Lesson 4 – 1 Corinthians Chapter 1:18-31

The last time we met we talked about factions taking place within the Corinthian church. This had gotten the attention of Chloe’s people, and they reacted in the responsible way by reporting what was going on to Paul.

In our study of this, it brought up the subject of “unity.” We know from John 17 in Jesus’ prayer to the Father that unity was deep in His heart. From eternity past, there has always been unity within our Triune God, except for that one moment in history, the minute Jesus took on the sins of the world. When this happened, there was a separation between the Father and the Son, causing in my opinion, the greatest pain of Jesus’ sacrifice.

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the promised Holy Spirit came down to the earth to indwell all believers, thus came the beginning of the church. For Christ’s church to go on for all future generations, it was necessary for Paul to step in and redirect the followers at Corinth, to become unified in all their actions moving forward.

The factions that were taking place were ignited by who was being baptized by whom, and then later, giving allegiance to the baptizer. Then, Paul makes it very clear that his primary mission was to spread the gospel of Christ.

We pick up in verse 18 speaking of the gospel, where Paul refers to it as “the word of the cross.”

1 Cor. 1:18:
“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.”

The last part of verse 17 says, “that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” It’s the cross of Christ and the word of the cross, that take us to the foot of the cross. It is the message of the cross that will cut to the heart of self-centeredness.

Crucifixion was not only a horrific way to die, it was a shameful way to die. In fact, in those days it was illegal to crucify a Roman citizen. The subject of crucifixion was never brought up in civilized conversations. It would be like going to someone’s house for dinner and start talking about the electric chair or gas chamber… it’s a conversation that most people tend to avoid.

When Paul uses the word cross, it would defiantly grab the attention of his readers. In the context of this verse, the word of the cross is meant to include the entire gospel message of salvation. Because of sin, every person is separated from God, and considered to be spiritually dead in the eyes of the Lord. Simply stated, the word of the cross means that Jesus came to this earth becoming one of us. He was 100% God and 100% man. The Father gave Jesus a work to do, and that was to become the one and only perfect sacrifice for our sins that the Father would accept. Then on the third day of His death God would raise Him up… defeating sin, death, and satan.

John 3:17:
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Paul states for us that the message of salvation is foolishness to those who are perishing. A literal translation would be, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing, foolishness.”

Warren Wiersbe writes, “Those who have been called by God’s grace, and who have responded by faith, realize that Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. Not the Christ of the manger, or the temple, or the marketplace… but the Christ of the cross. It is in the death of Christ that God has revealed the foolishness of man’s wisdom and the weakness of man’s power.”

John MacArthur also says, “It is moronic, absolute nonsense, to unbelievers who rely on their own wisdom… to those who are perishing. That phrase is a graphic description of Christ rejectors, who are in the process of being destroyed in eternal judgment.”

The main problem that exists is, “it’s our stinking thinking,” human wisdom just cannot understand the cross. A perfect example can be found by looking at our old friend Peter.

Matt. 16:21-23:
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day…

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Peter’s wisdom, even though he had the best intentions, was contrary to God’s wisdom, and anything that is contrary to God’s wisdom works for satan. Human wisdom says, “How can that be?” Even after Jesus rebuked Peter, Peter still didn’t get it, because later on, when the temple guards were arresting Jesus, Peter pulls out his sword and cuts off one of the guard’s ears (that was only because he missed cutting off his head). Peter’s actions were going against God’s wisdom.

Back to our verse, Paul states; those who are perishing. The people who are classified as perishing, are in a very dangerous position in their life.

Hebrews 9:27:
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,”

We all get one life to live, that’s it, there’s no do-overs.

Years ago back in the 60’s there was a commercial on TV that said, “If I’ve only one life, let me live it as a blonde!” It became an iconic slogan for Clairol hair dye.

But back to reality… a person left to their own wisdom thinks everything will be okay for them, as long as they live a decent life by being a good person.

Matt. 7:13:
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Those who are perishing find themselves right in the middle of the broad way that leads to eternal destruction. The sad part is, many of them don’t even realize they’re on the wrong path.

2 Peter 3:9:
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

This is why it is our job to always proclaim the word of the cross. Many may think it’s foolishness, but we should never stop.

But to us who are being saved it is the power of God…

1 John 5:19:
“We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

We know that those who are perishing are locked in to the power of satan, but every believer is held firmly in the power of God. Everyone is either in the process of salvation or in the process of being destroyed. As far as our salvation goes, it’s not complete until the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:23; 13:11). How a person views the finished work of the cross determines their existence for all eternity.

1 Cor. 1:19:
“For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”

Paul is quoting Isaiah 29:14.

Psalm 111:10a:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;”
Here in verse 19 we’re not talking about godly wisdom, rather human wisdom. In light of this, we can ask where are all the high thinkers, where are all the philosophers, the psychiatrist. “What have they actually done for our culture?”

1 Cor. 1:20:
“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?”

We can either become super depressed over the evil pollical and judicial decisions that are made in our country every day, or we can realize that these actions are exactly what God planned to do all along.

No, God never does evil, but he can use evil men to achieve His purposes.

We can paraphrase what Paul is writing by saying, “Don’t you see all the wisdom from you brainiacs, your scholars, and your debaters are nothing but pure foolishness?”

With all the foolishness going on in the world today, God is still on His throne, and contrary to what some might say, we’re right on schedule according to God’s plan. Mankind is inclined to try to solve the world’s problems and fight endless wars through all their self-centered thinking… and doing it all in their own power. For the most part, man just gets in God’s way.

One Bible commentary says, “One of the things that keeps people away from Christ, away from the Bible, and away from salvation is their disagreement with the gospel. It does not fit in to their way of thinking. Even when they know their own philosophy or their own religion is on shaky ground, they often would rather put their heads in the sand and hope for the best than simply take God at His Word.”

1 Cor. 1:21:
“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.”

“Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” (NLT)

One thing is for sure, we will never know God through the wisdom of the world. The glaring truth is, all of man’s problems are the result of sin. The ironic thing is, the more man increases in knowledge and philosophies, the more his problems intensify as well. Today, there are more misunderstandings, conflicts, drunkenness, immorality, depression, and suicides throughout the world, and it always comes down to the fact that mankind has a sin problem. Even for God’s children, the perfect will not come to be until the resurrection.

God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe…

Don’t misunderstand, Paul isn’t talking about foolish preaching… unlike what we saw when we studied about the false teachers. The foolishness of the message preached was how the world perceived the message of salvation. The world thinks the message of the cross is unintelligent and simple-minded. Salvation can never come through high-minded philosophy, intellectual understanding, or human wisdom, but only through believing in the finished work of Jesus.

Eph. 2:8:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

Mankind can’t fully “figure out” salvation; they can only accept it through faith.

1 Cor 1:22-23:
“For Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,”

For Jews ask for signs… the obvious question is to ask why, why are the Jews asking for signs?

In general, when people say they require proof of the existence of God, it’s really just a lame excuse for not believing in God at all. After reading the stories in the Old Testament, one could say that the Jews were actually spoiled. How many times where they witnesses to the signs and wonders from God when they were in the wilderness? Imagine what it was like to see the parting of the Red Sea or manna coming down from heaven? Yet, with all those signs and wonders, the Jews went off in their own way countless times; God even being labeled them “a stiff-necked people.”

Jesus performed miracle after miracle throughout His ministry, yet most of the Jews who saw these supernatural signs still didn’t believe.

The Gentiles were no better, it says here, and Greeks search for wisdom. After examining human wisdom, we know how far that wisdom will get us. We must depend on godly wisdom.

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.”

The intellect of man cannot appreciate the plans of God, no matter how much wisdom man thinks he has. It’s not self-confident knowledge or wisdom, but humble faith that allows a person to enter Christ’s narrow way.

But we preach Christ crucified…

Paul would only preach the message of the cross… Christ crucified. That is the only true sign and the only true wisdom to be found.

This was, and still is, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness. In fact the gospel isn’t just a stumbling block for the Jews, but also to billions around the world.

The only thing believers should tell the world is God’s message of the cross. Because those who seek signs, the cross becomes a stumbling block to them, and those who seek other wisdom it is just foolishness.

1 Cor. 1:24-25:
“But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ 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.”

Previously, Paul used the term Jews and Greeks to describe the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles which is really representative of all unbelievers. And now he uses the term called, as in God’s chosen ones, and that Jews and Greeks are included in this as well.

Romans 3:22:
“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” (NLT)

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God…

When we say, Christ the power of God, it is the only answer we need. We see this in chapter 7 of Romans, where Paul has been laying out the problem of indwelling sin; he had to deal with it, just as we have to deal with it.

Romans 7:20:
“But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

Then in verse 24 Paul says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” And so, we ask the very same question as Paul, “what is the answer to our sin problem?”

Romans 7:25:
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Back to our verse, how do we know if we are called (the Jews and Greeks)… what is the answer? Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God, that is the only answer. The message of the cross translates into Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. In the preaching of Christ crucified, God called people by opening their eyes of faith to believe the gospel. Do you want to know if you’re called? Examine Jesus, then put your faith in Him and you’ll find out.

1 Cor. 1:25:
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

A casual observer might come to the conclusion that the Bible is saying that God could be foolish or weak in some way… wrong!

Paul is merely speaking from the unbeliever’s point of view. Paul is also saying that even if God could be foolish or weak in any way, He would still be wiser and stronger than any man.

Eph. 1:19-23 [Paul puts God’s power into perspective]:
“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else – not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself.” (NLT)

1 Cor. 1:26:
“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;”

Paul had the inside scoop on the Corinthian believers B.C., before Christ. I think for the most part, they were all just “average Joe’s” before they came to salvation.

Paul says, consider your calling, this is the saving call that God extends to us… it’s the “effectual call” from God that leads to salvation.

That there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, this means according to the world’s standards they weren’t anything to speak of. They probably didn’t have six-figure incomes, or ranked among society’s “who’s who.” We could say, “high breeding” was in short supply. I think you’re getting the picture.

One thing that stands out here is these so-called admired “things” or “statuses” …the people who had these higher privileges, we find that it just becomes a hindrance to their salvation.

The ones in our society that are considered to be the wise, strong, or rich, often see themselves as very successful and self-sufficient. To their demise, this has a way of pushing them into rejecting the gospel message entirely.

1 Cor. 1:27:
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,”

I think for all of us who aren’t considered to be highly talented, gifted, or rich, when you read this verse you kind of smile to yourself and say, “That’s me God’s talking about.” Also, for us to be able to relate to this verse, it takes a certain amount of humility.

As believers, there should be a sharp contrast when compared to the rest of the world. To be sure, the world measures its success and greatness by various standards. At the top of the ladder you find intelligence, wealth, prestige, and position… all things which God chooses not to use. When He does this, it gives Him all the glory… as it should be.

One of the best examples is John the Baptist. He didn’t attend the best schools, he wasn’t trained to be a gifted speaker, he wasn’t rich, and he ate grasshoppers. Yet when Jesus described him, He said, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” (Matt. 11:11)

1 Cor. 1:28:
“And the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,”

“God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.” (NLT)

The base things… the despised God has chosen… and the things that are not… this translates into the phrase “to be considered as nothing.” It is reminiscent of when a democrat was running for president in 2016, labeling the conservative right as nothing more than, “A basket of deplorables.” The world is very good at looking down on those who don’t seem to measure up to their standards. For the Greek at this time, being called nothing would be a great insult to them.

In God’s economy, He is all about equity… in a good way. He sees the rich or poor through the same exact lens. God reveals the greatness of His power by demonstrating that those who the world considers as nobodies, He sees them as “somebodies.”

1 Cor. 1:29:
“So that no man may boast before God.”

Eph. 2:8-9:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Looking back to verse 26, “For consider your calling, brethren.” Paul is pointing to our salvation. When it comes to our salvation, God has done everything.

Salvation must be entirely of grace; otherwise, God doesn’t get the glory. This is something that Paul wanted to get across to the Corinthian believers. Why? Because as we will see in chapter 3, these believers were guilty of glorifying man rather than God.

1 Cor. 1:30:
“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus…

Jesus did it all… Jesus paid it all, Jesus became human in order to pay for our sins. Throughout His life, Jesus was sinless and lived perfectly. Because He was human and without sin, He was able to take our sin and sacrifice Himself on the cross to pay for our mistakes. Jesus rose again and because of Him, Christians can be free from sin. This was all God’s doing!

Who became to us wisdom from God…

We receive wisdom from God.

Proverbs 16:16:
“How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.”

Godly wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord and results in a holy life. Worldly wisdom, on the other hand, is not concerned with honoring God, but with pleasing oneself.

Proverbs 2:2-6:
“Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Every believer receives righteousness from God…

Romans 4:5:
“But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”

To put it simply, when God looks at us, He sees only Christ’s righteousness, and His righteousness is imputed to us. We didn’t do it, Jesus did.

Every believer receives God’s sanctification…

When we’re sanctified, we’re set-apart for God’s purposes, we are made holy.

John 17:19:
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.”

Sanctification is the “increasing disconnect” that goes on in the life of a believer from sin toward righteousness. It’s a continued process by the Holy Spirit, making us righteous and separating us from sin. That’s why as we grow in Christ, we’re not necessarily sinless, but we sin less… adding to our value within the body of Christ.

Lastly, believers receive God’s redemption…

For the Christian, to redeem means to buy back.

Way back in the cave-man days, there was something called S&H Green Stamps. Every time you bought something at the grocery store, they would give you stamps, and you would stick them in a little book. When you had a sufficient amount of stamps in your book, you could redeem them for gifts in a catalog.

1 Peter 1:18-19:
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

Our redemption cost Jesus His life, and He redeemed us from the power of sin. When Jesus returns, our redemption will be complete, because we will be saved from the presence of sin in our life… we will be with Him, fully glorified.

1 Cor. 1:31:
“So that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

This is from Jeremiah 9:24.

In light of the fact that God has blessed us with wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, we have no right to be prideful about it. All that we could ever want or need, both now and for eternity, is all wrapped up in Jesus.

Humanly speaking, we are “weak,” “foolish,” “lowly,” and “despised.” All the glory goes to God and God alone. True boasting in the Lord is actually boasting of the Lord… boasting of His great attributes, boasting of what He has done for us, of what He is still doing and of what He has promised to do. We serve an Infinite, Immutable, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Eternal and Holy God… let our boasting be in that.

I’ll close with one more statement from Warren Weirsbe, he says, “As you review this chapter, you’ll see the mistakes that the Corinthians were making, mistakes that helped create problems in their church. They were not living up to their holy calling, but were instead following the standards of the world.

They ignored the fact that they were called into a wonderful spiritual fellowship with the Lord and with each other. Instead, they were identifying with human leaders and creating divisions in the church. Instead of glorifying God and His grace, they were pleasing themselves and boasting about men.

They were a defiled church, a divided church, a disgraced church!

But, before we pass judgment on them, we should examine our own churches and our own lives. We have been called to be holy, called into fellowship, and called to glorify God.

Are we living up to this calling?”