1:18
Wherever it went the gospel was in conflict with the culture. It was in conflict with Judaism, it was in conflict with Greek culture. So what did Paul do? Or what did he not do? He did not water down the gospel, he did not strip it of its essential elements. He did not try and make the gospel “nice”. In Paul’s day the way of doing this would have been to make it intellectually acceptable, today so many want to make the gospel acceptable to the culture, not challenging anything. The “message” (NIV) is literally “word” (ESV). Paul accepts that the message is foolishness to those who are perishing. At the same time, it is the power of God to those who are being saved. If all we do is assimilate, then the message becomes nothing to anyone. We need to accept the nature of the gospel. It will be utterly rejected by some, it will be gladly accepted by others. Now this is amazing. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), sin is so deeply ingrained in all of us, having terrible effects on individuals and society. Yet, through the gospel, some people will be completely set free! God has chosen to save some, and His means of doing this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, so we should faithfully preach, teach and live the gospel.
1:19
Paul then quotes from Isaiah 29:14. Wisdom was highly valued in Greek culture, and Corinth was full of men who claimed to be wise. They would claim to understand the problems of the world, and to have the answer. Things are little different today. Man’s wisdom counts for nothing, and God will act to show up the foolishness, the nothingness, of man’s wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If something is built on any other foundation then it is ultimately worthless. We need to appreciate what the Bible says about man’s so-called wisdom. By the way, this does not mean we become simpletons! God gave us brains and intellect, if we make Him our foundation, then intellect is an extremely valuable tool.
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