Twin City church of Christ Blog
“March 6, 2024 - The Foolishness of God”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsThe Foolishness of God
Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Paul muses on the gospel Jesus sent him to preach, which he describes as “Christ crucified”(1:23, 2:2). “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”(1 Cor 1:18). This remarkable message—of a promised Savior who instead of delivering, dies for his people—is viewed in different ways by different people. “Those who are perishing” see it as ridiculous, while “to us who are being saved” it looks like God’s mighty hand is behind it. Paul insists that God anticipated these different reactions and is using them to humble the “wise” (1 Cor 1:19-20). “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the follow of what we preach to save those who believe”(1 Cor 1:21). All their learning and thinking did not get them closer to God, so God chose something “foolish” to reach them.
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God”(1 Cor 1:22-24). Expectations matter. Jews demand signs—majestic proofs of God’s presence and working. They find in the cross something decidedly less majestic than the great signs of Moses. Greeks seek wisdom—brilliant insight into the nature of life and the world. They find in the cross something harsh, brutal, and gruesome. But those with eyes to see—and a heart humble enough to reconsider their expectations—find in the cross both power and wisdom. Only God could achieve such a thing: “for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men”(1 Cor 1:25).
Even today, the unbelieving world looks at Jesus’ atoning death as foolishness. It is not scientific enough—not aggressive enough—not modern enough. Believers must embrace the fact that we see in the cross something that others do not see (often because they feel they are too “wise” for such “foolishness”). Yet even God’s “foolishness” is wiser than men.
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One Thing to Think About: In what ways do I struggle with the message of the cross?
One Thing to Pray For: Strength to withstand the opposition of those who ridicule the gospel
