The Foolishness of God, Part 3

Who are the truly wise in this world but those who know salvation? We are the wise. And we stand as a testimony for all time that God took simple, humble people who didn't know enough to do anything to redeem themselves, to transform themselves, who didn't even have the mind and the mental abilities of the best of the world, and He made us the wisest in existence. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur.

I'm your host, Phil Johnson. When the Macintosh computer came out nearly 40 years ago, Apple had a simple strategy to revolutionize the industry. As one consultant put it, Apple wanted to make the Mac so unique and innovative that people would be romanced into using it. Now, to be frank, some church leaders have been following the Macintosh approach for decades, romancing unbelievers with an easy, non-threatening theology. But how does that approach align with Scripture? Find out today as John MacArthur shows you the dangers of allowing marketing strategies and gimmicks to infiltrate the church.

It's part of his series on the foolishness of God. And now with today's lesson, here's John. Take your Bible and look at 1 Corinthians 1 again with me as we'll continue our study of this particular portion of Scripture dealing with chapter 1 verse 18 through chapter 2 verse 5.

Now from 1 18 to 2 5 we have taken as a unit and we've said that in this particular unit there is the contrast between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of men. I read about a small English village that had a small chapel, as many English villages do. The chapel was made of stone and had the rather traditional ivy covered walls. Over the arch when the chapel was originally built they inscribed the words, We preach Christ crucified so that everybody who ever entered would know what they were there for. And there was a generation of godly men that did precisely that. They preached Christ crucified. But times changed and the ivy grew and pretty soon it covered the last word and the sign said, We preach Christ. And the godly men changed and there were other men who came and they preached Christ.

Christ the example, Christ the humanitarian, Christ the ideal teacher. The years passed and the ivy grew and finally it said, We preach. And they did, economics, social gospel, book reviews, whatever else. And maybe that stands as kind of an illustration of how man's philosophy affects the gospel. The wisdom of man is really in the business of crowding out the gospel of Christ.

And from a historic standpoint, as you look at the church, that is precisely what has happened. There is no place within the church of Jesus Christ for the mixture of human philosophy with divine revelation. God doesn't need it.

If He needed something, He would have said it. Human opinion doesn't do anything but muddle the waters of God's revelation. We've seen how human opinion regarding evolution has taken a simple creative account here and turned it into a mishmash called theistic evolution. We've seen how the simple principles of the Word of God for human behavior and human wholeness have been met together with Freudian psychology and come up with a mishmash known as Christian counseling that does or does not have any positive or redeeming virtue. And we've seen this again and again with many things. The Bible, the revelation of God, has never really needed human philosophy.

It only adulterates it. And that is the context in which we find ourselves because we are looking at a book, the book of 1 Corinthians, that deals with problems. Paul wrote this letter to deal with the problems in the Corinthian assembly. They had many problems, the first of which was the problem of division. The congregation was being fractioned in little groups, first of all over personalities. According to 112, they were dividing up according to the men with whom they identified, Paul, Paulus, Peter or Christ. But the second cause of division was they were polarizing according to philosophical viewpoints. As Corinth was so dominated by varying philosophies and it wasn't very far from Athens, which was, of course, the spawning ground for philosophers, they had become a populace divided over philosophical viewpoints. And when they became Christians, they dragged their perspectives, their opinions about the various things in the world into the church and created little groups rallied around unimportant viewpoint on man's destiny or man's life. And what had happened was the church had been fractioned into all these little groups, everybody claiming to be a believer but everybody adhering to his former philosophy.

So Paul writes from 118 to 2-5 to try to destroy in their minds this particular issue. To say to them, human philosophy is unnecessary. So human philosophy is really either superfluous or dangerous. Now when you have the Word of God, you have the solution to the problems that God wants you to solve. God didn't give us an incomplete revelation.

Now we're not saying you should alienate your brain and be ignorant about everything. We're simply saying that God's Word is what a man needs and human opinion only tends to divide rather than unify. So Paul writes this section to contrast human wisdom with divine wisdom and take every avenue we can to show them they can dump human wisdom. There are five ways in which God's wisdom is superior to man's.

Number one, and we'll review the first three because we've already done them. Number one, God's wisdom is superior because of its permanence. He shows this by contrast in verses 19 and 20.

Look at them. For it is written, he quotes Isaiah 29 and 14, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Now he says that human wisdom is very impermanent. He is going to destroy it himself. He is going to set it aside. It is unnecessary to him.

It is wrong. It doesn't have ultimate answers. In verse 20 he says when the chips are down and the issue is really there, where is the wise? That's the philosopher. Where is the scribe? That's the writer. Where is the disputer?

That's the speaker. Where is philosophy, literature, and rhetoric when you need them? Hasn't God shown that the wisdom of this age or this world is foolishness?

The best of philosophers, the best of writers, and the best of orators haven't been able to solve any of man's problems. It's impermanent. It's inconsequential. It's go nowhere. And so he says God's wisdom, by contrast to this, is permanent because it's implied in the fact that he deals with the impermanence of human wisdom. God's wisdom lasts.

God will destroy human wisdom. All right, the second thing, and we're reviewing quickly, the second thing that shows the superiority of God's wisdom is not only its permanence but its power. It can do that which human wisdom couldn't do.

It can save. And human wisdom couldn't save, verse 21. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. Human wisdom could not bring about the knowledge of God. But it pleased God by something as seemingly foolish as preaching to save them that believe. In other words, the wisdom of God exhibited in the cross which to the world looks like foolishness could do what all of the world's wisdom couldn't do.

That is, it could grant to a man the knowledge of God and it could save a man from hell, from sin, from Satan. You say yes, but verse 22 says that the Jews who required a sign and the Greeks who sought after wisdom, verse 23, rejected it. To the Jews it was a stumbling block and to the Gentiles something like the cross was moronic.

That's the Greek word. You say, what good does it do for God to show how wise He is and He brings along this thing and they all rejected it. Yeah, they did for the most part, but verse 24 says, unto them who are called Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. In the summary, the foolishness of God is wiser than men. The weakness of God is stronger than men.

And you see, Paul is taking in these verses this approach. He's saying God's wisdom is superior because of its power. The world by all of its own wisdom couldn't know God, couldn't do anything about sin, couldn't transform men. And that's why, you know, you can work in politics or economics or you can work in education, you can work anywhere you want and ultimately you never really affect the change because you can't change people. Human effort at its best can't come up to the very base level of God's power and wisdom.

All right, a third thing. God's wisdom is superior not only because of its permanence and power, but because of its paradox. God states the superiority of His wisdom to man's wisdom by redeeming simple, humble people. Verse 26, for you see your calling, brethren, not many wise men after the flesh, and that literally means not many Sophia, not many philosophers, not many mighty, that is not many influential, powerful people.

There are a few, but not many. Not many noble, that's high born. The world looks at three things to determine greatness. Number one, wisdom, education, brains. Number two, power and influence, popularity, fame.

Number three, high rank. But God didn't choose very many of these. Verse 27, God's chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He's chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty.

The word confound means to put to shame. And the low born things, verse 28, and the things which are despised hath God chosen, things which are not. In other words, in man's estimation, they're nothing to bring to nothing the things that think they're something. You see, here's a paradox.

Here's a parent contradiction. God wants to demonstrate that He does not need human wisdom. In order to do that, He grants His salvation to humble, simple people. And they stand as a living testimonial to the world that God doesn't need human wisdom.

Those things, philosophy, literature, oratory, all of that, the high ranking things, the influential powerful, the intelligentsia, that is irrelevant to God. And to show you how irrelevant, God contradicted human wisdom by choosing the simple and the humble. Most of God's people, most of them, are just plain folks.

Just simple people. James 2 5 says, Harken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith? The poor, the uneducated, the simple people, for the most part, have always in history constituted the makeup of the church.

The reason is, they stand then collectively as a testimonial, as a rebuke against the world. As the Gentiles stand to make Israel jealous, so do the foolish, the simple, stand as redeemed people to make the wise of this world jealous. As we saw last time, the simplest person without any education who knows God knows more than the greatest philosopher in the world who doesn't know God. And what a rebuke that is to human wisdom.

And of course, Ephesians 3 10 says that God wants to take the church and put it on display before principalities and powers that they may see in the church His wisdom. There's no place for human wisdom. And that leads us to the next point, verse 29.

This is where we begin. There's a further reason for the supremacy of God's wisdom. Its purpose. God's wisdom has a far more superior purpose. Verse 29. That no flesh should glory before God. The best manuscripts, instead of in His presence, say before God. Now notice.

Here God removes all human boasting. Nobody can say, well, you know, I tell you, I'm a Christian. I was smart enough to believe that.

Have you ever thought that? You look at some guy and say, how could he be dumb enough not to accept this? And what you're saying is, I was smart enough.

It had nothing to do with you being smart and him being dumb. You say, wait a minute. Let me show you something. Go back to verse 24. Let's see who gets saved.

Smart? Verse 24. But unto them who are called, elected. God elected people. Let's look at verse 26.

For you look around and you see your election. Verse 27. But God hath chosen. Middle of the verse. And God hath chosen. Verse 28.

Middle of the verse. Hath God chosen? Why'd you get saved? Because you were smart?

Because why? God chose you. You say, wait a minute.

I had to do something. That's verse 21. At the end of the verse. Yes. He saved them that what? Believe.

Believe. That was your faith response. God's part was choosing. But just remember, you're saved not because you were smart. Say, well, I listened to all the logical arguments and made my conclusion.

No. You were saved because you were chosen of God in his marvelous grace. And the result of that is, verse 29, that no flesh can glory before God. You can't say, here I am, God.

Remember me? I'm the smart one. That's ludicrous. In fact, the Bible says God said, my glory will I not give to another.

So don't mess around with it. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. By grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest.

And that's what would happen. Everybody go around and boast it. No. Now let's see the purpose in the wisdom of God, verse 30. But of Him, capital H, God, are you in Christ Jesus. Listen, the only reason you're in Christ Jesus is because of Him. Did human wisdom get you here?

No. What Paul is simply saying to them is, look. The purpose in salvation was that God may be glorified. And so in order for God to get the most glory, He made sure that you had the least to do with your salvation. You see? You say, yeah, I got saved because of God's wisdom. That's right. The best that man can do at the highest level of his wisdom is nothing to change his heart or to know God.

Now let me add this. Once you become a Christian, you don't stay ignorant anymore. You don't stay just humble, you know, very long in terms of not knowing anything. Watch verse 30.

This is terrific. But of Him are you in Christ. The reason you're in Christ Jesus is because of God. Who of God is made unto us.

What's the next word? Wisdom. As soon as you became a Christian, the first thing you received was wisdom. Who are the truly wise in this world but those who know God? Who are the truly wise in this world but those who know salvation? We are the wise. And we stand as a testimony for all time that God took simple, humble people who didn't know enough to do anything to redeem themselves, to transform themselves, who didn't even have the mind and the mental abilities of the best of the world, and He made us the wisest in existence.

And His is the glory. And that's why it says in verse 31, if you're going to glory, then you better glory in the Lord. The purpose for which God's wisdom was granted was that He might receive the glory. And God chose simple, humble people in order that there might not be any question about the fact that salvation is not an issue of intelligence.

It's not an issue of man's wisdom but of His. You know, the moment you became a Christian, you really learned something. The Bible even says, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. You received the truth. You shall know the truth. The truth shall make you free. Let me show you what you learned as a Christian. This is interesting. This is the instant education you had.

And it's a progressive thing as well. But 2 Corinthians 4, 6, and I'll show you something. Give you a little sequence of verses here. In 2 Corinthians 4, 6, it says, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and God's in the business of doing that. He did it when He created the world, physically.

But He also was able to do it spiritually. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shone in our hearts. When we were redeemed, God turned the light on and He gave us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.

Do you see it there? The first thing indicated here that a believer learns when he becomes a believer is the glory of God. Now when we say the glory of God, what do we mean? All that God is. All of His attributes and all of His nature. First thing that happens when you become a Christian is you know God. You know His nature. You know His essence. Before you were a Christian, you did not know God.

Now that's an exciting knowledge, isn't it? I mean, to not know God, the generator of the universe, the source of all life. That's a handicap, not to know Him. When you become a Christian, you know Him. He shines, He turns the switch on, flips on the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. And it comes through Christ. Let me show you something else you know. You not only know God. Ephesians 1, 9. This is something else you know. Having made known unto us, and this is talking about our salvation, when we were redeemed, forgiven by grace, He abounded to us in all wisdom.

And what does that mean? Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself. Now mark this. God not only reveals Himself to us, but His will to us.

Now this isn't whether you ought to marry Sally or Mary or whatever, or whether you ought to work at Lockheed or somewhere else. That's not what it's talking about. What it's talking about is the sweep of God's plan, and that's indicated in the next verse, the dispensation of the fullness of times.

Now mark this. When you became a Christian, you began to know God. Then also you began the knowledge of His will.

Boy, that's exciting. Now I want to go down to verse 17 and show you something, Ephesians 1. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of Him.

You know Him. Here's something else to know. That the eyes of our understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance. Now both hope, now watch it, and inheritance have a future aspect, right? We are hoping for the fullness of redemption.

We are hoping for the inheritance which is reserved for us, laid aside for us. Now we know this. The eyes of our understanding are open.

Now watch it. When you were saved, you came to know God, God's plan, and your destiny. A Christian then knows where he came from, what he's doing, and where he's going. You see that? Now that is the fullness of knowledge that comes at salvation.

And that's nice to know, right? You know the people in this world, they go around, one, they haven't got any idea where they came from. Unless it's an ape. They haven't got the faintest idea what they're doing here. That's why they become existentialists.

Live for the moment. And least of anything do they have any idea where they're going. Let me tell you, if I only wanted to know three things in this world, those would be the three I'd want to know. Where did I come from, what am I doing, and where am I going? And God says, in Christ, you get those three things. Now that's having wisdom, isn't it? That's why I say the simplest, humblest, Christian person who doesn't know anything in terms of the world is wiser about what matters than the philosophers and sages of all the ages. And the glory in all of it, now you can go back to 1 Corinthians, I don't know, we got a little off there for a while. The great thing about all of it is the glory is God's.

Because we didn't do anything. God gave us this wisdom. If I know where I came from, if I know why I'm here, and if I know where I'm going, is that cause to boast?

What did I do? All of a sudden I didn't have the knowledge, the next day I did. God gave it to me. But of Him, of God are you in Christ.

It was an act of God, it wasn't because of you. You're in Christ, and Christ is made unto you wisdom. And wisdom is the key to that verse.

But in addition to that, Paul can't resist throwing in some other things. You not only received wisdom, but you received righteousness. You say, what is righteousness? Shorten it up, take off the ness, righteous.

Then take off the s, right. Righteousness means before God you stand right. As opposed to wrong.

Good as opposed to bad. Sinless as opposed to sinful. You say, you mean when I responded to Jesus Christ, when God called me and I believed that I stood right before God?

That's correct. You see, 2 Corinthians 5 21 says that Christ was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. So He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. When God looks down at a Christian from heaven, He sees him with a cloak over him and it says the righteousness of Christ on it. And it covers the sin. And God declares him righteous.

That's because of Christ. There's a great verse in Philippians 3, now I'll just read it to you, you don't need to look it up. It says, and be found in Him not having mine own righteousness, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

You don't have any of your own. Paul says I want to be found having His righteousness. You know it's a wonderful thing to realize that when you're saved you not only get wisdom but you also get absolute and total righteousness before God. Your sin is done away. You say how can God do that because Christ took your sin and bore it on the cross and paid the penalty.

God is satisfied. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. His current study is from 1 Corinthians 1 and it's titled The Foolishness of God. Now John, today's lesson, and really this entire study, makes it clear that God's wisdom seems foolish. It doesn't make any sense from the world's perspective, and so I'm wondering how should that fact affect the way Christians evangelize? I recently heard a speaker say don't give people the Word of God straight off because they're not prepared to believe it.

That just doesn't sound right to me. Well, I don't think we can try to improve on the power of the Word of God. You can make an effort to be clever, but the power is in the truth, and this goes back to what the Apostle Paul said. I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and to the Greek.

So you might say, well, you know, I can't just give them this, you feel a little bit ashamed, like this is sort of failing to recognize the sophistication of who you're talking to or the complexity of what the issues might be. I don't want to look foolish and just give the Bible. But that is exactly what you do because the power is in the truth. And I want to tell people this all the time when they offer all kinds of sophisticated approaches to evangelism. You can get bound up in trying to come up with every imaginable kind of mechanism or trick, design to try to reach people, but the power by biblical declaration is in the truth. So don't hesitate to give the gospel and see the Spirit of God use it.

It's not your cleverness that gets anyone saved. It's the Spirit's work. He's the one who does it, and he does it by the truth of the gospel as laid out in Scripture.

Let me just one more time remind you to get a copy of the book, Hard to Believe. It exposes the modern seeker-driven approach to evangelism, an approach that is filling up congregations with self-deceived false converts. And the book is not meant to be controversial but is trying to be truthful and clear, so I encourage you to get on the right track with regard to evangelism. I mean, that's why we're here, right?

We need to do it right. The gospel is about forgiveness and grace, and it needs to be preached straightforward in its biblical content. So if you want some help doing that, get a copy of Hard to Believe available at Grace2U today.

Yes, friend, it is vital that you know exactly what Jesus said about salvation and how his message compares with what you're hearing in your church. John's book, Hard to Believe, is vital reading, so pick up a copy when you contact us today. To order, you can call our customer service staff at 800-55-GRACE or shop online at GTY.org.

The full title of this book is Hard to Believe, subtitled The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus. To order a copy for yourself or to put one in a friend's hands, visit GTY.org or call 800-55-GRACE. And when you go to our website, GTY.org, you'll find numerous ways to take in John MacArthur's verse-by-verse teaching. You can listen to radio broadcasts that you've missed. You can watch Grace2U television. You can dive into our sermon archive. That's all of John's messages from five decades, more than 3,500 sermons that are free to download in MP3 or transcript format. And if you're not sure what to listen to first, a great option is GraceStream. That's a continuous broadcast of John's teaching through the New Testament. Look for GraceStream and all of our resources at GTY.org. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson. Keep in mind, Grace2U television airs this Sunday on DirecTV channel 378 or watch online at GTY.org. And be here next Monday for another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on Grace2U.