Wisdom of Man vs Wisdom of God - 1 Corinthians 1-2

1 Corinthians 1:22-25 (ESV)
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Mankind just does not get what Christ has done for them.   Of course, to do that, they would have to admit they need Christ to do ANYTHING for them.    Christ came to save man from sin and to make him holy so that he can have a restored relationship with God.  But, mankind does not want a restored relationship with God.  Mankind does not want anything to do with God ... until they are in trouble.   Then they cry out to God.   This is the content of the above passage.   Paul is writing about the power of the Gospel and makes the above statement.  The Gospel is hidden from Jews, because they want some additional sign that Jesus was the messiah.  Hanging on a cross as a condemned man is NOT that sign.   The Greeks are lost in their own wisdom.   Remember, at the time of this writing, we have the legacies of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle being postulated across the Roman Empire.  The Roman’s may have conquer the Greek armies, but the Greek mind was still in full control of the Roman mind.   The Greeks could not wrap their minds around the Gospel message.  They could not even imagine how God designed salvation.   It was foolishness to them.   Yet, God’s wisdom is far beyond the wisdom of mankind.  Paul, using simply comparison rhetoric, states that man’s highest wisdom can’t even compare to God’s foolishness (of course, God has no foolishness).   When we have the Gospel in our hearts we are so far beyond the wisdom of this world.   These Corinthian believers were not the wisest of sorts.   That is where Paul eventually goes.   God’s wisdom in us is profound.  Our lives without God’s salvation and wisdom in us?  Nothing:

1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (ESV)
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;