1 Corinthians 3:18

Contextual Overview

¹⁸Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise.¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become "fools" so that you may become wise. ¹⁸So don't be pulling the wool over your own eyes. Wisdom doesn't come from clever ideas or fancy words. If this is your wisdom then you should try to become fools. Only then will you know what it takes to become wise. ¹⁸ Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.¹⁸Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. ¹⁸ Let no man have a false idea. If any man seems to himself to be wise among you, let him become foolish, so that he may be wise. ¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself: if any one thinks himself to be wise among you in this world, let him become foolish, that he may be wise. ¹⁸ No one should deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise. ¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. ¹⁸ Let none deceive himself: if any one among you thinketh himself to be wise, let him become a fool in this world, that he may become wise.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

deceive: 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Proverbs 5:7, Isaiah 44:20, Jeremiah 37:9, Luke 21:8, Galatians 6:3, Galatians 6:7, Ephesians 5:6, 2 Timothy 3:13, Titus 3:3, James 1:22, James 1:26, 1 John 1:8

If: 1 Corinthians 1:18-21, 1 Corinthians 4:10, 1 Corinthians 8:1, 1 Corinthians 8:2, Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 26:12, Isaiah 5:21, Jeremiah 8:8, Romans 11:25, Romans 12:16

let: Matthew 18:4, Mark 10:15, Luke 18:17

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:8 - but there Exodus 1:10 - wisely 2 Samuel 15:31 - turn the counsel 2 Kings 5:11 - Behold Job 11:12 - would Job 32:13 - We Proverbs 2:7 - layeth Proverbs 14:6 - scorner Proverbs 28:11 - rich Proverbs 30:2 - I am Ecclesiastes 1:18 - For in Ecclesiastes 7:16 - neither Jeremiah 9:23 - wise Matthew 6:23 - If Matthew 11:25 - because Luke 8:18 - seemeth to have Luke 10:21 - thou hast Luke 11:35 - General Luke 16:8 - children of this John 7:49 - General John 11:49 - Ye Acts 8:31 - How Acts 10:33 - are we Acts 17:18 - babbler Acts 18:26 - expounded Romans 1:14 - both to Romans 1:22 - General Romans 2:19 - art confident 1 Corinthians 1:26 - that 1 Corinthians 6:5 - Is it 2 Corinthians 11:1 - in Colossians 2:8 - philosophy 1 Timothy 6:4 - He

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
And Yahweh God said to the serpent,"Because you have done this,Cursed are you more than any of the cattle,And more than every beast of the field;On your belly you will go,And dust you will eatAll the days of your life;

Genesis 3:14
The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;

Genesis 3:14
And the lord god said vnto ye serpent: Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed aboue all cattel, and aboue euery beast of the fielde: vpon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eate all the dayes of thy lyfe.

Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the snake, "You did this very bad thing, so bad things will happen to you. It will be worse for you than for any other animal. You must crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14
And the Lord God seide to the serpent, For thou didist this, thou schalt be cursid among alle lyuynge thingis and vnresonable beestis of erthe; thou schalt go on thi brest, and thou schalt ete erthe in alle daies of thi liif;

Genesis 3:14
And the LORD God said vnto the Serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed aboue all cattel, and aboue euery beast of the field: vpon thy belly shalt thou goe, and dust shalt thou eate, all the dayes of thy life.

Genesis 3:14
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Let no man deceive himself,.... With vain notions of serving God and religion, and of doing the churches good by his carnal and worldly wisdom, and with false hopes of escaping the vengeance of God for sowing the tares of error, heresy, and discord among his people.

If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world; either a member of them, or a preacher among them, who thought himself wise in worldly wisdom; or was desirous to be thought so by others; or would be a truly wise man in this world, whilst he lives in it, and before he goes out of it:

let him become a fool that he may be wise; not that, properly speaking, folly is the way to wisdom; but that that man that would be wise in a spiritual sense, must first learn to know himself; must be convinced of, and acknowledge his own folly, embrace the Gospel of Christ, which is esteemed foolishness by the world; submit to the ordinances of Christ, which are despised by men; and take up the cross of Christ, and follow him, bear reproach and persecution for his sake, than which nothing is more ridiculous with carnal men: he must deny his worldly wisdom, his carnal and righteous self, and wholly rest and rely on Christ, and his righteousness, for eternal life and happiness, and so will he become truly wise unto salvation. The Jews p have a saying,

"that everyone המנבל עצמו, "that makes himself a fool", for the words of the law, at the end, shall be exalted.''

p Raya Mehimua in Zohar in Numb. fol. 104. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Let no man deceive himself - The apostle here proceeds to make a practical application of the truths which he had stated, and to urge on them humility, and to endeavor to repress the broils and contentions into which they had fallen. Let no man be puffed up with a vain conceit of his own wisdom, for this had been the real cause of all the evils which they had experienced. Grotius renders this, “See that you do not attribute too much to your wisdom and learning, by resting on it, and thus deceive your own selves.” “All human philosophy,” says Grotius, “that is repugnant to the gospel is but vain deceit” - Probably there were many among them who would despise this admonition as coming from Paul, but he exhorts them to take care that they did not deceive themselves. We are taught here:

(1) The danger of self-deception - a danger that besets all on the subject of religion.

(2) The fact that false philosophy is the most fruitful source of self-deception in the business of religion. So it was among the Corinthians; and so it has been in all ages since.

If any man among you - Any teacher, whatever may be his rank or his confidence in his own abilities; or any private member of the church.

Seemeth to be wise - Seems to himself; or is thought to be, has the credit, or reputation of being wise. The word “seems” δοκεῖ dokei implies this idea - if anyone seems, or is supposed to be a man of wisdom; if this is his reputation; and if he seeks that this should be his reputation among people. See instances of this construction in Bloomfield.

In this world - In this “age,” or “world” (ἐν τῷ αἰῶν τούτῳ en tō aiōn toutō). There is considerable variety in the interpretation of this passage among critics. It may be taken either with the preceding or the following words. Origen, Cyprian, Beza, Grotius, Hammond, and Locke adopt the latter method, and understand it thus: “If any man among you thinks himself to be wise, let him not hesitate to be a fool in the opinion of this age in order that he may be truly wise” - But the interpretation conveyed in our translation, is probably the correct one. “If any man has the reputation of wisdom among the people of this generation, and prides himself on it,” etc. If he is esteemed wise in the sense in which the people of this world are, as a philosopher, a man of science, learning, etc.

Let him become a fool -

(1) Let him be willing to be regarded as a fool.

(2) Let him sincerely embrace this gospel, which will inevitably expose him to the charge of being a fool.

(3) Let all his earthly wisdom be esteemed in his own eyes as valueless and as folly in the great matters of salvation.

That he may be wise - That he may have true wisdom - that which is of God. It is implied here:

(1) That the wisdom of this world will not make a man truly wise.

(2) That a “reputation” for wisdom may contribute nothing to a man’s true wisdom, but may stand in the way of it.

(3) That for such a man to embrace the gospel it is necessary that he should be willing to cast away dependence on his own wisdom, and come with the temper of a child to the Saviour.

(4) That to do this will expose him to the charge of folly, and the derision of those who are wise in their own conceit.

(5) That true wisdom is found only in that science which teaches people to live unto God, and to be prepared for death and for heaven - and that science is found only in the gospel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. If any man among you seemeth to be wise — Ει τις δοκει σοφος ειναι· If any pretend or affect to be wise. This seems to refer to some individual in the Church of Corinth, who had been very troublesome to its peace and unity: probably Diotrephes (1 Corinthians 1:14 (note)) or some one of a similar spirit, who wished to have the pre-eminence, and thought himself wiser than seven men that could render a reason. Every Christian Church has less or more of these.

Let him become a fool — Let him divest himself of his worldly wisdom, and be contented to be called a fool, and esteemed one, that he may become wise unto salvation, by renouncing his own wisdom, and seeking that which comes from God. But probably the apostle refers to him who, pretending to great wisdom and information, taught doctrines contrary to the Gospel; endeavouring to show reasons for them, and to support his own opinions with arguments which he thought unanswerable. This man brought his worldly wisdom to bear against the doctrines of Christ; and probably through such teaching many of the scandalous things which the apostle reprehends among the Corinthians originated.