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Daily Devotions

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 
Day 
Day 19

"Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:20

THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE

Paul knew the Scriptures well, as a trained rabbi and as an apostle. He was also skilled in ministry. Thus, he sought to apply the essence of the Scriptures into the contemporary scenario.

“Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this age?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”
1 Corinthians 1:20

1. “Where is the wise?”

The claim of wisdom has always been made by man but disputed by the Lord. This was certainly the case in the days of Jeremiah.

“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the LORD is with us?'”

“The wise men are ashamed,
They are dismayed and taken.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD;
So what wisdom do they have?”
Jeremiah 8:8a, 9

2. “Where is the scribe?”

The scribes were the scholars in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were very much taken up with themselves, as the following text shows.

“They love the best places at feasts, the best
seats in the synagogue, greetings in the marketplaces,
and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.'”
Matthew 23:6-7

They were soundly rebuked by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men;
for you neither go in yourselves,
nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”
Matthew 23:13

3. “Where is the disputer of this age?”

In ancient Greece, there were many who prided themselves as “philosophers”, among them were Epicureans and Stoics (Acts 17:18). A favourite past time of some was “either to tell or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21). Paul called them “the disputer of this age”.

4. “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”

a) In summary
i) The so-called ancient wise men of Israel.
ii) The modern counterpart, “the scribe”.
iii) The secular philosopher, “the disputer of this age”.
b) “Has not God made foolish their wisdom”
i) All they could offer were “views” and “opinions” or “philosophy”.
ii) What was the sum total of the worth of their wisdom? It was “foolishness” to God!