Daily Lesson for Tuesday 7th of July 2026
The message of 1 Corinthians 1:18 is too clear for one to miss the point. What the Cross means depends on the way one looks at it. It is foolishness for those in rebellion against God, but it is power for those who long for His salvation.
Read Colossians 1:20 and 1 Peter 2:24. What did Jesus accomplish for us on the cross?
As we have already seen, in preaching the gospel, one must avoid “words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17, ESV). In light of 1 Corinthians 1:17, it becomes easier to understand why the opposite of foolishness is the power of God and not human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18). The Cross, which is so contrary to human wisdom, reveals just how foolish human wisdom really is.
Image © Sherry Boettcher at Goodsalt.com
The Greek text of 1 Corinthians 1:18 suggests that “those who are perishing” (NKJV) are receiving the result of their actions. The text can read like this: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are destroying themselves.” The Greek verb apollymi (“to perish”) can also mean “to destroy” (John 10:10). In fact, apollymi is translated as “destroy” in 1 Corinthians 1:19.
What is happening here? Paul provides a biblical foundation for this statement in verse 18, about these people perishing, by quoting in verse 19 God’s words in Isaiah 29:14. In verse 19, God is the one behind the destruction, which seems to contradict the self-destroying pride mentioned right before. However, there is no contradiction. The idea is that God will destroy that which already is destroying itself.
In contrast to those being destroyed, the phrase “to us who are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NKJV) indicates that salvation comes only from God. Paul is saying that we are being saved; that is, we are not saving ourselves. We, of course, can’t. Our salvation has an external source. While destruction is self-caused, salvation can only be granted, a gift of grace to sinners. As is clear in 1 Corinthians 1:21, it is God who saves those who believe. Foolishness, in this sense, is the act of rejecting what God has offered humanity through the cross of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30), thus bringing destruction upon oneself.
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“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, NKJV). In what ways does this verse restate what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 1:18-19? |
