By: Dave Sims  

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor. 1:18 NIV

The letter we call 1 Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul to address concerns within the church at Corinth. One of the primary issues he addressed in Chapter 1 was a petty disagreement over which Christian leader was the greatest, leading to disunity and unholiness. These disagreements likely started innocently enough, with one person claiming allegiance to Apollos, another to Peter, and still another to Paul. However, as the arguments continued, each claimant became more convinced of their stance, resulting in an irreconcilable division.

In response, Paul appealed to them (v.10) to protect their unity, implying that their supreme loyalty belonged to Jesus. By invoking Jesus’s name, Paul reminded them of Jesus's teachings and actions, characterized by humility and self-sacrifice.

Paul reminded them that they had stepped out of a culture where the biggest, brightest, most beautiful, most resourceful, and most privileged were most admired, while the least were consigned to pitiable misfortune or contempt. They had entered a new culture where greatness was measured in humility and sacrifice for the benefit of others. He used the phrase “the foolishness of the cross” (v.18) to describe this transition. Following Jesus included the shameful stigma associated with crucifixion, but Paul knew that this stigma was not merely a social misfortune. It was the means by which the church could experience transformation, resulting in the glory of God expressing itself from within them.

Paul reminded them that it was through this “foolish” preaching that they found freedom and hope in Christ. When Christ found them, none of them were influential or of nobility. Despite their low standing, Jesus humbled himself to the point of a shameful crucifixion to afford them the privilege of knowing him and being birthed into his royal family. The challenge then became whether they would be satisfied with the great privilege of being part of God’s nobility or seek Jesus merely for his benefits.

Paul described the “foolishness of the cross” as God’s wisdom. Of course, God possesses no foolishness, but Paul used this play on words to communicate that if the way he chose to save us is regarded as foolishness (a shameful crucifixion), then his foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of the world (v.25). Additionally, God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the worldly wise (v.27), and the weak things of the world to shame the strong (v.28). Through the crucifixion, God demonstrated both wisdom and power by triumphing over the powers of darkness and setting us free. Paul said that God did this so that no one could claim the blessings of God were the result of their wisdom or power (v.29). In fact, he said that because of the incredible blessings we possess in Christ—righteousness, holiness, and redemption—the only thing any of us could boast in would be Jesus (v.30).

Embracing the foolishness of the cross has been my greatest life challenge but, ironically, the more I embrace it, the freer I find myself becoming. God has met me in my most challenging life experiences, exchanging beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of heaviness (Is. 61.3). I began to learn this backward way of viewing life after complaining to God about how he was not answering my prayers. He responded by showing me my heart and how I wanted God’s blessings more than I wanted him. This conviction enabled me to see my self-centeredness, leading to frequent repentance.

Since then, when life has been challenging and beyond my control, God seems to use these times to expose something else that’s out of my view. Once I see it and can repent of it, my freedom increases, along with my faith, hope, and love.

One caveat worth mentioning: when God speaks in personal and sin-exposing ways, his grace accompanies it. When God delivers bad news, I have found that it’s still good news because the transcendent one is interacting with us—the one my soul longs for most.