In verse 19 Paul continues, “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will set aside.” Once again Paul introduces this verse with the word “for,” showing that it also is an explanation of what has gone before. Here Paul points out that God does not care for the wisdom of the wise or the understanding of the prudent. Rather, He will destroy this wisdom and set aside this understanding.
Paul’s intention in verse 19 was to refer in particular to the philosophical Greeks. It seems as if Paul was saying, “You Greeks think that you are wise and prudent. You do not realize that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the understanding of the prudent. If you regard yourselves as wise, God will destroy your wisdom. If you consider yourselves prudent, God will set aside your prudence. It is dangerous to regard yourselves as wise or prudent, for you run the risk of being destroyed by God or of being set aside by Him.”
In verse 20 Paul asks a number of questions: “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Where are the wise today? Are they in Greece? In New Zealand? In America? In Taiwan? It is common for those with a certain national or cultural background to regard themselves as the most wise and philosophical of people. Perhaps such ones are wiser than others, but they are not wiser than God in the heavens. In the church life we should not practice any particular wisdom. Furthermore, in the church life we should not be scribes or disputers. However, the leading ones in certain places may pride themselves in thinking that the young people under their training are scribes and disputers. But the Bible asks, “Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age?” God has in fact made foolish the wisdom of the world.
In verse 21 Paul goes on to say, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.” Here the preaching differs from preaching. Preaching is the means to minister the word. The preaching here is the thing preached, that is, the message. God is pleased through the foolishness of the preaching, the message, the thing preached, to save those who believe.
In this verse Paul refers to the foolishness of the message. In my speaking and writing I intentionally use simple expressions. Others have advised me against this practice saying that the use of simple expressions does not attract learned people. However, I do not want to use eloquent expressions. That is not to preach Christ or the cross. In the preaching of Christ and the cross, we should use simple terms and expressions. We are not those who preach the excellency of speculation. Thus, we should follow the example of John in his Gospel. His writing is very simple. For example, John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In verse 4 John says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” In verse 14 he tells us simply, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”
In preaching Christ and the cross to philosophical people Paul spoke in a simple way. According to our opinion, he should have exercised his knowledge to put forth excellent words of philosophical speculation. Paul, however, deliberately avoided this. When he went to Corinth to preach Christ and the cross, he chose not to know anything of excellent utterance. On the contrary, he used simple and brief expressions, expressions which may have been regarded as foolishness by philosophical Greeks. Nevertheless, Paul says that God uses the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. By the preaching of Christ and the cross in a simple way, people believe and are saved. As a result, we have the assurance that they believe not in our excellency of speech, but in Christ and the cross as preached by us.