Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 1
It is not difficult to prove that God is powerful. His act to create the heavens and the earth was more powerful than anything that people can even imagine.
In the same manner, we can easily prove that God is wise. When he created the heavens and the earth, he did it in a very skilful manner. It takes wisdom to get the details of any design right. A bomb is powerful, but it can only destroy things. The kind of power that can create new and wonderful things is evidence of God’s great wisdom (Proverbs 8:1; Proverbs 8:22-31).
When God wanted to save people, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for them. But in the opinion of many people, Christ’s death was a weak and foolish thing (1:23). They had wanted to see evidence of God’s power or his wisdom. They refused to believe that God could save them by means of Christ’s death. And because they refused to believe, God did not save them.
In 1 Corinthians 1:25, Paul did not mean that God’s actions were ever foolish or weak. Instead, Paul was saying that people considered God’s actions to be foolish and weak. But really, it is evidence of people’s weakness when they cannot even recognise God’s power. Even the wisest person becomes like a fool if he cannot recognise God’s wisdom.
Christ’s death showed both God’s great power and his great wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24; Romans 1:16). God acted in a way that most people did not expect. When people trust God, he saves them because of Christ’s death.
Next part: Why God chooses people who are not important (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.