SERMON: “Wisdom about Our Leaders” (1 Cor. 3:18–23)

“Wisdom about Our Leaders”
(1 Cor. 3:18–23)

Series:               “1 Cor: Holiness from Messes” #13   Text:                 1 Corinthians 3:18–23

By:                    Shaun Marksbury                         Date:                December 28, 2025

Venue:              Living Water Baptist Church            Occasion:             AM Service

 

I.              Introduction

If this seems familiar, it’s because Paul is revisiting his discussion on factionalism in the church.  If you weren’t with us, in chapter one, vv. 11–12, Paul said, “For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.  Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’ ”  After having a lengthy discussion on true wisdom and the construction of the church, Paul comes back to visit the problem of this church cliques.

The issue can be more subtle than we know.  Perhaps this will feel like getting a bit into the weeds, but for a larger and more modern example, we could consider the work of the late Tim Keller and The Gospel Coalition (TGC).  He has said many good things over the years, and his books have been recommended on topics from apologetics to counseling.  Yet, of particular interest to many was his focus on evangelizing “the city.”  Christians have seen his ministry in New York as appealing to the urban elite, and they have advocated his ministry style.

However, others have taken issue with some of his positions, which they view as compromise.  His strategy was reaching out to unbelievers who are specifically center-left politically, ignoring others.  He did this by softening some language which may seem “too fundamentalist,” such as strong condemnations of abortion and LGBTQ+ issues.  It saw various left-leaning causes such as “racial justice” as “gospel issues.”  For many of us, that seemed like concession, though other Christians see his approach as an effective strategy for evangelizing deep-blue areas like New York.

That lead to a growing rift in what otherwise seemed to be conservative allies that seemed to come to a head in 2018.  For instance, John MacArthur criticized the conference on racial justice TGC helped to host that year, “MLK50,” which lionized a non-Christian figure and called for unbiblical solutions.  He also helped spearhead the 2018 Dallas Statement, which was also known as the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel, which decried encroaching woke ideologies into the church.  Fallout from this led to the cancellation of a planned TGC event at Grace Community Church that year.

Those issues never seemed to heal.  When MacArthur was still alive, he expressly condemned the Democrat party and even eventually endorsed Donald Trump.  Meanwhile, in 2016, a TGC blogger posted “Evangelical Leaders: Tell Us to Vote for Clinton”[1] and that support for Trump is a problem for white Christians.[2]  More recently, in 2024, Ray Ortlund — an emeritus TGC council member — publicly endorsed Kamala Harris.[3]  This was all in keeping with Keller’s vision of reaching left.

Many online began to take sides, while TGC pushed forward with an expressly “Kellerite” vision of the church.  When MacArthur passed this year, the main TGC site refused to publish any kind of memorial or reflection.  Foreign affiliates like TGC Canada did publish a positive reflection on MacArthur’s death, but not without mentioning that MacArthur’s actions “created a difficult atmosphere for unity.”[4]  There is a worldly kind of factionalism growing, and it is entering churches.

God would not have us leave our discernment at the door; there are right and wrong ways of approaching these issues.  However, as we think about these things, we can become arrogant, breaking into factions that refuse to talk to or to love one another.  The church isn’t helped when we divide into proud camps, boasting in human leaders or treating secondary disagreements as tests of fellowship.  A better path is to hold firm convictions with humility, testing every position against Scripture first, engaging brothers charitably and with love, and pursuing reconciliation where possible without sacrificing truth.  I’ll add that, despite the negative analysis, MacArthur himself demonstrated that by having people at his conferences and at his funeral with whom he disagreed but also loved.

This is a principle that can help our local church.  Rather than focusing too much on what makes us different, we should see the unity we have in Christ.  We must first use godly wisdom in evaluating our leaders (vv. 18–20).  Second, we must see all our leaders as mere gifts from God (vv. 21–23).  Let’s consider this together.

II.           First, We Must Use Godly Wisdom in Evaluating Our Leaders (vv. 18–20)

Let no man deceive himself.  If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”

There may have been some Corinthians who thought certain teachers were better at reaching the world.  For instance, some may have thought Apollos particularly suited for reaching the Greeks, and others saw Cephas (Peter) as a better witness to the unbelieving Jews.  However, Paul reminds them that they are operating according to a worldly wisdom in exalting these teachers, and that they all will be foolish before the standards of the world.  The good teacher is the one that upholds the wisdom of God.

This opening command suggests that self-deception is not only possible but also common.  We worry about being deceived by others, yet, we should be concerned with deceiving ourselves!  Scripture repeatedly warns against this in places like Isaiah 5:21, which declares, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and understanding in their own sight!”  Paul echoes this later — “If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2).  He calls the Corinthians to humility.

Self-deception shows itself in spiritual pride, which was certainly true in Corinth.  Some believers believed they possessed superior insight.  They evaluated teachers based on rhetorical skill, cultural savvy, or perceived effectiveness to either the Jews or the Greeks.  They believed they understood where others did not, but as Paul said in Galatians 6:3, “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”  They needed to realize that they were thinking according to the arrogance of their flesh.

This is how the world thinks, so Paul says their minds are wise according to “this age.”  He’s referring to the present fallen order with that expression.  Human systems of thought are shaped by sin, pride, and even rebellion against God, but Christians can still utilize it.  Wisdom in this age values strategy and influence, and it bases success solely on material results.  This is not biblical wisdom.

God’s wisdom, by contrast, is centered on the cross.  Paul had already said so much in his argumentation in 1:17–2:16.  Here, he puts it a different way: the person who thinks he is wise must do become foolish.  That’s a shocking turn, but Paul is reminding them that the wisdom of the cross is foolishness to the world.  It means becoming foolish in the eyes of the world by submitting to God’s revelation.

This is a humbling message, because it means we cannot evaluate our favorite leaders based on numbers and perceived effectiveness.  In fact, if we are to embrace God’s way of thinking, we must accept that people will look at as naïve, unsophisticated, or irrelevant.  Not only is that embarrassing, that means that our personal church growth strategies cannot be judged based on perceived effectiveness.  It’s self-deception to think otherwise.^[5] 

Yet, Paul correctly insists this is the only path to true wisdom.  A person who trusts in Christ crucified may be a “fool” in the world’s eyes, but that person is also wise from God’s perspective.^[6]  Therefore, as one teacher explains,  “The church must create an atmosphere in which the Word of God is honored and submitted to, in which human opinion is never used to judge or qualify revelation. … Common commitment to the Word of God is the basic unifier.”^[7]  If the message of Scripture isn’t the supreme authority of the church, then division is inevitable.^[8]  People might consider the exaltation of Christ and Scripture to be a foolish philosophy of ministry, but it’s the one that God blesses.

Paul goes on to explain the nature of worldly wisdom in v. 19.  He says, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God.”  Now, this part is not merely a difference of opinion, and divine evaluation should be what directs us.  As one study says, “God determines what constitutes foolishness,”^[9] and I’ll add, “we don’t.”  His wisdom is so far above us that it is nonsense to think we know better.^[10]

What the world applauds, God often condemns, so we cannot build ministry around that.  Some churches have ideas for attracting the world, but if it comes from a place of pride and autonomy, self-confident in creating results, it’s foolishness to God.  It assumes that man is competent to judge reality, morality, and truth apart from God.

Note how Paul supports his argument: he looks to Scripture.  This alone is an example to us.  When we have a disagreement about ministry, we don’t look to demographic data or market trend reports.  We don’t launch survey teams.  Sure, churches do that, and they sometimes have astonishing growth and seeming success.  However, God evaluates true success in ministry, separating out the wood, hay, and stubble, and He judges success as faithfulness to His Word.

So, Paul gives his first citation, which comes from Job 5:13.  Interestingly, these words were originally spoken by Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends.  You’ll recall that Eliphaz, like Job’s other friends, misapplied truth in condemning Job.^[11]  Yet, that can happen with anyone, and there can still be truth in their statements, and Eliphaz says quite a bit of truth by noting that God delivers the oppressed.^[12]  God does indeed catch the wise of this world in their craftiness!

Paul’s use of this verse underscores a recurring biblical theme: God overturns human schemes.  The so-called wise often fall into the very traps they set.  Just as Haman was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai,^[13] so human cleverness ultimately condemns itself. 

In fact, the word “craftiness” recalls Genesis 3:1, where the serpent is described as crafty.  Even Satan’s intelligence is no match for God.  The Lord catches the wise — human and demonic alike — in their own designs.

Paul adds a second citation in verse 20: “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”  This comes from Psalm 94:11, a psalm that cries out for God to judge corrupt leadership and vindicate the righteous.^[14]  God sees through human schemes, and he declares them “futile” (ESV, NKJV) or “vain” (KJV).

Together, these two texts establish a devastating conclusion: human wisdom cannot outthink God or outbuild God’s purposes.  It is futile to exalt leaders based on worldly criteria.  That logic leads us directly to the application in verse 21: “So then, let no one boast in men,” but remember that pride is always at the heart of worldly wisdom.^[15]  

If we are wanting to glorify God, then it cannot be on a human basis.  Now, while that means we can’t exalt some leaders on the basis of worldly thoughts, that also includes writing Christians off in an unbiblical way.  That leads us to the next point:

III.        Second, We Must See All Our Leaders as Mere Gifts from God (vv. 21–23)

So then let no one boast in men.  For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

The command here, again, flows from what we’ve already seen.  It’s clear and absolute: “Let no one boast in men.”  To boast in men means to glory in someone, identify with them, trust in them completely, or elevating them to a position of being beyond question.^[16]  In Corinth, believers were defining themselves by the leaders they followed — Paul, Apollos, or Cephas.  Today, we can do that with others, whether it be teachers like Keller or MacArthur, for instance.

Whatever Paul was going to say next, he probably takes the Corinthians by surprise.  He says, “For all things belong to you.”  As the Reformation Study Bible notes here, “This principle demonstrates the pettiness and absurdity of the Corinthians’ quarreling.”  The Corinthians thought they belonged to their favorite leaders.  Paul says the opposite is true: the leaders belong to the church.^[17]

So, with this interesting promise, Paul gives eight examples of what already belongs to believers.  Elaborating in verse 22, he writes, “Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you.”  The first three are church leaders, which God appointed them to serve the church.  Their ministries are gifts, not possessions to be competed over.

Leaders are servants, but Christians might mistake them for “the Master.”^[18]  In their arrogance, they might think that they belonged to “the leaders who baptized them” rather than to the God they were baptized into.^[19]  Boasting in men reverses the proper order and breeds to contentions.

Again, this does not mean all leaders are equal in faithfulness or usefulness.  Scripture calls us to esteem faithful shepherds and submit to godly leadership.^[20]  But our evaluation must be grounded in faithfulness to the Word and be seasoned with grace, knowing that no one is perfect in all areas.  We certainly should not be setting up ministers to be in competition with one another!^[21]  We should instead consider them as all belonging to the church.

Then Paul broadens the scope of what belongs to them dramatically.  He says that the world also belongs to believers!  It’s true that world is in opposition to God^[22] also belongs at present to the devil, but he will be removed in the millennial kingdom.^[23]   Remember, Jesus also said that the meek will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5).  Even now, it belongs to us, as we spread the gospel and seek to help redeem the things in this world,^[24] and we will help eventually judge the world, for it will one day be fully subjected to Christ and His people.

Paul goes on to say that life and death also belong to believers.  Whatever we face, whether touched by sin or leading to persecution, belongs to us.  Eternal life is even presently ours,^[25] affecting how we operate in the present age.  Even death isn’t a terror to us, for Christ defeated this enemy and offers it to us as a present means of ushering us into glory.  We may still be mortal,^[26] but we can use our lives and deaths to the praise of God!

That makes the next point a bit obvious.  Paul also says things present and things to come also belong to believers.  Whether we are dealing with present crises, the present evil age, or the distress of the last days, we can face such knowing that God is in control and with us.^[27]  Even if some circumstance results in our departure from this world, we know that all the blessings of heaven are also ours.^[28]  All is under Christ’s sovereign rule and serve the good of His people.

Sometimes we seek to control things because we forget that God is in control.  We also may wonder what God will allow because we forget that He loves us.  Yet, as Paul wrote in Romans 8:35–39,

Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will affliction, or turmoil, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were counted as sheep for the slaughter.”  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul’s point is based on the love and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He has given so many good gifts to us, so we don’t need to engage in unbiblical factionalism.  There’s certainly no need to be jealous, and boasting in men is rejects God’s provision.

Paul begins to conclude by reminding us of a precious gospel truth.  He says, “And you belong to Christ.”  Here is the ultimate anchor of unity, and it “reverses the Corinthian slogans from 1:12.”^[29]  They were saying they belonged to certain teachers, but they really belonged to Christ (“and not in the sanctimonious sense of 1:12”^[30]).  They needed to see that the teachers belonged to them, and every believe belongs to Christ.  Our identity is not found in a leader, a movement, or a tradition, but in our union with the Son of God.

And “Christ belongs to God,” Paul says.  Paul also notes in this letter that God (the Father) is the head of Christ (1 Cor 11:3; 15:28).  Christ, in His mediatorial role, belongs to God the Father.  This is so He can perfectly accomplishing His redemptive and sovereign will in all things.  And this reminds us that all things will eventually be subsumed by the Father.^[31]

This ordered relationship destroys all human pride.  Leaders are servants, belonging to the church.  The church belongs to Christ, and Christ belongs to the Father.  When we see our spiritual unity, we have no room for boasting.^[32]

IV.        Conclusion

This doesn’t mean that we don’t point out problems when there are some.  Remember, in Galatians 2, Paul stood up to Peter when he was acting hypocritically, and Paul is correcting the Corinthian behavior in this letter.  It would be wrong to conclude here that we shouldn’t say whether one leader is using the best philosophy or engaging a topic in an unbiblical way.

However, the world engages in simple “in and out” distinctions, lacking the greater unity we have in Christ.  We can appreciate the strengths some leaders have and give grace for their weaknesses.  We can do this when we treat our leaders as gifts rather than idols.

When we do this, unity is preserved and Christ is exalted.  This is how we strengthen the church.  So, may God grant us the humility to become “fools” in the eyes of the world, so that we may be truly wise in His sight in relation to both ministry and ministers.

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[1] Nick Rodriguez, Thabiti Anyabwile, “Evangelical Leaders: Tell Us to Vote for Clinton,” June 2, 2016, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabiti-anyabwile/evangelical-leaders-tell-us-to-vote-for-clinton/.

[2] Thabiti Anyabwile, “4 Problems Associated with White Evangelical Support of Donald Trump,” November 9, 2016, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabiti-anyabwile/4-problems-associated-with-white-evangelical-support-of-donald-trump/.

[3] As noted by Allie Beth Stuckey, October 16, 2024, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=865171882039509.

[4] Wyatt Graham, “Grace to You, John MacArthur,” https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/columns/detrinitate/grace-to-you-john-macarthur/.

^[5] David K. Lowery, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, 1985, 2, 512.

^[6] F. Alan Tomlinson, CSB Study Bible: Notes, 2017, 1815.

^[7] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 88.

^[8] Ibid.

^[9] Tomlinson.

^[10] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2249.

^[11] 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), 164.

^[12] Ibid.

^[13] Ibid., 90.

^[14] Ciampa.

^[15] Ibid., 165.

^[16] Ronald Trail, An Exegetical Summary of 1 Corinthians 1–9, (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2008), 142.

^[17] 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 3:21.

^[18] Tomlinson, 1817.

^[19] J. I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, and Ajith Fernando, Eds., ESV Global Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 1610.

^[20] MacArthur, 90.

^[21] Henry, 2250.

^[22] Ciampa, 167.

^[23] John MacArthur Jr., Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1733.

^[24] MacArthur, 1 Corinthians, 91–92.

^[25] MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible.

^[26] Ciampa.

^[27] Ibid.

^[28] MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible.

^[29] Andrew David Naselli, Romans–Galatians, 2020, X, 245.

^[30] Ibid.

^[31] Ciampa, 168.

^[32] MacArthur, 1 Corinthians, 93.