1 Corinthians 1:20 – 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. 21 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. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended, and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 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. 

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 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. 28 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. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30 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. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” (NLT)

Continuing in chapter one of 1 Corinthians, Paul touches upon another division within the church in Corinth, that of education.  We must understand that Paul was not one to put up with anyone claiming to be superior to anyone else, and it certainly shows in this passage!  The Greeks prided themselves on their wisdom, and often called the uneducated ‘foolish’.  With this background, consider the opening verses of this passage:  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. 21 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. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 

To both the Jews and the Greeks, the cross was a sign of weakness, but to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  The word used in this verse for ‘called’ was often translated as invited, which I prefer.  God invited us to share in God’s Saving Grace.  The way this verse reads, ‘but to those called/invited’ leads some believe that since some were invited, other were not.  This is not the case.  All are invited, but not all answer the invitation.  We have plenty of other Scripture verses that of speak God inviting all (2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16, just to name a couple). 

In a strong stance towards those who would separate by level of education, Paul asserts that, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.  Then in verse twenty-eight Paul states that God even chose things counted as nothing at all – ‘things that are not’ in other translations.  He was actually quoting a popular phrase used by Greek philosophers to make his argument that God uses all people to make God’s message known.  This is Good News, but also challenging to each of us.  We are being told that each and every one of us has something of tremendous value to share – our knowledge of Jesus Christ.  

Today, let’s share some of our knowledge of Jesus, not boasting in our knowledge, (verse 29) but humbly sharing.  

Posted by Ramón Torres