The church of Christ at Corinth was struggling, morally and doctrinally, to live differently from the world, to live cross-culturally. There are many things we can learn from 1 Corinthians in this regard because modern America is looking more and more like ancient Corinth!
Since 1:17, Paul has been contrasting the wisdom of men (the world) with the wisdom of God. In fact, read 1:17-2:16 and highlight every time the word “wisdom” is used.
Paul preached the “wisdom of God” which, in a summarized form, is the salvation of Jews and Gentiles through Jesus Christ (cf. Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:4-6). Paul did not preach as man’s wisdom would dictate he preach. He preached “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (2:2; cf. 1:23). If we were to stick to “book, chapter, and verse” preaching, interpreting passages in context, we would be strong Christians and have a better impact on society.
Paul’s preaching was in “weakness, fear, and much trembling” (2:3). In other words, he was among the foolish, weak, base, despised, and ‘things which are not” from 1:27-28. But, there was a reason God chose a less-than-eloquent speaker to present the Gospel of God. Paul’s world and ours are filled with people who preach with “persuasive wisdom” (2:4) and “cleverness (literally, ‘wisdom’) of speech” (1:17). But God wants man’s faith to be in the power of God (2:5), to “boast before God” (1:29). It is easy for persuasive people to draw away disciples after themselves (men like Joel Osteen and Max Lucado).
But when we step back and look at the big picture of 2:1-5 (or more broadly, 1:17-2:5), we see that we need to get our doctrine from God, from His word, from a “thus says the Lord,” not from men who speak pretty words. Where is the book, chapter, and verse from Jesus Christ? That’s the issue separating “man’s wisdom” from “God’s wisdom.”
Paul preached wisdom (2:6) but it was not a wisdom that would be recognized or accepted by the “rulers of this age.” These men are only temporary; they are passing away. This whole world is passing away and we will stand in judgment before the God who gave us the Bible and we’ll answer to Him. And no one else.
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God kept His plan a mystery throughout the OT times. This was in order for Him to draw a sharp contrast between man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom. But the Lord of glory (2:8), the one who glorifies us (2:7) has come and He has revealed to us everything that we need. So, verse 9 is not about heaven per se; it is about the blessings available in Jesus Christ.
If our faith is going to stand on the power of God (2:5), then our faith must be in the wisdom of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit of God. This wisdom is “freely given” to us by God, through the Spirit who has revealed these things to us. So, salvation is not conveyed through human wisdom: pop psychology, man’s pursuit of “self-esteem,” etc. That’s not what we need to be preaching. If we preach the Bible and its application, men and women will have the esteem they need to have.
The “natural man” is the man who love “superiority of speech and of wisdom” (2:1) and preaches in “persuasive words of wisdom” (2:4). He is the man who gets glassy-eyed in the presence of “wisdom, might, and nobility” (1:26). Since his focus is wrong, he cannot understand or grasp the things of the Spirit.
By way of contrast, the spiritual man follows the wisdom of God. He is able to “appraise” the world’s wisdom and judge what is shallow, useless, and unspiritual. The world, using the wrong metric, cannot appraise the spiritual man. They have different starting points; they will have different end points.
Finally, Paul concludes his discussion in chapter 2 by quoting the OT to show that no one has the ability to advise the Lord. So, if we are living according to the Lord’s word, no one has the ability to advise us in how to live a sanctified life.
Paul Holland
