# 6: 10-10-14 E

First Corinthians 1:18-25

The report which was given to Paul by members of the assembly in Corinth revealed that some in
the assembly were trying to promote themselves, and gain a following.
They took their stand on the authority of their former teachers - and even on the authority of
Christ Himself - a stand that no one had authorized. The other members of the assembly were
being swayed by the various ideas that they were introducing - in different directions - and that
was tearing the church in Corinth apart.
The individuals promoting these ideas in the assembly had it in their minds to improve on the
gospel. The gospel was a simple message, and an unusual one; they would modify it with some
of the finest Greek philosophy that had been distilled through time, to come up with a greater
wisdom, and a more palatable one, at that.
This was a common practice, in the Greco-Roman world. Philosophers had been revising their
predecessors thoughts, for centuries. In fact, there was even a philosophy known as Eclecticism
which was actually the practice of cherry-picking the most reasonable-sounding ideas from other
philosophies. So it was natural for some in Corinth to regard the gospel in this same way.
It was natural for them. But if they had believed into the Lord Jesus Christ, they were no longer
natural men. And it was through this truth that Paul began to show the absolute distinction
between the message of the cross, and the wisdom of words - the words of mere men.
Well begin by reading verse 17, which transitions into Pauls argument.
[First Corinthians 1:17-25]
In verse 17, Paul had shown that the wisdom of words - mans wisdom - could not add to, but
could only detract from the gospel - to the extent of emptying the cross of its power. He begins
to explain to the Corinthians why this is so, in verse 18.
In that verse, Paul names two groups of people - those and us. What is the state of those?
Theyre perishing. Who would that be? Unbelievers. Notice that this is an ongoing process;
they are perishing.
They were born into the creation in Adam, which is under Gods judicial sentence of
condemnation, for sin. They are in mortal bodies, that are dying, and have no life in them. And
unless they have a change of heart, they will be personally judged, and cast into the Lake of Fire,
where they will be perishing, forever.
Then, there is us. Who would that be? Believers; Paul is referring here specifically to himself,
and those in Corinth who believe. And what is our state? We are being saved; again, an ongoing
process.

# 6: 10-10-14 E

Through believing into Christ Jesus, weve become a new creation in Him. In Christ, God has
judged us not guilty; weve received the official pardon, and so we will be saved from the final
judgment, for sin (Rm 5:9).
And having been born again of the Incorruptible Seed, Christ, we have received His Life eternal Life for the body. So our bodies will also be saved - loosed from death, as an ever-living
body of glory - we shall be saved in His Life (Rm 5:10). By grace we have been saved (Eph 2:5)
- but we are also being saved - it is an ongoing salvation, in time.
These two groups, which Paul names - those who are perishing, us who are being saved - are
completely and absolutely divided. What is it that divides them? The cross.
You know that, dont you? From your perspective, you can see what God brought you out of;
you acknowledge the power of God, in Christ, by which it was accomplished. You recognize
what you were; you understand more and more who you are, in Christ - and you know theres no
going back, for you.
You have been completely delivered from sin and death - and that deliverance came when you
took in the message of the cross - the gospel - the power of God to save.
But now, lets attempt to look at it, from the other perspective; from the perspective of those who
are perishing. Their view on things is quite different. When they heard that message of the
cross, they considered it foolishness. You say, how could they think that? But you are used to
looking at the cross differently. Your view of the cross is one of reverence and awe. To you the
cross is an emblem of the Fathers love; of the Sons sacrifice; of the grace of God, to forgive
and to make a way for you, right into His very presence.
It is not so, for those who are perishing, for they dont view the cross with eyes of faith - but with
their natural eyes. So all they see is the dead body of a pathetic man hanging on a piece of
wood.
You see, you chose to look up at the cross, and you saw how much God loves you. They choose
to look down on the cross - viewing it with their lifted-up hearts. And from that perspective, the
cross is nothing but absurd.
It is unbelievers who maintain the message of the cross is a foolish message. A believer must
admit that it is no less than the power of God, because he recognizes its power in his own life.
The problem in Corinth was that some in the assemblies were mixing philosophy with the gospel
- the wisdom of words - as if the gospel was inadequate; weak; perhaps even viewing it as .
foolish?
But what Paul has shown here is that there can be no compromise, on the gospel; you believe it,
or you dont. It would cause those in Corinth who were hearing his letter to examine themselves:
did they truly believe the message of the cross?

# 6: 10-10-14 E

Paul then uses an OT Scripture to support his case.

v. 19 Paul is quoting a prophecy from Isaiah, here. We might think it surprising that Paul would
use an OT reference in a letter to a predominantly Gentile assembly; but remember that Paul
taught this assembly for over a year and a half, and of course he would have used the OT
Scriptures to do so - as would have Apollos, and Peter. So this assembly would have been well
acquainted with OT Scriptures, and Paul will quote them many times, in this letter.
The prophecy pertains to the nation of Israel, but it provides a remarkable parallel to the situation
in Corinth. Lets turn to Isaiah chapter 29, for a fuller look at it.
First we need to understand the historical background, of this prophecy. This took place while
the nation was divided, as a kingdom. At this time, Israel to the north had already fallen to
Assyria, and had been taken into exile. Towns in Judah to the south had also been plundered by
the armies of Assyria. Now the Assyrians were staging a siege of the city of Jerusalem.
Isaiah was exhorting King Hezekiah not to listen to his counselors who were urging him to make
a foreign alliance with Egypt, but instead to cry out to the LORD for deliverance. Unlike many
other kings of Israel and Judah, Hezekiah put his trust in the LORD, and he refused to surrender
the city to the Assyrians. The LORD then afflicted the Assyrians, and they retreated without
taking Jerusalem.
This part of Isaiahs prophecy speaks in part as to the reason why such calamities were befalling
the nation of Israel - because of unbelief. Like many prophecies, it has a near and far fulfillment.
[Isaiah 29]
v. 1-4 Ariel means lion of God, referring to strength. Isaiah indicates that Ariel is Davids
city - what city is that? Jerusalem.
What makes Jerusalem strong? What is the source of her strength? Her God - Jehovah. They
have the form of worshipping Jehovah - they have their ceremonial Law, and year by year, they
come up for the feasts - but there is no substance to their worship. The LORD is not truly their
God; and so they cannot be His people. And apart from the LORD, that leaves Jerusalem weak and therefore, prey for her enemies.
Here Isaiahs prophecy graphically describes the pending siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians they are an instrument of chastening in the hand of the LORD for His nation, to humble them - to
turn them to Him.
v. 5-8 There is only one foe, Assyria, in the near-fulfillment of this prophecy, but in its farfulfillment, Jerusalem will be surrounded by a multitude of nations (Rev 16:13-21, 19:19-21).
The enemies will have served Gods purpose, to chasten His nation, even as they attempt to
fulfill their own evil plans.

# 6: 10-10-14 E

Once Israel has repented, the LORD will rise to her defense, and destroy her enemies - for
Jerusalem is Mount Zion - the city where the LORD will dwell among His people (Ps 132:13-14).
The dream references in verse 8 show that the plans of the enemy will be unrealized; like
something that is dreamed, but not fulfilled in real life.
v. 9-12 Now that Isaiah has foretold what will come upon Jerusalem, he goes back to consider
what the cause of it was: their unbelief. Notice in verse 9 that they blinded themselves; they
made a conscious decision not to believe the LORD.
This is meant specifically regarding the leaders of the nation in Jerusalem, but also speaks to the
nation as a whole. They blinded themselves, and so they were blind. The prophets brought them
the words of the LORD, but they shut their eyes to them.
Verses 11 and 12 speak of the whole vision - all that the LORD had revealed - like a sealed scroll.
The prophets had delivered the LORDs message to the rulers of Israel, those who had been trained
in the Scriptures - the literate, here (KJV: learned). But they refused to open up their
understanding to it; why would they do that? Because they had their own ideas, about things.
So then, the prophets delivered their message to all of Israel; to the common people, as well, who
did not know the Scriptures - the illiterate, here (KJV: not learned).
An illiterate person can still have someone read something to him, cant he? But the people were
content to just follow the wisdom of their leaders - instead of understanding the word of the LORD
to them, for themselves. The whole nation was therefore guilty of unbelief.
So the LORD pronounces His judgment - but it is not on the people. His judgment is on the socalled wisdom of their rulers.
v. 13-14 Speaking for the LORD, Isaiah admonished the people for their unbelief; they proclaim
the LORDs praise with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him; they merely follow the rituals
prescribed by their religious leaders. Jesus quoted this passage in His condemnation of the
religious rulers of His day (Mt 15:7-9).
The marvelous work of which Isaiah is prophesying here is specifically the deliverance of the
people from the Assyrians, made possible through the faith of King Hezekiah. Through the faith
of one man, the nation was spared a terrible judgment.
And the LORD did it His way - a way that no one could have conceived of; a way that was unique
to the LORD, and His omnipotent ability. How did the LORD do it? In Isaiah chapter 37, we learn
that the LORD sent an angel through the camp of the Assyrians in the night. In the morning,
185,000 of them didnt wake up. Those who did wake up found that they were surrounded by
corpses; struck dead by the angel of the LORD.

# 6: 10-10-14 E

This caused the King of Assyria to retreat with the remainder of his army to his capitol city of
Nineveh - he had seen the power of the LORD, and knew he could not contend with it. The King
of Assyria was later slain by his own sons (Isa 37:36-38).
In this way, the LORD passed judgment on Israels enemies, and on the so-called wisdom of the
wise counselors in Jerusalem. They had urged Hezekiah to make a treaty with Egypt, to protect
them from the Assyrians. But the LORD overturned their foolish scheme - allying themselves
with one enemy, against another.
The LORD confounded their so-called wisdom. The LORD showed that only by putting their trust
in Him could they be saved; and His was a complete deliverance.
Now the LORD has a word through Isaiah for those pseudo-wise men.
v. 15-16 The LORD is speaking about the wise men, with the plans they had devised, in the
dark - that is, in their own dark minds, which were shut to the light of Gods wisdom. And what
He says to them is Woe - they will bring upon themselves disaster.
In their dark minds, its all turned around. Who is the Potter? The LORD. Who is the clay? His
creation of mankind. But these wise men refuse to acknowledge the LORD is their Creator and therefore, has the say over them. In fact, they esteem the Potter to be the clay - to be molded
according to their plans - their schemes. Woe, indeed!
The remainder of the prophecy is brought into sharp focus in its far-fulfillment, during the
Tribulation and the Kingdom Age.
v. 17-19 After the fiery trial of the Great Tribulation, Israel will finally bring forth life - they will
be a fruitful field. And that field will be esteemed as a forest - as sons of God. The deaf shall
hear; the blind shall see - no more unbelief, for the nation. And Israel will humble themselves
before Jesus as their Lord - the Holy One of Israel - the Messiah.
v. 20-21 In parallel to the King of Assyria, the terrible one here is the man of sin - the Beastruler, who will be destroyed - cast alive into the Lake of Fire. Also, those earth dwellers who
falsely accuse and betray the Jews during the Tribulation will be cut off by the LORD in judgment;
they will be put to death.
v. 22-24 Jacobs children will be the believing remnant of Israel. And within that remnant will
be some of those who foolishly enter into a peace agreement with other enemy-nations, for
protection - a peace agreement that will be broken in the middle of the Tribulation. Some will
see their error, repent, and finally put their trust in the LORD and His Christ, to be saved.
So now lets return to First Corinthians, and see how Pauls quotation of this prophecy fits the
situation in Corinth.
[Return to First Corinthians]

# 6: 10-10-14 E

We have seen that within the wider context of Isaiahs whole prophecy, what Paul has quoted in
verse 19 shows that the wisdom of God exposes the wisdom of men as foolishness. Once God
demonstrated His wisdom through the work of the cross, it brought all the wisdom of men to
nothing.
As Paul continues, he shows how the wisdom of man was destroyed, by the wisdom of God. As
we read verse 20, think particularly of the wise men in Hezekiahs court, whose wisdom was
brought to nothing by the LORD.
v. 20-21 In verse 20, Paul is using the term the wise to generally characterize any wisdom of
the world. The scribe was a term used by the Jews for their teachers of the Law. The disputer
of this age would be one adept at arguing philosophy.
We might say Paul is being very inclusive. He piles up the wisdom of the world - whether it is
the religious wisdom of the Jews, or the philosophical wisdom of the Greeks - and he says, now
that God has shown His wisdom, where does that leave all worldly wisdom? We might answer,
nowhere - for in the light of Gods wisdom, worldly wisdom has been confounded - it has been
shown to be foolishness.
Think back to the prophecy of Isaiah. When God showed His wisdom - to deliver Jerusalem
through just one mans faith by simply striking the opposition dead - it was at that moment that
the idea of a worldly alliance - with another enemy, at that! - was shown to be preposterous. And
so now here, the wisdom of the world, in the face of the message of the cross.
In verse 21, Paul tells exactly how God showed their wisdom to be foolish. No matter what wise
way of the world they took - whether religious, or philosophical - that way never took them to
God.
Religion tries to work its way to God; Judaism is just one example. But no matter how much you
work, can you ever reach God? No; you always come up short, because of sin. You cant work
off sin. You cant work in holiness.
Philosophy doesnt try to work its way to God; it tries to reason its way to God - or at least,
reason its way to answers as to how things are, and why things are. But all of that reasoning is
done in a dark mind - a finite mind, which is incapable of reasoning out the infinite God (Eph
4:17-18).
Instead, that dark mind comes up with dark thoughts: the universe is a living being; humans are
kin to nature, which is god; there is neither Creator nor Judge of men; nature is the cause of all
that happens. Those were just some of the philosophical thoughts, in Pauls day; dark thoughts,
which have been revisited, in our day.

# 6: 10-10-14 E

Paul says the world has never come to know God through any of its wisdom. And that was
proven - it was demonstrated - when God acted, in Christ. Its like men, walking around in the
dark, groping for God, to find Him (Acts 17:27), but all the while, Hes far above them; beyond
the reach of their finite minds. And the moment that God came down to save men proved that
they could not presume to know Him; He must make Himself known.
When God did that, He established the one and only way by which men could come to Him - and
that left men with a choice. They could hold on to their worldly wisdom, and continue to not
know God, but only a lie of their own making. Or, they could agree with God, and come to Him
His way - through the cross.
They would know the Son and be free indeed (Jn 8:32, 36) - saved from sin and death. But for
that, they must lay aside their human reasoning and their religion; they must come to God, purely
by believing in Him. What does that take? A humble, contrite heart.
And Paul indicates it was the wisdom of God, to do it that way. Why? Because if man could
reason his way to God, or work his way to God, he would have something in which to boast.
And without a humbled heart, man would never change; thered be no true repentance; man
would remain self-reliant. But in the way in which God did it, God gets all of the glory, as He
should; and man must fully trust in God, as he must.
As we think back on the prophecy of Isaiah, we see that it was when Hezekiah fully trusted in
God that Gods salvation came to him, and Jerusalem (Isa 37:14-38). It pleases God - it is His
good will - to save those who believe.
But what is it they are to believe in? Paul says here, the message preached - the gospel - thats
Gods disclosure, of Himself - foolishness, to men in the flesh. As Paul continues, he will once
again show the unique perspective of Jew and Greek in this.
v. 22-25 Paul says, Jews request a sign. They insisted that God should give them a supernatural
sign as a proof of their Messiah, when He came. They even asked Jesus Himself for this - more
than once. Lets look at one of these occasions.
Turn to Matthew chapter 12. Jesus had just healed a man with a withered hand - on the Sabbath and the Pharisees plotted against Him, to destroy Him. Later, He healed a man who was demonpossessed, blind and mute - and the Pharisees accused Him of doing it by Satan.
Those works of Jesus were signs - supernatural works that demonstrated He was sent of God;
Israels Messiah. Yet the scribes and the Pharisees still made this request of Him.
[Matthew 12:38-40]
v. 38 Jesus had done sign after sign; so what is it they were asking Him for? They were asking
Him to authenticate Himself with a sign that they would deem acceptable; that they would
consider proof, of who He was.

# 6: 10-10-14 E

They were asking for a sign that conformed to their own terms; perhaps a show of power,
something like delivering them from the Romans, and handing them power over the other
nations - their Scriptures said that they would be head nation, wouldnt they? The true Messiah
could make that happen - on their timetable!
This was Jesus response.
v. 39-40 Jesus called that generation of the nation evil and adulterous, because they had turned
from God and compromised themselves, with the world. They would not get the sign they were
after. But they would be given a sign - one of Gods choosing. What was it? The sign of Jonah.
This sign pictures the death and resurrection of the Messiah. And it would be given, when Jesus
went to the cross.
So did the Jews receive it? No; Christ crucified was a stumbling block to the nation. The Jews
viewed one who was crucified as being cursed by God. Their own Law said, in the book of
Deuteronomy, For anyone who is hanged [on a tree] is accursed of God (Deut 21:23). Their
expectation of Messiah was of a glorious conquering king. The crucified Jesus certainly did not
fit their concept.
But the fact that Jesus was crucified precisely fit Gods concept, of salvation. In Pauls letter to
the Galatians, he told the believers that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having
become a curse for us - and quoted the same passage in Deuteronomy (Gal 3:13).
He who knew no sin became sin for us - taking the curse of sin upon Himself, on the cross - that
we might be made the righteousness of God, in Him (2 Cor 5:21). Which is what happens when
we join ourselves to Him, by faith.
And that was the other problem, for the Jews. Paul wrote to the assembly in Rome that Israel did
not attain righteousness, because they did not seek it by faith - they sought righteousness by the
works of the Law. As Paul said, they stumbled at that stumbling stone (Rm 9:30-32) - that they
couldnt work for their salvation.
[Return to First Corinthians]
The Jews requested a sign from God - of their own choosing; and Greeks sought after wisdom wisdom that they could reason out, themselves. And Christ crucified simply wasnt reasonable,
to the Greek.
Jesus was not an educated Greek, but a despised Jew - a poor, itinerant preacher, without prestige
or power. He was put to death as an imposter - His own people had seen to it, and it had been
carried out by the Roman government, sanctioning the execution.

# 6: 10-10-14 E

The mode of execution - crucifixion - was reserved for the worst of the worst - a criminal death the ultimate disgrace. And His death was somehow to bring salvation to the whole world? He
couldnt even save Himself! And then He didnt stay dead - He was resurrected? Preposterous!
The body is only temporal; once its gone, its gone. To the reasoning Greeks, it was madness to
believe such a message.
But if the Greeks were willing to lay aside their reasoning, and allow God to enlighten them to
the truth, they would see that the criminal death which Jesus endured was not for His own crimes
- but for theirs, against God.
And the fact that Jesus death brought salvation to the whole world was nothing less than God
pouring out the abundant riches of His grace - through one Mans righteous act (Rm 5:15, 18).
And through that same righteous act, God availed eternal Life for the body to men, for He
desired that they live with Him forever, as His sons. It was the resurrection of Jesus - seen by
many eyewitnesses - that provided the very proof, of this. None of it is reasonable, to one who
wants to reason it out. All of it is reasonable, by faith.
There were those Jews and Greeks who chose to respond to Gods invitation, in Christ, through
the gospel. They were willing to lay aside their own efforts - their works, their reasoning - and
simply believe that the gospel was true. And they found out, it was true.
Now they could see it all from Gods perspective. From the foot of the cross, looking up at their
Lord, they experienced the power of God, to save them; and they saw for themselves the wisdom
of God, to do it this way - His way.
It was in this way that what the Greeks reasoned to be foolish was shown to be wiser than all
their wisdom. And what the Jews viewed as weakness - the crucified Jesus - proved to be the
strength that they themselves did not possess - to save.
So why did God do it this way? As King Hezekiah has said, that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that You are the LORD, You alone (Isa 37:20).
Next time, well see that Paul moves on from the foolishness of the message, to the fools who
were saved by it.
Reading: 1 Cor 1 + 2; Eph 1:1-14, Jeremiah 9:23-24.