teaching notes : 1 cor. 1:18

1 cor. 1:(17)18-25
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. 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. For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." 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? 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. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 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.

rough outline of the section

* god's superiority to the wisdom of this world. (v. 18-20)
* the uselessness of man's wisdom (v. 21)
* the cross is a stumbling block to man's wisdom (v. 23-24)

rhetorical aside :

paul is clearly able to use rhetoric and frequently does, though not in a way that will impare truth. also - he may have avoided the use of rhetoric when he was in corinth to avoid their cultural problems...
nonetheless, it does strike me as humorous that paul packs so many rhetorical devices into such a small space immediately after declaring that he avoided 'cleverness of speech' when he was among them; perhaps he is demonstrating that he could have used 'cleverness of speech' had he wanted? maybe he's doing it unconsciously? or maybe he's being funny? rhetorical techniques used in 18-20

irony : to those who are perishing it is foolishness
parallel construction : but to those who are being saved it is the power of god
quotation of an authority : "for it is written..."
rhetorical questions : where is the wise man? where is the scribe? etc...

3 groups are discussed :

those perishing
those being saved
god (the one in control)

those who are perishing

they are perishing

destined to destruction (hell); this is at once a statement on :
the gravity of their situation
the nature of their foolishness
this is the natural state of man (see romans 1-3); without the cross, it would be the fate of all men.

they consider the cross foolishness

this will be discussed more thoroughly in v.22-24...
it is worth considering how the term foolishness is used here...

the term is used in a 'worldly' sense and in a 'spiritual' sense in 1 cor; compare this use with that in 21 where paul calls the gospel foolish. the distiction is obviously based on who is doing the evalation; the gospel seems like foolishness to those who reject it.
but in reality, rejection is the ultimate act of foolishness; all other decisions pale in comparison... fundamentally, the only decision which you really have to make correctly is this one.
so it is correct to determine 'wisdom' and 'foolishness' on the basis of one's relation to the cross.

pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

they consider themselves wise

man's wisdom is foolishness

'man's' wisdom (in a biblical sense) boils down to some rejection of the authority of god.

rom. 1:20-23

Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

frequent human patterns have been to declare man supreme, to declare truth subjective, or to declare god 'unknowable'.

man's wisdom is usually self-affirming

'the wise man', the 'scribe', the 'debator' - terms which bestow esteem...
men consider themselves wise...
has not god made foolish the wisdom of the world?

the cross is a stumbling block to men's wisdom

1Cr 1:22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;
1Cr 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,
1Cr 1:24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

greeks search for wisdom

secular greek philosophy that makes man the measure...
"man is the measure of all things"- protagoras of abdera ( c.480-410 BC; the first sophist)

jews search for signs (evidences of power)

matt. 12, matt. 16 (pharisees ask for signs)
this would make sense given jewish history; god manifested himself from the beginning supernaturally...consider the plagues...

the cross is a stumbling block to both of these

to the greeks, the concept of slavery and humility were offensive. the cross has too much negative stigma for the greeks.
to the jews, the concept of a suffering savior ruins their dreams of a messiah who would overthrow the romans. physical power was the goal.
to both groups, the concept of sin and the need for a sacrifice seems to be the problem - the cross interferes with human pride. it requires our acknowlegement of our awfulness and the vast distinction between us and god.

two frequent misinterpretations...

paul is not saying that any non-biblical wisdom is wrong

rather - he declares christ to be the wisdom and power of god. the quest for truth through wisdom / signs should end with christ.
paul is rejecting as foolish any other answer. that does not mean that he is denying as useless any "non-biblical" wisdom...

paul is not saying that biblical scholarship is wrong

anti-intellectualists often attack theology and scholarship based on this section of corinthians (chapters 1-4). that is a poor interpretation of the text however... paul is attacking 'scholarship' that disagrees with god.
paul affirms study several times

he demonstrates it (quotes the ot and greek extensively)
he expects it of his readers (again, consider his quoting...)
he encourages it in timothy (2 tim. 2:15)

the easiest argument... consider the role of teaching and instruction in the bible... the bible itself is teaching.

note : missing truth is a serious mistake

it is a serious thing to mistake the truth of god (truth is necessary)
besides rom. 10:14,15, consider job 42:7-9, in which god is angry with job's friends because they "have not spoken of me what is right".

those who are being saved

the cross to the christian : the power of god

more irony; the cross as power and wisdom

to us who are being saved it is the power of god

to those who are the called...christ the power of god and the wisdom of god

note the contrast between the idea of power and a cross... i still can not say that the cross makes sense to me; the idea of an all powerful god subjecting himself to the cross is not something that makes sense to me...

note : (passive tense) those who are being saved

the only 'action item' given to us is that "we preach christ crucified'

note that not much is said about those being saved

paul sets this up as an argument between the world and god paul structures the debate between the world and god; we have sided with god and are in disagreement with the world, but fundamentally the debate is not between us and the world.

what is required to be in this group?

god

cross reference : isaiah 29:14

Isa 29:14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

god is active

the thing that i think is worth noticing is that everyone is passive except god. we humans are either 'perishing' or 'being saved'; god is the only one whose actions really impact the situation.
god's actions :

destroys the wisdom of the wise (v.19)
makes foolish the 'wisdom' of the world (v.20)
saves those who believe (v.21)

god destroys the wisdom of the wise (v.19)

god makes foolish the 'wisdom' of the world (v.20)

it's almost stupid to say this, but in contrast with the positions of 'those who are perishing', it's worth noting that god is truth; what he says defines wisdom.

god saves those who believe (v.21)

rhetorical note : the foolishness of god is wiser than men

is paul attributing weakness to god? i would say that it's safer to say that it's merely a rhetorical device...

application

evangelism : truth is the same regardless of reaction

the cross/gospel is true, regardless of reaction or belief
when presenting the gospel, we must be sure to present the truth correctly - it may be rejected as 'foolishness', but that is hardly the point.

1Cr 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

paul (in v.17) makes the point that to rely on verbal tricks would nullify the cross of christ; in other words, 'saving' people by means other than the truth isn't . specifically here, he seems to be referring to 'sophism'; but the principle is that if you twist, alter, or modify the truth, then you no longer have the truth - so who cares if people agree.
this should be taken as a strong warning to several current christian movements. paul will not abide with any softening of the gospel to make it palatable or easier to accept; some elements of the seeker sensitive movement would seem guilty of this sin...
balance : presentation is important. consider paul's statement in 9:19-23 :

For though I am free from all {men,} I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

it is safe to say that paul's avoidance of rhetoric is an application of 9:19's cultural sensitivity; paul was afraid that using rhetoric would be a barrier to the gospel in their culture, so he avoided it.

the goal of man (christians as well) should be to agree with god's truth

paul makes it clear that our opinions don't define anything
notice how this conflicts with post-modernism

christianity is a very absolute religion, with very real consequences for incorrect decisions.
our goal should be ensure that we line up with truth as defined by god in all areas; consider god's reaction to job's friends (incorrect theology matters; job 42)
this should be a strong motivator for the study of the bible.