1 Corinthians 1 Study Notes

1:18-19 The cross divides the human race. The division is between those who are perishing, to whom the cross is foolishness, and those who are being saved, to whom the cross is wisdom and power. Paul supported this truth by quoting Is 29:14, where God warned the unbelieving leaders of Jerusalem who considered themselves wise. God’s judgment will expose all pretensions to human wisdom not anchored in Christ.

1:20-21 Paul introduced God’s indictment against those who view themselves as wise in this age. The last question of the series (Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?) shows the futility of unbelieving human wisdom. The world takes the gospel and its emphasis on the cross as foolishness, but God determined to save people on the basis of their trust in what is preached—Christ crucified.

1:22-23 To Jews, the message Christ crucified signaled weakness, indicating that Jesus was a false messiah. Jews looked instead for signs of Messiah’s power (Is 35; 61); thus, the message “Christ crucified” was a stumbling block (Gk skandalon; an offense) to their expectations. To the Gentile mind-set, which held no “messianic expectations” but only general conceptions of what deity should be like, the message of “Christ crucified” was foolishness.

1:24 Among the called of all nations, Christ is the power and wisdom of God to save from his judgment (v. 21).

1:25 The foolishness (as perceived by the world) of God is wiser than the wisdom of man. The term translated “foolishness” refers to the foolish content of the message preached—the offensive message of Christ crucified.

1:26-28 Paul gave the rationale for the makeup of God’s people. Because the Lord’s people embrace the “nothing” message, the world views them as nothing. But in the next age God will shame the wise and the strong and bring to nothing the things that in this age are viewed as something (2:6; 3:18-20).

The Greek noun sophia means wisdom, intelligence, or knowledge, but this intelligence and knowledge pertain more to skill in living than to intellectual mastery. Related words are the verb sophizo, meaning to make wise (2Tm 3:15; 2Pt 1:16), and sophos, the adjective meaning wise or clever.

In the OT, wisdom does not refer to intellectual ability but to one who looks to God for instruction. Solomon stated that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Pr 1:7), which implies that even a genius who does not fear God is a fool (see Ps 14:1).

Paul understood sophia in the light of the OT. He saw world-ly wisdom and God’s wisdom as opposites (see 1Co 2:1-9; Col 2:23). The Greeks depended on human mental prowess and insight to unravel the mysteries of life, but Paul relied on God’s revelation in Christ (1Co 1:30; Eph 1:8-9,17; 3:8-12). This is why Paul said that God’s wisdom in Christ is not “of this age” and “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1Co 2:6; 3:19).

1:29 God determined to choose despised ones—those who embrace the foolishness of the cross—so that no one can boast about his human accomplishment or position in his presence.

1:30-31 By the Father’s doing, believers have an identification in Christ (shorthand for “in Christ crucified,” cp. vv. 23-24,30; 2:2). Because of this they possess the wisdom of God—Christ crucified, the very essence of wisdom. Through this wisdom, believers have justification at God’s court, sanctification that allows their entrance into his presence, and ultimate redemption.