1 Corinthians 3:18
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Study Note
Study Note
The exhortation 'If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise' radicalises the paradox of the cross as a counter-epistemology: worldly wisdom must be abandoned before divine wisdom can be received. The verse comes in the midst of Paul's anti-division polemic (chapters 1-4), where the Corinthians' party loyalties to Apollos, Peter, and Paul are exposed as expressions of the same human-wisdom categories that crucified the Lord of glory (2:8). Paul's concept of the 'wisdom of this world' (sophia tou aiōnos toutou) does not target rational inquiry as such but the self-sufficient pride that refuses to learn from God's scandalous cross. The verse has shaped Christian intellectual humility from Tertullian's 'What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?' to Barth's critique of natural theology.
Other Translations
Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
Let no one deceive himself; if any one doth seem to be wise among you in this age--let him become a fool, that he may become wise,
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.
Cross References
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is …
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain …
Thus saith the Lord; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us: for they shall not depart.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not …