#1Corinthians1 - Foolishness!

Click here to read 1 Corinthians 1:

Yesterday concluded my walk through the gospels. Since I have already done Acts, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, my plan is to read 1 and 2 Corinthians, then pick up in 1 Thessalonians and read the rest of the way through the New Testament. That will take us into August sometime, when we will blow the dust off of the Old Testament and dig into the treasures God has for us there. :)

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

"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." It's interesting to me that the message of the cross would be seen as foolishness to anyone. To me it seems like a heroic rescue or a love story, but when I think about it, almost every good thing in this world comes from the reward of good, hard work and positive performance. We work hard in school, and we get good grades and scholarships. We perform well in sports or music and we receive awards, honors, and opportunities for advancement. We work hard and perform well in work, and we receive a promotion or a raise. However the gospel message is not about rewards for hard work, it is about trusting in the perfect work and person of Jesus Christ to forgive our sins, restore our relationship with our heavenly Father, and fill us with the Holy Spirit. From the world's perspective, that just doesn't make sense.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

Verse 25 reminds me a lot of Isaiah 55:8-11, which says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts..." Even God's foolishness is wiser than our wisdom. So what seems foolish to the world might just be the wisdom and plan of God.

3. What does this mean for my life?

Paul encouraged the people in Corinth not to claim any person as the one they follow except Christ. It was clear that whether they were taught primarily by Paul, Apollos, Peter, or another apostle, that they should still be unified and proclaim to follow Christ. I have experienced lots of different teachings from different people, and while I agreed with some more than others, I appreciated having that variety. Overall it has strengthened my faith and helped me. But as long as Christ is proclaimed, we should see how we can be more unified in the other things.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

This isn't really a question, but I'd like to know more about Apollos. The first book I read through doing this chapter a day was Acts, and I know that it explains a bit about him in Acts 18, but what exactly was he preaching, and what happened to him after this?

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

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