writings that come from this cen tury in which Paul lived and wrote. I have read many of the treatises that were written about the state public speaking in his day. Paul in deed stands in contrast as do the other men who wrote these epis tles under the inspiration of God. We have a powerful message. It does not need artificial allurement. It needs clear, effective, and pow erful presentation — a sufficiently demanding task for any speaker or orator. In the final analysis, God's mes sage will stand in its own might, in its own strength, because the power comes from God Himself and not from man. I Corinthians 1:19-25 dwells on the superiority of God's message over man's wisdom. Paul states that no matter how wise man may think he is, if God chose to be fool ish, even His foolishness would be wiser than the wisdom of men. And if God chose to be weak, even His weakness would be stronger than the greatest strength of men. These verses indicate that man is incapable of properly under standing eternal matters and the weighty questions of life that re late to our destiny. God's message of salvation in Christ is the only answer to man's search for peace and understanding in life. In this passage I see two classes of scholarly men, and neither group is successful in reasoning out an answer to life. Verse 19 sets these two groups before us. "For it is written, I will destroy the wis dom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." First, in relationship to the wis dom of the wise, Paul is talking about the individual who thinks
deeply on fundamental problems m of life. Let me designate him as the V philosopher. He basically uses de ductive reasoning. That is, he starts with an idea and then attempts to follow it to its logical conclusion. The Greeks were known for their ability to take a line of thought and follow it wherever it would take them. They were much concerned about the ultimate questions of life such as, what is the nature of / the universe? Why is man here? (- What is his purpose? How can man be happy? The philosopher seeks answers to these questions by rea soning and speculation. Another individual is described as the prudent. As I understand the Greek language here, I believe it is talking about a person who sees and grasps things quickly. He is not necessarily an individual who will reason things through slowly and step-by-step from a single major idea or premise. He is research oriented and will take a great mass of detail, simply inter pret it and say, "here's what I think it means." But verse 20 now asks, "Where is the wise?" The philosopher did not come up with the answer that he ought to have come up with. He did not find God as even verse 21 suggests. He did not have the basic answer to eternal life. Greek philosophy could not unite a sinful man with a loving but just God. Sin separates and the "wisdom of the wise" could not bridge the gap- In Paul's day there were a num ber of schools of philosophy. Two major schools predominated in the first Christian century that sought to provide some meaning in life. One was based on headon- ism— man was here told to find
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