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. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
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? 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. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
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. 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; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
You would not have thought this up and called it wisdom. This is essentially what Paul is saying. Actually, it is folly. It is offensive. To think that the source and pinnacle of wisdom and power flow out of the God who was beaten and bloodied unjustly simply offends our every last sensibility. In the wisdom of the world power means...well, it means power! It does not mean blood and shame and sacrifice and obedience and mocking and spit and humiliation and death. The reality is, these are all the things wisdom according to man wants to move away from.
God, in his infinite wisdom, decided that this "unwise" plan of his was going to be the way he was going to defeat the wisdom of all ages. In other words, all of the best that humanity has to offer will not only be unsuccessful in coming to know God but it will be proven to be truly foolish. Here is the kicker, the underdog that is the cross will be the very instrument God uses to expose this folly. In the end, only the cross will stand tall as the wisdom of God (and any legitimate wisdom of any sort, for that matter).
I want to draw our attention to the emboldened verses that speak of the demands of the Jews and the Greeks. In this the Apostle Paul draws our attention to a deeper issue, namely, the rebellion that is masked by the human concoction of wisdom. In biblical terms, folly has more to do with rebellion and self-autonomy. 1 Corinthians 1 is no exception. When we hear about the folly of their wisdom we are not being taught that their ideas were on par with having a screen door on a submarine (because we all know, that would be utterly foolish). The screen door is a different kind of folly. That is just poor planning and general human stupidity. However, we wouldn't call the screen door rebellion, it is more like a really bad idea.
What Paul has in mind is rebellion through human wisdom. He isn't talking about people who are well meaning and just came up short because they aren't as wise as God. He isn't suggesting their ideas were simply not good enough. He is suggesting that human wisdom has the dual function of rebelling against God and making themselves look spiritual in the process: "Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles."
Consider this piece from D.A. Carson
"Thus the demand for signs becomes the prototype of every condition human beings raise as a barrier to being open to God. I will devote myself to this God if he heals my child. I will follow this Jesus if I can maintain my independence. I will happily become a Christian if God proves himself to me. I will turn from my sin and read the Bible if my marriage gets sorted out to my satisfaction. I will acknowledge Jesus as Lord if he performs the case, I am assessing him; he is not assessing me. I am not coming to him on his terms; rather, I am stipulating terms that he must accept if he wants the privilege of my company. "Jews demand miraculous signs.
'Greeks [i.e. Gentiles] look for wisdom' (1:22). We have already discovered what this means. These people may not erect conditions that God has to meet, but they do something just as bad. They create entire structures of thought so as to maintain the delusion that they can explain everything. They think they are scientific, in control, powerful. God, if he exists, must meet the high standards of their academic and philosophical prowess and somehow fit into their system, if he is to be given any sort of respectful hearing.
In both 'Jews" and 'Greeks,' there is profound self-centeredness. God is not taken on trust. Both the demand for signs and the pursuit of 'wisdom,' and all the countless progeny they have spawned, treat God as if we have the right to approve him, to examine his credentials...As long as people are assessing him, they are in the superior position, the position of judge. This is the most reprehensible wickedness, the most appalling insolence, the most horrific mark of our deep rebellion and lostness."
The cross is the wisdom of God which man would never have thought on our own. Yet, Paul says that the center of Christian ministry is preaching Christ crucified. This is the ticket to life, life abundant, eternal and the well-spring of all wisdom and understanding. Very simply, the only way to embrace Christ is to embrace him fully, meaning that all ties to worldly wisdom must be shattered and undone. To the extent that worldly wisdom has romanced your mind the cross of Christ will offend and God's wisdom will seem foolish to you.
May we learn the lesson along with the Corinthian church: that even though the allure of worldly wisdom is strong, it won't stand against the true Judge, the Lord of the universe. From him and him alone flows all life and all wisdom. May we embrace him, no matter what the cost. It will be wisely worth it.
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