dev179

“For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”

1 Corinthians 1:21

There was a time that I wanted to argue with God about this verse. Surely the message that God had given Paul could not have been foolishness, as this verse suggests. After all, a foolish message is one that only a fool would accept, and, since I had accepted Paul’s message, surely I the gospel I received was the culmination of the wisdom of God. How could Paul say that this message was foolishness?

I continue to believe that the gospel is the wisdom of God, but I have recently come to see how it can also be seen as the foolishness of God. Living in a very secular culture, I have often had discussions about Jesus with people who deny even the existence of God. These discussions often involve complex philosophical discussions then end up going very deep into theories about existence, truth, and morality. When I finally sift through all of the excess baggage involved in the discussion to reason my way to a gospel presentation, the message can seem way too simple. Is the answer to the whole universe really no more than a man who gave himself to be sacrificed like an animal?

No doubt Paul experienced the same thing. He was encountering all the rival philosophies and worldviews of the Roman Empire, and no doubt had many such philosophical discussions. He took firm stances on epistemology, morality, and the nature of truth. And, much like when I evangelize, he presents the gospel as a culmination of all the knowledge that is known. The deepest argument that all other arguments lead to is the simplest notion of all. Christ died of our sins according to the Scriptures. It really is as simple as us being bad and God taking our punishment.

Why did God choose to save us in such a simple and foolish way? Why should the real truth be so bizarre, while at the same time be so accessible even to the simplest of minds? Why should not man have to climb intellectual mountains and cross perplexing seas to come to the truth? Why should enlightenment not be the results of the efforts of man?

To think this way is to forget the original problem. The sinfulness of man commenced with the pride of trying to do things ourselves. This led us into self-glorification and a desire to overthrown the reign of God so that we could sit on His throne. The foolish message, however, will not allow such nonsense. The Ph.D. who has spent years in the library must humble his intellect before the simplicity of the cross just like the preschooler and the homeless beggar.

The gospel is not foolishness in that it presents a lack of wisdom. It is foolish in its simplicity. For the wise man, the scribe, and the debater of this age to come to know Truth incarnate, they must humble themselves before the cross of Christ. They must admit their sinfulness and declare Another king of the cosmos. They must submit that the uneducated and the ignorant have obtained the same wisdom that they have received; namely, a wisdom that is revealed by God and not obtained on a voyage around the world or in the dark corner of a library. They must give up their pride.

Perhaps this is why Paul said, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”