1 Corinthians 1:19,20 - Where is the wise person?

1:19

Paul sees our salvation as all part of God’s plan.He also sees the opposition and the perishing as part of God’s plan as well. He quotes from Is 29:14 where God states that He “will destroy the wisdom of the wise” and “frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent”. Rebellious man claims to be wise, claims to know what he is doing, but in fact he is foolish and hasn’t a clue what he is doing.

1:20

Man’s efforts have manifestly failed. Paul singles out the “teacher of the Law” and the “philosopher of this age”. The teacher of the Law is the Jewish “wise man”. The Pharisees in particular with their detailed knowledge of the Law, and interpretation thereof, were revered in Jewish society. The philosopher of this age is the Gentile or Greek “wise man”, the ones who were thought to be clever. But the wisdom of the world has achieved little, and brought about much harm.