What does it mean that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise (1 Corinthians 1:19)?

The church in Corinth was divided because many of the believers, in their spiritual immaturity and confusion, did not understand the power of the gospel message or the true wisdom of God. In 1 Corinthians 1:18–25, the apostle Paul discussed two different kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of the wise (or human, worldly wisdom) and the wisdom of God. These two wisdoms are like antithetical opponents.

Paul quoted from Isaiah 19:12, 29:14, and 33:18 as evidence that God does not need the world’s wisdom but instead will destroy it: “For it is written:

Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:19–20).

Paul used these Old Testament references to emphasize the stark contradiction between God’s true wisdom and the world’s counterfeit wisdom. Isaiah warned that God would destroy the wisdom of the wise and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent. He would do this chiefly through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

Those who think they possess wisdom according to the world’s standard but view the gospel as foolishness are ultimately shown to be ignorant because they will miss out on God’s forgiveness, salvation, and gift of eternal life. In the end, they will be destroyed: “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NLT).

No one comes to know God by acquiring human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21; 2:13). The Greeks placed great emphasis on the wisdom of the world. They were philosophers, scribes, and great intellectuals who preferred to apply reasoning and debate to create a god of their own imagining. But they laughed at the message of Jesus Christ crucified, saying, “It’s all nonsense” (1 Corinthians 1:23, NLT).

In 1 Corinthians 2:6–16, Paul noted “a secret and hidden wisdom” (verse 7, ESV) imparted to believers by God’s Spirit. Only born-again Christians with the Holy Spirit indwelling them can understand and interpret spiritual truth (verse 13). “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means” (verse 14, NLT). People who think they are wise yet only possess the counterfeit “wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age” are “doomed to pass away” (verse 6, ESV). In this way, God will destroy the wisdom of the wise.

Quoting from Job 5:13 and Psalm 94:11, Paul continued to stress the folly of worldly wisdom: “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile’” (1 Corinthians 3:18–20, ESV). James also had nothing good to say about earthly wisdom, labeling it “earthly, unspiritual,” and “demonic” (James 3:15).

Another name for human wisdom is intellectualism, which is often seeded by the sin of pride (Psalm 73:7–9; Proverbs 3:7; Romans 1:22; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 3:18; 8:1). Pride rises out of humanity’s rebellion against God and refusal to submit to His way (1 Samuel 15:23; Proverbs 21:4; Romans 1:29–30). God is long-suffering and merciful. He pursues proud sinners to the gates of hell. But if the proud one remains wise in his own eyes, determined to make God fit into his ideas, plans, and desires, his stubborn path will lead to destruction (Philippians 3:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 2:1, 3). If a sinner persists in rebellion, refusing to repent, God deals with such pride as He does with any opponent—He destroys it (Proverbs 11:2; 16:5, 18; 18:12; 26:12; 29:23; 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6).

Following the upside-down principles of His kingdom, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29, NLT). God will destroy the wisdom of the wise because only God’s wisdom is true, only God’s wisdom is wise, and only God’s wisdom will endure.