SERMON: “The Wisdom of God in the Word of the Cross” (1 Cor. 1:18–25)
“The
Wisdom of God in the Word of the Cross” (1 Cor. 1:18–25)
Series: “1 Cor: Holiness from Messes” #5 Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18–25
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: October 19, 2025
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: AM Service
I.
Introduction
If you’re my age or older, you’ve seen our culture shift
quite a bit on its view of Christianity.
Aaron Renn noted that, while the culture was largely positive toward
Christianity before 1994, it became neutral toward it afterward, and then
negative toward it post-2014.[1] This means that we remember when the church
was respected in America, when we had a voice in the public square, and we’ve
seen that change. We live in what many
Christians accept now as “negative world,” and many debate how we should engage
culture and evangelize.
For instance, many Christians suggest that we now
“contextualize” the gospel message for this age. This method seeks to tailor the gospel to current
audience by building bridges and finding common ground. This means making the message relatable and
less intimidating, perhaps weaving in contemporary issues like social justice
or personal fulfillment into gospel presentations.
If you’ve heard of remaking movies for “modern audiences,” you
might have an idea of what the issue is here.
While this can effectively draw people in, it risks diluting the gospel,
sometimes prioritizing cultural relevance over the stark truth of sin,
repentance, and the cross. It also relies
on human effort to make the gospel attractive rather than trusting the Spirit’s
work through the proclaimed Word.
In contrast, we have what is sometimes called the “presuppositional”
approach. This evangelistic method begins
with the conviction that the Bible is the ultimate authority and that all human
reasoning, morality, and meaning depend on God’s truth. This approach lovingly challenges the wisdom
by which unbelievers operate, their presuppositions, exposing the
inconsistencies of their worldviews while pointing to Christ. For instance, a presuppositional evangelist
might ask an unbeliever how they justify morality or knowledge without God,
using such questions to reveal the necessity of God’s revelation.
The reality is that unbelievers are naturally resistant to
Christian truth, whether or not they view it as a net positive or a negative
for culture. Even when culture looks
down upon Christianity, as the Corinthian culture did, believers must continue
to preach the message of the cross with no worldly additions. Yet, because of their divisions, some Corinthian
Christians wrongly tried to impress the unbelieving Jews, and others were
trying to impress the unbelieving Greeks.
They were trying to build bridges, but sin twists human reason and
messaging. Human wisdom according to the
world is not God’s wisdom, and God even keeps the two separate in the name of
holiness.
We don’t want to inadvertently shift focus from the gospel’s
content to the messenger. Instead, we
trust that the Holy Spirit works through the Word to convict and to convert,
even when it appears foolish to the world.
That’s what we see as we delve into this passage, as Paul emphasizes on
the cross’s power over human words and strategies.
If we are to evangelize our age, then we need to understand
this. There is only one power that can
change hearts and minds in this world, and it is the message of the cross. In this passage, we will note both the
strength of the Word (vv. 18–21) and the superiority of the Word (vv. 22–25). Let’s consider the central message we should
communicate as we evaluate this together.
II.
First, the Strength of the Word (vv. 18–21)
For the word of
the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being
saved, it is the power of God. For it is
written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the
clever I will set aside.” Where is the
wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the
world? For since, in the wisdom of God,
the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased,
through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe.
Paul just said that Christ didn’t send him “to baptize, but
to proclaim the gospel, not in wisdom of word, so that the cross of Christ will
not be made empty” (1 Cor. 1:17). The
message of the gospel (which is the message of the cross) is more important
than baptism, and Paul goes on here to say that it’s also more important than
human wisdom. Sinful people will see it
as foolish, but it is true wisdom.
That’s ironically why it’s so important to proclaim “the
word of the cross” or the “message” (NET, HCSB). This is, as the MacArthur Study Bible notes, “God’s
total revelation, i.e., the gospel in all its fullness, which centers in the
incarnation and crucifixion of Christ (2:2); the entire divine plan and
provision for the redemption of sinners, which is the theme of all Scripture,
is in view.”[2] Of course, this message divides us between
believers and unbelievers,[3]
which Paul expresses in this verse.
Consider first “those who are perishing.” They are currently traveling a path to
eternal destruction, and their choices everyday give evidence of this spiritual
death. As such, this message appears as “foolishness,”
a term from which we derive the term “moron.”[4] Indeed, the unsaved, certain of their superior
thought process, have names for Christians!
We’ll talk more about why they think this way in a few minutes, but, at
the heart level, though, they don’t want this message because the word of the cross
cuts to the heart of self-centeredness, demanding self-renunciation and
obedience (cf. Mark 8:34–35; 2 Tim. 2:12).[5]
Paul contrasts this position to “us who are being saved.” Here, Paul includes himself and the
Corinthian believers and with all who would believe. Note that salvation isn’t only something
accomplished in the past, but it is also an ongoing reality, a divine work in
process — initiated at conversion, advanced through sanctification, and
consummated in glorification (cf. Rom. 8:23; 13:11).[6] The present tense underscores certainty: God
is actively saving His people.
For those in this category, the word of the cross is “the
power of God.” This power is not mere
intellectual assent but transformative.
It is the power to turn sinners into saints, and to clean our messes in holiness.
The word of the cross only has power for
believers, though.
This brings us to a sobering thought: Some people will hate
our message. So, are we reacting by
trying to dilute the message with worldly appeals, or are we being
faithful? There are some who want to
shave off the rough edges, those like Joel Osteen who won’t talk about sin or
Tim Keller who wanted to avoid anything “too political.” The message will divide, so let it do its
work.
In v. 19, Paul substantiates his point by quoting Isaiah
29:14. It’s always worth noting how
often the New Testament invokes scriptural authority, a fitting example in this
context. And, in Isaiah’s context, God
warns Judah's leaders against relying on human ingenuity amid threats from the Assyrians.
After all, their “wisdom” and “cleverness”
— which the Spirit uses ironically here — will be thwarted by God. Of course, this prophecy finds ultimate
fulfillment in Christ’s kingdom (Rev. 17:14), where all human wisdom perishes,[7] but
it also illustrates present, divine intervention — like when God destroyed
185,000 Assyrians with one angel (Isa. 37:36; 2 Kings 18–19).[8] Another
example of this is in the Book of Daniel, where God repeatedly shows His power
over the wise and clever men. Only God’s
chosen are capable of having success when they follow what He has said.
God’s word is able to accomplish what man cannot. So, this warns us not to elevate our human
intellect over His revelation. As
believers, we must proclaim the cross without apology, trusting God to
dismantle pretentious wisdom. God’s ways
will confound the proud to and exalt the humble.
So, in v. 20, Paul unleashes four rhetorical questions,[9]
dripping with sarcasm, which show how much stronger and wiser God’s word is. First, he asks, “Where is the wise man?” — a
possible general reference to Greek philosophers who had persuasive speech.[10] One commentator notes
some catch-phrases in the popular
philosophy of the day: ‘The wise man is king’ and ‘To the wise man all things
belong’. Paul rejected this worldly
wisdom. He also rejected the form in
which much of it was purveyed, i.e.
with persuasive eloquence. ‘The Greeks
were intoxicated with fine words.’
Rather like many in Oxford University today, they were concerned not so
much with the truth or otherwise of what was said, as with the articulacy and
cleverness with which it was said.[11]
Similarly, Paul calls out the scribe. This often refers to Jewish experts in the
Mosaic law.[12] This would parallel his Jew/Greek distinction
in this passage.
Next, Paul asks about the “debater of this age.” These would be those who might be skilled at
arguing philosophy[13] or
rhetoric.[14] The Reformation Study Bible notes that
it’s unclear how precise Paul wants these categories, but it seems like there
is plenty here to highlight the great thinkers both in the Jewish faith as well
as in Gentile Corinth.
That leads to Paul’s big question — “Has not God made
foolish the wisdom of the world?” He
frames this question to expect a resounding “yes!” He’s saying that God has already “made
foolish” (as a past action) worldly wisdom. The question is whether we believe this and
submit our wisdom to the cross.
In fact, God’s wisdom takes us on an unexpected path, as v.
21 explains. God’s wise design ordained
that “the world through its wisdom did not come to know God.” If we think we can argue people to God, we’re
mistaken, and they’re just as mistaken if they think they can argue themselves
there. As one study notes, this “would
exalt man, so God designed to save helpless sinners through the preaching of a
message that was so simple the ‘worldly wise’ deemed it nonsense.”[15] Human wisdom — philosophy, science, debate — fails
to reach God.
Though the Greeks thought their wisdom could get them closer
to God, it is not possible. Similarly,
some today think they can know God though enough scientific knowledge. As T. S. Elliot wrote in the opening stanza
of “Choruses from ‘The Rock:’ ”
Knowledge of words, and ignorance
of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to GOD.
Yet, there is good news.
We read that God “was well-pleased” — a term of divine delight — to save
believers. How? It’s through the foolishness “of the
message preached.” Of course, Paul uses
the term “foolishness” sarcastically, for he’s already identified this as the
wisdom of God. There’s a message of good
news for any who would humble themselves to believe some holy nonsense! And this salvation is where we see the power
of the word most clearly.
Note, though, that salvation comes only to “those who
believe.” This is a continual blow to human
pride as God uses the “low” and the “simple” to save. This empowers preachers and evangelists,
though — we have what we need. We may
feel like it’s not enough for the lost world’s questions, but it’s all that’s
needed.
In summary, these verses reveal the strength of the Word. It divides, it destroys worldly wisdom, and it
delivers salvation through faith. Let us
trust its power in our witness, for there’s nothing better. And that brings us to the next point:
III.
Second, the Superiority of the Word (vv. 22–25)
For indeed Jews
ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to
Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than
men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Unbelievers always have reasons they reject the gospel, and
these are sometimes cultural barriers; Paul identifies two that were pressing
at the church of Corinth. First, he says
that “Jews ask for signs.” In other
words, they wanted (or demanded) attesting miracles as proof of authority (cf. Matt.
12:38; Mark 8:11–12).[16] Of course, this didn’t stop them from
rejecting the signs of Christ.[17] Part of the problem was that they expected
the Messiah to be a victor over Rome while Jesus was crucified, meaning that He
couldn’t be the Messiah.[18] This excuse from the Jewish leadership, while
seeming logical, was convenient considering how they had participated in
Christ’s crucifixion. Still, this would
become a major talking point for 2,000 years of future generations, where
Jesus’s death was seen as a curse (cf. Deut. 21:23).
One commentary notes an example of this:
In the second century, in Justin
Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho 31–32,
Justin attempts to convince Rabbi Trypho that Jesus is the Messiah with
reference to Daniel 7, and Trypho responds: ‘Sir, these and such-like passages
of scripture compel us to await One who is great and glorious, and takes the
everlasting Kingdom from the Ancient of Days as Son of Man. But this your
so-called Christ is without honor and glory, so that he has even fallen into
the uttermost curse that is in the Law of God, for he was crucified’ (cf. Deut
21:23).[19]
Paul then notes that “Greeks search for wisdom.” This doesn’t mean that no Jew wasn’t also
interested in wisdom, but wisdom was an interest for the Greeks. They wanted whatever ideas were new (cf. Acts
17:20–21) and worshiped the goddess of wisdom.[20] And when they thought of a supreme God, they
viewed Him as apathetic to and untouched by suffering — making a crucified God
absurd.[21] As another commentary notes:
The second-century philosopher
Celsus, who made a career out of attacking Christianity, wrote, ‘God is good
and beautiful and happy, and if in that which is most beautiful and best, if
then he descends to man it involves change for him, and a change from good to
bad, from beautiful to ugly, from happiness to unhappiness, from what is best
to what is worst, and God would never accept such a change.’ The idea of the incarnation, not to mention
the crucifixion, was utter folly to Greek thinking. To those rationalists nothing could be more
absurd than the idea of an incarnate God giving Himself to be crucified in
order to secure salvation, holiness, and eternal life for a fallen world.[22]
What do we do when we encounter such barriers? Sometimes, there are certain ministry “gurus”
who talk about “contextualizing the message” to make it more palatable. There are churches changing hymns because
talk about the cross and the blood of Christ might be too offensive for some
people’s sensibilities. Perhaps there’s
a clever way to alter the message and then get more converts at the altar.
However, in v. 23, Paul says, in defiance, “we preach Christ
crucified.” This is Paul’s sole message
(2:2). He acknowledges that it is a “stumbling
block” to Jews, and “foolishness” to Gentiles. Instead of contextualizing the message, we
should just be faithful and expect rejection.
The cross offends pride, even that of Christians, at times. The Corinthians will need some humility moving
forward through their issues.
Yet, again, there is good news. V. 24 gives us a turning point: “But to those
who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God.” Note that we find both
power and wisdom in Christ. It’s just
that it’s only there for believers.
Consider this: Believers are identified as those who are
called. This isn’t a general call, like
Charlie Kirk spoke into a microphone and accurately said Jesus died for
sinners. That call must then be followed
by the call of the Holy Spirit within us, replacing our hard hearts for those
which are alive. When God calls us,
whether we’re Jewish or Grecian in our former thinking, we know that we’re the
sinners for whom Christ died, and we’re the ones in need of redemption. Suddenly, we realize we need to believe this
message, which we now see as powerful and wise!
Paul then uses a bit more sarcasm to drive this point home
in v. 25. He first mentions the “foolishness
of God” — but, of course, there is no foolishness there. Yet, the cross in human eyes is moronic, so
Paul says it’s actually “wiser than men.”
Similarly, if God has any weakness, that is “stronger than men.” In other words, God has more power in His
pinky than we have in our whole bodies!
Of course, that brings us back to humility. God’s wisdom and ways are superior. It is up to us to bow to them, even if you
don’t understand everything right now.
IV.
Conclusion
Remember, this is in the wisdom of God. We are not going to argue people into the
kingdom, for they could be argued back out of it. We can’t show convincing enough proofs, for other
people will show them signs that will lead them astray. The problem is the hardness of heart due to
sin, and the only solution to that is the message of the cross.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t ever engage in arguments for
the sake of leading people to Christ.
This same Apostle Paul engaged in a rhetorical defense of the faith on
numerous occasions. There are times for
debates and apologetics, and I can recommend examples to you of those who have
done it well. Still, remember the real
problem is sin, meaning the real solution is the gospel. This will keep us from focusing on our ability
and instead trust in the power of the Word to accomplish its divine purposes.
[1] Aaron Renn, “The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism,”
February 1, 2022, https://firstthings.com/the-three-worlds-of-evangelicalism/.
[2] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word
Pub., 1997), 1730.
[3] F. Alan Tomlinson, CSB
Study Bible: Notes, 2017, 1812.
[4] MacArthur.
[5] David K. Lowery, The
Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, 1985, 2, 509.
[6] MacArthur.
[7] Ibid.
[8] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1984), 41–42.
[9] Andrew David Naselli, Romans–Galatians, 2020, X, 234.
[10] John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael
S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R.
Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study
Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), 1 Co 1:20.
[11] David Prior, The
Message of 1 Corinthians: Life in the Local Church, The Bible Speaks Today,
(Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 40.
[12] Barry, et. al.
[13] MacArthur, The
MacArthur Study Bible.
[14] Barry, et. al..
[15] MacArthur, The
MacArthur Study Bible.
[16] Barry, et. al., 1 Co 1:22.
[17] MacArthur, The
MacArthur Study Bible..
[18] Naselli.
[19] Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians, The
Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 100.
[20] Barry, et. al.
[21] Prior.
[22] MacArthur, 1
Corinthians, 46.