1CO 3:19 "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness" (Job 5:13);
20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." (Psalm 94:11)
21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (that is, Peter) or the world or life or death or the present or the future - all are yours,
23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God."

This is our text this morning. There are many passages in God’s word that deal with wisdom. Another word which is often associated with wisdom is the word understanding. To have understanding is to have a working knowledge of something and then to be able to act appropriately.

This is really what wisdom is all about. If you have an understanding of building materials, for example, you know that you don’t want to build an outside deck to your house with 1"x 2" strips of wood as your deck. 2"x 4"’s are much more suitable. Having this knowledge allows you to choose the appropriate materials. And an observer who also has such knowledge might call that a wise choice.

Having an understanding of how your spouse reacts to your body language when she says to take the garbage out could be very helpful in avoiding a problem. The roll of your eyes, the exhale of your breath in disgust all contribute to your wife’s reaction to you. You know this because you’ve done these things before.

You have an understanding of how all of this works with your wife. With this understanding and knowledge you make the choice not to roll the eyes and cop an attitude, but instead you immediately get up off the couch as you leave the room and your favorite NFL team, and you take the garbage out without any fuss. Most would call that being wise.

And so, even from a worldly standpoint, there is a great deal of wisdom potentially being practiced in homes all across the United States. You don’t need to be a Christian, for example, to be able to practice such wisdom, though it certainly helps to have the Spirit of God in your life to humble yourself in such situations.

And so, when Paul addresses wisdom in somewhat a negative way, he doesn’t mean to suggest that there’s only one kind of wisdom of this world.

1CO 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness";
20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."

Having wisdom can take you pretty far down the road of life. But there is something which is called wisdom in this world which turns out to be anything but wisdom. And it has to do with having that proper understanding of spiritual things and then being able to take that understanding and make the right choice which demonstrates that wisdom has been employed.

Now, when we talk about spiritual wisdom we would be hard pressed to claim to have a proper understanding unless we were spiritual. The problem with the world is that they are not spiritual in the sense that they understand the things of the Spirit of God.

1CO 2:14 "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

What Paul is saying is that the natural man, or the man without the Spirit of God, cannot understand the things of the Spirit because he sees only with worldly eyes. And yet, the world claims to be spiritual in that they believe to have answers which would seem spiritual in nature.

Look at the Shirley McClaine’s of this world, or the followers of the Heaven’s Gate Cult, or any of the countless cults which are trying to address the spiritual side of man, but it is a spiritual side which is dead spiritually.

EPH 2:1 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."

Obviously, they were not dead physically, they were dead spiritually. The word dead in Eph.2:1 is the Greek word nekros which means a corpse, or lifeless. That would be like a corpse claiming to have any wisdom at all.

In fact, you can address any corpse with the two issues we looked at a moment ago with building materials and marital relationships, and chances are pretty good they wouldn’t give you much insight.

In a similar way, the man without Christ, who does not have the Spirit, and is therefore not spiritual in a saving way, cannot claim to have spiritual wisdom which would allow him to know the one true God. They may come close. They may even have a knowledge of the truth.

But, unless you take the biblical knowledge and put it into practice by relinquishing self as the end all in spiritual matters, and humble yourself before your God and Creator, who is the only way to life, then your wisdom is so much smoke. It doesn’t have any real substance for all of its apparent wisdom.

And this is what Paul is addressing back in our text. He’s not suggesting, even as we saw last week, that there isn’t a great deal of wisdom in this world with advances in medicine and science and technologies of all sorts. But how does building a space station bring you any closer to having your sins forgiven?

How does discovering Viagra make you any more virile spiritually? How does the computer fill you with anything but what man has programmed into it? All of these things may be beneficial to mankind, but in themselves they cannot impart spiritual truths to unspiritual people who are dead in their trespasses and sins.

And so, to boast in such worldly wisdom as though it can contribute to our salvation, Paul calls it what it really is in light of the One who has given us true spiritual wisdom.

Again, Paul is saying that compared to the wisdom which leads to salvation, worldly wisdom is at best, worldly. It can’t take you beyond this world to be with God forever. Therefore, to substitute it for spiritual wisdom is nothing but foolishness. And it’s a foolishness which is deadly as it leads to eternal damnation.

But there’s something else Paul implies with this statement and that is that Christians must be very careful not to substitute the world’s wisdom for spiritual wisdom which allows them to grow spiritually.

In fact, this was evidently a problem with this city called Corinth which was a hub of worldly activity. Shipping from all over the world brought every conceivable new teaching and technique to people so they could grow in a way that would make them more worldly.

And these Christians in Corinth were right in the middle of it all. They were being torn in every direction with the kind of wisdom which seemed right to their unbelieving friends and neighbors, but it was of no use to their spiritual growth in Christ. And this is one reason Paul addresses them the way he does earlier in this letter.

1CO 2:4 "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,
5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

And what we find is that when you rest on the wisdom of men, when trying to grow spiritually in Christ, it will effect your walk with Christ in an adverse way. Why do you think these people in Corinth were being rebuked by Paul when it came to them saying, "I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas"?

They had taken their eyes off of spiritual wisdom found in Christ and His word and began placing their emphasis on men. What may have looked like a spiritual endeavor, was worldly and ineffective and carnal.

1CO 3:1 "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly -mere infants in Christ."

If you want to stay an infant in your walk with Christ, look to the teachings of mere men and the philosophies of the world and then try to incorporate them into your daily walk with Christ. You’ll be very successful. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many success stories in this area. But what the world calls successful, God calls foolish.

COL 1:9 "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding."

If we would be spiritual, then we must seek the things of the Spirit. And one of the main things of the Spirit is the word of God which the Holy Spirit inspired. To cast this spiritual activity aside in favor of activities which feed only the flesh is to shoot ourselves in the foot, spiritually speaking.

But together with gaining spiritual knowledge and understanding, true spiritual wisdom will then work itself out in the real world with dedication and obedience to our Lord and Master. If we say we have spiritual wisdom and yet walk according to the wisdom of this world, one has to wonder who our master really is.

Again, let me emphasize that the wisdom of this world; and you can plug into that definition any activity which may have a form of godliness but denies the power of God’s true spiritual wisdom, be it science for science’s sake, technology for technology’s sake, or philosophy for philosophy’s sake. All of it, when used to add anything to the only true spiritual wisdom, is nothing more than extra baggage which gets in the way of the pure word of God.

1CO 3:20 ... "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile (useless)." (Psalm 94:11)

David puts it very well in Psalm 49 as he describes a wise man of this world who puts his confidence in himself.

PSA 49:10 "For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.
12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings."

So, what should our attitude be towards placing our confidence in men and in the wisdom of this world? Back to our text.

1CO 3:21 "So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future - all are yours,
23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God."

Very interesting statement here by Paul. He concludes by saying that there should be no more boasting in men. Remember, that Paul had to alter their thinking in this regard since they had placed one man above another, and in doing so they took their eyes off of God and actually caused division in the body of Christ.

1CO 1:11 "My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
12 What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas" still another, "I follow Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?"

The implied answer is, no, Christ is not divided. Let your unity be found in Him alone and His will, according to His word.

1CO 4:6 "Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another."

When we go beyond what is written in the word of God, as it relates to our salvation and sanctification, we enter into uncharted waters and we find ourselves steering wherever the wind blows as every wind of false teaching and worldly wisdom vies to fill our sails.

Paul says, "get back to the map and follow the path your Lord and Savior has given you. And don’t stray to the right or to the left. If you’re going to boast in anything, boast in your Savior who has given you life."

1CO 1:31 "Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.""

What does Paul mean when he says, all things are yours, as he then gives a list of the same men he warned not to place your trust in? He also says, the world is yours, life is yours, death is yours, the present and the future are yours, and you are of Christ and Christ is of God.

What in the world is he talking about? Well for starters Paul switches from a rebuke to an encouragement. Though these Corinthian believers, and by extension you and me, may not be of the world through faith in Christ they are still living in the world.

This world was created by God for man’s good. There is nothing inherently wrong with the world per se, albeit it has been affected by the curse of sin. There is nothing inherently evil with money, for example. But the love of money will lead to all sorts of evil, even as the love of this world in general will, as well.

But he starts by saying that all things belong to you and then he names three men; himself, Apollos and Cephas. What Paul is saying here is that God has given these men to you for a blessing. They have been given by God to teach them, to shepherd them, to encourage them and build them up in their faith.

It wasn’t a coincidence that they crossed paths with these Corinthians. Christ placed them in each others lives for the good of all in that encounter. The Sovereign will of God put these people together and these Corinthians should rejoice that God desires for them to be a blessing to each other.

Now, the Corinthians took a blessing and turned into something worldly. Paul says to look at the same people and see them the way God sees them; servants who can help you to grow in your relationship with Christ, not as a mean of dividing the body.

Without trying to sound presumptuous, the same is true today. Being part of the same spiritual family, I belong to you, and you belong to me, so that we might help each other grow up in Christ.

It is no coincidence, Paul would tell us, that we are connected to each other, first and foremost in Christ, but also in proximity, be that time or the place in which we live. Do you realize that God ordains even the place where we live?

ACT 17:26 "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."

Have you ever considered why you weren’t born in the 13th century, for example, as opposed to the 20th? Why weren’t you born in Thailand, instead of where you were?

We belong to each other because God wants us to belong to each other. We’re family in Christ and we have a mission as well as a privilege to work with each other in this mission as God has ordained it. But simply because we belong to each other in this sense does not mean we can have the wrong view of each other. Thus, not to place any man above God and His will.

All things are ours, even the world. In what sense? Well, where do we live? We live on this planet called earth. This is our world to the extent that God has placed us here. But for the believer it is much more significant that the world is ours. As one commentator puts it, "this world redeemed by Christ is the Christian’s workshop. And in that workshop he glorifies his lord..." (Simon J. Kistemaker)

Originally, the world was created in a perfect state. When sin entered the world it was adversely affected.

ROM 8:20 "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

Many people believe that this world belongs to Satan. That could not be further from the truth. He may have authority in this world and he may be the prince of the power of the air, and he may have even deceitfully given the impression that this world is his as he offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world. Remember that?

MAT 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'

Notice that Satan does not offer Jesus any real estate, but only the kingdoms of the world, which really implies authority and power.

This world was created by God and He has not given the deed to it to Satan. Listen to what the psalmist says, together with Moses who wrote Deuteronomy.

PSA 50:9 "I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it."

DEU 10:14 "To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it."

It is God’s world to give and He has not given it to Satan. In fact, He has actually given it to man. This was what God spoke of after He created Adam and Eve.

GEN 1:26 "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground -everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so."

David concurs with what God told Adam and Eve in regards to who really has been given the privilege of ruling over and managing the earth.

PSA 115:15 "May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man."

And now, Paul says, that Christians should consider this earth and how God has given it into our hands to advance His will which is to bring all men into the presence of God through the truth of who He is and how that relationship is accomplished through faith in Christ.

But one day we will truly reign over an earth which will be transformed, not only in the millennial reign of Christ on this earth, but in the new heavens and new earth. But until that time, this world is ours to use to God’s glory as we seek not to make this earth our ultimate residence, but like pilgrims use it as a stepping stone to a greater land.

"All are yours, life and death." What a strange thing to say. But it’s actually true. Life belongs to us as well as death. Life, primarily spiritual life, is ours in Christ who is the giver of life; an eternal life that will never fade or diminish in any way, reserved in heaven for us who believe. But as possessors of life, may we never forget who gave it to us.

What about death? Yes, it is ours as well. But "the great enemy of mankind has been overcome. Christ has conquered death, and through Him we have conquered death. Unless we are raptured, we will have to pass through death; but we will pass through it as its master not its slave. All death can do to the believer is to deliver him to Jesus. That is why Paul could say, "for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."" (Phil.1:20) (John MacArthur)

What about things present and things to come? Yes, these are ours as well. Things present includes all of life. The good, the bad, the joys as well as the disappointments, the health and the sickness. Everything in this life, both present and future are meant to be used to the glory of God and our good.

Rom.8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

But things to come are not limited to what happens tomorrow, but also to what happens in eternity. And eternity in heaven with our God and Savior are just as surely ours in Christ as the very breath we have been given by God today.

And why? Because we are of Christ and Christ is of God. This brings us back to the problem of division Paul has been dealing with in this letter. In a positive way he speaks of unity. But this unity can only be accomplished in Christ. And if we are in Christ by faith we no longer belong to ourselves.

We belong to the One who purchased us by His shed blood on the cross. Our belonging to Christ is an eternal purchase. As surely as Christ is of God and we are of Christ there is an eternal connection which cannot be severed. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Our unity in the Spirit is dependent on our unity in Christ as we are united to the Father and Creator of this world. And Jesus Himself desires this unity to His glory. His prayer to the Father sums it up for us.

JOH 17:20 "My prayer is ..... for those who will believe in me through their message,
21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

This is our Father’s desire as well our Lord and Savior’s desire for us. How that is accomplished is to direct our eyes off of self and the wisdom of this world and put them back on the One who is our life.

With a unity like this in the Spirit we have the same goal with the same gospel, which speaks of a magnificent Savior who has loved us with an everlasting love. May we love Him above all as we love each other, to His honor and glory.

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