Fee puts it this way: “A God discovered by human wisdom will be both a projection of human fallenness and a source of human pride, and this constitutes the worship of the creature, not the Creator.” Thus, the wise and the powerful are in no better position to know God than anyone else. In fact, their self-sufficiency and supposed wisdom stands in the way

In his own wisdom man inevitably exchanges the truth of God for a lie and worships the creature rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). Man’s wisdom is founded in his own will and it is always directed toward the fulfilling of his own will. Consequently it is always against God’s wisdom and God’s will. Human wisdom (“cleverness of speech”) will always make God’s wisdom (“the gospel” and “the cross of Christ”) void (1 Cor. 1:17).

Men have, of course, made remarkable discoveries and accomplished amazing feats over the centuries, especially in the last fifty years or so. Science and technology have developed countless products, machines, instruments, medicines, and procedures that have made great contributions to human welfare.

It is also true that becoming a Christian does not give us all the answers to everything—certainly not in the areas of science, electronics, math, or any other field of strictly human learning. Many nonbelievers are more educated, brilliant, talented, and experienced than many believers. If we want our car fixed we go to the best mechanic we can find, even if he is not a Christian. If we need an operation we go to the best surgeon. If we want to get an education we try to go the school that has the best faculty in the field in which we want to study.

As long as they are used properly and wisely, medicine and technology and science and all such fields of human learning and achievement can be of great value. Christians should thank God for them.

But if we want answers to what life is about—answers about where we came from, where we are going, and why we are here, about what is right and what is wrong—then human learning cannot help us. If we want to know the ultimate meaning and purpose of human life, and the source of happiness, joy, fulfillment, and peace, we have to look beyond what even the best human minds can discover. Man’s attempts to find such answers on his own are doomed to fail. He does not have the resources even to find the answers about himself, much less about God. In regard to the most important truths—those about human nature, sin, God, morality and ethics, the spirit world, the transformation and future of human life—philosophy is bankrupt.

Human wisdom cannot understand the cross. Peter, for example, did not understand the cross when he first heard Jesus speak of it. In fact Peter took Jesus “aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You’ ” (Matt. 16:22). Peter’s own understanding about the Messiah had no place for the cross. He thought the Messiah would soon set up an earthly kingdom and that everything would be pleasant for His followers. But Peter’s wisdom was contrary to God’s wisdom, and anything contrary to God’s wisdom works for Satan. Jesus’ reply to His disciple was quick and sharp: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (v. 23). When the soldiers came to the garden to arrest Jesus, Peter still did not understand. He still tried to interfere with God’s plan. Drawing his sword, he cut off a slave’s ear—for which Jesus again rebuked him (John 18:10–11). Only after the resurrection and ascension did Peter understand and accept the cross (Acts 2:23–24; 3:13–15).

To the natural mind, whether Jewish or Gentile, the cross is offensive and unacceptable. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. All men are either in the process of being saved (salvation present is not complete until the redemption of the body—Rom. 8:23; 13:11) or of being destroyed. One’s view of the cross determines which.

The second-century philosopher Celsus, who made a career out of attacking Christianity, wrote, “God is good and beautiful and happy, and if in that which is most beautiful and best, if then he descends to man it involves change for him, and a change from good to bad, from beautiful to ugly, from happiness to unhappiness, from what is best to what is worst, and God would never accept such a change.” The idea of the incarnation, not to mention the crucifixion, was utter folly to Greek thinking. To those rationalists nothing could be more absurd than the idea of an incarnate God giving Himself to be crucified in order to secure salvation, holiness, and eternal life for a fallen world.

God continually told Israel that He would fight for her. All she had to do was trust and obey. That is why, when Israel went into battle, a choir singing the Lord’s praises often preceded the army.

Men are all inclined to try to solve their problems and fight their battles by their own ingenuity and in their own power. But human ingenuity and power only get in God’s way. Men’s own efforts hinder God in His work rather than help Him.

“There is a way which seems right to a man,” Solomon tells us, “but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12). One of the things that keeps many people away from Christ, away from the Bible, and away from salvation is their disagreement with the gospel. It just does not fit their way of thinking. Even when they know their own philosophy or their own religion is shaky, they often would rather put their heads in the sand and hope for the best than simply take God at His word. This is the willful ignorance of unbelief described by Paul in Romans 1:18–23. Pretending to be wise, such men are fools.

But the prophecy also had a more immediate significance and fulfillment, which serves to illustrate its future and ultimate fulfillment. When Isaiah made the prophecy, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, was planning to conquer Judah. The Lord told His prophet not to worry or fear, because the king’s plan would fail. But it would not fail because of the strength of Judah’s army or because of the strategy of King Hezekiah and his advisors. “The wisdom of their wise men [would] perish, and the discernment of their discerning men [would] be concealed” (Isa. 29:14). Judah would be saved solely by God’s power, with no human help. He destroyed 185,000 men of the Assyrian army with just one angel (37:36). The full account is given in 2 Kings 18–19.

That God would take human form, be crucified, and raised in order to provide for man’s forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven is an idea far too simple, foolish, and humbling for the natural man to accept. That one man (even the Son of God) could die on a piece of wood on a nondescript hill in a nondescript part of the world and thereby determine the destiny of every person who has ever lived seems stupid. It allows no place for man’s merit, man’s attainment, man’s understanding, or man’s pride. This word of the cross is foolishness (moria, from which we get moron). It is moronic, absolute nonsense, to unbelievers who rely on their own wisdom—to those who are perishing. That phrase is a graphic description of Christ rejectors, who are in the process of being destroyed in eternal judgment

The conjunction “for” ties this verse to the preceding (1:17) and launches the lengthy exposition of God’s wisdom with the cross as the focal point. Structurally, 1:18 functions as a thesis statement, not only of 1:18–25 but extending to at least 3:23.

Human wisdom cannot understand the cross. Peter, for example, did not understand the cross when he first heard Jesus speak of it. In fact Peter took Jesus “aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You’ ” (Matt. 16:22).

Commentators frequently and correctly point out that the offense of the cross in Paul’s context is often lost to the modern Christian for whom the cross is now a symbol of the faith. The Roman orator and philosopher Cicero called crucifixion a “most cruel and disgusting penalty.”101 From a Jewish perspective the one crucified was under God’s curse. Yet, a “Christ crucified” was the object of Paul’s proclamation (1:23; 2:2), which brings into focus the sharp distinction between those who belong to this age and those who belong to the age to come. The gospel is a message of foolishness “to those who are perishing” but the power of God “to us who are being saved,” which are eschatological descriptors that look forward to end-time judgment. The present age is doomed and is already in the process of passing away (7:31). For this reason, those who belong to this age and deem the cross as nonsense are on their way to ultimate ruin. Paul uses present tense participles to describe both groups, thus commenting here only on their present state rather than their final destiny. In other words, those who are perishing are on their way to ultimate ruin apart from repentance and faith.105 Similarly, those who are being saved are reminded that they are still on the way and have not yet arrived. Paul’s choice of the present tense to describe salvation in 1:18 may be due to the parallel present tense description of those perishing, or he may have chosen the present to counter a Corinthian self-congratulatory mood “which is entirely at odds with the proclamation of the cross.”107

The words “wisdom” and “power,” along with their opposites (“folly/foolishness” and “weakness”), are used by Paul around twenty times in this short section (1:18–2:16). This word group functions as Paul’s point of reference with the Corinthian community. He is touching a nerve. Issues of wisdom and power would have been at the forefront for the Corinthian Christians as they wrestled with their own affections and allegiances.

The Bible uses the word “wisdom” to describe skillful living that is aligned with the things of God. So wisdom is the proficient application of Biblical principles to one’s life, resulting from a Godward heart orientation. As one might guess, this was not the kind of wisdom that the Hellenistic culture embraced or embodied. When they thought of wisdom, they were primarily concerned with gaining intellectual knowledge that could be leveraged for the purpose of attaining influence and power. Wisdom, then, was viewed as a tool for achieving self gain. This constituted the Corinthians’ right-side-up approach to wisdom and power. They were tempted to embrace a common cultural storyline that would put them in direct opposition to the upside-down storyline of the gospel.

The Corinthians have been tempted to abandon the message of the cross for more eloquent alternatives because they have recognized something true: there is nothing particularly eloquent or attractive about the message of the cross. The cross is not immediately philosophically compelling.

No sane person is looking to embrace a wisdom that is going to land them on a cross, on death row, in the electric chair. Wisdom is supposed to do the opposite—wisdom is supposed to purchase power, to accumulate acclaim.

would have no category for seeing the cross as positively inspiring or heartwarming. In the ancient world the image of someone being crucified was utterly and completely unacceptable. It was the form of capital punishment that was reserved for insurrectionists and terrible criminals.

To the Greeks who emphasized external strength and power the cross is utter foolishness—a display of weakness. And for the Jews?18 Deuteronomy 21:23 declares, “His body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.” How can the Messiah be crucified? This is not wisdom. This is folly. This is foolishness.

From the perspective of human power-grasping, God’s power can be called nothing other than weakness. There is no power in being crucified; that is the ultimate display of weakness, vulnerability, and frailty. God’s “weak” power is a declaration of man’s ultimate powerlessness as it relates to his relationship with God. Power is giving up one’s own power—and if power is the ultimate cultural value, then this is nothing short of a scandal. And “scandal” is exactly what it was—Christ’s being crucified was a “stumbling block” to the Jews—literally a skandalon (v. 23).

It is the feeling of inadequacy that makes people aware that they have need, and often draws them to the gospel.

for all its wisdom, the world had never found God and was still blindly and gropingly seeking him. That very search was designed by God to show men and women their own helplessness and so to prepare the way for the acceptance of the one who is the one true way.

‘Anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse’ (Deuteronomy 21:23). To a Jew, the fact of the crucifixion, so far from proving that Jesus was the Son of God, disproved it finally. It may seem extraordinary, but, even with Isaiah 53 before their eyes, the Jews had never dreamt of a suffering Messiah.

First Corinthians 1:18 provides the thesis sentence which sums up the point of the first paragraph of this section (vv. 18–25). Verse 19 supplies scriptural support for Paul’s thesis. Verses 20–25 then begin to explain why the world so roundly rejects the cross-centered gospel and why the Corinthians should nevertheless believe it.

Paul’s thesis affirms that there are only two kinds of people in the world—those in the process of perishing and those in the process of being saved (v. 18).

Verse 20b makes it clear that Paul is not disparaging Christian wisdom, intelligence, scholarship, or philosophy; indeed 2:6–16 will expound the appropriate wisdom for believers. Rather, he is predicting the ultimate demise of the sages, legal experts, and orators “of this age” or “of this world”—parallel expressions for sinful humanity apart from Christ.

Many Jews viewed the crucifixion as ultimate proof that Jesus had been cursed by God for some sin of his own (Deut. 21:23). Many Greeks found numerous aspects of the story of Christ’s death foolish—a suffering God, the ideal of perfect order destroyed, a criminal Messiah, and a way to God not based on human speculation.

Fundamentally the Corinthians needed a renewal of their minds (Rom. 12:2). They were trying to live their Christian lives on the basis of unsanctified common sense which has self-preservation as its ultimate goal. This kind of life is self-seeking, self-serving, and ultimately self-destructive (Luke 9:24–25).

To the unbelieving Jew a crucified Messiah is the epitome of weakness and defeat, a flat-out contradiction and a stumbling block149 that goes against all expectations of a royal, conquering king. Similarly, to the Greeks, distinguished by their quest for wisdom, the notion of an executed criminal as the locus of God’s wisdom amounted to sheer nonsense. The “stumbling block” and “foolishness” language ascribed to Christ in his crucifixion is difficult for the modern Christian to grasp, but we have to keep in mind how the proclamation of an executed criminal as “good news” would have played out in the first-century context to the Jew with fervent messianic expectations and to the Greek who coveted honor, esteem, and success.

The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth is the central event of the New Testament. The term “Cross of Christ” has come to stand for all that went into and flows out from that event. The cross of Christ points to the violent death of Jesus by means of a heinous Roman method of execution reserved for slaves and enemies of the state. This central event, therefore, is at the same time the “scandal” (Gal 5:11) of the Christian faith.

Torturous executions of the ancient world had found their worst form in crucifixion. Josephus called it “the most wretched of deaths.” Already in Jesus’ own ministry “bearing your cross” was a mark of discipleship (Mark 8:34; Matt 10:38; 16:24; Luke 9:23; 14:27) and seemed to mark a readiness to follow even unto death for Christ’s sake.

Jesus probably was stripped of all clothing and nailed to something like rough hewn boards that would have elevated Him but a few feet once secured in the ground. This elevation, or lifting up, Jesus also anticipated, referring to it in His conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:14).

To the Jew, hanging was a sign of cursedness (Deut 21:23) and so the usefulness of the cross in God’s saving plan representing a turning around of the law and all the habits that had grown up around the law. To the Jews the “word of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18) was a scandal and not to be believed (1 Cor 1:28). To the Greeks it was madness and not to be believed (1 Cor 1:21). But to Paul the cross of Christ was the power and wisdom of God and alone was to be preached about Christ in the world (1 Cor 2:2–5; see Gal 3:1).

In view of the victorious resurrection of Jesus, the cross now signifies atonement (Col 1:20; 2:4); unity of Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:16); baptism (Rom 6:3–11); self-denial of the believer (Phil 3:8); the believer’s self-identification with Christ and rejection of the world (Gal 2:20). Indeed, the living out of Christian faith has and must always see earthly existence through the cross of Christ.

If anything, the Christian “world view” is cruciform: Christians live in a suffering world and remind themselves that even the goods they may hold are perishing and often promote death (see 1 Cor 7:29–31). Christians at the same time are filled with joyful hope because Christ’s victory was already secure even while he hung upon His cross of suffering.

Unbelieving Jews still wanted supernatural signs (Matt. 12:38–44), yet they refused to accept the most glorious of all the supernatural sign-works of God, namely providing salvation through a virgin-born, crucified, and risen Messiah. In fact, the sign was a stumbling block to them (cf. Rom. 9:31–33). wisdom. Gentiles wanted proof by means of human reason, through ideas they could set forth, discuss, and debate. Like the Athenian philosophers, they were not sincere, with no interest in divine truth, but merely wanting to argue intellectual novelty (Acts 17:21).

1:21 in the wisdom of God. God wisely established that men could not come to know Him by human wisdom. That would exalt man, so God designed to save helpless sinners through the preaching of a message that was so simple the “worldly wise” deemed it nonsense. Cf. Rom 1:18–23. who believe. From the human side, salvation requires and comes only through faith. Cf. John 1:12; Rom. 10:8–17.

foolishness. Translates the word from which “moron” is derived.

1:19 it is written. Quoted from Is. 29:14 (see note there) to emphasize that man’s wisdom will be destroyed. Isaiah’s prophecy will have its ultimate fulfillment in the last days when Christ sets up His kingdom (cf. Rev. 17:14) and all of human wisdom dies.

therefore do not need to focus on worldly measures of success (1:26–28); instead, we need only to keep “the word of the cross” at the heart of our faith and practice (1:17–18).

The second temptation involved believers trying to separate the beginning of the Christian life from the living of the Christian life. As Paul reminds the Corinthians, our lives as Christians begin with absolute dependence on God’s powerful, saving work. We hear the gospel of Christ crucified and respond to it in faith (1:17; 2:1–5). This response is the result of the Spirit’s work, who gives us true wisdom so that we can understand, rather than reject, the gospel (2:12–14). We are also baptized in the name of Christ, the only Savior and Lord (1:12–15). Yet this dependence on God’s provision is not a temporary stage in our spiritual development, for the gospel is both the gracious gift by which we begin the Christian life and the source of ongoing power for living the Christian life (cf. 15:1–4). The truth about “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (2:2) is therefore not a basic teaching to be left behind as we mature but a lens through which to view all of Scripture (1:19, 31; 2:9, 16) and all of life.

Paul proves the assertion of v. 18 with Scripture (here), experience (v. 20), and history (v. 21). The quotation of Isa 29:14 confirms that what God achieved through Jesus’ death on the cross transcends human comprehension. The Corinthians’ fixation on rhetorical brilliance is reminiscent of the people described in Isa 29:13: they gave superficial lip service to God, but their hearts were far from him.

The perceived weakness of a message that speaks of a man hanging on a cross. stronger. The message of Jesus’ death on the cross is stronger than anything human strength can accomplish because Jesus saves sinners.

Roman society was built around power and status; power was concentrated in the male head of the household, in wealthy and aristocratic families, and so forth. Associating power with a crucified man—the epitome of weakness—thus made no more sense to ancients than it does to modern people outside Christ.

Paul is saying that God in his wisdom chose to save people by the way of the cross and by no other way.

Salvation comes to those who believe (the present tense points to a continuing faith).

The sign-seeking Jews were blind to the significance of the greatest sign of all when it was before them. The wisdom-loving Greeks could not discern the most profound wisdom of all when they were confronted with it.

Fourth, believers receive God’s redemption. To redeem means to buy back. God by Christ has purchased us from the power of sin. Christ “is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:14). Peter reminds us that we “were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold … but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18–19).

The reason men love complex, elaborate philosophies and religions is because these appeal to human ego. They offer the challenge of understanding and doing something complex and difficult. For the same reason some men scoff at the gospel. It calls on them to do nothing—it allows them to do nothing—but accept in simple faith what God has done. The cross crushes man’s sin and crushes man’s pride. It also offers deliverance from sin and deliverance from pride.

This also accords with the teaching of Jesus, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” (Matt 11:25), and his half-brother James, who derived much of his teaching from Jesus: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (Jas 2:5). First Corinthians 1:18–31 presents a very strong theology of grace.

The main point of 1:26–31, which extends the argument of 1:18–25, is that God’s choice of individuals is consistent with the message of the cross. Both exclude human boasting and both defy human wisdom.

But the Jews will have none of it. To them a crucified Messiah was a complete impossibility, a stumbling block (Lenski thinks this too weak for skandalon and translates ‘deathtrap’).

The contradiction God’s method offers to worldly wisdom is illustrated by the kind of people he has called. He might have concentrated on the intelligentsia or other outstanding people, but in fact he has chosen people with little to commend them from the worldly standpoint.

Some commentators take of the world to mean ‘in the world’s opinion’, but this is to miss the sting in Paul’s words. God has not chosen only those whom the world counts foolish and weak: he has chosen those who really are foolish and weak in this world.

People always think their way is right (cf. Prov. 14:12; 16:25). But God confutes their ‘wisdom’; he reduces their systems to nothing. In this context there is not much difference between wisdom and intelligence. Properly the former denotes mental excellence in general, the latter the intelligent critical understanding of ‘the bearings of things’ (Lightfoot on Col. 1:9). Neither can stand before God.

“The message of the Cross” is the message of self-renunciation, of obedience to God which may lead as it did in Jesus’ case to humiliation and death, but which ultimately leads not to self-destruction but to preservation (Mark 8:34–35) and exaltation (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 22:5). That was the recurring theme in these verses (1 Cor. 1:17–18, 23–24; 2:2, 8), an idea those who are perishing consider foolishness (cf. Luke 9:23–25).

The despised is a strong word, meaning ‘treated as of no account’ (Knox, ‘contemptible’). But the following expression is even stronger, the things that are not, ‘the “nothings” ’ (Orr and Walther), ‘those who in the eyes of the world did not exist’ (Erdman).

The death of Jesus, which is “for us” (see 1:13; 5:7; 6:20; 7:23; 11:24) and “for our sins” (15:3) impinges on Christian behavior. The cross is presented “as both the way of salvation and the way of life.”95 The cross is both the remedy for past sins and the basis of Christian identity. In this initial section, which has to do primarily with Paul’s exhortation to unity (1:10–17), the approach to factions in Corinth is precisely the same as his approach to the brewing problem of disunity in the church at Philippi (Phil 4:1–2), where he urged them to take up the same attitude of Christ, who humbled himself to death on a cross (Phil 2:5–11). The cross is the interpretive framework for Christian living.

Paul’s very defects had afforded the most convincing demonstration of the power of the Spirit. Though there was nothing impressive about his preaching from a human standpoint, it had carried conviction: It was not human excellence that accomplished this, but the Spirit’s power (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9; for the linking of power with the Spirit, cf. Rom. 15:13; 1 Thess. 1:5; with the gospel, Rom. 1:16).

5. So that (hina) indicates purpose. Paul’s intention had been to ground his converts in the divine power and to make them independent of human wisdom. Wilson points out that ‘a faith that depends upon clever reasoning may be demolished by a more acute argument, but the faith which is produced by the power of God can never be overthrown’. So Paul had refused to employ rhetorical arts and had concentrated on the message that was so unpalatable to natural men, the message of the cross.

For Christ alone personified the wisdom from God (v. 30) and in Him the Corinthians experienced righteousness, that is, justification (Rom. 4:24–25), holiness, that is, sanctification (2 Thes. 2:13–15), and redemption, that is, glorification (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 4:30).

The message of the Cross cuts to the heart of self-centeredness. Paul saw it as central to salvation which he understood to be a process begun by justification, advanced by sanctification, and climaxed in glorification. Paul spoke most pointedly in this verse and in the letter as a whole to the second of these phases, progressive sanctification.

To the unsaved Jews, however, this message of a crucified Christ was a “stumbling block,” an offense, (Gr. skandalon; cf. English “scandal”) for they expected a political deliverer. To the non-Jewish world (ethnē) the cross was “foolishness”—criminals died on crosses, and they could not see how the cross provided any moral philosophical standard to help them toward salvation. Furthermore, the Greeks and Romans looked on one crucified as the lowest of criminals, so how could such a one be considered a savior? (Lucian, De morte Peregrini, 13, mocks at those who worship a crucified sophist.)

From a human point of view, the message of the gospel, at the heart of which was the suffering and dying Savior, seemed foolishly contradictory. No less so was the principle that he who would be greatest must be the servant of all (Matt. 23:11–12). But this was precisely what Paul meant to affirm in his analysis of the causes of division in Corinth.

I resolved. Paul shows that he judges the categories of traditional Greco-Roman rhetoric as “nothing” (see 1:17 and note). crucified. When Paul proclaims Jesus Christ, he always preaches about Jesus’ death on the cross.

weakness. Note the physical difficulties that beset Paul’s life (2 Cor 12:7; Gal 4:13–15).

2:3 weakness … fear … trembling. Paul came to Corinth after being beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, run out of Thessalonica and Berea, and scoffed at in Athens (Acts 16:22–24; 17:10, 13, 14, 32), so he may have been physically weak. But in that weakness, he was most powerful (see vv. 4, 5; 2 Cor. 12:9, 10) There were no theatrics or techniques to manipulate people’s response. His fear and shaking was because of the seriousness of his mission.

God’s view of power is upside-down. He is more interested in the weak than in the strong. He is more interested in those who recognize their low estate than in those who seek to prop themselves up in a lofty, powerful position. We even see this early on in verse 20 where it says, “Where is the one who is wise?” He’s speaking directly into the heart of those Greeks and Gentiles who wanted wisdom and strength. And then it says in verse 20, “Where is the scribe?” The word “scribe” refers to the expert on the Law of the Bible. Paul is speaking to Greeks who did not necessarily have an understanding of the background of God in the Old Testament. But he is also speaking to a number of religious Jews who were well aware of that background. His point is that regardless of your cultural background, the cross will turn your concept of wisdom and power upside down.

The opposite of foolishness is ‘wisdom’ and we expect Paul to speak of the gospel as ‘the wisdom of God’. Instead he says it is power (cf. Rom. 1:16). It is not simply good advice, telling us what we should do. Nor is it information about God’s power. It is God’s power.

In any case the Corinthians were not very impressed by his personal presence (2 Cor. 10:10; in the second-century Acts of Paul and Thecla Paul is said to be ‘a man small of stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked’). Paul says that he had been without strength and afraid, even to the point of trembling (Phillips, ‘I was feeling far from strong, I was nervous and rather shaky’).

Since Paul’s argument in 1:18–25 coheres around the concepts of folly and wisdom, the contrast between “foolishness” and “power” in 1:18 is somewhat surprising. One would expect Paul to affirm that the gospel is the wisdom of God, the opposite of folly. But the claim is that the message of the cross is the “power” of God to the ones being saved. The explanation lies in the close association between “word” and “power”110 in the larger argument of 1:18–4:21 and in the juxtaposition of “wisdom” and “power” in the immediate context (see 1:24, 25, 26). In addition to 1:17–18, the word/power combination occurs also in 2:4–5 and 4:19–20. In contrast to human wisdom, Paul’s message was powerfully effective, a demonstration of the Spirit (1:17–18; 2:4–5). In 4:14–21, Paul informs the Corinthians that he is not impressed with their arrogant speech but rather wants to know what kind of power they had since the kingdom of God is not a matter of speech but of power (4:19–20). Thus, the term “power” in 1:18 is particularly suited to the Corinthian context in that it counters their tendency to boast in human achievement. The mention of power in 1:18 anticipates the affirmation of Christ as God’s power to those who seek after signs (1:22–24). In 1:24, power is paired with wisdom, which is further developed in 1:25 and 1:26–27: God is wiser and stronger (more powerful) than men (1:25), and, in contrast to the wise and influential of the world (1:26), God chooses foolish and weak things (1:27). Thus, the concept of “power” is developed in relation to both “word” and “wisdom” in Paul’s argument.

The term “power,” in this context, has to do with the effectiveness of the cross to make God known, to accomplish salvation, and to transform lives. Thiselton argues that the term “effective” more accurately captures Paul’s intent and avoids secular notions of that which is miraculous or overwhelming. Ciampa and Rosner concur and further note the close connection between God’s word and power in the Old Testament, citing Jer 29:23 as an example. “In v. 18 the word of the cross is the power of God in the sense that God’s intention to defeat evil, to make himself known, and to save those who believe will certainly be brought to completion. In other words, he is able to deliver on his promise that is the gospel.” The use of power in 1:18 is analogous to its use in Rom 1:16 where Paul announces the gospel as “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” In terms of Christian living, Paul rejects the world’s perspective and “personally adopts a cruciform posture in relation to ‘power’.” The Corinthians, on the other hand, wanted to avoid the humiliation associated with the apostolic way of life (cf. 4:9–13).

What Paul rejects is self-presentation and haughty speech. Garland puts it this way: “The gospel always points beyond humans to God and Christ and becomes garbled whenever humans exploit it instead to headline themselves as its stars.” The content of Paul’s message was simple and straightforward, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified,”199 and delivered with full confidence in the Spirit’s power to produce results.

In short, mystery is a revelatory term that denotes the disclosure of God’s truth and the revelation of something previously unknown. Garland puts it this way, “The mystery is truth revealed by God, not truth discovered by human investigation and argument. Humans do not find this truth; it finds them.”

The final clause, “so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power,” is, in substance, a recasting of the climactic statement of the previous unit, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1:31). If we take into account the summarizing statement of 1:18–25, that God is wiser and stronger than men (1:25), taken together, the three concluding statements of each unit in 1:18–2:5 provide a succinct summary of Paul’s main emphasis throughout. The mention of the Corinthians’ faith in 2:5 is the first specific reference to their faith in the letter. The parallel between “faith” in 2:5 and “boasting in the Lord” in 1:31 is instructive to Paul’s meaning of “faith” in this context. To “boast” in the Lord is to depend on, to trust, to declare one’s allegiance, and to rely on. To trust in the wisdom of men is a dead-end street, a guaranteed failure (cf. 1:19).

It is the power of salvation from sin, of deliverance from Satan, of life in God’s very presence for all eternity.

Paul warned Timothy, “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1 Tim. 4:1–2). Timothy was to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (v. 13). That was his job. That is every preacher’s job. Any other approach prostitutes the pulpit.

He surely would have gotten a wider and more receptive hearing, but his hearers would have been left in their sins and without a Savior. Some have said that the great preacher Jonathan Edwards read his sermons so that he would not be guilty of using human persuasive techniques to gain a response. He wanted only the message to bring the results.

He did not want them to have a new philosophy but new life.

He surely would have gotten a wider and more receptive hearing, but his hearers would have been left in their sins and without a Savior. Some have said that the great preacher Jonathan Edwards read his sermons so that he would not be guilty of using human persuasive techniques to gain a response. He wanted only the message to bring the results.