For the word of the cross is folly…

1 Corinthians 1:18

Paul had just noted that Christ had sent him “to preach the gospel,” but “not with words of eloquent wisdom,” specifying the reason for this as “lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1:17).  In doing so, the apostle now begins to address another problem at Corinth: their misguided emphasis on human wisdom over divine wisdom which kept souls from being truly converted to Christ.

Corinth was heavily influenced by Greek culture, including that society’s strong appreciation of flowery rhetoric and philosophical jargon (cf. Acts 17:21).  Yet when Paul had preached the gospel to them (Acts 18:1ff), he had not done so “with lofty speech or wisdom” (2:1, 4a), a fact later used by his enemies in Corinth to discredit him (2 Cor. 10:10).  The Corinthian brethren were allowing the influence of their society’s infatuation with strong oration and intellectual prowess to factor into the division taking place among them (1:10-13).  For example, Apollos was “an eloquent man” known to “speak boldly” (Acts 18:24-25).  It is possible that these attributes might have been a reason why some of the Corinthians gave him undue allegiance (1:12), which could be why Paul was now teaching them that focusing more on “words of eloquent wisdom” would empty the gospel of its power (1:17ff).

He then speaks of how “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing” (1:18a).  From a worldly perspective, this makes sense.  Crucifixion was infamous as a form of execution which was not only brutal but demeaning, reserved for the worst offenders and never to be used on any Roman citizen.  Who therefore would expect a Savior, the hero of the story, to be executed in this fashion, and that it would be specifically dying by crucifixion that his greatest act would be done?  Yet “to us who are being saved,” the good news that our Savior willingly endured crucifixion specifically to save us all from hell is NOT “folly.”  Rather, “it is the power of God” (1:18b; cf. Rom. 1:16).

Indeed, this had always been God’s plan to save us.  Paul acknowledges this by then quoting from a prophecy made 700 years earlier: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart” (1:19; cf. Is. 29:14).  The apostle wants the Corinthians to understand that God, dismissing the “wise,” “the scribe,” and “the debater of this age,” has “made foolish the wisdom of the world” (1:20).  Yahweh in his flawless wisdom knew that the world, through mankind’s flawed wisdom, would never come to know God (1:21a).  That is why “it pleased God through the folly of what we preach” – i.e., the good news that we are saved from hell only by God allowing himself to be executed in the most agonizing and humiliating way known to man, a concept the world would consider to be ridiculous – “to save those who believe” (1:21b).

Instead of heeding the gospel, Paul’s fellow Jews “demand(ed) signs” (1:22a).  Yet miracles weren’t enough to convince them because the majority of Israel still rejected Christ as their Messiah despite the numerous signs Jesus and the apostles performed in their midst to confirm the veracity of their message (Mk. 16:20; Heb. 2:3-4; cf. Matt. 12:22ff; 16:1ff; John 2:18ff).  The Greeks of Corinth and Athens sought “wisdom” (1:22b), interested primarily in new ideas and philosophies and the attention and glory such would bring those who presented them (Acts 17:21).  The more ignoble message of a sinless Savior suffering an indignant death on a cross to save us from our sins would be rejected by the pride of both Jew and Gentile (1:23).  However, “to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks” – i.e., the few who find the narrow gate that leads to salvation by obeying the call of the gospel (Matt. 7:13-14; 2 Thess. 2:14) – the message of Christ that proclaimed a crucified Savior would be seen as “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1:25).

God’s ways are often seen as the wrong way to go by humanity, and it’s easy for us in the church to follow Corinth’s error and think our ways are better than his.  It takes humility to trust and obey.

— Jon