Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 1:20

"Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" — 1 Corinthians 1:20 (ASV)

These verses flow logically from the proposition of v.17 that Paul did not come preaching with human wisdom. In his avoidance of human ostentation, he realizes that the straightforward presentation of the message of the cross produces two effects. It is foolishness to those who are on the way to being lost, but the power of God to those who are being saved (cf. Romans 1:16). In his emphasis that God’s power for salvation is in the cross, Paul introduces an OT quotation from Isa 29:14 to show that God dismisses human wisdom as a means of salvation. In the Isaiah context, the Lord deplores the man-made precepts and mouthing of words for salvation (Isaiah 29:13) and declares that he will set aside human wisdom and understanding as a means of finding favor with him. This thought Paul now adapts to his argument.

Having established God’s rejection of human striving for salvation through wisdom, the apostle now asks just where in fact “the wise man” (possibly an allusion to the Greeks; cf. v.22b) can be found who was able to do what the message of the cross of Christ had done. The “scholar” (GK 1208; translated “teacher of the law” elsewhere) was the Jewish professional who was skilled in interpreting the law. For the saved Jews in the Corinthian congregation this idea would be relevant. “The philosopher of this age” (v.20) was the man who wanted to dispute every issue and solve it by human reason. The designation could fit both Greek and Jew. The question Paul asks at the end of v.20 is introduced with a word that anticipates a positive response.