Last week, Brother Daniel said something that I have been thinking about. He said that when we look at life, we know that things are not supposed to be the way they are. When we look at a loved one dying of cancer, we know that things are not supposed to be like this. When we look at tragedies and injustice in our world, we know that things are not supposed to be like this. I want to add that even when we look at the darkness of our own hearts, we know that things are not supposed to be like this.
And in these moments, we cry out, Somebody, help me! Anybody! I want to follow up on that idea. We all know something is wrong so when we cry out, does anyone answer? Whether or not you believe that someone is there to answer is what separates fundamentally a person who does not believe in God vs. someone who does believe.
With that in mind, today, I want to talk about the difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God.
1) What is the wisdom of the world?
v18 – 18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise.
Here, we read about a direct clash between the wisdom of the standards of this age and the wisdom of God. You are wise in the ways of the world and the Bible says you are a fool. The reverse is also true. One who is wise in the ways of God quite often is labeled by this world as a fool. There is no gray area between these two definitions of wisdom. Things are rather black and white.
v19 explains a bit more. v19 – 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
This is a reference to Job 5:12-13.
Job 5:12-13 – 12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. 13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
Daniel preached on the book of Job not too long ago. If you recall, Job was a blameless and righteous man who underwent a series of trials. First, all of his oxen and his servants were carried off by attackers. Then, fire from heaven came down and consumed his sheep as well as his servants. Next, wind struck the house where his sons and daughters were feasting and the house collapsed and they all died. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was inflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Terrible tragedy after tragedy. Everything terrible that can happen does. My theory was that Job must be part Korean because his life is like a Korean drama. Paul quotes from Job 5:12 so let’s look at the surrounding context to understand why Paul is pulling from this verse.
Job 5:1 – 1 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?
Here is that same theme. Life is not supposed to be like this. Tragedy upon tragedy. You know something is wrong. Call if you will, but who will answer you? Job is calling out, somebody, anybody, but he is wondering if anyone hears him in the midst of his suffering.
Then, he states his view about life.
Job 5:7 – 7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
Man is born to trouble. Something is wrong. Trouble abounds. As surely as sparks fly upward and they do, there will be trouble. We will experience trouble at some point. That’s a certainty. This is what it means to live in a fallen world. If you have not experienced tragedy yet, it’s because you are too young. Sooner or later, tragedy hits all of us. No one is immune to tragedy. And when tragedy hits, we cry out. Is there anyone out there who can help me? But that’s not the end of the story. Job doesn’t stop there. In the midst of his cries, Job acknowledges that there is a God.
Job 5:8 – 8 “But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.
Then, we come to the verses that Paul is quoting in 1 Cor 3–
Job 5:12-13 – 12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. 13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
By quoting these verses from Job, Paul is likening the wisdom of the world to a crafty person whose plans are thwarted, whose hands are unable to achieve success, whose schemes are swept away.
That word “crafty” is very reminiscent of Gen 3 where Satan tempts Eve in the Garden of Eden. Please turn with me to Gen 3.
Satan, the complete antithesis of God, is described as more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. And humans in our scheming and planning are described with the very same word. Crafty. I don’t think this is an accident.
In the previous chapter, Gen 2, we read starting from v15 —
Gen 2:15-17 – 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
What was Satan using his craftiness to accomplish? What was the temptation? Take the fruit. Eat it. Why? Because Gen3:4 – “You will NOT surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
It was a perfect situation in Genesis 2. We had God over us, loving us, protecting us. And God placed us in a lush garden with all the fruit we could ever eat and the beauty of creation to enjoy. God supplied for all of our needs and we didn’t have to work for our sustenance. God and man dwelt together in perfect harmony. All was theirs to enjoy. They lacked nothing.
Then, why did man fall a chapter later? I believe it has to do with wisdom. Listen to the verse again, Gen 3:5 — 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, KNOWING good and evil.” The temptation was connected to this idea about knowledge.
This is the voice of Satan–God is holding out from you. He knows that if you eat that fruit, you are going to be as wise as God, knowing good and evil. And Eve took the fruit, Adam followed Eve’s lead and ever since, we have been wise in our own eyes.
That’s the essence of sin. God, I don’t need you. I want to call the shots. I know better. Sounds like a teenager rebelling against their parents. That’s happening here at a cosmic level. I want to do whatever I want, God. Leave me alone and humanity stormed off to its room and slammed the door.
And we have been on our own ever since. And the craftiness of Satan is now in our bloodstream.
What does the Bible think about this type of craftiness, this scheming, this knowledge of good and evil apart from God? Paul builds his case in 1 Cor 3:20, which is a reference to another OT text, Psalm 94:11.
Psalm 94:11 – 11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.
This is rather blunt. The thoughts of man are futile. Do you believe this? Do you believe that your thoughts which are based on the wisdom of the world, and all of the world systems, how the world works and functions, do you believe that all of this is absolute futility? That’s the bold statement that Paul is making here.
Mankind, post-Fall, we have been trying to do life on our own. And what happens when you are alone? You feel insecure. And what do you do when you feel insecure? You cover yourself. In Gen 3, as soon as they sinned, we read that Adam and Eve immediately knew they were naked and they sewed fig leaves to cover themselves. And we are still doing that to this day.
We cover ourselves with our achievements, with our degrees, with our position, our bank account. And those things define our identity.
That’s the wisdom of the world. We compete with others so that we can be on top. I got into this school and you didn’t. I make 6 figures, you don’t. I am a vice president, you aren’t. And the world says, invest your life to make yourself look as good as you can. So that people respect you. And your parents can brag about you to their friends. And people admire you. And others want to imitate you and become just like you.
But if we’re honest, we know that living this way is a farce. It’s a sham because when we are honest with ourselves, we acknowledge that those external things don’t change who we are on the inside. We look inside and we know something is wrong. We know that we are broken. We know that our desires and lusts and passions can overtake us if we let down our guards for a moment. We know we are self-centered. We know that we don’t have genuine concern for others. And we look at ourselves and our heart’s cry is “Can someone help me? Anyone?” But no one answers.
So what do we do? We keep sewing fig leaves. We project an image. I know I am not lovable so let me project a better me. A “me” that is all polished and shiny. Maybe in high school, you were a nerd who had no friends. But you come to college. No one knows you so you are free to reinvent yourself as the cool frat boy who loves to drink and party. Or someone whose got his act altogether. Not me at the end of a long day and I am just bumming around at home. But me when I am all showered and dressed up, and I’ve hidden all the skeletons in the closet, a me without any hangups. That’s what we project, but we know that is not who we are deep down inside.
This is the result of sin, when we kicked God out and we said, I am wise enough to navigate life on my own. God, I don’t need you. We became wise in our own eyes. And we’ve been doing life on our own ever since.
In contrast to the wisdom of the world, what is the wisdom of God?