I CORINTHIANS 1:21-25

A. The Wisdom of God

    1. In the wisdom of God

        2. the world did not know God through wisdom.

    1'. It pleased God

        2'. through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe

                    B. Effect on Unbelievers

                        1. Jews demand signs and

                            2. Greeks desire wisdom

                                3. But we preach Christ crucified

                        1'. a stumbling block to Jews and

                            2'. foolishness to Gentiles

                    B'. Effect on Those Who are Called,

                        1. both Jews

                            2. and Gentiles

                                3. Christ

                        1'. the power of God

                            2'. and the wisdom of God

A'. The Wisdom of God

    1. for God's foolishness is wiser

        2. than human wisdom and

    1'. God's weakness is stronger

        2'. than human strength.

Note how carefully Paul constructs this symmetrical passage, even down to the fact that both A and A' take a 1-2-1'-2' form while B and B' exhibit a 1-2-3-1'-2' organization.

The centers of the two central units in this passage zero in on the content of God's message, which is simply Christ (B3 and B'3) . This message is rejected by most Jews since it appears to reflect a weak and powerless God (B1 and B1'), whereas Christ really shows the power of God (B'1'). You will find many Jews today who reject Jesus as the Messiah mainly because he was not strong enough to lead a successful rebellion to eject Israel's foreign government and re-establish Jerusalem in all her glory, as predicted in the Old Testament. These prophecies, Christians reply, certainly will be fulfilled, but in a future time at Christ's Second Coming. Christ's real power was demonstrated by the fact that he went to the cross knowing fully what was coming even though he could have easily prevented it.

Greeks, on the other hand, find the message sheer nonsense (B2 and B2'), whereas Christ demonstrates God's wisdom instead (B'2'). From the Greek and Roman point of view, as well as that I have heard expressed by modern atheists, it makes no logical sense to believe that the death of a poor carpenter from a backwater town could have any effect whatsoever on the ultimate fate of anyone else in the world. But behind this apparent foolishness, Paul says, lies the hidden wisdom of God stressed in units A and A'.

Another lesson from this short passage can be seen in comparing “those who believe” (A2') and “those who are called” (B'). Both Calvinists who stress God's omnipotence and Arminians who concentrate on man's free will need to keep in mind that these two forces work in tandem in a way which is a little hard for us humans to comprehend in order to bring about eternal salvation. The major problem is when each of these two camps vehemently denies that the other has any theological leg on which to stand.