1 Corinthians 1:15–31

¹⁵No one can say that you were baptized in my name.

¹⁶It’s true that I also baptized those who live in the house of Stephanas. Besides that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.

¹⁷Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to preach the good news. He commanded me not to use the kind of wisdom that people commonly use. That would take all the power away from the cross of Christ.

Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom

¹⁸The 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. ¹⁹It is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.

I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart.”

²⁰Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where are the great thinkers of this world? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? ²¹God 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.

²²Jews require miraculous signs. Greeks look for wisdom. ²³But 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.

²⁴But there are those God has chosen, both Jews and others. To them Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. ²⁵The foolish things of God are wiser than human wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when God chose you. Not many of you were considered wise by human standards. Not many of you were powerful. Not many of you belonged to important families.

²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. He chose what is not considered to be important to do away with what is considered to be important. ²⁹So no one can brag to God.

³⁰Because of what God has done, you belong to Christ Jesus. He has become God’s wisdom for us. He makes us right with God. He makes us holy and sets us free. ³¹It is written, “The one who brags should brag about what the Lord has done.”