For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
There have been no shortage of people in recent days, highly intelligent people lining up to tell us what Jesus would say about this or that topic. Sadly however much of it disagrees with what Jesus himself tells us in the Bible.
The very danger is that we buy into the world's view of wisdom, the world lauds us for our intelligence, our understanding and our progressive outlook. When we are tempted by this it is good to come back to the words of Paul.
The message of the cross will never be acceptable to the intellectual elite, it is after all the message of murdered saviour, the wise things in the world have been shamed by the things that are not. This is not to say that Christianity is a religion that will not bear scrutiny and test. However it is not a religion that will be proved by our own understanding alone.
I am happy to be considered an intellectual Pygmy and to preach the message of the cross which I do because I know that in preaching that message truly I am standing on the shoulders of giants.
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