1 Corinthians – Posted By Midnight

Notes on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

There are truly only a few things that can garner true influence in society: money- and with it, belongings, the right personal connections, and wisdom. Wisdom, perhaps, comes the closest to any sort of egalitarian standard for granting power. It comes with a respect that money cannot buy and connections cannot produce.

It is worth noting that there are limitations to wisdom as a threshold for influence in the world. This is because perceived wisdom and actual wisdom are two different things. Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians a few times, but in chapter 1 verses 18-31, he describes Christ and worldly wisdom to be diametrically opposed when he says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-19, “For the message 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; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’” (New International Version)

In order to be wise in actuality, one is required to understand what is not only true but what is most important as truth. That which is at the top of the hierarchy of truth must be understood first before anything else can be understood if one seeks to be considered wise. It is not necessarily knowledge, but the discernment of what actually matters, that determines wisdom. This is precisely why, as Paul says in verse 27, “…God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.” (NIV) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but worldly wisdom grows pride, thus insuring that wisdom cannot develop. The root of actual wisdom is the acceptance that one can do nothing to be righteous, but that Christ died so that you can be righteous before him. Worldly wisdom is dedicated to seeking out solutions for becoming righteous by one’s own efforts. Because of the intrinsic pride of worldly wisdom in this way, it happens that actual wisdom will automatically register as being illogical to those with a pride block preventing them from seeing reality. But those who have not had much to boast in at all, and those who have seen the underbelly of the human experience, are far less likely to have a pride block than those who have been exalted among humans for wisdom. This makes it much easier for them to choose the actual wisdom of the gospel. When Christ said, “[…] it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle that for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,” as recorded in Matthew 19:24, we understand that whatever will make one prideful will be a serious stumbling block that can prevent people from receiving Christ. (NIV) Wisdom and wealth are both things that lead people to be exalted in their own eyes and those of others. It is much more difficult to sacrifice pride when one has been exalted than to give up pride when one has nothing else to lose. So this is how the truly wise have accepted Christ and how those who are wise among the worldly have not.

An Introduction to Truth Blocking

Christianity reflects truth. Honest seekers of truth without spiritual blocking must ascent to this fact. Part of the warfare against the Church therefore is funneling falsehoods into religious practice and doctrine. This phenomenon builds a couple of stumbling blocks. The first of these is to mislead those in the Church into being absolutely convicted that a falsehood reflects absolute reality and what it means to serve Christ. The second of these is to dissuade open seekers of the truth when it is clear that there are inconsistencies, that there is something deeply wrong in what they are told is the genuine expression of the Christian life.

These stumbling blocks explain precisely what is wrong in the West concerning religion. In particular it is why so many Westerners say that they like Jesus but hate Christianity and the hypocrisy they associate it with. The Bible says multiple times that all fall short of the goodness of God, that no one can earn salvation, and that the sanctification of the saved is a process that requires endurance- you will still make mistakes but must keep pursuing righteousness. This is poorly conveyed to people in the Church, let alone outside of it, so there is simply no context for why people in the Church are able to be hypocrites. Nor is there explanation on the reality of false believers who go into the Church to wreak havoc. The acknowledgment of false believers is in fact almost nonexistent. The key exception to this is to be found in the charismatic wing of the Church and this is not a coincidence. How you view the spiritual realm and its connection to your world will determine what precisely you think of spiritual warfare, if you think much of it at all. In addition, it is the consequence of one particular stumbling block, which is the widespread illiteracy of the Bible. It is difficult to have important conversations across the Church as well because the languages and contexts of Christianity are far too wide ranging. Some of this cannot be helped temporarily. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we only see a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (NIV) This is why salvation is by the grace of God alone- we cannot possibly have full understanding in our present state, therefore we will sometimes err. But there is also the issue of knowing what is in the Bible. It would be scandalous how unfamiliar Christians were with the Bible if more people cared. Misapplication of scripture is the twin stumbling block of Biblical ignorance with its own whole history and contemporary presence.

There are three key weapons against truth blocking: knowledge, honesty, and love. Christians must read the Bible and seek to understand what they are reading, meaning that substantial prayer must be considered a part of studying Scripture. Christians must seek to emulate Christ. In particular, they need to emulate the love and honesty of Christ, not only because these are important in and of themselves but because the main accusations against Christians are that they are dishonest, hypocritical, and unloving. These accusations are used as weapons to convince Christians to stray as well. So, the war on truth blocking is not only a war of apologetics, but of discipleship as well.