1 Corinthians 3:18-23
About twenty years ago, Jeff Foxworthy hosted a game show where adult contestants answered questions, as if they came from an elementary grade school quiz. This show was appropriately titled, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” The questions were pulled directly from the school curriculums across subjects like science, math, history, and grammar. Contestants had to answer everything from identifying parts of speech to solving basic geometry to prove they knew their grade-school facts. Smarts. Intelligence. Brains. Intellectual capacity. Whatever you want to call it, I never felt like I had those “book smarts.” But I do love wisdom hunting, and I ask God to fill me with his heavenly wisdom and revelation. I’m currently reading through Proverbs, and I love mining out those nuggets of profitable wisdom. There are days where I’d like to think that I’m pretty wise or at least growing in wisdom. I read. I listen. I discern. I abide. I follow people who sound smart. And then, as I was preparing to write this devotion, I read what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3. It goes something like this, “Be careful, the moment you think you’re wise, you might already be a fool.” So, let’s dive into this together.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[c] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
The point that Paul is making in this section is that human brilliance is no substitute for divine truth. God is so much wiser, he is so much higher, he is so far beyond our thought processes that even His “foolishness” (if such a thing existed) would outsmart the brightest of minds on the earth. I feel like Paul is saying, “If you think you're wise, try again.” Is Paul being sarcastic? Is he being funny? Is his finger wagging? What emoji would he have used when he wrote this? I’m not sure, but God’s wisdom will always be smarter than trusting my own. Period!
Paul continues on with urging the Corinthian church to stop dividing themselves into rival factions based on their favorite human teachers or denomination. Believers would be foolish to boast in or elevate men, boasting should be reserved for the Lord. The last part of the text is a beautiful and vital reminder that their ultimate identity and security are in Christ. How about you? Can you say, without a shadow of a doubt, that your identity and security are in Christ? The gospel message of Jesus Christ is for you. Please don’t close this devotion without knowing and believing that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, you can be forgiven of your sins and be reconciled to God. Make the wise choice and don’t ignore this good news, the gospel message. Choose wisdom, choose to make a declaration of salvation today.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[c] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. 1 Corinthians 3:18-23
The point that Paul is making in this section is that human brilliance is no substitute for divine truth. God is so much wiser, he is so much higher, he is so far beyond our thought processes that even His “foolishness” (if such a thing existed) would outsmart the brightest of minds on the earth. I feel like Paul is saying, “If you think you're wise, try again.” Is Paul being sarcastic? Is he being funny? Is his finger wagging? What emoji would he have used when he wrote this? I’m not sure, but God’s wisdom will always be smarter than trusting my own. Period!
Paul continues on with urging the Corinthian church to stop dividing themselves into rival factions based on their favorite human teachers or denomination. Believers would be foolish to boast in or elevate men, boasting should be reserved for the Lord. The last part of the text is a beautiful and vital reminder that their ultimate identity and security are in Christ. How about you? Can you say, without a shadow of a doubt, that your identity and security are in Christ? The gospel message of Jesus Christ is for you. Please don’t close this devotion without knowing and believing that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, you can be forgiven of your sins and be reconciled to God. Make the wise choice and don’t ignore this good news, the gospel message. Choose wisdom, choose to make a declaration of salvation today.
Posted in Devotional