Antioch Odessa
1 cor 1:18-31
  • How Great (Psalm 145)
  • O Lord My Rock And My Redeemer
  • Christ Our Wisdom
  • The title of our message today is, “Set aside the wisdom of this world!” This message is a message for those who are perishing and don’t know Christ today as well as it is a message for those who have been changed by God and understand His power. Today we are going to look at the Superiority of God’s Wisdom versus Worldly Wisdom.
    Good morning. Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Over the past several weeks we have taken a look at this church in Corinth that Paul planted. We have learned that this church gradually began to squabble and become divided rather than staying unified in Christ. They bragged about who baptized them and who was a better leader. What we see happening here is that pride led them to elevate their human wisdom over the wisdom of the good news about Jesus.
    The Greek culture there in Corinth was in love with human wisdom and philosophy. This culture believed that philosophy provided the meaning of life, important values, important relationships, purpose and destiny. Unfortunately many of the new Christians who had come to faith in Christ still held onto some of these beliefs from this pagan philosophy. What I am trying to say is that they still had a love for human wisdom. Not much has changed as we take a look around our world today.
    We see a lot of this happening today in our world. People love and even worship human thoughts, human opinions, human desires, and even human aspirations. But when it comes right down to it, we as believers really don’t have any need whatsoever for human philosophy because we have everything we need right here in God’s Word.
    Pastor John MacArthur once said, “Human philosophy is unnecessary and more often than not misleading. Where it happens to be right it will agree with Scripture and therefore unnecessary. Where it is wrong it will disagree with Scripture, and is therefore misleading.”
    Paul explains it to us this way in Colossians.
    Colossians 2:8 ESV
    8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
    There is a lot of deceit happening in our country today. Many folks are being taken captive by human folly. However, for those of us who know Christ and have been filled by His Spirit we recognize God’s Word to be the only source of truth for our lives. So, there is no need for human wisdom and philosophy. We as believers don’t need to be misguided by human opinions and speculations.
    Sadly, there is much philosophy creeping into churches today. Some churches have such a strong desire to be culturally relevant and attract people that they are willing to do just about anything. We see this a lot especially in churches on Super Bowl Sunday. What we see happening is that churches are more concerned about human opinion than God’s Word.
    Martyn Lloyd Jones commentated, “The whole drift downward toward modernism that has blighted the church of God and nearly destroyed its living gospel may be traced to an hour when men began to turn from the revelation of God’s Word to philosophy.”
    Ultimately Psychology which is just another name for human wisdom comes against the wisdom of God’s Word. It is always looking to understand how man works wether through his mind, emotions, or spirit. The problem is that we as humans are sinners in desperate need of God. God’s Word is very clear that all of man’s problems come down to one area and that is sin, something that is completely out of psychology’s realm.
    Let’s take a look at our main text for today. First Corinthians chapter 1 and we will begin in verse 18.
    1 Corinthians 1:18–31 ESV
    18 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.” 20 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, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 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. 26 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. 27 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. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
    Today I want to share 3 insights on why God’s wisdom is far superior to man’s wisdom. Let me give you 3 P’s to help you understand these insights.

    1. God’s Provision for Man’s Redemption shows us His Wisdom.

    1 Corinthians 1:18–20 ESV
    18 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.” 20 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?
    In these first 3 verses we see how God graciously provides for man, and yet the world rejects this salvation and actually calls it foolishness. This message of the cross of Christ and its saving benefits to believers is marked as folly by the world’s standards. This idea that a perfect Savior in that of Jesus could die in the place of us as sinners, and that the Lord’s sacrifice would pay the price for our sin is a crazy message to an unbelieving world. Human wisdom cannot understand the message of the cross.
    For us as believers in Christ, the Lords death takes center stage. For those of us who have trusted in Christ and are living for Jesus we have come to see what Jesus has done for us and how we must live as well.
    Turn over with me to Luke chapter 9.
    ​
    Luke 9:22–24 ESV
    22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
    Everyday we are too deny or put to death our stubborn will and personal desires. We are to pick up our cross daily, and then follow Christ and not the ways of this world. So, we can understand that for unbelievers this message of the cross sounds absolutely foolish. The word Paul uses here for foolish is the Greek word (moria) from which we get our english word moron. From the world’s perspective only a moron would believe a message like this.
    But for us as believers who are being delivered from a life of hopeless bondage to sin and shame we take up our cross daily and follow Christ. Paul knew that the last thing the unbelieving world would want to do is to take up their crosses by surrendering their rights, privileges, and benefits. This is why he refers back to Isaiah 29 and verse 14. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” There is coming a day where the wisdom of men will be destroyed all together. In the last days all of man kinds wisdom and philosophies will come to an end. There will come a day where Christ will reign unopposed as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
    Ultimately what we see Paul doing here is that he takes time to remind the Corinthians that God’s plans and provisions will destroy the wisdom of the wise. Even though the message of the cross may seem moronic or foolish to people who don’t know Jesus. However, it is the power of God for salvation and the only way to an abundant life.
    Its interesting that Paul takes time here to ask the question where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Paul is pointing out that all the wisdom of these people is foolishness. Why? Because nothing in life really changes. Men and women still have the same problems and same struggles. Look around our world today church. We have great thinkers, philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, and scientists. However we also have a world full of fear, confusion, corruption, and hate. Human wisdom will never see the root problem which is sin. Human wisdom is the main problem because the cross of Christ will always seem foolish.

    2. God’s Power and Wisdom are displayed through Christ.

    1 Corinthians 1:21–25 ESV
    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, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 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.
    ​
    Down through the course of history man has tried to come along and solve the many problems of this world. We are still trying to stop murder. We are still trying to fix hate, anger, racism, and many other problems in our world. And yet man often forgets that his own sinful nature is the cause of our problems.
    God offers us true transformation, regeneration, and new birth through the power of the cross of Christ. This is man’s only hope. Think about it this way. When human wisdom wakes up and recognizes its own bankruptcy and man turns to faith in Jesus he can exchange his poverty for real riches. He can exchange his sin for righteousness. He can exchange his despair for hope and death for life.
    When Paul arrived in Athens he noticed a shrine that was set up to an unknown God. He came to learn that this Greek culture was a culture with many gods and much learning and philosophies. This culture made for themselves many gods and yet they did not know the one true God. My point here is that God does not expect men to come to Him in their own wisdom or understanding. God draws mankind to himself and we come to know God through His wisdom. It is through the folly of what we teach and preach that can save the most vile sinner.
    It is interesting here that the Jews were always looking for signs before they would believe in Christ. These Greeks wanted their proof through human wisdom and the ideas that they could understand. During the Lord’s earthly ministry He performed miracle after miracle. He healed the blind, deaf, lame, and even brought back to life those who were dead and yet the Jews still refused to believe in those miraculous signs. Eventually Jesus refused to give the Jews any more signs. Most of the Jews during Paul’s day could not come to accept the idea that Jesus would die on the cross for sin and was raised from the grave and was in fact the Son of God. That was a stumbling block to them. The Greeks on the other hand wanted intellectual proof. This was something that they could figure out or at least think about with their own minds.
    I want you to see both of these groups today because we come to see that these groups are representative of all unbelieving people. Many people today are looking for a supernatural sign or they want proof by natural wisdom. Those who will not believe or trust in a sign or accept worldly wisdom will reject the message of the cross. This is why we must pray for lost people to come to know Christ. Many of us today know a friend, a coworker or someone perhaps in our own family. Pray that God would open their eyes and that they would see Jesus who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. In mentioning the foolishness and the weakness of God Paul is of course speaking here from the unbelievers point of view. Paul wants us to know that God’s power is real power and that power helps unbelievers to be delivered from sin, Satan and a lost life.
    ​

    3. God shows us the Purpose of His Wisdom.

    1 Corinthians 1:26–31 ESV
    26 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. 27 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. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
    Paul now takes some time to contrast between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. It is here that Paul reminds the Corinthians that not many of them were wise, mighty or noble according to worldly standards or the flesh. What Paul is really getting too is the fact that these people had no reason to boast in their worldly wisdom, riches, or pedigrees.
    As we are once again reminded of the gospel we see how God mercifully reaches out to us as sinners and transforms our lives. Paul reminds us of this in his letter to the Romans.
    Romans 5:8 ESV
    8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
    By choosing us, God shows us how He is the one who comes after us as sinners. This is why no man may boast before God. For by grace we 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.
    In these final verses we see how Paul lays out the purpose for God’s wisdom. We as humans lack many things, but with Christ we have everything that we need in this life. Christ is the wisdom from God, and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Left to ourselves we are nothing, but in Christ we have so many riches and this is why we can boast in the Lord. The primary purpose of the wisdom of God that produces salvation is that God is glorified. No man has any reason to boast in himself and yet sadly many do.
    No, God has a purpose for those who are saved and we see this in verse 30.
    Wisdom = Christians can say without any kind of pride or boasting that we have become wise in Christ Jesus. God’s Word tells us that God in His wisdom choose the sinful, weak and the unwise in order to make them wise and strong.
    Righteous = When we as believers come to place our faith in Christ, God shares His Son’s righteousness with us. This means that we are made right with God. Righteousness means to be as something should be. To be right as opposed to being wrong. To be good as opposed to being evil.
    Sanctification = We as believers also receive God’s sanctification. In Christ we have been set apart, we have been made holy. We are declared righteous in Christ and made holy in and through Him. As believers, our new nature is created in Christ Jesus for good works as Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10 tells us.
    Redemption = Every believer has received God’s redemption. To redeem means to buy back. So, God by Christ and through Christ has purchased us from the power of sin. Through the precious blood of Christ church, we have been redeemed.
    The world looks for and even praises heroes. In fact, we see this every Super Bowl Sunday. The world praises power, prestige, and wealth. However, when we look to Christ we recognize the humblest person who ever lived. Jesus came not to be served but to serve and give his life for us. If any one should ever boast, we can only boast in the Lord.
    Conclusion: In response to the incarnation of Christ, His life, death, and resurrection which all seem as foolishness to the dark and depraved minds of this world, Tertullian one of the earliest church fathers wrote, “It is of course foolish, if we are to judge God by our own conceptions or thoughts. But consider well this Scripture. God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.” He went on to write and remind us, “we should believe the claims of the gospel not in spite of their intellectual absurdity, but because of it. Tertullian argued that no reasoning human would ever make up something like the crucified God-man and try to preach it around the world, unless it were true.” May we all today renew our commitment to follow Christ and the wisdom of God and set aside the folly of this world.
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    (Close in Prayer)
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      • Colossians 2:8ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 1:18–31ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 1:18–20ESV

      • Luke 9:22–24ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 1:21–25ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 1:26–31ESV

      • Romans 5:8ESV

  • All My Boast Is In Jesus
  • Take My Life And Let It Be
  • God Is Faithful (Psalm 114)
  • We Give Thanks (Psalm 107)
  • How Deep The Father's Love For Us
Antioch Odessa
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