The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.

 

The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.

 

1 Corinthians 3:19-20: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God, as it is written: ‘He causes the wise to fall into their own traps.’ And the Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

The wisdom of this world refers to humanistic thought. Humanism appears rational and wise to worldly people, but it is foolish to God. This is because God’s thoughts and human thoughts are different.

Humanism signifies a Christian ideology that is human-centered rather than God-centered. While humanism exists as various topics, one cannot help but speak about humanism regarding the view of salvation. The core themes of the view of salvation are the problem of sin and resurrection.

First, regarding sin, humanistic thought regards the disobedience of God’s commands as the root of sin; therefore, it accepts that keeping the commandments means there is no sin. However, no matter how strictly one tries to keep the commandments, it is impossible to eliminate the greed of the heart. Therefore, the root of sin is the greed to become like God. That greed is the command to die with Jesus Christ, yet they believe that keeping the commandments makes them free from sin. This is exactly what the Pharisees thought.

Believers must remember that humans are not beings capable of fighting against sin. The only way to fight against sin is to die with Jesus Christ. However, if one regards the fact that God has forgiven all sins through Jesus Christ as a thing of the past, they will burn with their own will against sin. Thus, a misguided belief regarding sin leads to such results. God bestows the grace of forgiveness upon those who believe that He has died with Jesus; this forgiveness extends not only to past sins but also to present and future sins. Romans 8:1-2 states, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death."

Christians steeped in humanistic ideology do not accept the words of Romans 8:1-2 as pertaining to the present and future. They dismiss the gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ as a thing of the past and regard the precious blood of the cross merely as a means to receive forgiveness for sins. Consequently, they put themselves first and work diligently to avoid committing sin. Amidst their efforts to refrain from sin, they are permeated with the perception that breaking the commandments is sin, while keeping and obeying them is not. They believe that by refraining from sin and becoming good people, they will eventually return to the Kingdom of God.

For Christians steeped in humanism, the effort to avoid sin is synonymous with becoming a good person. They engage in various activities with a good heart and believe that becoming good is the very path to returning to God. They believe that although they have been forgiven for past sins through the work of Jesus on the cross, they must now wage a good fight in the future.

 

Secondly, regarding resurrection, believers with humanistic ideologies consider it to be something that takes place after the death of the physical body. This is because, if they speak of a present resurrection, they cannot ignore the physical body that appears through their physical eyes. This is because they believe that resurrection involves the death of the physical body and resurrection into a spiritual body.

Resurrection signifies a spiritual resurrection, meaning a return to the past. Before becoming human, one existed as an angelic spirit in the Kingdom of God, but became human because of a sin against God. Therefore, resurrection is the return of the spirit within a human being to the Kingdom of God. Resurrection is the spirit putting on a spiritual body rather than a physical one. From the perspective of believers, this becomes a concept that cannot be accepted.

"He causes the wise to fall into their own schemes." This passage is from Job 5:12-14, which reads: "God breaks the schemes of the cunning and prevents their hands from succeeding; He causes the wise to fall into their own traps and destroys the schemes of the deceitful. Thus they find darkness in the daytime and grope in broad daylight as at night."

 

Although it is unknown who wrote the Book of Job or when, biblical scholars believe it was influenced by wisdom literature, which began to increase during the period of the return of the Israelites after their exile. The opening scene of the Book of Job unfolds against a backdrop of the heavens, where Satan—the accuser—appears before God and proposes a wager concerning Job, whom God regards as an exemplary man and a blameless saint. Satan immediately sets his work in motion, destroying everything belonging to Job, including his children. However, the wise Job accepts it with composure. "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will return naked." "The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)

Disappointed, Satan returned to God and complained that the wager was not fair. He said that if he were to inflict pain on Job's body, he would become less philosophical. God granted Satan's request but commanded that he not be killed. (Job 2:6) Satan caused hideous bedsores to develop from Job's head to his toes. However, Job did not collapse. Job did not sin, saying, "We have received blessing from God, so we shall not receive disaster." (Job 2:10)

 

All of this constitutes the main argument of the Book of Job: the debate between Job and the three comforters. Job refuses to be comforted. When faced with such a situation, anyone would initially refuse to be comforted.

The visitors to Job were not family, but friends. They could also be described as teachers of wisdom. By refusing to be comforted, Job was raising questions about the worldview of wisdom. When Job lamented, his companions politely pointed out that he did not follow the norms of wisdom they had taught. However, Job rejects these norms of wisdom. He repeatedly says, "This cannot be." Job finally questions divine justice itself. "God should bless the righteous and punish the wicked; anyone with eyes will know that this is not true." (Job 13:1-19)

"Some die quietly and peacefully, in full strength; their vessels are full of milk, and their bones are healthy. Others live and die in pain; they have never tasted blessing. When both lie down in the dust, maggots will cover them." (Job 21:23-26)

These words appear to be orthodox wisdom, but in Job's eyes, they are not. However, a dramatic conclusion arrives as God intervenes and speaks to Job amidst the storm, saying, "Job, you know nothing." He was saying that you actually know nothing about the great operating principles of the world (Job 38:4-7, 17-21).

When people filter God's word through their own experiences, the opinions of others, and preconceived notions about God, they prevent everyone within the sphere of influence of their actions from enjoying the principles of God's word. In fact, God hides the truth from those who try to understand it according to their own thoughts. That is why God was so angry with Job and his friends, and He is just as angry today when believers wrongly represent His way.

Humanism prevents people from knowing the truth. Jesus said to deny oneself. This means not to put forward thoughts derived from the flesh before God's word. Then, God's amazing word of wisdom will work to guide the saints to the right path. This applies to the Gospel. We must preach the death on the cross and the present resurrection, but judging by our existing knowledge, we will encounter resistance from the believers.