The pyramids of Egypt, upon which generations of men worked for centuries, are merely colossal monuments to human stupidity.
18. For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to nought.
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world?
hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.
1 Corinthians 1:18-21 ASV
Verse 18, 19
For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to naught.
THE GLORY OF THE CROSS
All of the value judgments of people were nailed to the cross of Christ. People glorify the arrogant, proud, mighty and successful, but Christ was patient, meek, humble and submissive. A crucified Saviour was simply beyond the boundaries of human imagination.
It is the power of God … There are two reactions to the mystery of the cross on the part of two classes of people who behold it. The two classes are those who are perishing and those who are being saved (English Revised Version margin). To the former, the cross is foolishness, but to the latter it is the power of God. As an illustration of God’s power contrasted with human wisdom, Paul cited Isaiah 29:14 where, according to Marsh,
The prophet, referring to the failure of worldly statesmanship in Judah in the face of the Assyrian invasion, states a principle that the wisdom of man is no match for the power of God.
Verse 20, 21
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
The wise … refers to the worldly wise such as the Greek sophists.
The scribe … denotes the expert in Jewish religion. “The disputer of this world …” includes both the others as well as all others who rely upon their own intelligence and do not trust in God.
Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? … Although Paul doubtless had in mind that phase of wisdom relating to the eternal things of the spirit, there is also an undeniable application to all phases of human wisdom. History is one long dramatic denial of the world’s wisdom.
The pyramids of Egypt, upon which generations of men worked for centuries, are merely colossal monuments to human stupidity.
The textbooks of a generation ago are worthless today. Permanence has never yet come to any human government.
Every mystery ever solved unlocks a hundred others and raises infinitely more questions than are answered, leading to conviction that the ultimate wisdom on the part of people can never be attained by new formulas and gadgets, that the infinite wisdom is a person, Almighty God, and that people may know him only through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Giza Pyramids 
