Sinners Made Saints — The Folly of Worldly Wisdom

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

Theme: The message of the cross has always been the central message of the Church; it is folly to those who are perishing, but the power of God for those who are being saved.

Date: 07/11/2021 Title: 1_Corinthinas_03 ID: NT07-01

One of the greatest movie lines in recent memory was spoken by a 700-year-old Teutonic Knight charged with guarding the Holy Grail. If you’ve seen the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade you know the scene I’m referring to. Indiana Jones and the other Grail seekers have discovered the resting place of the Holy Grail — the cup Jesus supposedly drank from during the Last Supper. But to throw would-be searchers off, the Grail is sitting among dozens of other chalices. The Knight protector of the Holy Grail tells them, “But choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.” One of the Seekers is Walter Donovan, an American businessman and antiquities collector. Donovan has been working with the Nazis (and we all know how much Indiana Jones loathes the Nazis) chooses the most ornate, gilded, bejeweled chalice assuming it would be the chalice of the King of kings. But it’s a false Grail, and after he drinks from it, he disintegrates and dies. Now comes that great line. The Grail Knight, with a wry smile, simply said: “He chose poorly.” And of course our hero Indiana Jones chose a simple chalice without all the glitz, fitting for a carpenter. And the Grail Knight says to Indie, “You chose wisely!”

Having wisdom means choosing wisely from among a series of possibilities. In the passage before us, Paul is going to tell us that depending on worldly wisdom concerning eternal matters is choosing poorly. The text breaks down into four points. Paul talks about ...

The Cross — the wisdom of God, but foolishness to men

The Called — those who understand the folly of worldly wisdom

The Captives — those who don’t understand the folly of worldly wisdom

The Confidence (he has in the gospel to save sinner)

I. THE CROSS

“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.”” (1 Corinthians 1:18–19, ESV)

1. the Apostle ends his comments on factionalism in the Church at Corinth in chapter one saying, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Corinthians 1:17, NIV)

a. even though the city of Corinth was a Roman colony, it was in all other respects, Greek

1) the city was located in Greece, its residents spoke Greek, its culture was Greek

b. within that culture, the Greeks were fascinated with knowledge and wisdom and especially philosophical argument

ILLUS. Within Greek culture there were as many as fifty identifiable philosophical parties or movements, which vied for acceptance and influence. Each had its views of man’s origin, significance, destiny, and relationship to the gods—of which they had many. Writing five-hundred years before Paul, Herodotus — Greek historian and geographer — said about the Greeks, “All Greeks were zealous for every kind of learning.”

c. five centuries later, in Paul’s era, that had not changed

2. within the Corinthian church there were members who saw Christianity as simply the newest philosophical kid on the block

a. they believed that philosophy was all-important — that it provided a worldview, that gave the meaning of life, provided values, guided relationships, supplied purpose, and destiny

1) unfortunately many of the Corinthian converts carried their spirit of philosophical fascination into the church

2) they had trusted in Christ and recognized their redemption by grace through the cross, but they wanted to add human wisdom to what He had done for them

b. Paul now writes to tell them that Christianity is not dependent on eloquent wisdom, but on the centrality of the cross — which most see as foolish

c. in this morning’s passage Paul is going to contrast God’s true wisdom and man’s supposed wisdom, and God’s supposed foolishness and man’s true foolishness

3. human wisdom is not always wrong nor necessarily evil

a. this is not what Paul is saying

b. he is reminding us that worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom have two different starting points and two different results

1) worldly wisdom comes through our natural senses, and leads to great accomplishments, but will never lead a man to the true God

2) Godly wisdom comes through revelation, and leads to eternal life and abundant life, and a true understanding of God, human nature, and the world we live in

A. HUMAN WISDOM COMES THROUGH OUR NATURAL FACULTIES

1. human wisdom and the resulting advancements and inventions that result are part of the Imago Dei

a. God created us in His image, and in part that means we are creatures able to learn, able to discern the workings of the created order, and able to invent ways to make the world around us work to our benefit

b. this was God’s design from the beginning

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”” (Genesis 1:26, ESV)

c. much to the consternation of the radical environmentalists God commanded that mankind exercise dominion ... over all the earth

1) we are to make the created order work for us

2) we see an example of this when we read that Adam names the animals, and then works the ground

a) these are acts of dominance and control

2. but worldly wisdom always begins with the natural senses — touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste and what we can deduce about the world through them

a. in recent years scientists have added two more senses

1) movement (Vestibular system) and body position (Proprioception system)

2) together they help us know up from down, right from left, and how to chew gum and walk at the same time

3. add to our natural senses, a rational mind, and an intense curiosity of the world and a desire to know how it works and we understand that worldly wisdom has certainly subdued the earth and exercised dominion over it in ways that Adam would be astounded at

a. technical advancements that we take for granted are, relatively speaking, recent inventions

ILLUS. If you were alive in 1941 and got a serious infection, chances were very good that you would die. In March of 1942 Anne Miller became the first civilian to receive a penicillin injection. It saved her life. A mere 80 years later, we take antibiotics for granted.

ILLUS. We trust the food we buy at the grocery store because of a process called Pasteurization, invented just over 150 years ago in 1864.

ILLUS. The printing press and movable type revolutionized Europe in 1450, just as the semiconductor and printed circuit boards have re-revolutionized the world of our day. The first personal computer came out in 1981 with a whopping 16 kB base memory. The first iPhone was released in 2007 — and most of us now can’t imagine life without one. (They are our cameras, video recorders, maps and GPS, Libraries, note pads and date books, music player, mini-T.V.s and even our bibles).

ILLUS. In 1902 Willis Haviland Carrier invented air conditioning. Praise God.

4. the list of technological wonders could, of course, go on and on and on

a. but just as worldly wisdom has changed the course of history for the good, so too, has it accomplished great evil

1) the same black powder that propels a 4th of July sky-rocket into the air, exploding in an array of colors can also propel a bullet into a human body during a robbery

2) the surgical skill that can replace a human heart is also the same skill that can rip a human body from the womb

3) the splitting of an atom twenty miles to the north of us can supply electricity for our homes, but the splitting of those same atoms in an explosive device can destroy every home withing a twenty mile radius

5. Paul’s point to the Corinthians is that worldly wisdom has never and will never lead an unregenerate man into a relationship with God

a. at the very best, our natural senses can lead us to conclude that there is a Supreme Being behind the universe we live in

b. but those natural senses and the mind behind them are tainted by sin, and therefore will never, ever lead us to a correct understanding of who that Supreme Being is

c. in fact, when worldly wisdom is confronted head on with Godly wisdom, the world will reject the truth and believe the lie

1) the Apostle writes, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing

... I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19, NIV)

6. the problem with worldly wisdom is that, too often, it is guided by the natural mind

a. by natural mind the Apostle means the human mind devoid of God’s illuminating presence of His Holy Spirit and biblical truth

b. the natural mind is not guided by God ... it may think of God or the gods, it may wonder about God, it may even delude itself into thinking that it knows a god of its own manufacture, but unless it knows the One True God, the natural mind can only produce worldly wisdom

B. GODLY WISDOM COMES THROUGH DIVINE REVELATION

“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,” (1 Corinthians 1:20–22, ESV)

1. Paul reminds us that all of our accumulated knowledge has not helped us

a. Paul asks several questions, really one question in three parts

1) 1st, Where are all the smart people that have the answers?

a) we are more educated than our forefathers but we are not more moral

b) we have more means of helping each other but we are not less selfish

c) we have more means of communication but we do not understand each other any better

2) 2nd, How much closer to peace is man than he was a century ago — or a millennium ago?

a) there are still wars and rumors of wars

b) there is still violence in our streets

3) 3rd, How much closer are we to eliminating poverty, hunger, ignorance, crime, and immorality than men were in Paul’s day?

a) our advances in knowledge and technology and communication have not really advanced human nature

b) our politicians tells us we just haven’t spent enough money on or discovered the right programs for these problems (but we will ‘cause were so wise)

c. throughout history human wisdom has never basically changed and has never solved the basic problems of man — his fallen sinful nature

2. but God has chosen the foolish things to nullify the wisdom of man

a. what are the foolish things of God that have become a stumbling block to the Jews, and folly to Gentiles?

1) the cross of Christ is foolishness

a) God’s redemptive plan is utter silliness, folly, and foolishness to the wise

2) the delivery method of God’s redemptive plan — the preaching of the gospel; the good news — is foolishness to the wise

3. we can never know the true God of the universe nor true Godly wisdom without the direct intervention of God in our life

a. 1st, that revelation begins with nature itself

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19–20, ESV)

1) nature declares the glory and wonders and mighty power of God

2) Paul’s point is that no man will stand before God and be able to say with a straight face, “I never saw any proof of your existence.”

b. 2nd, revelation becomes more precise through the Scriptures

1) the Old Testament is all about the promise of redemption

2) the New Testament is all about the fulfillment of the promise of redemption

3) together they tell of God’s redemptive plan from the moment of man’s Fall in the Garden, to the establishment of a New Heaven and a New Earth

c. 3rd, revelation is perfected in the person of Jesus who is the Christ

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:1–3, ESV)

1) you want to know what God is like? ... look at the person of Jesus

2) you want to know eternal life? ... commit your life to the person of Jesus and follow him as the Christ

4. God’s wisdom for the salvation of man is ultimately found in the cross and nowhere else

a. through the cross God has chosen to destroy the wisdom of the wise and thwart the philosopher’s discernment

b. this remains true today — men may plan, but if their plans do not coincided with God’s plans, man’s plan will be thwarted

II. THE CALLED

“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 1:24–25, ESV)

1. the world today, just as in Paul’s day, is caught up in the admiration and worship of human opinion, human wisdom, and human desires and aspirations

a. men are continually trying to figure out on their own what life is all about — where it came from, where it is going, what it signifies (if anything), and what can and should be done about it (if anything)

b. although human ideas are constantly changing, appearing and disappearing, being tried and found wanting, conflicting with and contradicting each other, men continue to put faith in them

2. the called ones recognize this as folly

a. Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that the wisdom that saves is a wisdom that God reveals to us, and then calls us to follow

3. in vs. 24 Paul mentions the doctrine of effectual calling

a. when God calls His Elect to salvation, it may be resisted for a time, but the Spirit will always overcome that resistance and bring salvation into that person’s life

b. this call of the gospel is both general and particular

A. THE CALL OF THE GOSPEL IS GENERAL

1. this means that we preach the gospel indiscriminately — it’s meant to be spread to anyone and everyone who will hear it

a. it is for people of every ethnicity, every nationality, every tribe and every tongue

b. in good conscience Christians can share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, at any time knowing that the Spirit of God is at work convicting sinners of sin, judgement and righteousness

1) some will reject that conviction for a time, but eventually the wooing of the Spirit will break past their intellectual, emotional and spiritual defenses and they will gladly receive Christ

a) if you’re a Christian this morning, this happened in your life

2) some will reject and reject and reject God’s convicting Spirit up to the moment of their death, after which there is no hope for them

2. in 1 Corinthians 1:27 Paul writes that the gospel that saves those who believe is the same gospel that condemns the lost, shaming the man who thinks he is too wise or too strong to believe such drivel

B. THE CALL OF THE GOSPEL IS PARTICULAR

1. the particular call is the inward, spiritual call of God to the elect that gives us a new heart and births us from above by the Holy Spirit

a. this is what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus ...

“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”” (John 3:7–8, ESV)

2. all those who are called in this way will be justified and, ultimately, glorified, and all of the glory goes to God

a. all those God has chosen in eternity past are called specifically by God, and this call is effectual in its power and outcome, and often “breaks through” to our souls when we least expect it

ILLUS. One of the best testimonies to this comes from the life of C.S. Lewis. Lewis, for most of his life was one of England’s most famous atheists. He believed that life was grim and meaningless, and that our lives were built on unyielding despair. (He must have been a real killjoy at parties). At the same time, Lewis was good friends with fellow writers, George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton, and J.R.R. Tolkien each of whom were active Christians and who witnessed to Lewis about their faith. Over the course of three years Lewis was slowly convinced of God’s existence, but when he finally came to Christ, no one was more surprised than Lewis.

On September 28, 1931, Lewis and his brother headed out by motorcycle and sidecar to the London Zoo. Just a relaxing day to go see the animals. Lewis would later write, “When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, but when we reached the zoo I did. I had not exactly spent the journey in thought, nor in great emotion. ... It was more like when a man, after a long sleep, still lying motionless on the bed, becomes aware that he is now awake.”

b. this is why the gospel is so galling to the wise, the proud and the elite of any culture

1) salvation is all of God

2) worldly wisdom demands some part in our salvation, it denies that we are as sinful as the Bible says we are, and certainly if we ask the question, “What must I do to be saved” God will respond with a laundry list of moral behaviors, good works, and religious rites

3) see, here’s the bottom line — even when it comes to eternal life, men want to boast that they were wise enough, or moral enough, or religious enough, or deserving enough to merit a place before the presence of God

ILLUS. When the Apostle writes that the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing, the word foolish in the Greek is the word that we get our English word moron from. Paul is saying that to the wise, the proud and the elite of our culture, the gospel of Jesus Christ is moronic. Only an idiot would believe that a Jewish carpenter, crucified by the Romans 2000 years ago could actually be the Jewish Messiah and the Savior of the World.

a) well call me an idiot for that is exactly what I believe (many of you are idiots, too)

4) God saves by grace alone through faith alone, in Christ alone ... “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:29, ESV)

c. every time someone in the Bible asks the question, What must I do to be saved? the answer is simply Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with our mouth one confesses that Jesus is Lord. Then, take up your cross daily and follow Jesus

3. biblical salvation is so simple, but its’s so offensive because we assume there must be something we can contribute to our salvation — there is not

a. Paul tells the Corinthian believers, “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.” (1 Corinthians 1:26, ESV)

ILLUS. In the mid-2nd century a pagan philosopher name Celsus wrote a critique of Christianity. He wrote that the church was not attracting the smart, the noble, the mighty or the smartest. “The Philosophers aren’t becoming Christians, and that should tell us everything we need to know about Christianity.” It was no meant as a compliment. That arrogance has not changed. You might remember in 2008 when a presidential candidate disparaged rural people who “ ... cling to their guns and religion ... “ — it was a smack-down of those Christians who are perceived as not as smart as others.

III. THE CAPTIVES

“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; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29, ESV)

1. those who remain captive to worldly wisdom can never really know Christ

a. they can know about him, but they will never really know him in a saving way

2. in 1 Corinthians 1: 28 Paul refers to what is low and despised in the world

a. that’s a reference to the crucifixion of Christ

1) few things were considered more demeaning or so despised as Roman crucifixion

2) it was a form of capitol punishment administered to the lowest of the low

3) the goal of Roman crucifixion was not just to kill the criminal, but also to mutilate and disgrace the body of the condemned — it was considered the most dishonorable death imaginable

3. that the Christian God had been crucified by the Romans was a real turn-off for the well-bread, educated elite of the Roman and Greek world

a. the well-bread, educated elite of our culture are still turned off by it

A. THE GOSPEL ELEVATES AND GLORIFIES A CRUCIFIED JEW

1. one of the things that keeps many people captive to worldly wisdom, and away from Christ, and the salvation he offers is their objection to the gospel

2. it just does not fit their way of thinking

a. how can one believe that Jesus was the Son of God, since he endured crucifixion?

1) surely this could not have been God’s plan!

b. how can one believe that Jesus was the Son of God when he submitted in weakness to the cross

1) in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus told Peter, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53, ESV)

2) but worldly wisdom says “How can Jesus save the lost if he can’t even save himself?”

c. and then there is the newest theological idiocy of our era that asks; how can we believe in a God who would force His son to die such a gruesome death — it’s nothing less than cosmic child abuse and not worthy of one’s consideration

3. even when the lost man knows his own beliefs are shaky, he often would rather put his heads in the sand and hope for the best than simply take God at His word

a. this is the willful ignorance of unbelief described by Paul in Romans 1:18–23 — pretending to be wise, such men are fools

4. without exception, man’s wisdom elevates himself and makes him captive to the world, the flesh, and the devil

a. no matter how seemingly sincere and objective and scholarly it may be, worldly wisdom caters to man’s self-will, pride, fleshly inclinations, and independence

b. the reason men love complex, elaborate philosophies and religions is because these appeal to human ego

1) they offer the challenge of understanding and doing something complex and difficult

c. this is why some men scoff at the gospel

1) it calls on them to do ... nothing — it allows them to do ... nothing — but accept in simple faith what God has done in Christ

2) the cross crushes man’s sin and crushes man’s pride

3) but if you come to Christ, it also offers deliverance from sin and deliverance from pride

IV. THE CONFIDENCE

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1–5, ESV)

1. the Apostle feels personally inadequate to share the gospel

a. he does so in weakness, fear and trembling

2. salvation does not come by the rhetorical skill of the preacher, or the emotional appeal of a well-crafted message, but by the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God

Con. Admittedly the wisdom of the world can be impressive. We have learned to harness the atom for nuclear energy. We have mapped the DNA of a cell in an effort to cure disease. Ironically, the wisdom of man has taught us how to get to the moon, but not how to get to heaven. With man, it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.