To boast in spiritual giants is also to destroy the temple of God, the church. To do this is to be in the flesh and to walk according to men (3:3-4). Thus, we must be careful not to have preferences in elders, co-workers, or in brothers and sisters. Along with learning not to bring our nature, being, and doings into the church, we must also learn not to have preferences for any persons. If we exalt a certain person, we shall mar, defile, destroy, the temple of God, and we shall suffer God’s punishment.
In verse 18 Paul says, “Let no one deceive himself: if anyone among you thinks himself to be wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise.” Both the Judaizing believers and the philosophizing Greek believers deceived themselves by bringing the elements of Judaism and Greek philosophy into the building up of the church. The apostle’s thought here centers mainly on those Greek believers who highly esteemed the wisdom of their philosophy (1:22).
To boast in spiritual giants is also to think ourselves to be wise and thus to be self-deceived. Those who exalt a certain person regard themselves as wiser than others. The ones who exercise their philosophical mind are those who exalt others. To think ourselves more clever than others and to exalt certain persons is to be self-deceived. Exalting spiritual giants not only destroys the church; it also causes us to be self-deceived. According to the context of verse 18, deceiving ourselves is related to exalting man. Nevertheless, many think that there is nothing wrong with exalting others. For example, someone may say, “Brother So-and-so is one of the best elders. I like him, and I am for him.” This may sound harmless, but it is actually damaging to the church. In the Lord’s recovery there must not be the exalting of any person.
In verse 18 Paul charges the one who thinks himself to be wise in this age to become foolish that he may become wise. To become foolish here is to forsake the wisdom of philosophy and receive the simple word concerning Christ and His cross (1:21, 23). To become wise is to take the wisdom of God in making Christ everything to us (1:24, 30; 2:6-8).
Although it is easy to become wise and difficult to become foolish, everyone in the Lord’s recovery must learn to become foolish in the sense in which Paul speaks in verse 18. Actually all believers today are “Greeks,” for we are philosophical in our own way. Thus, we need to become foolish in order that we may become wise. The more foolish we become in the proper sense, the more enjoyment we shall have. But the more we become wise in a philosophical way, the less enjoyment we shall have. Furthermore, the growth in life in the churches depends on this. If we are all willing to become foolish, we shall experience much progress in the growth in life.
In the church life it is necessary that we learn to become foolish that we may have God’s wisdom. Then God’s revelation will come to us. Those who receive the most revelation from God are those who have learned to become foolish. As a result, they have God’s wisdom.