God wants to show His wisdom and power through our sharing the Gospel with others.

1 Corinthians 1:18–25

v. 18—
The word of the cross is folly to those who are spiritually dying.
The word of the cross is the power of God to those who are spiritually being saved.

“Folly”=moronic/stupid.

“Being saved” refers to the past, present, and future work in the believer’s life. We are “justified,” declared right before God; we are being “sanctified,” made holy as God is holy; we will be “glorified,” made perfect—in body and soul—as Christ is perfect.

vv. 19—24—Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14 as the evidence of what God has done in Christ—destroyed the wisdom of this age. The wise and scribe are the debaters. The Jews wanted signs (Matt 12:18ff), and the Greeks preferred wisdom (philosophy). It made no sense to the Jews that the Messiah would come and die. The Greeks found it absurd that God would concern Himself with human affairs to the degree that He would die at the hands of humankind. But this is the message preached—Christ, God’s Son, the Messiah, came to earth to rescue broken humanity by dying on the cross and being raised from the dead. Christ is the manifestation of God’s wisdom and power.

v. 25—God’s “foolishness” is still wiser than humankind’s wisdom, and His weakness is stronger.

General revelation: God has generally revealed Himself to all the world through creation (Romans 1) and morality (Romans 2).

Special revelation: God has specially revealed Himself through His Word, the Bible, and through His Son, the living Word.