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, (23) and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.

The first letter to the Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul.  There were divisions and factions in the church at Corinth and Paul wrote to “plead’ for unity in Christ Jesus, who has saved us.  Paul is concerned that the Christians in Corinth are indulging in the wisdom of this world which will come to nothing  He is concerned that the faithful there are succumbing to cults of personalities.  Paul warns that the wisdom of men is folly and to embrace the teaching of some charismatic leaders is to put their faith in mere men – a result shown to be not just worthless but distracting.  Paul has written to give the Corinthians reasons to cease boasting in things of this world – to forsake the wisdom of this world and turn to the revealed wisdom of God.  In another words, Paul is advising the Corinthians (and us)to commit to the simplistic and foolish -foolish to unbelieving men – truths of the gospel:  Christ crucified.   The Corinthians are to commit to what the world rejected as foolishness.  The wisdom of men is folly, changing and temporal.  The wisdom of God is eternal truth.

Paul tells the Corinthians to change direction:  that there is nothing which can separate them/us from the love of God.  All true teachers belong to God already.  Alll of God’s revealed truth, revealed wisdom, belongs to the whole church, not to some elites.  Believers belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.  All things belong to our sovereign God and we possess them in Christ.

Today’s verses are Paul’s application – his bottom line for the foundation he has built chapters one and two.  The Corinthians are to repent, change their minds from the wisdom of the world and me.  They are charged with embracing God’s wisdom which is Christ crucified – which is the simple message of the gospel.   The message to us is to say no to wisdom learned from the senses and yes to the transcendent, revealed wisdom of God.  Instead of celebrating life’s diversity we should study to understand life’s diversity in the light of its unity in God – to place the highest value on ultimate certainities.   We are to renounce the secular wisdom of this age –  for christian wisdom begins with God and ends in Him.  Scripture is God’s word to us.