among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Let no man deceive himself. ' Let no man doubt the truth, of what I have said of the worthlessness of human wisdom, and of the danger of substitutmg it for the wisdom of God. If he does, he will find himself mistaken.'
If any man among you seemeth to he wise^ (hoK€l a-offtos cTmt), thinks himself to be wise. In this world may be con- nected with the word wise, *wise with the wisdom of this world.' Or, it may be connected with the whole preceding clause. ' K any imagines he is wise among you, in this world.' The former explanation is more in keeping with the whole context. " Wise in this world " is equivalent to " wise after the flesh," 1, 26.
let him become a fool, that he may be (or, become) wise. Let him renounce his own wisdom in order that he may re- ceive the wisdom of God. We must be empty in order to be filled. We must renounce our own righteousness, in' order to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We must renounce our own strength, in order to be made strong. We must re- nounce our own wisdom, in order to be truly wise. This is a universal law. And it is perfectly reasonable. We are only required to recognize that to be true, which is true. We would not be required to renounce our own righteous- ness, strength, or wisdom, if they were really what they as- sume to be. It is simply because they are in fact worthless, that we are called upon so to regard them.
19. 20. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
We must renounce our own wisdom because it is folly. The infinite mind sees that to be folly which we children think to be wisdom. There are two senses in which this is true, or in which wisdom may be said to be folly. Even truth or true knowledge becomes folly, if employed to accomplish an end for which it is not adapted. If a man attempts to make men holy or happy ; if he undertakes to convert the world, by mathematics, or metaphysics, or moral philosophy, he is foolish, and his wisdom, as a means to that end, is folly. He must
I. CORINTHIAlSrS 3, 20.21. 61
renounce all dependence on those means if he would accom- plish that end. But in the second place, much that passes for wisdom among men is in itself, and not merely as a means to an end, foolishness. Both these ideas are evidently compre- hended in the apostle's statement. He means to say that hu- man knowledge is entirely inadequate to save men ; because that end can only be accomplished by the gospel. And he means also to brand as folly the speculations of men about " the deep things of God."
In proof of the assertion that the wisdom of men is fool- ishness with God, he quotes two passages of Scripture. The first is from Job 5, 13, the second is from Ps. 94, 11. The for- mer is a fragment of a sentence containing in the Greek no verb. Our translation renders the participle (6 Spao-o-o/Aci/os) as though it were a verb. Those passages clearly express the same sentiment which the apostle had uttered. They declare the impotency and insufficiency of human wisdom.
21. Therefore let no one glory in men : for all things are yours.
To glory in any person or thing is to trust in him or it as the ground of confidence, or as the source of honour or blessed- ness. It is to regard ourselves as blessed because of our rela- tion to it. Thus men are said to glory in the Lord, or in the cross ; because God, or Christ as crucified, is regarded as the ground of confidence and the source of blessedness. Others are said to glory in the flesh, in the law, or even in themselves. The apostle having shown that ministers are mere servants, nothing in themselves, and that the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God, draws from these premises the inference that they are not the ground of the believer's confidence. The Corinthians did glory in men, when they said, I am of Paul, I of ApoUos, and I of Cephas. They forgot their own dignity when they regarded as masters those who were their servants.
For all things are yours. The amplification of these words, given in the next verse, shows that they are to be taken in their widest sense. The universe is yours. How unworthy then is it, that you should glory in men. Paul often appeals to the dignity and destiny of the church as a motive to right action. " Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world ? " 6, 2. There are two senses in which the declaration, "All