BIG IDEA:
TWO FOOLISH MISTAKES THAT UNDERMINE GOD’S WISDOM AND CAUSE DIVISION WITHIN THE LOCAL CHURCH
INTRODUCTION:
In this section Paul has already shown how the church must be built on the wisdom of God rather than human wisdom. His goal is to combat divisions that were forming in the church of Corinth where believers were dividing into factions based on their attraction to the preaching style and personality of specific gifted leaders. There were also false teachers whose motive was to destroy the temple of God (the church) by substituting their own religious philosophies for the authoritative Word of God. The only safeguard for the church was to humbly rely on the revealed wisdom of God as contained in Scripture. This approach stands directly in opposition to the sophisticated educational and philosophical and psychological systems of human wisdom.
This message has application to unbelievers who need to renounce their worldly thinking in order to be filled with God’s wisdom as well as to believers who need to guard against worldly wisdom infiltrating and harming the church.
David Prior: Those who are truly wise in God’s sight are those who deliberately reject such worldly wisdom and adopt an attitude to people and to things which everyone else will call foolish (18). This attitude sees nothing as grounds for boasting, because everything and everybody is a gift from God to undeserving sinners – including apostles and teachers like Paul, Apollos and Cephas, not to mention the whole wide world, life and death, the present and the future. So it is totally out of place to boast about people and things which, quite undeservedly, have been placed in our laps by a lavishly generous God. Indeed, concludes Paul, the fact that they belong to us as gifts of his grace must be held firmly in the context that we belong to Another – to Christ himself: you belong to Christ (23).
Warren Wiersbe: Fallen, sinful humanity tends to be afflicted with one of two great sicknesses.
- One is pride and the feeling of self-sufficiency,
- and the other is insecurity and the feeling of inferiority.
Both groups seek to heal their problems by boasting, either in themselves or in others. Both problems are evidence of self-deception, which Paul warns us about in 3:18. At this point, the only cure for these deadly illnesses is the grace of God found in Christ and him crucified. Grace cures pride and insecurity. Grace will lead you to humility: I need help. Grace will lead you to the cross: there is help. Both will lead you to boast, not in yourself or any mere human but only in Christ. All things are yours in him. Be wise in the eyes of God and look to and boast only in Jesus.
Dan Nighswander: Verses 18-23 recapitulate what has already been written, serving as a summary, lest the main points be lost in the detail. Paul reiterates that
(1) human wisdom is different from God’s wisdom and does not impart status in the faith community (underscored with supporting quotations from Job 5:13a and Ps 94:11 [slightly modified]);
(2) it is futile to boast about human leaders, for all members of the assembly have equal claim on all who have been and are its leaders and teachers; and
(3) in any case, the leaders and their teachings all are subordinate to Christ [crucified], and that Christ [and the congregation] belong to God.
What is new in this passage is the personalization of the challenge. Earlier, Paul had asked abstractly and rhetorically, Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? (1:20), but now he personalizes the point: If any [singular] of you [plural] think you [singular] are wise . . . (3:18 NIV). To believe oneself wise is deception, Paul declares; and it is self-deception, it is not perpetrated by “outsiders” who have come into the assembly to deceive the believers (Fee: 163n445).
Paul Gardner: In 3:16–17 Paul had shown the danger of destroying God’s temple through bad workmanship that is not in accord with its foundation, Jesus Christ. The next section draws together what Paul has been saying and makes his application specific. It falls naturally into two parts, with the flow of Paul’s thought indicated by his use of five imperatives.
The first section (3:18–23) is introduced with an imperative (“let no one deceive himself ”; v. 18), which returns the thought to the comparison of “wisdoms.” The Corinthians are asked to be honest in their self-assessment. Self-deception can only be overcome by facing up to the reality that what is wise in the world’s eyes is foolishness to God. Two further imperatives drive the point home: “Let him become a fool” (v. 18) and “Let no one boast” (v. 21a). Those who think they are wise in the world’s eyes should first become fools to become truly wise. Any who wish to boast in human leaders should remember they belong to Christ.
The second section (4:1–5) shows that ultimately only God commends wise leadership. It is introduced by another imperative that exhorts the Corinthians to think about apostolic leadership in terms of service for Christ. These servants must be found trustworthy, but they are accountable to their “lord” and him alone. Paul’s application by means of a fifth imperative in the series is that it is not for them to judge. The Lord will reveal all when he comes.
Leadership Must Be Seen in the Light of God’s Wisdom (3:18–23)
- Let Them Not Be Deceived (3:18)
- Let Them Become “Fools” (3:19–20)
- Let Them Not Boast in Their Leadership (3:21–22)
- They Belong to Christ (3:23)
Daniel Akin: Main Idea: Worldly wisdom fuels competition in the church and causes Christians to forget they have everything in Christ.
- Do Not Deceive Yourself; Know What True Wisdom Is (3:18).
- Remember, God Sees Every Action and Knows Every Thought (3:19-20).
- Enjoy Every Blessing of God Because All Things Belong to You (3:21-23).
I. (:18-20) FOOLISH MISTAKE #1 – THINKING TOO HIGHLY OF SELF
David Garland: Those who are wise in their own eyes have not yet come to terms with the fact that they still have to reckon with God, who makes human wisdom look foolish. Paul assumes that human judgments are inherently skewed until they are set aright by God’s Spirit. Consequently, humans must empty themselves of their own wisdom to be filled with God’s wisdom (Calvin 1960: 80)
To make this point, Paul cites two passages from Scripture. The first, from Job 5:13 (see additional note), pictures a hunter stalking prey and capturing it. God catches the crafty with their own craftiness (πανουργία, panourgia), a term Paul uses negatively elsewhere (2 Cor. 4:2; 11:3; Eph. 4:14). They are too clever for their own eternal good and always get trapped in their own schemes and ambitions. Ironically, this quotation proves its point, since it comes from Eliphaz, whose “wise” counsel is ultimately discredited. The second quotation, from Psalm 94:11 (93:11 LXX), asserts that the Lord knows our thoughts and that they are futile. Paul adds to the quotation the thoughts “of the wise” (cf. Ps. 94:8). Although God’s wisdom is hidden to humans except through revelation (2:16), human thoughts are not hidden to God. Fee (1987: 152) makes the important observation that these verses form a counterpoint to 1:18–25, where Paul declares that what God does looks foolish to the world. Here the tables are turned, and what the clever think and do looks foolish to God. The command “Let no one boast in humans” (3:21a) resonates with the companion motifs that no one is to boast in the presence of God (1:29) and that one can legitimately boast only in the Lord (1:31; cf. Gal. 6:14). Boasting in leaders not only divides and destroys community, but also glorifies oneself before God—a foolhardy thing to do.
A. (:18a) Clear Warning – Human Wisdom Is Attractive and Seductive —
(Exalt the Word of God and the Foolishness of the Cross Rather than Human Wisdom)
“Let no man deceive himself.”
It is an easy sell for Satan to try to convince men that their own opinions have merit and that they can rely on their own powers of logic and argumentation.
B. (:18b) Consistent Antidote: Acquiring God’s Wisdom Requires Forsaking Human Wisdom (this antidote works for everyone, everywhere, all time)
- Pride Associated with Human Wisdom (“knowledge puffs up”)
“If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age”
Gordon Fee: They think of themselves as wise, as having arrived at knowledge (8:2), and as being spiritual (14:37). That is precisely their problem. And in each case Paul must disabuse them of such opinions; otherwise the church is up for grabs. . . Paul is an eschatological man, and this age is under God’s judgment and on its way out (cf. 1:20, 27–29; 2:6, 8). . . God’s people must abandon confidence in the securities of the present age; they must trust in God’s folly — “such a person should become a ‘fool’ ”—and thereby become truly wise. Nothing new is said here; this is simply the preceding argument (1:18 – 3:4) reinforced.
- Humility Required for Acquiring God’s Wisdom
“let him become foolish that he may become wise.”
Richard Hays: In the conclusion of 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reprises the themes that he has developed in the letter up to this point. The themes of wisdom and folly are revisited in 3:18–2la, with a couple of new twists. This time, rather than merely making descriptive statements about what God has done to confound the purveyors of human wisdom, Paul pointedly summons his readers to examine themselves and respond: “If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise” (v. 18). Here, he says in effect, is a self-diagnostic test: Do you think that you are wise in this age? If so, this message is for you. In order to become wise, you are going to have to give up your “wisdom.”
C. (:19-20) Clinching Explanation: God’s Wisdom Always Trumps Human Wisdom
Richard Hays: Paul once again appeals to Scripture in verses 19–20 to demonstrate the futility of human wisdom. This time, however, rather than repeating any of the texts he cited earlier (1:19; 1:31; 2:9; 2:16) he adduces two completely different texts (Job 5:12–13 and Ps. 94:11)—thereby heightening the impact of his assault on wisdom by suggesting the wider range of Scripture’s witness in support of his case.
- Thesis Stated
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God”
Robert Gundry: “The wisdom of this world [that is, of unbelievers, who consider the proclamation of Christ crucified to be foolishness] is [itself] foolishness alongside God” in the sense that God, the all-wise, considers it foolishness. The quotation of Psalm 94:11 then explains why he considers the world’s wisdom to be foolishness. He does, because he recognizes it to be what it truly is: “trickery” and “contrivances” designed to win fame and fortune by means of philosophical eloquence. And he describes the contrivances as “inconsequential” because they bring no benefit in the long run, that is, for eternity (compare the “loss” of “a wage” in 3:14–15).
Daniel Akin: The world delights in power and might. God works in weakness and suffering. The wisdom of this world mocks the cross. The wisdom of God glories in the cross. In terms of ministry, God works through servants, not superstars. He works through the nobodies, rarely the somebodies (1:26-29). God operates in a great reversal of values and norms. This is true wisdom. Don’t be deceived and led away from the wisdom of the cross. The crucified life must accompany us all the days of our lives (Mark 8:34). The crucified life gives us new eyes through which we can see clearly.
- Thesis Supported from 2 OT Quotes – “For it is written”
a. (Job 5:13) Catches the Crafty
“He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”
b. “and again” (Psalm 94:11) Frustrates the Futile
“The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”
II. (:21-23) FOOLISH MISTAKE #2 – THINKING TOO HIGHLY OF ANY PROMINENT MEN (NOTABLE TEACHERS, SPIRITUAL LEADERS, ETC.)
Adewuya: The following question is always asked: who do you belong to? Paul made it clear to the Corinthians that they neither belonged to him nor to Apollos. It is not right for a church to replace the word of God with human wisdom and leaders. Men or women, committees, executives, and board members must never be allowed to take over the leadership of the Holy Spirit. God provides human leaders for his church. They are to build up the whole church in a spiritual way. However, when the churches or individual believers become enslaved, as it were, to human leadership (something I have seen to be prevalent in Africa, and particularly in my home country of Nigeria), they not only miss the blessing of God, but they mar the work of the churches, and this cannot be done with impunity.
Craig Blomberg: Verses 21–23 highlight a final reason for the futility of such attitudes: the Corinthians have everything they could legitimately need or want in Jesus. Indeed, Paul turns their slogans upside down. They do not belong to human leaders; those leaders, as servants (v. 5), belong to them, as does everything else in creation, present and future, inasmuch as they are in Christ who shares in all the Father’s sovereignty (cf. Rom. 8:38–39).
Richard Hays: We might expect the chapter to end at this point, but Paul instead offers a final rhetorical flourish in verses 21b-23. In order to appreciate the impact of this conclusion, we need to know that it was a universal maxim of Greco-Roman popular philosophy—particularly among the Cynics and Stoics—that “the wise man possesses all things.” For example, the great Roman orator Cicero, describing the philosophy of the Stoics, writes as follows: “Then, how dignified, how lofty, how consistent is the character of the Wise Man as they depict it! … Rightly will he be said to own all things, who alone knows how to use all things” (De Finibus 3.22.75). Or again, Paul’s contemporary Seneca repeatedly quotes the dictum that “all things belong to the wise man,” and devotes a long discussion to refuting objections to this claim (De Beneficiis 7.3.2–7.4.3). So when Paul declares, “All things are yours” (1 Cor. 3:21b), he appears to be making a major concession to the Corinthians’ self-identification as sophoi. By now, however, we will not be surprised to discover that the concession is tactical and ironic. Paul continues, “all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas.” If you are really wise, Paul suggests, why are you saying “I belong to Paul” and so on? In fact, Paul and all those other leaders should belong to you! Then, after just a slight pause to let that thrust sink in, Paul expands the list of things that belong to the Corinthians: not just the leaders, but the world or life or death or things present or things to come! If you are really wise, Paul reiterates in verse 22, “all belong to you,” just as the philosophers say. Now a longer pause for effect, and then the last devastating twist: “And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
A. (:21a) Clear Warning – Our Natural Tendency is to Place Undue Dependence on Specific Visible Human Leaders
“So then let no one boast in men.”
Doug Goins: The point is that if we give ultimate authority to any human being in our lives, even someone who is spiritually sensitive, trustworthy, and mature, we’re being much too limiting. We are to no longer place our confidence in the impact that human beings can have on us.
D. A. Carson: It is wrong because the focus is wrong; the concentration is on some human being and not on the Lord God . . . the second reason why it is wrong to boast about some human leader or other is that it cuts you off from the wider heritage that is rightfully yours. (The Cross, 85–86)
Paul Gardner: Any “boast” will only ever be in the Lord himself for those who truly have understood the message of Christ crucified. Paul’s aim is unity, but this means above all understanding God and his ways, and so he returns to his theological basis once more as he states why any human dependence upon human wisdom must be eliminated from the thinking of God’s people. The next sentence begins with “for,” indicating the reason for not boasting in human leaders and their ways.
B. (:21b-22) Consistent Antidote: Embrace all that God has Provided for All Believers
(this antidote works for everyone, everywhere, all time)
- There are No Second Class Believers – So no need to choose up sides
“For all things belong to you”
You are just missing out on the riches of all that God has provided for you when you focus attention on loyalty to one key leader.
David Gardner: The Corinthians were claiming too little, since “all things are yours.” They possess all things, however, only because they belong to Christ. Their relationship to apostles and teachers comes under the scope of the lordship of Christ, just as their possession of the world does (Byrne 1987: 85). Christians do not belong to those who passed on and interpreted the foundations of the faith, or to those who founded their community, or to those who baptized them. None of these persons was crucified for them, and they were not baptized in their name (1:13). Consequently, they should not say, “I belong to Paul,” but, “Paul belongs to me.” That puts teachers in their proper role as servants (4:1). He expands the list beyond ministers, however. They do not belong to life, as if this life were all there is; nor do they belong to death, as if death brought an end to the Christian’s life in Christ. Christians are not in bondage to the things that are, or to the things to come (cf. Rom. 8:38). In setting up a chain, he argues that all things belong to them because they belong to Christ and because Christ belongs to God, who is sovereign over all things. As Thiselton (2000: 327) explains it, “The Christian shares in the Lordship of Christ whereby creation and the church are restored into cooperative agencies for the well-being of humankind and for the glory of God-in-Christ, set within the providential dimension of the new order in Christ.”
- Delineation of these precious “all things”
a. “whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas”
b. “or the world or life or death”
c. “or things present or things to come”
Paul Gardner: Paul returns to his illustrative list of leaders, mentioning Peter again for the first time since 1:12. This mention of Peter probably simply serves to draw everything together. It is unlikely, as noted above on 1:12, that there was a specific group of people following Paul or Peter. What is noticeable here is how expansive and wide reaching this list is. Paul moves his readers far beyond thinking of particular leaders to thinking about what is the total inheritance of God’s people. Instead of the individualistic approach of saying something like “I am of Paul,” the church is told, “All things are yours!”
- Repeating the Theme: There are No Second Class Believers
“all things belong to you”
Doug Goins: Twice he makes the powerful statement, “…All things belong to you….” Either this is some exaggerated religious cliché or it’s literally true. And in fact we have riches that we don’t understand or take advantage of. We sell them much too short. We’re willing to give them up to follow some human leadership or some human opinion or theory. In the New Testament there is a consistent pattern of emphasis on the truth that because we have life in Jesus Christ, we have everything. Paul writes in Romans 8:16-17, “…We are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ.…” He also says in 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things?” There is no limitation on what will give us a life of health and wholeness. God has given us every resource that we can imagine in this inheritance with Jesus Christ.
Gordon Fee: These final words come close to doxology: “All things are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” As already noted, this affirmation serves as the ultimate theological basis for what has preceded. It serves also as its proper qualification. Paul’s point is not that “all things are yours” willy-nilly, or selfishly, or in the same sense as they were to the Stoic, who regarded “possession of all things” as making one “self-sufficient” — and therefore ultimately independent and self-centered. “All things are yours” because you belong to Christ; and all things are his (cf. 15:23–28). Thus it is only in Christ that the believer possesses all things; but in him the believer does indeed possess all things.
C. (:23) Clinching Explanation: Focus must ultimately be on Boasting in the Headship of Christ and the Fatherhood of God – not Boasting in Man
“and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.”
Warren Wiersbe: “How rich we are in Christ! If all things belong to all believers, then why should there be competition and rivalry?” (Be Wise, 50).
Dan Nighswander: Paul continues, saying that the readers and their leaders belong to Christ and ultimately to God (v. 23). In the face of that realization, the ground of their quarrelsomeness is swept away, and they are left in humbled recognition of their self-deception (v. 18).