Foolishness of God 1 Cor 3:18-20

@sonship said
@Kevin-Eleven

I am glad you got to see those groups in that setting and at that age and in those times (I gather you are about a decade or so older than me -- born in late 1959).

Bingo. Late 49 for me.

My sympathies. I imagine your teenage and 20s years were more stressful than mine because of events at large.

E.G., in 1968 I was an eight-year-old deciding that I wanted to be a magician for a career, and in 1972 we were learning the lyrics to Age of Aquarius and how to tie-dye T-shirts in junior-high art class.

@eladar said
1 Corinthians 3:18-20

.19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”

Nowhere does this scripture talk about God being foolish; that is a perversion of the truth being deployed by you.

"It is the Wisdom of the world that is foolishness with God", So the thinking of the world is the issue.

John made the point 1 John 2:15-17

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

So the thinking of the world is not the thinking of God.

Later John also tells us us

"We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19)."

So if the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one, and it is the wisdom of the world that is being challenged, that does not make God foolish, but those who adopt the thinking of the world.

@medullah said
John made the point 1 John 2:15-17

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Time the holy frock out.

If everything that is was made through Christ, The Logos, then all that is from God, transitory or not, worldly or not.

Hating the things of the world is essentially hating the gifts of the Creator, whether He intended those specific gifts or whether he just set up the parameters (The Logos) in the magic-crystal tank of the Cosmos.

Also, John is not Jesus. Paul is not Jesus. St. Augustine is not Jesus. I don't care how hard they tripped or how fine their powers of reason and intuition -- I don't recognize their authority. This is a side issue from the possibility that Jesus never existed.

@medullah


Let's get more of a grip on what Paul wrote about "the foolishness of God" (I hope).

Where Paul speaks of this it is in about the Corinthians being distracted from the wisdom of God embodied in Jesus - the apostles' teaching. They were distracted from Christ by the Greek philosophical teachings and the Jewish Jadaistic mixture teaching.

I think this line starts in chapter 1 verse 18.
"For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

The preaching of the cross seems foolishness to the Greek philosophical mind and weakness to the old covenant Jewish mind. By the preaching of the cross many think redemption by the blood is meant. I have been convinced that this is not his emphasis. His emphasis is in DENIAL of the fleshly old man regardless how seemingly "wise" or "strong" it is in the eyes of the world.

God has chosen this seemingly foolish preaching of the cross to shame the wise.

"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe." (1:21)

I make this post short. But Paul is countering the tendency of the Corinthians to pit one apostle against another and bragging that this one is better than that one, and so and so forth. They are preoccupied with the showiness of human wisdom.

I'll stop here.

The Greek influenced Corinthians were impressed with what appeared to be worldly wisdom and physical prowess as their athletes. And Jewish religious and philosophy were also distracting them from Christ.

Paul gives ZERO ground for them to regard him as wise in a worldly way with impressive Greek sounding philosophy. Rather Paul says the apostle's peaching is the foolishness of God WISER than the so-called worldly wisdom of human and religious philosophy.

"But WE [including the other apostles Peter, and Apollos] preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness. But to those who are 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." (1:23-25) .

What is the power of God? - a PERSON - Jesus Christ.
How will God win some to Himself?
Not by the display of worldly wisdom but by the foolishness of preaching.

A Person, Jesus Christ, IS the Wisdom and Power of God.
This is not easy to grasp. But this is the essence of the Gospel.
It must lead you to receive a PERSON - a living and available Person -
Christ.

In this thread imo Eladar has applied much of this to belief about creation as God has told us. And that is OK I feel. The context I think is about God's wisdom is embodied in a PERSON - Christ the Available Lord and Savior.

Paul was very educated. And if he wanted to he could have wowed the Corinthians with his ability to elaborate philosophy. He purposely decided to not do this and preached Christ the perfect man who DIED a shameful death on a cross in denying Himself to fulfill God's plan of redemption.

He also said for them to relax and stop pitting one worker against another. ALL the workers belonged to the Christians. If they were interested in becoming spiritual men everything and everyone God could provide for them for this cause.

"So then let no one boast in men, for all things are yours, Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all are yours.

But you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. " (3:21-23)

May EVERYTHING in the world help steer me towards gaining more Christ.

IF you learn how to benefit from all things, all things and persons are yours for the gaining of Christ.

Whether Trump or Biden or Paul or Augustine or life or death or things now or things in the future. You can use all things and all persons to help you GAIN more of Christ , letting Him come into you and grow in you.

That's Paul in First Corinthians.

Suzianne, did you see that?

Whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump or Republicans or Democrats of AOC or Ted Cruz, let them ALL cause you to call on the Lord Jesus, turn to the Lord Jesus, open to the Lord Jesus, press you into the Lord Jesus, entice you to pursue Jesus.

@medullah said
Nowhere does this scripture talk about God being foolish; that is a perversion of the truth being deployed by you.

"It is the Wisdom of the world that is foolishness with God", So the thinking of the world is the issue.

John made the point 1 John 2:15-17

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in h ...[text shortened]... is being challenged, that does not make God foolish, but those who adopt the thinking of the world.

I have already cleared up this issue. Obviously you have not read the thread.

1 Cor 1:25

For the foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and the weakness of God is stronger than mankind.



---God's foolishness is in the Bible.

Elader,

If you want Christ and more Christ let EVERYTHING steer you To and Towards Christ.

No need to boast in anything. All things are there sovereignly used by God to move you to experience Christ. Even life and death. All are yours. All are mine. Everything is the best that it could be for the gaining of Jesus Christ.

"So then let no one boast in men, for all things are yours, Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come . . . " or Rajk999 or sonship or Divegeester or Duchess. All are yours.

"But you are Christ's, and Christ is God's"

Let all things press you more and more into Christ. The is the true benefit of all persons and things.

@suzianne said
You are no lover of God.

What do you think of his OP though?

@eladar said
Why would God create a Universe with false information in place? I believe 1 Cor 3 has the answer.

Isn’t this a little like asking why do bad things happen?

@eladar said
The wisdom of man says that the creation account in Genesis is false.

You seem to be ignoring this fact.

Here is the quote again, in case you missed it.

Take care that no one deceives himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 

Yeah it’s just another example of religious extremists taking their usual anti intellectual stance.
The PEOPLE who wrote the Bible are trying to preempt any intellect based critique of its illogical nature.

@kevcvs57

Pointing out the limits of knowledge is being anti-intellectual? I call it being anti-stupid.