Let No Man Deceive Himself 1 Corinthians 3:18

Paul the apostle declared to the Corinthians, “if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy” because “the temple of God is holy”, and in chapter three and verse eighteen of First Corinthians, Paul declared, “let no man deceive himself” where we read:

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world,

let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

The verse begins, “Let no man deceive himself.” Paul began with the word, “Let” which means “allow or permit” “no man” or “no person whether male or female” “deceive” or “beguile or seduce wholly” “himself” which means “the person themselves”. Paul warned that nobody should “beguile” or “lie to themselves” concerning what he has written and is about to declare.

The verse goes on to say, “If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.”. Paul continued with the words, “If any man” which means “whoever or whatever person” “among you” or “with and by the Corinthians” “seems to be” which means “thinks and supposes to exist” “wise” or “skilled, expert, cultivated and learned” “in this world” which refers to “within this present age and time”, “let him” or “allow and permit that person” “become a fool” which means “come to be dull, stupid, heedless, a blockhead and absurd” “that he may be wise” or “so that person may become skilled, expert, cultivated and learned”. Paul challenged the person who thinks themselves to be “skilled and expert” in this present age to become as a “dull and absurd” so they will be “wise”.

When we think through these words from Paul, we see his interest in putting away the “wisdom” of this world. Often people who are “wise in this world” think themselves superior to others, and Paul's exhortation is to behave as though they had no “wisdom” at all. Paul knew there is no one more “wise” than Jesus Christ, and if a person gains “wisdom” in the world, let them give all glory to Him and allow themselves to become as a “fool” before others and God.

Next time Paul shares how “the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.