Foolish Wisdom

1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5

Foolish Wisdom

Matt Williams Updated Staff Photo

Matt Williams

Teaching Pastor; Staff Governing Elder; Staff Director

In this passage, Paul establishes that God’s wisdom and power are greater than anything his hearers rely on. The Jews desire power to overthrow Rome; the Greeks seek philosophy to feel superior; but their ultimate need is freedom from sin, which only God can provide. We still need this reminder today: we cannot be reconciled to God by human ability.

Application

  1. In what areas of your life are you tempted to boast? What has God done in and for you that you can boast about instead?

  2. Humans are always chasing a “golden goose”—something they believe will give them what they crave (power, intelligence, control, comfort, security, etc.). What is this for you? When it is taken away, how do you respond? Spend some time confessing this to God and ask him to satisfy your need in his way.

Key Points

  • Wisdom is not simply gaining knowledge; it is a lifestyle and worldview.

  • The Jews and the Greeks (like us) have different versions of the same problem: self-sufficiency. God calls people who want to follow him to abandon themselves and trust his ways.

  • God chooses the weak things of this world to make himself known and draw people to himself.

  • Paul doesn’t win anyone to the gospel with fancy words and airtight logic but with vulnerability and sharing what God has done in its most stripped down form. Honestly communicating what God has done for us is more winsome than performance.

Other Scripture References

Isaiah 29:14
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