For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 WEB

In the previous verses, Paul greeted the Corinthians and offered thanksgiving for the grace God gave the church in Jesus Christ. He then briefly addressed divisions in the church that arose from petty human rivalries. In verse eighteen, Paul expands upon a statement he made in 1 Corinthians 1:17 which reads, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void. WEB”

The divisions in the church came from misplaced enthusiasm over church leaders. Some bragged that they followed Paul, or Cephas, or Apollos based upon who evangelized them with the gospel message of Christ. Paul points to the absurdity of these claims asking in 1 Corinthians 1:13-14, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? WEB” 

Faith in Jesus 

To address the issue of divisions in the church, Paul divides people into two groups. First, he describes those who perish without Christ. Second, Paul mentions those who receive salvation by the power of God. Paul teaches that it is not he, or Cephas, or Apollos, or any other evangelist that saves, it is faith in Jesus Christ that saves by the power of God. 

For this reason, Paul gives a simple message of salvation rather than attempting to impress crowds with eloquent speech. No matter what is said, the scoffers and the mockers reject the gospel message as foolishness. But for the faithful, it is enough to share the truth of God’s grace and love in the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. It does not matter who shared the word or how gifted the individual evangelist, what matters is that faith in Jesus Christ transforms repentant sinners by the power of God. 

Yesterday’s Devotional: To Lie to the Holy Spirit