1 Corinthians 3:18-20

Scripture: 1 Cor. 3:18 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.

1 Cor. 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

1 Cor. 3:20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

Teaching: Paul once again brings up his theme of wisdom versus foolishness in these verses, juxtaposing the wisdom of the world against the foolishness of God as we have discussed previously. The end of verse 18, “let him become a fool that he may become wise,” is poignant. Remembering Paul’s previous point, that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man but will look like foolishness to the world, we understand what Paul means here: following the Lord will make you look like a fool to the world, but it is actually true wisdom. This is true as a general statement, but in the context here, Paul means something in particular.

As Paul is teaching on the building of the Church and the believer’s role and responsibility in doing so, we see that as his specific meaning here. So, the context of one deceiving himself is in how one builds the church. We deceive ourselves when we believe we can build the church according to worldly wisdom rather than God’s wisdom. The Church grows according to God’s will, not our crafty marketing strategies. The Church grows according to the faithful preaching of God’s Word, not our humanistic feel-good-isms. The Church grows by prayer, not our personal mantras and creeds. Attempting to build the Church with such things is like building with straw and hay rather than precious stones and gold (as we see in verse 12).

Takeaway: Being spiritually wise requires being willing to be seen as foolish in the eyes of the world, as spiritual wisdom often, if not always, is diametrically opposed to worldly wisdom. When we hear the world saying one thing, it is a safe bet to do or believe the opposite. Why is this the case? Because the root of worldly thinking is sin, often pride. Prideful, sinful thinking cannot yield the righteousness of God. God’s Word is meant to humble us, not boost our pride or crafty thinking. It testifies to our sovereign God, and if our response to it is “how can I capitalize on this? How can I enrich my life with this?”, we miss the point entirely. When we humble ourselves to the truth of God’s Word, and cling to it even when it makes no sense and the world calls us fools, that is the posture and method that God has designed to grow His Church. We cannot create a new foundation for the Church nor a new way to water a seed. Praise God for making things simple for us! Praise God for Him being God and not us! We serve Him and He goes before us and all around us, making straight our paths. Today, remember that worldly wisdom does not lead to the things of God, but rather pursue God’s Word, submitting to it and clinging to it, as the wisdom that brings life and true life change.