◄ What Does 1 Corinthians 1:25 Mean? ►

In the beginning, man believed the satanic lie and sought independence from God. Over the years, man has come to the conclusion that through accumulated knowledge, human wisdom, astute negotiations, intellectual excellent, philosophical thinking, or clever planning he could circumnavigate his need to depend upon God and so began his futile quest to develop a human excellence that excludes God. But this can only result in a devastating and destructive downfall.

No matter how wise or accomplished a man becomes in worldly matters there is one area over which human intelligence has no authority. There is one sphere over which mathematical calculations, philosophical thinking and human reasoning has no power. Man cannot discover God through his own wisdom because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

It was for this reason that Paul rejected the pious religiosity of his own Jewish heritage, and did not engage in the intellectual gymnastics of the clever thinkers in Corinth but preached Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to the Corinthian Gentiles.

Paul knew that the wages of sin had determined that man was eternally estranged from God, but God in His grace had planned one way of salvation. Paul knew that the satanic lie into which man had bought in the beginning had placed man under the eternal condemnation of God and the curse of eternal separation from his Creator.

But in His grace, God determined that the sinner's death sentence could be exchanged for the life of Another Who would willingly give His sinless life as the one and only ransom price sin for the sin of mankind, and God in His wisdom knew that His only begotten Son was the one and only hope by which man could be saved. And out of love for His creation God gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

God is all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful and eternal, and He knew that the one and only way to redeem fallen mankind from their eternal death-sentence and slavery to sin was to die in man's place, for there is no one that is good enough to pay the price for sin, not even one.

And so the eternal Son of God was born into His own creation as the sinless Son of Man. And He died for the sin of the world which would redeem all who would believe on His name. But He was deathless because He was eternal, the eternal Son of God, and so death could not hold Him in its icy grip, for in Him was life. And so by means of His glorious Resurrection He also broke the power of death in the lives of all those who would believe in Him.

Man initiated sin through false reasoning and man continues to seek salvation through his own flawed human wisdom, but no matter how wise or accomplished men become they cannot discover God through their own human reasoning and pour scorn on the one and only way by which man can be saved, making the wisdom of man to be foolishness and themselves to be fools: Salvation is only found at the foot of the Cross.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus and for Your gracious plan of salvation. Thank You that in Your wisdom, You determined the one and only means of salvation to be faith in the eternal Son of God Who was born into His own creation so that by His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, all who believe on Him are redeemed from the curse of the Law, made the righteousness of God in Christ, and have the power of death broken forever in their lives. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.