1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (New Living Translation)

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

As the Scriptures say, ?I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.?


So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world?s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it?s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God?s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world?s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, ?If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.?


What is the Power of God? Well, according to this passage it is? the message of the cross?. Paul states this emphatically in the Book of Romans. Check out these scriptures found in chapter 1, verse 16.

"For I am not ashamed of this ?Good News about Christ?. It is the ?power of God? at work, saving everyone who believes?the Jew first and also the Gentile. "

The good news about Christ is that he died for us but was raised from the dead. He now pleads with God on our behalf. It Seems foolish to most people. But to those of us who believe it is the ?very power of God? at work within us. Jesus became wisdom for us. He is our wisdom. It is in Him and Him alone that we are made right with God.

I used to be the kind of person that always had to figure everything out. I could not believe in something unless I could see it, touch it, feel it and understand all the intricacies of how it worked. I used to be the guy saying ?God, if you are real then send me a sign. Strike me with lightning. Let me hear audible answer to my prayers, anything! Well, according to this word, this train of thought is foolishness. How can we expect that an almighty, all-knowing, ever present God, the creator of everything we can and cannot see operate on the same level as us? That?s foolishness. Check out what he says in Isaiah 55, verses 8 & 9.

?My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,? says the LORD. ?And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.?


Once I just let go of trying to operate in my own wisdom and opened my heart to the truth about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, my need to understand everything turned to an attitude of trust, belief and faith. Once you do this, God begins to reveal things to you that you could have never concluded in your own thinking. The Spirit Himself will reveal to you things that are unknown and the great mysteries of life.

Friends, today I encourage you to put your trust in the Good News. The Gospel of Christ. It is Power! It is Wisdom! It is Life! Choose it Today!


Thank you for visiting and feel free to leave a comment!