I. The Spiritual Self Deception Of The Corinthians V. 18a
A. They Were Correct About Jesus As Savior
1. The deception that the Corinthians experienced had nothing to do with Jesus as Savior.
2. This letter to them doesn’t address that problem.
3. The Galatians were tempted by the false doctrine of justification by works; legalism.
4. The Colossians were tempted by Gnosticism, which denies the humanity of Jesus.
a. Gnosticism says that material things are evil, therefore Jesus didn’t have a body, and was just a phantom or a visible
spirit.
b. The problem with that is this: If Jesus didn’t have a body then His death on the cross was merely symbolic, and there
was no physical sacrifice for our sins.
5. The Corinthian Christians had a correct theology regarding the person and the work of Jesus Christ but were deceived
about other things.
B. They Were Deceived About The ‘‘Wisdom Of The World’’ Vs. 18, 21
1. V. 21-They were boasting in certain men and dividing the church over who their favorite Christian leaders were. See
chapter 1:11-13
2. Their boasting of men wasn’t about the ethnicity or the places of origin of these men.
3. Their boasting of men was connected to what the Corinthians called ‘‘wisdom’’.
4. They were boasting in men according to the worldly standards of wisdom.
5. The Corinthians were more impressed by the so-called wisdom of the world than they were by the wisdom of God.
6. V. 18-Paul used a gentle rebuke with them. They did think that they were wise, but they were using worldly standards to
evaluate themselves and others.
7. The Corinthians had a love of worldly wisdom, and it infiltrated into a lot of their thinking, which ultimately affected the
church and their testimonies in negative ways.
8. Paul told them that if they evaluated themselves and others according to worldly standards, that they were deceiving
themselves.
9. NOTE- It’s possible for a Christian to be right about Jesus as Savior, but to be wrong about how to evaluate what is
important and true in the life of a Christian.
10. You can have a correct but incomplete/low view of Jesus, and that will allow you to have a wrong worldview. The better
we understand God, the better we understand the world.
11. The Corinthians had some correct theology that was mixed with a carnal attraction to worldly wisdom. It can happen to
any of us in varying degrees.
12. NOTE- The more correct we are in our understanding of God and his kingdom, the more correct of a worldview we will
have about all things.
C. Current Examples Of Worldly Thinking Amongst Christians
1. Hot topics with much debate-Overemphasis on patriotism, politics and nationalism.
2. Carnal methods of increasing church attendance and who should lead the church.
3. The overemphasis/deifying of the family and the minimizing of the Kingdom of God.
4. Emotional responses to cultural mores, i.e., homosexuality, transgenderism, and race relations. Sometimes in an effort to be
sympathetic and show concern, the Church sacrifices truth and replaces it with emotion.
5. The Corinthians were moved by soulish/carnal reasoning, not by spiritual truth. They embraced Jesus as their Savior, but
they were wrong in so many other ways.
II. How To Avoid Spiritual Deception Vs. 18b-23
A. Be Willing To Be Considered Foolish By The World
1. V. 18b-In other words, care more about what God says than about what man says.
2. Christians need to understand that unbelievers will often/usually think we are wrong to follow Jesus.
a. 1 Corinthians 1:18 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.
b. The wisdom of the world would say that we are foolish, but the wisdom of God would say that we are wise.
3. You might be a Christian that is correct about Jesus as Lord, but you might be deceived in other areas, such as overvaluing
the wisdom or so-called wisdom of the world.
4. The way to avoid that kind of spiritual deception is to…
a. Not overvalue people’s opinions.
b. Care supremely about what God says through his word.
c. Be teachable and correctable if God shows you that you are wrong.
d. V. 18c-If you are willing to do this, then God says that you will become wise.
B. Realize The Truth About Worldly Wisdom Vs. 19, 20
1. V. 19-Foolishness-silliness, absurdity.
a. In this life, we often see the foolishness of man come back upon his own head.
2. V. 20-Futile-devoid of force, of truth, of success, of result, useless, of no purpose.
a. W e often see the lack of positive results from following the wisdom of man.
C. Realize The Great Blessing Of Following God’s Wisdom Vs. 21-23
1. V. 21-We can think that we are enriched by having our ‘‘favorites’’, who, in our own opinions, are better than other people’s
‘‘favorites’’.
a. That we have chosen the better person, the better church, the better denomination.
b. That we have acquired these things, these people, these movements, and that our identity and satisfaction is found in
these things, these people.
c. That in our wisdom we are rich through the narrowness of our choices.
d. When I boast in one narrow part of what God has given to us all, then I am narrowminded, myopic, shortsighted, and
have a small view of God and his church.
e. We all have the tendency to turn natural preferences into exclusive attitudes
f. That kind of exclusiveness wants to judge God’s wisdom in concerning whom he chooses to speak for him or serve him
g. All things are yours-All of God’s creation is for me to enjoy; all of his church is for me to love; all of my future will
include every good thing that God has prepared for me.
h. Matthew 5:5 The meek shall inherit the Earth.
i. Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
j. Ray Stedman-“He who lets God choose, ends up with everything. Why do you divide between Paul and Apollos and Cephas, and choose one
among them? You can have them all,” he says. “They are all yours. Paul, who planted, his whole ministry is yours. Apollos, the waterer, his ministry is
yours; you can get the benet of it. Cephas, the rock, whatever there is of value in his ministry is yours. In fact the whole world is open to you. Led of
the Spirit of God, you can go anywhere you want and God will give you things that money cannot buy.”
2. V. 22– Even death is “ours”; it is our servant, not our master. It takes us to Jesus.
3. V. 23-Guzik- All are yours: This is Christian liberty. And you are Christ’s: This is Christian responsibility.