Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does 1st Corinthians Chapter 1 mean?

Paul is writing from Ephesus to the church in Corinth, a place he knows well. He spent over a year and half there, leading people to Christ and helping to establish the church. He is writing to them now to correct some wrong attitudes and behaviors among them that he has heard about, in addition to answering some questions he has received from them.

Before addressing his first area of concern for them, Paul begins his letter by thanking God for all He has done for the Christians in Corinth. Paul makes it clear he is convinced the faith of the Corinthians is genuine. It was confirmed by the gifts they have received from God, which include gifts of speech and knowledge. Whatever problems they have, it is not because God has not given them all they need. Paul assures them that because they are in Christ, they will stand blameless before God on the day of the Lord and Christ will sustain them until that day. They have been sanctified and their faithful God has called them into the fellowship of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:1–9).

Next Paul begins to address one of many concerns he has about the Corinthians. He has received a report from someone who knows them, indicating they are divided into factions based on what well-known teacher they are loyal to. Some say they follow Paul, while others say they follow a teacher called Apollos or the apostle Peter. Others even say that they follow Christ, as if it were a separate category altogether. Paul urges them be unified instead of divided, to find a way to agree with each other and stop defining their faith by the teacher they prefer, including him. Christ is not divided. They were not baptized in Paul’s name. He did baptize some of them, but they were baptized in the name of Jesus. All their focus should be on Christ, not one human leader or another (1 Corinthians 1:10–17).

Paul transitions by declaring that Christ did not send him to preach the gospel with eloquent and wise-sounding words. To try to persuade people to believe in Christ in that way would risk emptying the cross of Christ of its power. The cross doesn’t need clever packaging. It must be understood and believed for what it is. In fact, Paul shows that many people have rejected faith in Christ because of the cross. The idea of a crucified Messiah or deity is foolishness to those who are dying in their sin. For those who believe and are being saved, though, the cross is rightly understood to be the very power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18–21).

For the Jewish people, the teaching that the long-awaited Messiah had come only to be killed as a common criminal on a Roman cross was highly offensive. They looked for miraculous signs, for the Messiah to lead Israel into a glorious new age of freedom and dominance. For the Greeks who valued above all the pursuit of wisdom by human reason and logic, the cross was also foolish. What kind of a god would serve sinful humans by sacrificing His own Son to pay for their sin? Such a god would be weak and certainly not the one, true God above all other gods (1 Corinthians 1:22–25).

Paul shows that God was pleased to save those who believed the “weak and foolish” gospel of Christ crucified. In fact, God intentionally chose those who were weak and foolish in the world’s eyes to believe the “weak and foolish” gospel of Jesus. In this way, God will shame the supposed wisdom and strength of all those high-status people who have rejected faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:26–31).

Chapter Context
First Corinthians 1 begins Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth, a big, bustling city on a major trade route. Paul knows them well, having spent a year and a half leading people to Christ and establishing the church there. He writes from Ephesus to correct some of their wrong attitudes and behaviors and to answer some of their questions. First, though, he thanks God for His grace to the Corinthians, knowing they will stand blameless before Him on the day of the Lord. Still, they must stop being divided and unite in and around Christ.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

Paul begins this letter to the church in Corinth in a way echoing most of his writing. He states right from the beginning that he is writing as a representative of Jesus Christ. He writes from his official office of apostle. That word, in the general sense, means one who is sent by another to fulfill a specific task or, especially, to deliver a specific message, on their behalf. In the New Testament, the word “apostle” most often refers to the specific role filled by the 12 disciples of Jesus and Paul, all sent by Jesus to carry the message of Christ’s good news to the world. Paul did not choose this role for himself. He was chosen by the will of God (Acts 9:15).

Paul often mentions who is with him when he is writing. In this case, it is a fellow believer in Jesus named Sosthenes. It is possible, though not certain, this could be the same Sosthenes described in Acts 18:17. That Sosthenes was the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth who helped lead an effort to try to shut down Paul’s preaching of the gospel by dragging him before the Roman leader in the city. Instead of arresting Paul, however, the Roman proconsul Gallio decided the dispute was none of Rome’s business. In a shocking twist, Sosthenes was beaten by a mob in response.

If this is the same Sosthenes, Paul’s readers in Corinth would know of his seemingly unlikely conversion from Judaism to Christianity, from someone who wanted to shut Paul down to someone who was now working together with Paul in his mission to spread the gospel of Jesus.

Scholars also suggest that this Sosthenes, whomever he may be, is also mentioned here because he was serving as Paul’s stenographer for this letter, a position known as an amanuensis.

Context Summary
First Corinthians 1:1–3 follows Paul’s normal pattern in the greeting for this letter to the Corinthians. He identifies himself and Sosthenes, who is with him in Ephesus. His recipient is God’s church in Corinth. He describes his readers as those who are sanctified—set apart for a special purpose—in Christ Jesus. They are called to be saints with all Christians everywhere. Paul offers them grace and peace from God the Father and from Christ.

Verse 2. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Paul’s letters follow the general standard for introductions used in his era. He identified himself in the previous verse. Now he describes who the letter is for, adding to that some beautiful theology about all of us who are Christians.

Paul is writing to God’s church in Corinth. Corinth was a big city on a major trade route. Paul had introduced Christianity and planted a church there, staying for over a year and half to serve the people (Acts 18:1–18). He knew these Corinthians and their environment well.

Paul says he is writing to Christians, those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. The word “sanctified” refers to something that has been “set apart” for special purposes. Every person who is a Christian has been marked by God, as His own possession, set apart from the rest of humanity for His own purposes. Christians are not hoping, by good behavior, to become sanctified someday. By God’s grace through faith in Christ, that has already happened.

Paul next says these Christians in the church in Corinth are called to be saints, together with all the other Christians—those who call on Jesus’ name—in all the other places in the world. Theologians sometimes call this group of all the saved people everywhere the “universal church.”

Paul writes that one thing we all have in common is that Christ is our Lord. This is true for every Christian.

Verse 3. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul concludes the introduction of his letter with a standard Christian greeting. Though it was standard, it also carries the weight of a prayer offered by an apostle of Christ for those who are in Christ. He asks God for grace for them, along with peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even in this, Paul is helping the Corinthians—and all who read this letter—to understand more clearly what is true about our relationship with God. He alone is our source of grace and peace. God is one and consists of both the Father and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, who is not mentioned here. God intends for us to be in relationship with Him as a Father and as our Lord.

Verse 4. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,

Paul begins his letter to this troubled church with some remarkably positive words for them. These are also encouraging for all of us who are Christians. This opening is even more striking because of the bold words of correction Paul will use later. He is writing to respond to wrong behaviors and attitudes he has heard about among them. At the same time, he seeks to answer their questions about how to live as believers in a godless culture.

Paul starts, though, by declaring that his first thought when the believers of Corinth come to mind is to thank God for them. He does this “always,” meaning regularly and continually. He expresses that he is truly grateful to God for these people he spent so much time with. Next Paul describes why he is so grateful for them. First, he gives thanks because they have been given grace from God in Christ Jesus. In other words, God has already welcomed them into His family and given them a place with Him in eternity because they came to Him through faith in Christ.

Neither we nor the Corinthians deserve that enormous gift. We have earned quite the opposite with our sin and, in many ways, we continue to fail to live up to the good God has given to us. Paul is so glad for the grace they have received, even as they continue to fail to do what is right in some important ways.

Context Summary
First Corinthians 1:4–9 is about God’s grace to the Corinthians. Before beginning to address problems in the church, Paul first declares his thanks to God for the people. Specifically, he is thankful for God’s grace and the good gifts God has given to them. Those gifts confirm that the Corinthians are truly in Christ. This means Christ will sustain them all the way to the end. Because they are in Christ who has paid for their sin with His blood, they will stand blameless before God on the day of the Lord.

Verse 5. that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge —

Paul is writing a letter that will focus heavily on correcting wrong actions and attitudes among the Christians in Corinth. Still, he begins by giving thanks to God for them. He has made clear that they are already sanctified in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2) and have received God’s grace in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:4).

Now Paul adds that God’s grace to these Christians in Corinth included being made rich in Christ in all speech and all knowledge. The word “speech” as used here may refer to speaking in tongues by the power of the Holy Spirit, something Paul will deal with at length later in his letter. Or, he may have in mind the idea of “speaking well:” being able to express ideas about Christ clearly and articulately. Such skill in communication was highly valued in the Greek and Roman culture of the day.

In addition, by God’s grace and in Christ, the Christians in Corinth had been made rich in knowledge. Paul likely means they understood much about the things of God as he—Paul—had taught them during his time with them. In other words, they really “got it.” Because of God’s gift of grace to them, they truly understood and retained all the meaningful ideas Paul had passed on to them.

However, as this letter will later make clear, being rich in speech and knowledge does not always translate to being rich in love and faithfulness to God. Still, these are things Paul thanks God for giving to them.

Verse 6. even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you —

Paul has given thanks, in the previous verses, for God’s grace to the Christians in Corinth, including his grace in making them rich in speech and knowledge.

He says now that “the testimony about Christ was confirmed” in them. In other words, Paul sees clear, doubtless evidence that they genuinely believed his teaching. He is assured they have trusted in Christ for their salvation. Their speech and knowledge, among other gifts, showed that they had received God’s grace through faith in Christ, just as Paul presented that testimony to them.

Major issues needed to be corrected in the Corinthian church, but Paul was first and foremost grateful for their faith in Christ and God’s grace to them. This is a useful piece of information in our understanding of the Christian faith; reminding us that true believers are not immune from spiritual error, and that spiritual mistakes do not prove someone is a non-Christian. Paul makes the Corinthians’ position in Christ even more clear in the following verses.

Verse 7. so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul is giving thanks for what God has done and will do for the Christians in Corinth. Much of his letter to them will focus on corrections they must make in their attitudes and behaviors. Here, though, Paul assures them that a lack of gifts from God is not one of their problems.

In verse 5, Paul wrote that, by God’s grace, the believers of Corinth have been enriched in all speech and all knowledge. This may have been a reference to unique spiritual gifts, possibly including speaking in tongues. Paul will address that later in this letter. Now he adds they are not lacking in “any gift.” In other words, God has fully equipped the Corinthian Christians with everything they need to lead the lives He is calling them to.

As Paul wrote in the previous verse, this confirms they have truly believed and are already accepted by God. Their salvation is settled. Now they can look forward to the revelation of Jesus at His return, instead of dreading it. When that day of the Lord comes, God will welcome them because of His grace through their faith in Jesus.

Paul speaks often in his letters about this day of Christ’s return and judgment, as he does in the following verse.

Verse 8. who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is one of Scripture’s truly great promises about what it means to be in Christ. Paul has been giving thanks to God for all the amazing things He has done for the Christians in Corinth. Everything he has mentioned is true of all Christians.

Reading these words, it’s important to notice that nothing Paul has written mentions anything the Corinthians themselves have done. God has done it all, in and for them, as a free gift because of their faith in Christ. The rest of Paul’s letter will show that as individuals and as a church, these believers in Corinth struggle with major spiritual problems. They are indulging in attitudes and actions that are sinful. Still, Paul writes the words of this verse to them and to all who are in Christ. God will not stop giving the Corinthians His good gifts. He will not stop sustaining them, keeping them going, holding them together. They will remain guiltless or blameless in His eyes all the way to the return of Christ on the day of the Lord.

How is this possible? Why would God do this? God’s grace to us is rightly called “amazing.” For those who come to Him by faith, God receives Christ’s death as payment for our sins and gives us credit for Christ’s righteous, sinless life on earth (Romans 5:6–11). That’s why, instead of dreading the return of Christ, Christians can wait for it with eager hopefulness (Galatians 5:5; Romans 8:19–25).

Verse 9. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

In this brief opening section, Paul has described the glory of God’s grace to us in Christ. In short, it is this: Christ does all the work, and we receive all the benefits. Paul has described his own personal gratitude that God has done this for the Christians in Corinth, people Paul knows well from the time he spent with them.

Paul has written that God has sanctified them in Christ, has made them rich in spiritual gifts, and that God will hold them blameless on the day of the Lord. Now he closes the section with an enormous understatement: God is faithful. The rest of this letter will reveal deep and ugly problems among the church in Corinth, but none of those things will keep God from being faithful, by His grace, to any person who has come to Him through faith in Jesus.

Paul’s readers, these troubled Corinthian Christians, were called by God into the fellowship of His own Son Jesus. All Christians are called into that fellowship. This tells us two things about what God intends for us. First, He does not mean to save us and then have us keep our distance until we arrive in eternity. God sees us as being in fellowship, a deep and direct relationship, with Him, with Christ. Second, Paul is emphasizing that all who are in Christ are, by definition, in relationship with each other.

These relationships themselves are a gift. Paul’s letter will show, though, that the Corinthians were not valuing, in all cases, the gift of their fellowship with each other in Christ.

Verse 10. I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Paul has laid a firm foundation for his letter in two things. First, he had zero doubts that the Christians in Corinth were truly saved, born-again believers, completely secure in Christ forever. Paul will not look at their sin and wrong thinking and challenge their salvation. Second, Paul has grounded their security in Christ Himself. He mentions the name of Christ here for the tenth time in the first ten verses. The Corinthians are accepted, because they are in Christ, and for no other reason.

In the previous verse, Paul wrote these believers have been called, each of them, into the fellowship of Christ. That requires, as people in Christ, they be in fellowship with each other. Now Paul comes to the first of many problems among the church in Corinth. Instead of being united because they are all in Christ, the Corinthians are divided.

Paul urges them in the name of Christ to agree with each other. He sets a high expectation for this church, and all Christian churches: zero divisions. Because each of them is in Christ, Paul insists that they can live in unity. This unity can, and must, reach the level of cooperative thinking and judgment on matters of critical importance.

Here, as in other passages (Romans 14), Paul will clarify: he is not demanding everyone in the church agree with whomever is in charge. Nor is he teaching that believers can never disagree about something. The standard here is not to reach perfect conformity, only that they must reach unity. Disagreement does not have to mean division.

Paul is setting up Christ as the standard for every thought and judgment. As every person conforms to Christ, they will come into alignment with each other. Differences of opinion will be secondary to fundamental agreement and brotherhood, through Christ. When Christians set up mere human beings as their standard, division is always the result, as the following verses will show.

Context Summary
First Corinthians 1:10–17 is about Christian unity. After giving thanks to God for the Corinthians and their sure place with Him in eternity, Paul addresses the way they have divided themselves into factions based on which Christian teacher they follow. Paul urges them to stop and be unified in and around Christ. After all, Christ is not divided. They were not baptized in the name of Paul, though he baptized a few of them. Christ did not send Paul to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Paul will not risk emptying the cross of its power by preaching with eloquent words.

Verse 11. For it has been reported to me by Chloe ‘s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

Here Paul comes to his first purpose in writing to the Christians in Corinth. He has received unpleasant reports about them. Paul is writing from Ephesus, where he is living and working. Some people have come to Ephesus who are familiar with what is going on among the Christians in Corinth.

Paul describes his source as “Chloe’s people,” suggesting the Corinthians will know exactly who he is talking about. We don’t have any other information about who Chloe or her people are. This group may have been relatives, friends, or servants of Chloe. They may have been sent by her to give this report to Paul or they may simply have been in town and mentioned to Paul what they knew about the church in Corinth. Perhaps Chloe, herself, was a member of the Corinthian congregation. We may speculate but cannot say for sure.

What “Chloe’s people” reported deeply troubles Paul. After all, he led many of these people to Christ and helped to establish this church, staying for over a year and a half with them (Acts 18:1–17). He cares about the believers in Corinth. According to this news, instead of being unified in the fellowship of Christ together, there is quarreling among them.

The English word “quarreling” doesn’t sound especially bad to modern ears. But the original Greek word, eris, refers to a hot dispute: a fiery, emotional disagreement. In Greek mythology, Eris was the name of the goddess of discord, responsible for instigating feuds, bickering, and strife. Paul lists this relationship-destroying “quarreling” in many letters alongside with other terrible relationship sins (Romans 1:29; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20; 1 Timothy 6:4).

Verse 12. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

Paul has revealed his first reason for writing to the Christians in Corinth. He has received a troubling report that they are engaged in “quarreling.” The term Paul uses here is one associated with deep, heated strife and emotional bickering: eris, which was also the name of the Greek goddess of discord. Instead of being united in Christ, as is the expectation for all churches, the Corinthians were hotly divided.

Here we learn the source of their conflict. Different factions within the church have apparently aligned themselves with one of at least four different teachers. This passage lists Paul, Apollos, Cephas—Peter—and Christ. There might have been more, and Paul is simply listing these for the sake of example. Part of what’s implied here is that followers of these factions have aligned themselves against the other leaders and those who follow them.

Apollos is a somewhat mysterious figure in the early church. He was an Alexandrian Jew who became well known for his eloquent speaking, his knowledge of the Scriptures, and his bold teaching. When they saw that Apollos’s knowledge was incomplete, Paul’s friends and co-workers Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and helped him to better understand Christianity. He later traveled to Corinth with recommendation letters from the Christians in Ephesus (Acts 18:24–19:1).

Apollos is not known to have worked directly with Paul, but is not shown to have worked against him, either. He seems to have been a talented, independent Christian teacher empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 18:25).

Cephas is another name for the apostle Peter (John 1:42). It’s unclear if Peter ever came to Corinth himself. Some scholars speculate that devout Jews who had converted to Christianity may have been more comfortable aligning themselves with Peter’s faithful Jewish roots.

The group that declared “I follow Christ” would seem, on the surface, to be the one Paul would give praise to. He does not do so outright, suggesting that this faction may have championed Christ in some distorted way.

Verse 13. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Paul has called out a source of hot conflict between the Christians living in Corinth. Instead of being united together, as God has called them to be, they have divided themselves into factions based on their loyalty to different leaders. Four are given, at least as examples of these groups: those claiming Paul, Apollos, Peter, and Christ.

At first glance, we may wonder how people could be so committed to just one Christian leader that they would fight with other believers over it. After all, didn’t all of them teach the same message: Christ’s gospel? Wouldn’t one assume all of these leaders preached that salvation comes only by faith in Christ? Experience, however, shows how easy it is for human beings to lose perspective and divide over issues of personality, authority, and race.

We don’t have any reason to assume that Apollos or Peter were encouraging this conflict. Nor do we see evidence they were building factions against other teachers. Paul certainly was not, as he makes clear in this and the following verses. In fact, Paul sounds both baffled and angry. Can Christ be divided into parts, he asks. In other words, isn’t Christianity all about Jesus Christ, not some fallible human teacher? How can loyalty to one person’s truthful teaching about Jesus cause those in Christ to declare opposition to other truthful teachers about Christ?

Paul immediately calls out any group which would say it is loyal to him and against the others. He pointedly and sarcastically asks if he was the one who was crucified to pay for their sin? Were they baptized in Paul’s name? No, of course not. All Christians were baptized in the name of Jesus as a way of identifying themselves publicly with Him. Paul’s remark is not only cutting, it is telling: those who identify more with a human teacher than with Jesus should consider in whom they are truly trusting.

Verse 14. I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

In the previous verse, Paul expressed his dismay that the Corinthian Christians could divide themselves against each other based on which of the prominent Christian teachers they preferred. One group apparently declared their loyalty to him. To make the point that their focus should only be on Christ, Paul asked sarcastically if he had been crucified for them? Had they been baptized in his name (1 Corinthians 1:13)?

Paul clearly wants to eliminate himself from any position which only Christ should occupy in a believer’s heart and mind.

Now Paul makes an aside about who he has baptized. Baptism was the standard practice of the early church that continues to this day. Jesus commanded it be done as He was leaving earth (Matthew 28:19). Believers are baptized to show publicly that they have identified themselves with Christ. Paul says he is grateful to God that he did not baptize very many of the Christians in Corinth. Paul always worked as part of a ministry team. His normal practice was to allow other disciples to perform baptisms. He remembers baptizing two men named Crispus and Gaius. He will recall one other household in the following verse.

He is glad, however, that he didn’t personally baptize too many of them so that they would not be tempted to think that act conferred some special standing for them before God because Paul performed it. Baptism, as with every other meaningful act in Christianity, is about Christ.

This statement, as continued in the flowing verses, also helps us place baptism in the proper perspective. Paul puts great emphasis on his desire to see others saved (Romans 10:1), yet he explicitly says his mission is not to baptize (1 Corinthians 1:17). In other words, Paul himself establishes a clear difference between being saved by grace and being baptized; removing the possibility that baptism is a necessary part of salvation (Titus 3:5).

Verse 15. so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.

Paul expressed in the previous verse that he was glad he did not baptize very many of the Christians in Corinth. He is deeply troubled that they have divided themselves into angry factions based on which well-known Christian teacher they are loyal to. Paul wants no part of that. If he had baptized more of them, his concern is that they might somehow think that his doing so would cause more of them to focus on him instead of on Christ.

He asked sarcastically in verse 13 if they were baptized in his name. Now he says emphatically that, since he baptized so few of them, nobody can wrongly say that they were baptized in his name.

Baptism is an important practice for Christians. When He was leaving earth after the resurrection, Jesus commanded His disciples to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The idea that anyone would be baptized in the name of Paul was ridiculous heresy. That was Paul’s point.

Parallel to that, this passage demonstrates that Paul did not consider baptism and salvation to be one and the same. Despite his deep desire to see others saved (Romans 10:1), Paul will explicitly say his mission was not to baptize (1 Corinthians 1:17), but to preach the gospel. While baptism’s importance is clear, what’s also clear is that the act of baptism does not impart salvation.

Verse 16. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)

Paul is making an aside from his main point that no Christian is legitimately baptized in the name of some teacher, preacher, or apostle. They are baptized in the name of Jesus, and all their loyalty and focus should be on Him. Instead, the believers in Corinth had divided into factions based on their loyalty to well-known Christian teachers.

Paul wrote in verse 14 that the only ones among them he had baptized were Crispus and Gaius. Now he recalls that he also baptized the household of Stephanas and allows that he may have baptized more people he is not remembering while he was with them in Corinth.

His point, though, remains that it does not matter whom he did or did not baptize because nobody was baptized in his name. All Christians are baptized in the name of Jesus. Further, this continues to emphasize that baptism is not part of our salvation. Paul’s concern is the gospel, not a good work such as being baptized.

Verse 17. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Paul was in the unique position as an apostle of having been sent by Christ Himself to complete a specific mission with his life. Christ sent Paul to preach the gospel, especially to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:21).

Holding clearly to this mission meant that Paul also understood what Christ had not sent him to do. He was not called to baptize those who had believed the gospel. He was an evangelist and a missionary. He relied on others to baptize new believers and to participate directly in pastoring and teaching them.

We can take two things from this statement. First, Paul makes it crystal clear that baptism is not the gospel. In other words, baptism is not required for a person to be saved. Paul’s teaching of the gospel is utterly clear that faith in Christ is the only path to God’s grace and eternal salvation from sin (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Second, Paul is not dismissing baptism as unnecessary. He expected that all who came to Christ would be baptized, and Christ commanded His followers to both make disciples and baptize all who believed (Matthew 28:19). Baptism is a step of obedience and a public declaration that a believer belongs to Christ.

Paul adds that Christ did not send him to preach the gospel with words of eloquent wisdom. To preach in this way, Paul says, risks emptying the cross of Christ of its power.

As a writer of course, Paul was often quite eloquent and certainly wise in his presentation of the gospel. One of the values of this era was rhetoric, speeches that were recognized for their brilliant use of words and phrasing to wow an audience and overwhelm a debate opponent on a given topic. We still use that term, today, in reference to the use of words intended to elicit certain responses.

Though Paul was clearly skillful in his use of words, he did not want to persuade anyone to come to faith in Christ because of dazzling wordplay. Instead, he wanted to present the gospel as clearly as possible and allow his listeners to be persuaded by the simple, compelling fact that the Son of God died to pay the penalty for their own sin. That powerful message should not require dazzling packaging to make an impact.

Verse 18. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Paul now begins to expand on his statement from the end of verse 17: that Christ did not send him to focus on words of eloquent wisdom as he preached the gospel, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Paul divides the world into two groups of people: those who are perishing and those who are being saved. Those perishing are destined for eternity apart from God, while those being saved are destined for an eternity of sharing in God’s glory.

To the first group—the perishing—the cross of Christ is “folly.” The original Greek term used here is mōria, from the same root word forming English words such as moron. In blunt terms, Paul is saying that to the unsaved world, those who preach the gospel look like idiots. Broadly speaking, ungodly people think believers, and their faith, are stupid.

In Paul’s day, the cross remained in widespread use by the Romans as a means of public execution. It was a symbol of shameful crimes and powerlessness before the irresistible Roman empire. The cross of Christ was not foolish in the Greek and Roman culture as a result of atheism. In truth, they believed in all kinds of gods and sorted them by the power they wielded over nature and humanity. The cross of Christ was foolish to the pagan culture because Jesus Christ was rejected by His own people and crucified like any other common criminal by the Roman machine.

From the Greek and Roman perspective, that was no kind of god to worship.

For those who are being saved, because of their faith in Christ, the cross is understood to be God’s most powerful act. God’s Son did not lose a fight with the Jewish leaders or the Roman government. He wasn’t overpowered or outmatched (John 10:17–18; 18:6; Matthew 26:53). God the Father sacrificed His Son Jesus for human sin. Jesus, in spite of limitless power and authority, gave up His life to cover the sins of those who were perishing.

Those who trust in Christ understand that without that powerful act, we would be lost and without hope.

Context Summary
First Corinthians 1:18–31 describes the foolishness of the gospel in the world’s eyes. Both Jews and Greeks rejected the idea of Christ crucified. Any god who would die on a Roman cross, especially as a sacrifice for human sinfulness, would be seen by worldly eyes as a weak and foolish deity. God, though, will shame the wise and strong by giving the ability to believe in the cross of Christ mostly to the weak and foolish of the world, in human terms. In the end, nobody will boast before him of their own strength and wisdom.

Verse 19. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Paul often quotes from the Scriptures of his era: what we call the Old Testament. He does this to support his claim that these are the words and message of God. In the previous verse Paul wrote that the cross of Christ is foolishness to those perishing, and the power of God to those being saved.

Here he quotes from Isaiah 29:14, referencing a time when Israel followed supposedly wise human advice. They formed an alliance with Egypt seeking to strengthen their position against Assyrian invaders. What was really needed was trust in the power of God to save them (2 Kings 18:17–19:37).

Paul cites Isaiah, quoting God as saying He will destroy the wisdom of those considered wise according to human understanding. God declares He will thwart—He will “trip up”—those thought to be discerning apart from Him. In other words, God is committed to revealing as foolishness what those opposed to Him see as wisdom and vice versa.

Verse 20. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

The Corinthian Christians lived in a culture which placed enormous value on human wisdom, philosophy, and expertise. The Jewish culture, as well, under the law of Moses, elevated study and scholarship to a place of high status (John 7:49; Mark 1:22; Philippians 3:4–8).

Paul now makes the point that despite high-powered human knowledge and wisdom, these self-appointed gurus had all missed the simple power of Christ, the Son of God, crucified to pay for human sinfulness.

Poetically, and somewhat sarcastically, Paul asks where the wise man is. Where is the Jewish scribe, with all his study? Where is the great debater or philosopher of this era, the ones viewed with such great respect? Why, with all their skill and hard work, have they decided that the cross of Christ is foolishness? Why didn’t their study and carefully worded arguments bring them to the truth?

Verse 21. For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

Paul is declaring a powerful truth: The reason so many fail to believe in Christ’s death on the cross as the way to be forgiven from their own sin is not because the idea is too hard to understand. It’s because it is too easy. It is foolishness for simpletons, as an unbeliever sees it.

Humanity at large has failed to come to know God through human wisdom. The language Paul uses suggests that God, in His wisdom, did not allow human wisdom to bring them to Him. Instead, it pleased Him to save those who believe through the folly of what Paul and the other apostles preach.

In other words, Paul understands that his message, the gospel, looks and sounds foolish to most of the world. People trusting their own wisdom or the wisdom of others will miss it. The gospel is not something that can be worked out by logic and philosophy. Evidence can lead us towards the truth (Romans 1:18–20; Psalm 19:1; Matthew 7:7–8), but that truth ultimately has to be accepted as revelation from God.

Does this mean Paul discourages the use of the mind or logical arguments? Based on his writings in Scripture, he clearly does not. He was an intelligent, well-educated man who routinely used powerful arguments in his ministry (Philippians 3:4–8; Acts 17:17). His point is that human wisdom, knowledge, and logic cannot bring someone to faith in the Christ who died for their sin on the cross.

Verse 22. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

Paul is presenting an idea that would have been startling to some people: Faith in Christ and His death on the cross for human sin cannot be arrived at by human intellect, human wisdom, or human logic. It must be believed by simple faith in the foolish-sounding revelation of God’s Word. “Knowledge” is not the same thing as “trust,” and merely understanding facts does not lead a person to salvation (James 2:19).

Paul now points to the characteristics of the two primary cultures of his day that make this simple faith so difficult. He writes that the Jews demand signs. By this, Paul says that the Jewish people of his era wanted to be convinced by miracles and not by faith. They want the tangible evidence experienced by their forefathers in the parting of the Red Sea and the collapse of Jericho’s walls. Christ’s death on the cross offers no visible evidence of anything other than a man dying on a cross. Paul will discuss the miracle of the resurrection later in this letter.

While the Jews demand signs, Paul writes that the Greeks seek wisdom. As Paul has shown in the previous verses, this seeking is not for wisdom from the revealed Word of God. The Greeks placed enormous value both on human wisdom and a life dedicated to looking for it. They prided themselves for the conclusions human philosophy could generate.

None of those conclusions, however, could lead them to faith in Christ’s death on the cross for human sinfulness. Evidence and philosophy can lead a person to understand the truth, but it does not force them to accept it (Romans 1:18–23). Truth must be accepted, through trust, believed after hearing the “foolish” preaching of the gospel.

Verse 23. but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

Paul is describing why the gospel message he preaches seems so foolish to so many people. “Foolish,” or “folly,” in this case, comes from the same Greek word used to form terms such as moron. It’s not merely that the world sees the gospel as odd, or unusual. They see it as stupid—as idiotic.

In the previous verse, Paul wrote of the two main cultural forces of his era: religious Jews and intellectual Greeks. He said that the Jews demand miraculous signs as verification that God is at work. The Greeks seek human wisdom by means of logic and skillful speech.

The gospel does not satisfy either group. Instead, Paul says that he and the other apostles preach Christ crucified as the central truth of the gospel. The Jewish people stumble over any suggestion that the Messiah would not immediately overthrow Israel’s enemies by the miraculous power of God. They certainly did not want to believe the Messiah would be executed by Israel’s occupier Rome in the most humiliating way possible. After all, Deuteronomy 21:23 says that a hanged man is cursed by God, the Jewish leaders would argue.

For the Gentiles, the idea of a God who would serve humanity by offering His own beloved Son as a sacrifice for sin was ridiculous. From a pagan perspective, strong gods required service from people in order to be rewarded. Only the weakest of gods would serve mortal humans, especially in death.

Paul is emphasizing why faith in Christ cannot be arrived at by human religion and human wisdom. For those who believe, however, he will show it holds extraordinary power.

Verse 24. but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Who would not want access to the very power and wisdom of God? Paul has chosen to use key ideas sought by the cultures of his culture: Jewish spiritual power and Greek wisdom. The religious Jews and the intellectual Greeks cannot accept, however, the gospel message that it is available only through “Christ crucified.” That idea is foolishness and a stumbling block. “Foolishness” or “folly” as used by Paul comes from a Greek term which means “moronic” or “idiotic.”

Now Paul identifies the one group that not only accepts but fully believes that Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, died on a Roman cross to pay with His own blood the penalty for human sinfulness. Jews and Greeks who are called by God believe it. Their faith gives them access, by God’s grace, to the power and wisdom of God that all others are seeking.

This group, these believers, are not smarter, wiser, or better educated than those who reject the idea of a crucified Christ. They did not cleverly figure out what others could not. They believed because they responded to God’s gift of calling them to faith, opening their eyes to see what others could not or would not. Faith itself is a gift from God.

Verse 25. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

This verse must be read carefully and in the context of this chapter to be understood correctly. Paul is not saying that God contains any foolishness or weakness, at all. Instead, he has taught why so many people reject the idea of a crucified Christ as weak and foolish. Paul uses the Greek word mōron, which implies precisely what it appears to in English: something stupid, idiotic, or silly. From a godless perspective, it’s stupid to think God would sacrifice His only Son to pay the penalty for human sin. Pagan religions, in particular, would call a deity “weak” if it could be killed on a cross like any common criminal or political dissenter.

Those called by God to believe, however, recognize God’s foolishness in giving His Son as the greatest of all wisdom. They see the incredible strength required for Christ to remain on the cross and die instead of exercising His power over those who would kill Him.

It’s also important to remember that Paul was well-educated (Philippians 3:4–8), experienced (Acts 17:17), tested (Acts 17:11) and frequently encouraged others to use their God-given minds (Colossians 2:8; 2 Timothy 2:15). At no point does the Bible embrace ignorance or sneer at the importance of reason. What Scripture does, clearly, is distinguish between knowing about God (James 2:19) and having a trusting faith in God (Matthew 18:3).

Verse 26. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

Paul has described why so many intelligent, well-educated, and thoughtful people reject the gospel message. Many bright and rational persons recoil at the suggestion that the Son of God was crucified on a Roman cross to pay the price for human sin. From their perspective, such a god would be foolish and weak. Anyone who believes this, by extension of their thinking, must also be foolish and weak.

Paul now asks the Corinthian Christians to think about everyone in their congregation. He wants them to evaluate those God called to believe in Jesus on a human scale. How do they stack up? His answer is not flattering to them. Few of them were wise by human standards. In other words, they didn’t have may PhDs or academics or skilled speakers who could debate with eloquence.

In addition, few of the believers in Corinth had much power, in human terms. They did not command armies or run large corporations. They did not possess extraordinary wealth so that they could control the actions of many other people in service to themselves.

Finally, not many of the Corinthian believers were born into nobility. In the highly segregated social system of Paul’s day, being born into the right family brought with it incredible privilege and status that was difficult to lose and impossible to earn. Those people didn’t tend to come to Christ and join the Corinthian church.

Paul describes those who are in Christ in Corinth, and in most places, in the following verses. His emphasis here is not to denounce learning, since the Bible is full of exhortations towards wisdom and reason (Acts 17:11; 1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 2:8). Rather, he is pointing out the enormous gap between merely understanding the gospel and accepting it (James 2:19).

Verse 27. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

Paul has asked the Christians in Corinth to take a good look at the people in their congregation, their brothers and sisters in Christ. In the previous verse, he wrote that very few of them are wise or powerful in human terms. Not many of them were born into nobility. His point is not to put them down, but to emphasize that God does not require brilliance or power to become a believer. In fact, many people rely on their intellect or wealth so much that it keeps them from trusting in God (Matthew 19:23).

Paul is continuing to reveal why so few Jews and Greeks believe in the crucified Christ. They think that any god who could or would die on a cross to save people would be foolish and weak. By extension, those who would believe such a thing would also be foolish and weak. The term used for “foolishness” here is the same one behind the English word moron.

Only those God calls to believe in the gospel can see the strength and wisdom in this act of love. Now Paul confirms that God does indeed choose foolish and weak people, as defined by human terms, to come to Him through faith in Christ. Why does God do this? He wants to shame those who consider themselves too wise or strong to believe such a thing.

Paul, of course, is not saying that the believers in Corinth—or the humble Christians in other places and times—are truly foolish and weak. The world sees them as idiots and losers, because they occupy service positions, are not well-educated, or do not have money, rank, or social standing. Even more so, the world sees them as fools for believing in Jesus. In truth, though, by God’s grace, these believers are the only ones who see clearly enough to receive what is actually wise and strong.

Verse 28. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

Paul continues his thought from the previous verse. He has written that God chooses those who will believe in the seemingly foolish message of Christ crucified. God mostly does not choose those of great status in human terms. He does not tend to choose respected academics, people of great wealth, or those born into rank and privilege. Those people have rejected the idea of Christ crucified as weak and foolish. Despite evidence and reason, they are too arrogant to trust in God (Romans 1:18–23; James 2:19).

Instead God shames their unbelief by choosing people the world sees as weak and foolish. Now he adds that God chooses for belief those who are low and despised in the world. He turns what the world sees as “something” into “nothing.” And, in another sense, God brings meaning and value to those the world ignores; God chooses the “nothings.”

To call people “nothings” may sound harsh and exaggerated to modern and western ears. Most of us cannot imagine the daily lives of those in a strict caste system. We cannot fathom life without any social position due to being in the slave class, or servant class, or birth into a low-reputation family, or with the “wrong” ethnic origin. Or maybe we know it better than we realize. In such cultures, human life without the protection of social and political standing was considered worthless, and certainly expendable.

That’s who God chooses, Paul writes. He calls the “nothings” to faith in Christ looking forward to the day when all the “somethings” who rejected faith in Christ as foolish and weak will become the true nothings, in a sense, as they stand before Him.

Verse 29. so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Nobody gets to stand before God and boast they were wise and strong enough to make it into His presence. Period. In fact, wisdom and knowledge can only lead us to understanding of truth (James 2:19); it does not force us to trust in that reality (Romans 1:18–23). Knowledge of God is useless unless a person seeks to know and love God.

Paul has identified two primary groups of people existing in the world of his day. Those who are “somethings” and those who are “nothings.” The somethings, by the measure of society, were wise, well-educated, wealthy, respected, and held positions of social standing. For the most part, these somethings had rejected the gospel message that faith in a crucified Christ is the only way to become right with the one, true God.

The nothings, on the other hand, were the disposable, replaceable people in human terms. They had little hope of ever increasing their position in society. They received little respect or recognition.

God chose mostly from among the nothings those who would believe in Christ crucified. Since He is the one who chose them, they will not boast before Him on the day of judgment about their own wisdom and strength to believe in Jesus. They will know they received their faith as a gift.

More importantly in God’s eyes, all the somethings will see that their rejection of Christ was not wise or strong or brave. They will understand that it is the reason they have become nothings before God. There will be no boasting.

God takes with deadly seriousness any rejection of His offer to come to Him in humility through faith and Christ.

Verse 30. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

Paul has written in the previous verses that, as we stand before God on judgment day, all the important and high-status people in this life who rejected faith in Christ as weak and foolish will become “nothings.” They will stop boasting about their wisdom and strength once and for all. They’ll be confronted with the reality that their rejection of Him was based in pride and arrogance, not facts or reason (James 2:19; Romans 1:18–23).

Those who God chooses to believe in Christ will also not boast. We will understand our faith, our place in Christ Jesus, to be a gift from God.

We will know that it is Christ who is the wisdom of God in human form. He is the one who made it possible for us to be declared righteous by God because we are in Christ and He is righteous. Christ is the reason we have been sanctified, meaning that God has set us apart as His own special possession (1 Corinthians 1:2). It is with Christ’s death for our sins that God has redeemed us, purchased us out of our slavery to sin, and welcomed us into His family as sons and daughters.

Verse 31. so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Paul quotes from Jeremiah 9:23–24 that all boasting should be in the Lord only and not in ourselves and our wisdom and our strength. In the previous verse, Paul showed that everything that makes Christians “something” before God comes to us only in and through and because of what Christ has done for us. Our human wisdom and strength gains for us nothing of any lasting value. Knowledge is good and commendable (2 Timothy 2:15), but it cannot save us (James 2:19).

In the Lord, though, we have everything that matters, and we have it forever. Paul encourages us to boast about our high standing in God’s eyes because of what Christ has done. He encourages us to boast about God’s wisdom and strength and our place with Him because of His grace.

He has shown that those who have rejected faith in Christ because it seems foolish and weak will find humility on the day they stand before God. Nobody will boast of their own position or accomplishments or wealth before Him (1 Corinthians 1:29).

End of Chapter 1.

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