Scripture to Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18–19
The message of Christ being crucified and then defeating death three days later seems utterly foolish to those who are dead in their sins (Ephesians 2:1–3) because they have chosen to reject the message of the cross. That is the message God had Paul write in 1 Corinthians 1:18–19, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’” But we also see that the same message of Christ and the cross to those who know Christ as their Lord and Savior is a beautiful demonstration of the power of God. Then, God had Paul quote Isaiah 29:14, for when God led Isaiah to write this, God said He was removing the wisdom of the wise and the discernment from the discerning because, according to Isaiah 29:13, the Lord said that the people “honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.” By choice, the people of Isaiah’s day had chosen to turn away from the Lord, and the same thing happened in Paul’s day, and today, people all over the world continue to reject Christ as Lord. Though people still choose to reject Christ, we must continue to share Christ with everyone who is lost so they have the opportunity to know Him as we do.
Challenge & Application
Why is the message of the cross foolishness to those who are lost?
Why does God choose to destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!