The Gospel - Folly to the Foolish and Wisdom to the Wise

1 Cor. 1:18  "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. 1:19  For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' 
1 Cor. 1:20  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 
1 Cor. 1:21  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 
1 Cor. 1:22  For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 
1 Cor. 1:23  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 
1 Cor. 1:24  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

1 Cor. 1:18  "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."

The "word of the cross" is referring to the Gospel message of Christ dying on the cross and being raised again on the third day. If you don't believe something is true, then chances are you believe that it is a foolish idea, or thought, or statement. Paul is saying that if you are not saved, you don't believe the Gospel is true, and therefore believe it's foolish. However, if you are saved, you believe the Gospel, and you know that it is truth, and that it is where the power of God is shown. In the power of His grace and the power of our salvation, both in action (the paying the price), and in the saving of us (the beginning of our salvation).

1 Cor. 1:19  "For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'"  (Found in Isaiah 29:14)

Using the KJV will help to clear up what this verse is saying.
(KJV)  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 
Paul's point is that anybody who thinks himself wise and has any faith in his own knowledge and understanding will be humbled and learn that it has no eternal value. When we die, all that will matter is our knowledge of and faith in Christ. When the earth gets destroyed, all its history, all the sciences, all medicine, all philosophy, all language will be useless to us due to it's imperfection.  When we get to heaven, it will all become unnecessary to remember the history we were taught, we will not need to know about science (at least science of today, we may still learn how God made things to work perfectly, but not man's pathetic shot at understanding it), medicine will be obsolete, philosophy will become false, and we won't need to worry about spelling or grammar. What you are taught in school will not gain you salvation, so in mind of eternity, it won't matter. Not to mention, most of our philosophy, history, science, and language, is full of misinformation, and/or human convention which will all be destroyed.

1 Cor. 1:20-21  "Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe."

I believe the reference to the "wise" is relating to the philosophers of the time in the Gentile world, the scribes would be the Jewish version of this, being the people who are "wise" within the Jewish culture, and the debater which would be the person who thinks they can confound people by their brilliance. Then, Paul goes on to say that God has made the wisdom of people into nothing, he has destroyed it, and it is worthless. His point is this: "See all these people whom you deem smart? Whom you think are brilliant? Well, they say nothing wise; it is all foolishness." The wisdom of God is the reason that world can not know God through wisdom. I know that's maybe difficult to understand, so let me try to re-phrase it. Not allowing men to find God through wisdom is what God deemed wise. Why did God decide that the only way to Him was through Christ and His death and not through worldly wisdom? Because if God allowed men to find Him through their own wisdom it would create pride in the fact that they found God, and others with less wit didn't.  I leave folly in quotation marks because it isn't folly, it is wisdom. But yet, to those who do not believe, (as it says in verse 18 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing") it is foolish; if it wasn't foolish to them, they would believe because who would pick folly over wisdom?

1 Cor. 1:22  "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,"

The Jews look for God in the signs, and the Greeks look for God through earthly wisdom. But neither will find Him. Because they only way to find God is through faith in the "folly" of Christ's death and resurrection.

1 Cor. 1:23  "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,"

The proper translation would be "an offence to the Jews" The reason being that they expected a physical king, one who would save them from the world at large. What they didn't realize is that He came to save them from the carnality of the world and not from the rulers of the world. The reason that is is folly to the Gentiles, is that it goes against everything they know. Some guy, in Judea died and then His followers claim He rose again. Why would this make sense? Sacrifice does not make sense, and they hadn't ever seen anybody rise from the dead before. That is foolishness to the "rational" humanistic mind; why should we do something to better others if it hurts ourselves?

1 Cor. 1:24  "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

The word "called":
"κλητός
klētos
klay-tos'
invited, that is, appointed, or (specifically) a saint: - called."
Basically, those who are saved: the believers in Christ. This is just a reiteration of what Paul says back in verse 18: "But to us who are being saved it is the power of God." We are saved by Christ, and even though it doesn't make sense from a humanistic-logical-sinful standpoint, it makes sense from God's viewpoint and believers see it as perfect wisdom on God's part.


The whole purpose of this passage is to reaffirm that Christ is true wisdom to the believer. And although those of this age may think they are smart and have wisdom but it will all perish, as will they. It says the Jews wanted signs, yet because of the lack of signs and the lack of Christ doing what they expected, He was a stumbling block and offensive to the Jews. To the Gentiles, it didn't make sense. Why would they care about some guy who died in a different culture? Yet, it is wisdom to us believers who think not with the foolish Gentile mind, nor with the tainted mind of the Jew. Instead, we think with the mind of the Holy Spirit Who was given to us by God to explain His mysteries and to guide us through our lives.