GOD’S WISDOM REVEALED IN WEAKNESS: BASED ON EXEGESIS OF I CORINTHIANS 1:17-25

Bobby A. Grow, M.A.   May 2003

            The Apostle Paul believed that the integration of man-centered wisdom with the Christian gospel, results in the denuding of the power and wisdom found in the simple message of the cross. This statement has been substantiated by the context and text of I Corinthians 1:17-25, and the exegesis of this text has produced two explicit principles that are in accord with the above statement. The first principle is that human wisdom never grasps the power and wisdom of God, and the second principle is that Godly wisdom is revealed in weakness.

Two Principles Explained

            The first principle, human wisdom never grasps the power and wisdom of God, is explicitly elucidated I Corinthians 1:17-21. Paul attacks the human wisdom that the Corinthians had embraced, precisely because that kind of wisdom would not allow them to grasp God’s genuine wisdom. In fact, Paul argues that such wisdom indeed has a distorting effect on the genuine wisdom of God. It distorts in the sense that it causes man to look at God’s power and wisdom, the proclamation of the cross, as weak and foolish (cf. I Cor. 1:17-18). And it likewise causes God’s wisdom to have no effectual power in their lives. This is because the integration of any type of human wisdom being integrated with Godly wisdom produces a hybrid. Therefore, the end result is that this kind of person (i.e. a person informed by man-centered wisdom) is left with an allusive wisdom that in fact is empty and impotent.

            The principle that human wisdom is not able to grasp Godly wisdom is further pointed out in I Corinthians 1:19-21. It is within these verses that Paul appeals to the Old Testament scriptures and shows that as with Israel (cf. Is. 29:14), God’s wisdom is unattainable and totally different than human wisdom. And when men assume that their wisdom is equal with God’s wisdom, in fact, this is the point that God turns the tables. And He shows that indeed the human wisdom is a hoax, and is shown to be a hoax, because in the end it has absolutely no power to accomplish anything.

            The fact that man-centered wisdom cannot grasp God’s wisdom actually pleases God. This is not an arbitrary pleasure for God; rather the pleasure comes when people abandon man-centered wisdom. And as a result of this abandonment receive the power and wisdom of God. The power and wisdom of God, is a revealed wisdom, and thus cannot be come to via human musings. Until such an abandonment of man-centered wisdom occurs, the power and wisdom of God will never be received and experienced. And the grasping of such wisdom will never be accomplished, as God’s wisdom will always appear as folly through the lens of man-centered wisdom.

            The second principle is set in the context of the first principle, and is elucidated in I Corinthians 1:22-25. This principle is somewhat ironic as it makes the point that what appears as weakness (i.e. to the man-centered wisdom) is in fact God’s wisdom. The principle is, Godly wisdom is revealed in weakness.

            The principle is most fully elucidated in verses 23, 24, and 25. It is within these verses that God’s wisdom is described by Paul to the people of Corinth. The revealed wisdom of God is in fact the crucified Christ. Christ crucified appears as weakness only because man-centered wisdom has assumed what it considers to be the standard for what qualifies as genuine wisdom (cf. I Cor. 1:23). If something does not meet that standard then it is considered to be weak and foolish. Indeed a crucified man (i.e. Christ) ipso facto does not meet that requirement. Paul points out that the Jewish perspective considers a crucified Messiah as folly, because they had already formed notions as to how they believed God’s power should operate. And a crucified Messiah did not meet their standard of what constitutes wisdom. Likewise, from a Greek perspective, a crucified Messiah did not meet their standard of rational inquiry and satisfaction. Thus from all points of view, a crucified man appears weak and impotent.

            God ordained that His wisdom be a revealed wisdom, and because it is, it would undermine the finite wisdom of man. In other words, man must start with the reception of God’s wisdom before they ever bring any of their own wisdom to God. In short, man must take God at His Word, and when this happens, what man always considered weakness (i.e. the proclamation of the crucified Christ) will be seen truly as the wisdom and power of God. This is only experienced by the people who God has called to believe in His wisdom.

            People who accept the proclamation of the crucified Christ and embrace what has always appeared as weakness and foolishness, will realize that their wisdom was empty and deceptive. Accordingly, in contrast to their wisdom, weakness (God’s wisdom) after all is shown to be God’s power and wisdom as it effects real change. It furthermore provides the gateway to knowing what God is really like, as man can now approach God’s wisdom revealed in weakness.