Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (17) If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (18) Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. (19) For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ”He catches the wise in their own craftiness ; (20) and again, ”The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise’ that they are futile.” (21) Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: (22) whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come – all are yours. (24) And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

The 1st letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul is addressing them as pupils, warning them to beware of contrivances of man, as in faith, in Christ, they have been set aside as temples of God and they are responsible as guardians of such. Paul warns them not to be deceived by knowledge of this world – in itself worldly wisdom is a hindrance and a mere vanity of man. And he continues the subject of spiritual wisdom in Christ versus natural wisdom.
Paul issues a terrible warning to those who might try to hijack the faithful who have been set aside as holy and as temples of God, We/they are brothers/sisters, not combatants and are urged to adopt an attitude of humility and to be teachable – not to think we have things figured out. Paul warns the faithful in Corinth to not limit themselves by trusting the wisdom of men as they would be limiting God’s blessing for them. The Bible is our spiritual compass; it is the source of the way to life and principles by which to live.
So Paul is warning the Corinthians to get rid of pride, self indulgence and self gratification with the wrong focus on man and not God. We are not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by Christ and the renewing of our minds. All things are ours in Christ.

However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. (7) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, (8) which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (9) But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (10) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

The first letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul compares the wisdom of God to the wisdom of this world. The rulers of this world appear in the eyes of the world to be clear sighted and wise but they are temporal and transitory; they judge as natural man in matters of politics but God’s revelation must be spiritually discerned. Man cannot know the reality of truth by his/her senses. This world is not as it appears and truth is known from God’s spirit to man’s spirit and never by man’s senses.
Paul’s preaching in Corinth offended many who perceived the gospel he preached as crude or not wise enough; the gospel upended natural man’s wisdom/intellect. The Jews expected signs and wonders and they saw nothing miraculous in Christ Jesus – the gospel was not convincing to many but Paul is saying men of this world were/are not competent judges. Natural man views the gospel as foolishness – man can never realize the wisdom of God’s will on their own as the gospel and faith are only spiritually discerned and this is the heart and soul of our message today.
Man is not able by intellect to know God and Paul’s message to the faithful in Corinth was that believers are exempt from this blindness though special illumination of God’s Spirit, in Christ.

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring the testimony of God. (2) For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (3) I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. (4) And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, (5) that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

The first letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul continues to defend his method of preaching; that the gospel is true wisdom and the source of that wisdom is the Spirit. Paul came to Corinth not as an orator or a philosopher but as a witness. What he preached was not of men but the wisdom of God that man could never learn alone. in Corinth He preached Christ, not as a teacher or a perfect man but he preached Christ crucified- dying for our sins – which is the sum of the gospel. Paul valued no knowledge except Christ alone and tells us that we must be learning Christ our lives long and everything in comparison is folly.

Paul explained at length that he had no excellence in the eyes of men but that the power of God showed through him – he is connecting his fear and weakness which would make him seem contemptible to the Corinthians – his fear must relate to the dangers and difficulties he had recently endured but which had taught him to lean on God. He struggled through every impediment. He meant that persuasive words – oratory – of human wisdom was artifice rather than truth. Paul refers to this as a demonstration of the power of the Spirit using him to deliver the message successfully.

Saving faith is the power of God on the heart.

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