1 Corinthians 1:18-25

New International Reader's Version

Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom

¹⁸ The message of the cross seems foolish to those who are lost and dying. But it is God’s power to us who are being saved. ¹⁹ It is written,

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where are the great thinkers of our time? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? ²¹ God wisely planned that the world would not know him through its own wisdom. It pleased God to use the foolish things we preach to save those who believe. ²² Jews require signs. Greeks look for wisdom. ²³ But we preach about Christ and his death on the cross. That is very hard for Jews to accept. And everyone else thinks it’s foolish. ²⁴ But there are those God has chosen, both Jews and Greeks. To them Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. ²⁵ The foolish things of God are wiser than human wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.