Note 11 at 1 Cor. 3:19: This verse and the two Old Testament quotes are summarizing some of Paul's arguments that he had already made about the wisdom of God versus the wisdom of man. God considers man's wisdom to be foolish. That's how superior God's thoughts are to ours.

Many Christians today consider that to be 100% true of the limited wisdom of man that was operative in Paul's day, but few believers would support this statement wholeheartedly today. Deception is always harder to discern when it is happening to us. But the truth is that many times we esteem the word of a doctor, lawyer, friend, or even the news, above the Word of God. This should not be.

We can be assured that regardless of advancements in man's knowledge, the simple truth of God's Word is still infinitely more accurate and profound than man's hypotheses.

Note 12 at 1 Cor. 3:19: This is a great verse of encouragement for the believer who is facing opposition because of his faith in God. God is saying He will use the very schemes that the ungodly devise against Him to snare them.

There are many examples of this in scripture. God used the hardness of Pharaoh's heart (and head) to bring infinite glory to Himself. Solomon used God's superior wisdom to trap the woman who lied in the dispute over which woman was the true mother of a child (1 Ki. 3:16-28). Paul played on the Athenians own pseudo-intellectualism to renounce their pagan practices (Acts 17:16-34).

There is always a way for a person who is employing God's wisdom to take any argument or situation that the devil's crowd may present and work it together for good (Rom. 8:28).