and weak things of this world so that no man should glory in His presence. Even so, for it seemed good in Thy sight.