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26th August 2025
TuesdayReflection
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'John Piper'
founder and teacher of Desiring God.org
'The Wisdom of God's Word'
1 Corinthians 3 v 18-23
The Inexhaustible Psychological Wisdom of God's Word
One of the many things that continually deepen my confidence in the Bible as God's word is the ability of Scripture to lay bare the complexities of my heart.
The psychological wisdom of the word of God is inexhaustible.
And today's text is an example of Paul's insight.
I hope you'll see, before we're done, into the complex seemingly contradictory workings of the human heart - mine and yours.
Now here we are at the end of this series on 1 Corinthians 1-3.
The main problem in Corinth that Paul has been struggling to conquer or overcome, boasting, pride, boasting in men, in particular people.
We saw it first in "I belong to Paul . . . I belong to Apollos . . . I belong to Cephas."
These people lining up behind their favourite teachers and boasting as though their teacher were the best teacher.
So here's this boasting at Corinth. Boasting that is ruining the soul of the boasters.
It's rending the fabric of the community, and it's robbing God of his glory.
So here at the end of the chapter, he says, one more time, "Let no one boast of men."
And he surrounds this exhortation, this command, with reasons for why we shouldn't boast in men.
Now, why we shouldn't boast is this: the wisdom in which they were boasting isn't really wisdom.
If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.
The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing
The foolishness of God is wiser than men.
In other words, if you want to be really wise, he says you're going to have to think and believe some foolish things.
That is, foolish as the world judges.
You're going to have to think and believe that a bloody crucified Jewish teacher is the Lord of the universe and its maker.
Absurd, ridiculous as the world would judge.
And you're going to have to do something, namely, you're going to have to believe and act upon the belief that the pathway that leads to joy is the Calvary Road, which, of course, the world thinks is also crazy.
So, in order to be really wise with God, you will have to become fools of man which simply means that the wisdom that is causing you to boast - human wisdom - isn't wisdom.
You see Paul quotes from two Old Testament texts: Job 5 and Psalm 94.
He says: "He," meaning God, "catches the wise in their own craftiness" (Job 5:13).
You might be able to get to the moon with human wisdom, but you'll never get right with God. And which is more important?
Like the prodigal son, when he came to his right mind, he came back to God.
What could be more important in your life than whether you go to hell or get right with God and go to heaven forever?
Now, if you ponder this for a moment and ask, "What's the root of boasting that Paul is attacking here in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20?"
I think the answer would be self-exaltation - an inflated view of human wisdom.
Un-edited version avaiable, on request
John Piper
is founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary.
For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy. Read more about John.
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