For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe.
4 sermons cite this verse
… Look here. Since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Don't think preaching is foolishness. It's just a method that seems foolish to the world system. Why on earth would intelligent people come and sit and listen to somebody preaching? I mean, how moronic can you get? I like the way Eugene Peterson renders this section. Listen. Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God, in His wisdom, took delight in using what the world considered dumb, preaching of all things, to bring those who trust Him into the way of salvation. Well, then what does the lost person want? Well, read on. Verse 22, the Jews ask for miracles. The word signs is the idea of miracles. Show us a miracle. Prove it with a miracle and we'll believe it. Do what you cannot do in natural ways. …
… That is God's method. That is exactly what it says in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 21. It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. And there's a lot of people would say, yeah, I agree with that. It is pretty foolish. Well, that is how God has chosen to reach the world. So Jesus comes as a preacher. Somebody once said, God had only one son, and he was a preacher. And he comes preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Now notice his message, verse 15. There's three aspects to it. First aspect, the time is fulfilled. The time is fulfilled. That's how he begins. Ladies and gentlemen, the time is fulfilled. What does that mean? it means the moment has arrived, the moment everyone has anticipated. The word time here is the word kairos in Greek, which is not the typical word for time. The typical word is chronos, chronology, chronography. Chronos is clock time. Kairos, the word used here, is epical moment, fixed point in time, turning point in redemptive history. It's what Paul meant in Galatians 4.4. When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his son. This is the time the world has been waiting for. So the time is fulfilled. Second part of the message, the kingdom of God is at hand. What does that mean? That means he's going to start a political revolution and take over the political structures in Jerusalem and Rome? …
Speak up. Stop shutting up and speak up. Your job is to tell people about Jesus. Your job is to evangelize and proclaim the gospel. First Corinthians 1.21, we read it before, says it please God by the foolishness of preaching. Literally, the preached thing, not the lived thing, the preached thing, Christ crucified to them that believe. See, the emphasis isn't on the preacher, it's on the preaching. Now, this doesn't mean you have to contort your voice and talk in some kind of a weird way. Hey, brother, let me tell you about Jesus Christ, like your Hulk Hogan doing a gospel ad. Doesn't mean you have to be weird. What it does mean is the love of Jesus that you have, the good news that's changed you, the joy that God's put in your heart, the peace that he's given you, the burdens that he saved you from, the simple joy of Jesus that you've discovered. your job is to proclaim it, to share it, to communicate it, and yes, to verbalize it. …
… NOT GOD MADE FOOLISH THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD? FOR FOR AFTER THAT IN THE WISDOM OF GOD, THE WORLD BY WISDOM KNEW NOT GOD. IT PLEASED GOD BY THE FOOLISHNESS OF PREACHING TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE. FOR THE JEWS REQUIRE SIGN. AND THE GREEKS SEEK AFTER WISDOM. BUT WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED, UNTO THE JEWS A STUMBLING BLOCK, AND UNTO THE GREEKS FOOLISHNESS. BUT UNTO THEM WHICH ARE CALLED BOTH JEWS AND GREEKS CHRIST, THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE WISDOM OF GOD. NOW WATCH VERSE 25, BECAUSE THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN, AND THE WEAKNESS OF GOD IS STRONGER THAN MEN. NOW WHAT GOD IS, IS, IS ABOUT IS THIS. HE WANTS TO SLAY MAN'S ABOMINABLE PRIDE. MAN THINKS THAT HE, HE LIVES IN A WORLD OF LIGHT. HE THINKS THAT HE, HE HAS ENLIGHTENED HIMSELF. HE THINKS THAT HIS DISCOVERIES, HIS WISDOM, HIS WIT, AH, HE THINKS ALL OF THIS IS GOING TO DELIVER HIM. AND GOD SAYS IN THIS PASSAGE OF Scripture, there's only one thing that will, uh, save anybody in this world, and it is what he calls the foolishness of preaching. Not foolish preaching. We've had too much of that. But the, the foolishness of preaching, that is preaching the cross. You see, the Jews, they wanted a sign, and, and the Greeks wanted a demonstration of power. Verse 24, uh, but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the POWER OF GOD AND THE WISDOM OF GOD. THE GREEKS, THE JEWS, RATHER, …