1 Corinthians 1:17-29

Christ did not give me the work of baptizing people. He gave me the work of preaching the Good News, and he sent me to preach the Good News without using words of worldly wisdom. If I used worldly wisdom to tell the Good News, the cross of Christ would lose its power. The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. It is written in the Scriptures: “I will cause the wise men to lose their wisdom. I will make the wise men unable to understand.” Isaiah 29:14 Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the philosopher of our times? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish. The world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe it. The Jews ask for miracles as proofs. The Greeks want wisdom. But we preach Christ on the cross. This is a big problem to the Jews. And it seems foolish to the non-Jews. But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people God has called—Jews and Greeks. Even the foolishness of God is wiser than men. Even the weakness of God is stronger than men. Brothers, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. And he chose what the world thinks is not important. He chose what the world hates and thinks is nothing. He chose these to destroy what the world thinks is important. God did this so that no man can brag before him.