Episode 177 - "Don't deceive yourself" - 1 Corinthians 3:18-23

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

I hope that by now, we are getting the picture that Paul doesn’t rapidly shift subjects only to return to a previous one as quickly as he left it. By now, we should understand that up to this point, a priority in Paul’s instruction to the believers at Corinth is for them to abandon their egos and pride and strive for unity with other believers.

Verse 18 does not lead us to a different subject. Paul gives a very specific command: “Let no one deceive himself.” That sounds like good advice. How is it that we deceive ourselves? Paul’s answer is by letting our pride think we are wise in comparison to the people around us. This comes when we get consumed by trying to impress others and being impressed with ourselves. It’s a subtle way of fracturing unity within a group of people by setting ourselves on a different level in our own minds. When we do this, it causes us to not only think of ourselves as more important but it also causes us to think of others as less important.

As Paul explains, wisdom according to the world’s standards is incongruous with God’s wisdom. People equate education, fame, power/authority, financial status, race, ethnicity, and who knows what other criteria as evidence of or justification for thinking of themselves or others as wiser people. In our own North American culture, for example, many will listen to the opinions of musicians, actors, or other famous people and take whatever they say as absolute truth even though there is no particular evidence they really know what they’re talking about. They just accept that status assigned to them by their following. Quite frankly, this is a fear I have as a pastor. Because I’m the one standing in the pulpit reading and explaining God’s word, people will listen and accept what I have to say. Occasionally, I remind people that an interpretation I’m sharing is just that, an interpretation. It doesn’t mean that it’s the right or best interpretation. I encourage them to search the Scriptures to assess whether they think that interpretation is consistent with God’s word. I encourage them to ask other Christian leaders to ensure my interpretation is not novel and has merit with other respected Christian leaders. The same principle applies to this blog and podcast.

Paul says that according to God, the wisdom of this world is “folly.” It’s foolish compared to God’s wisdom. We need to stop trying to make something of ourselves according to the world’s standards. That doesn’t mean we should not pursue education and learning. It means that we should not let the status that comes with our accomplishments go to our heads. Nothing “gets past” God. Seeking and following the wisdom of this world comes to nothing in the end. The old saying, “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time,” might best be changed to conclude with “You can fool God at no time.”

Verse 21 begins with “So . . .” Paul is about to explain something. The explanation begins with a command, “Let no one boast in men.” He follows that with the reasoning why they shouldn’t or, rather, why it’s pointless to “boast in men.” The explanation is stated at the end of verse 21 and repeated for emphasis at the end of verse 22. He says, “all things are yours.” What does that mean? He says, “whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death of the present or the future.” (v. 22) His point is that all these things in this life, whether it be people or the universal experience of life, death, and what happens during our life, do not elevate or degrade us with respect to each other. The fact that someone received Paul’s teaching and another more of Apollo's teaching provides no merit that elevates one person over another. Putting it in terms of our own culture, a person who attends an Ivy League school is no better than a person who attends a junior college. They are both going to live and die.

Then he says, “and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (v. 23) This really puts things in perspective. This tells us two important things. The first is that no one has reason to boast because everything ultimately belongs to God. The second, for believers, is that belonging to Christ and God is what truly gives us identity and value. We are possessed and valued by God.

Prayer: Father in Heaven - Help us not to find our value through the estimation of people around us. Help us not think, speak, or act in a way to demean others in order to elevate our self-worth. Remind us that we are a valued possession of God.

Episode 173 - Spiritual things are spiritually discerned - 1 Corinthians 2:12-16

12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

1Cor. 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

If you were thinking to yourself, “That sounds familiar,” it’s because we also included verses 12-13 in last week's study. We always want to interpret text within its context, and I felt that backing up a little would help us interpret verses 14-16 this week.

The theme has been God’s wisdom compared to mankind’s so-called wisdom. Paul is explaining that God’s wisdom is greatly superior to that of the human race and that we need God’s wisdom even though mankind thinks it is foolishness. The natural, sinful man rejects the idea that God would send his own son into the world in human flesh and bones and willingly die for the sins of the human race. Many people reject the need for having their sin forgiven before a Holy God because, in their mind, they’ve been a “good person.”

It is the Holy Spirit who moves within us to help us understand and receive this wisdom and understanding from God. When we receive the good news of Jesus’ death on the cross on our behalf, we receive the Holy Spirit. That’s what Paul is saying in verse 12. Because we now have God’s Spirit, we can begin to understand spiritual things. (v. 13)

Verse 14 continues to explain that no one on their own can truly understand spiritual truths of God. We need God’s Spirit to help us discern those spiritual truths.

Paul makes two statements in verse 15 that some have interpreted to justify their religious arrogance and elitism. The statement, “The spiritual person judges all things,” seems pretty absolute, not to mention contradictory to Jesus’ teaching in his Sermon on the Mount. “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matt. 7:1) So, what is it? This is where we not only look within our immediate context but also to the greater biblical context to see what the Scriptures say about “judging.”

Later in 1 Corinthians, Paul insists that this group of believers are to judge their own. People who have trusted in the good news of Jesus and have received the Holy Spirit are expected to reflect the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Their thoughts, words, and actions should not reflect those of the world around them, but the character of God the Holy Spirit wants to work in them. Paul explains that the world will act from its own fleshly desires, and you can’t avoid the world. But Christians are supposed to act differently. If they blatantly live in contradiction to the Scriptures and are no different from the world, they are to be held accountable by their brothers and sisters in the faith. ( 1 Cor. 5:9-12) Notice that this action is out of love and not out of some elitist arrogance. This is what Jesus was teaching as well. It’s all about the heart and our motives.

The point of Paul’s comment, “The spiritual person judges all things,” speaks of the enablement to discern spiritual and other things in life offered by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit and following God’s leading in the Holy Spirit changing our lives helps us discern what is good or bad, what is wise or foolish. The Bible is not a comprehensive list of do’s and don’ts. We need the Holy Spirit to lead and convict us in matters of our day-to-day decisions in life. Becoming a Christian and receiving the Holy Spirit does not make us omniscient or give us the right to go around telling everybody what they ought to do.

The next statement in verse 15 says, “but is himself to be judged by no one,” can also be distorted without appropriate consideration of the immediate context of this letter as well as the rest of Paul’s teaching and that of the Scriptures. Can I say to my fellow Christians, “You cannot judge me because I am a spiritual person?” I don’t think that’s what Paul is saying at all. The point of this saying is that since the natural ability of humans is not able to discern God’s wisdom, then it cannot effectively discern and “judge” someone who is spiritual. God is not judging based on what humans see and assess in the life of a spiritual person. But God does. He is our true judge. We should humbled in this knowledge and not puffed up with pride.

The first statement in verse 16, “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” is a quotation from Isaiah 40:13 and is Paul’s way of reemphasizing the superiority of the Lord’s wisdom. Paul’s statement does not allow any Christian to be arrogant and think they are better. However, he follows with, “But we have the mind of Christ.” (v. 16b) What’s the point? The point is that God is sharing his wisdom with us through the Holy Spirit in order that we think and act more like Christ.

Think back on chapter one and Paul’s indicting accusations toward some of them. Paul is judging, isn’t he? But Paul is doing so to correct them and encourage them to conduct themselves more consistently with Christ.

If we have received God’s gift of forgiveness of our sins through the cross of Christ and have received his Spirit, we are to judge ourselves first. As the psalmist said, we can pray:

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

If we are truly spiritual and have the mind of Christ, there is no room for arrogance in our life. Instead, our thoughts, words, and actions reflect love, compassion, humility, and wisdom in conducting ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, may your Spirit quell our pride when provoked. Make us the spiritual people you want us to be in order that we can be a living testimony of your wisdom and power.

Episode 172 - Receiving God's Wisdom - 1 Corinthians 2:6-13

1Cor. 2:6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

1Cor. 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

Paul continues to contrast the wisdom of men with the wisdom that comes from God. Earlier, Paul asserted that God’s “foolishness” is wiser than the wisdom of humanity and that God’s weakness is more powerful than the power of mankind. Most importantly, Jesus’ death on the cross is what the world considers foolishness.

Paul refers to this when he writes, “we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age.” Paul is not suggesting that he is the source of wisdom himself. In fact, he makes it clear in verse 7 when he declares this wisdom is “of God.”

But, a few things he says about this wisdom are strange. He says it’s a “secret and hidden wisdom from God” (v. 7). Why would that be? Why would God make it “secret and hidden?” I believe the context that follows gives us some clues. Paul adds that this secret wisdom “God decreed before the ages for our glory” (v. 7). What this is saying is that God planned, before he created the world and time itself, what he would do by sending his Son Jesus into the world to ultimately die on the cross for the sins of the world. Verse 9 explains, “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Our tendency might be to think God should have made it clear what he was doing so that Jesus wouldn’t have been crucified. But Paul is saying that in God’s wisdom, it was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross. So, while revealing in a secret and hidden wisdom what he was planning, human wisdom could not discern that mystery, and in the so-called wisdom of the world, they accommodated God’s plan.

If we think this seems “mean” or “evil” of God, notice God's purpose for doing it this way. He says that God did this “for our glory.” (v. 7). In God’s own wisdom, this was in the best interest of humanity. Paul then quotes Isaiah 64:4 to explain that God does things that benefit those who love him in ways that are incomprehensible to human wisdom.

So, we could rightly ask, “How can people understand that wisdom if our human reasoning and wisdom are incapable of truly understanding God’s hidden wisdom?” Paul answers this in verses 10-13. It’s by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who has the wisdom of God that makes it possible for us to understand and receive the gospel of Christ.

A parent has a measure of understanding and wisdom on their child's limitations at various stages in life. They have an idea of what the child can handle or cannot. A good parent doesn’t withhold something out of spite and meanness. They do it out of love. This is what God is doing. He knows perfectly what we need and when we need it. He knows to be present with us and guide us into understanding and receiving his wisdom and truth.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for being infinitely wise and revealing your truth to us when we need it. We thank you for the Holy Spirit you gave to be with us and help us understand your great love for us.

Episode 170 - God has chosen the weak and the foolish - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

1Cor. 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

In our last study, Paul wrote that the message of the cross of Christ is foolishness or folly to the world. But God’s foolishness is wiser than humanity’s wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than mankind’s strength. The theme of God’s wisdom and what God offers us through Christ continues in this section.

Look at verses 26-29. Are there not ideas here that seem paradoxical, seemingly in contradiction with each other? What Paul is saying to these Corinthians is, Hey, Folks! According to the world’s standards, you are mostly considered uneducated, fools, and not important in any considerable way. (My paraphrase) We might think to ourselves, That’s not very nice, or I’ll bet that wasn’t received well. But, don’t miss that he began this with “consider your calling.” Then, in verses 27-28, Paul writes three times, “God chose (you).” This is saying that while people around you may not think you have value, God highly values you. This is a message that people need to hear today. People of all ages need to hear this because the world is shouting through social media or other means, “You’re not smart enough, you’re not rich enough, you’re not beautiful enough,”

and so forth. Paul says the world doesn’t know what it’s talking about. God is the truly wise one, and God values people so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for their sins.

In Acts 2, we read about Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit caused the disciples to prophesy in other languages understood by different people groups from around the known world. They recognized these men were “Galileans” who were looked down upon by people from Jerusalem. God chose these men for his specific purpose to confuse and confront the so-called wisdom of men. (See Acts 2:6-7) It’s reasonable to assume that God may choose us to speak his truth to others, and some will think we are fools.

Verse 29 explains God’s purpose in doing this is to keep each of us humble. Paul writes, “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” This is a theme throughout the Scriptures. There is a healthy and important balance for us to accept that God values us greatly, but we need not allow arrogance to manifest itself. We need to remain humble before the Lord. This is what Paul is advocating in verses 30-31.

Paul writes in verse 30, “Because of him (God) you are in Christ Jesus.” This reminds us that our privilege in Christ is not due to something that we have achieved but purely by God’s grace toward us. Paul continues by saying that Christ is the “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” we have received from God. In other words, by God's standards, everything that is truly valuable in our lives is provided to us through Christ. Therefore, we don’t have any basis upon which we boast of ourselves. That comes from arrogance. Rather, we can boast about Christ. (v. 31) That comes from humility with gratitude.

Prayer: Heavenly Father - Thank you for Jesus! Every good thing we have is through him.