The word of the cross--wisdom or foolishness?

I Corinthians 1:18 (NASB)

For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Whenever I hear or read about someone bashing Christianity, I think of this verse as well as succeeding verses (1:19-31).  The Lord knows that unbelievers will think of the cross as foolishness.  Can you remember the very first time that you heard about the cross, how Jesus was crucified for the sins of the world?  Did you not recoil in horror and wanted nothing to do with such nonsense?  That’s a natural human reaction to the realities of the cross.  Yet those who continue to view the cross as foolish are those who are perishing. 

The wisdom of God is an enemy to the wisdom of the world.  The wisdom of God is foolishness to the wisdom of the world.   Indeed everything about God is foolishness to the world.  His power through the word of the cross is considered a great weakness by the world.  The world wants nothing to do with the cross because it is considered so repulsive.

What is the “word of the cross”?  “Word” is “logos”, meaning “a word uttered by a living voice”.  The word of the cross is God speaking to the world.  The cross represents sin on which Christ suffered and died to pay the price for the sins of mankind.  If Paul was thinking of a single word to describe the cross, what do you think that word would be?  Salvation?  Forgiveness?  Love?  What about the words that Christ spoke while suffering on the cross?  Are these “the word of the cross” that is foolishness to those who are perishing, but the power of God to those who are being saved?

Statement	Verses	Main Teaching	Principle
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do	Luke 23:34	Forgiveness	Main principles on forgiveness taught in Matt 18:21-35
Truly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise	Luke 23:43	Salvation	Assurance of salvation (see I John 5:11-13).  We need to share His plan of salvation with others
Woman, behold your son. Behold, your mother	John 19:26-27	Provision	We must provide for our loved ones (I Tim 5:8) and love them sacrificially (Eph 5, 6)
My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?	Matt 27:46 Mark 15:34	Questioning	We should not hesitate to pour out our hearts to God and ask for His help (Rom 8:18-28)
I am thirsty	John 19:26	Thirsting	Express to God how you thirst to know Him, how you thirst to have Him meet your deepest needs and the needs of your loved ones (Psalm 42:1-2, Heb 4:15-16)
It is finished	John 19:30	Purpose	Ask God to clarify His purpose for your life and to live your life in a focused way (Prov 16:3)
Father, into Thy Hands I commit My Spirit	Luke 23:46	Surrender	Surrender everything in your life and lifestyle to Him (Psalm 31, Col 3:17)

     

God is not a God of hate, but a God of love and the love of God was demonstrated by His plan to sacrifice His Son as a substitute for sacrificing man on the cross for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). Such sacrificial love, as Paul writes in I Cor 1:23 is “ to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness”.  Yet, Paul then writes in I Cor 1:24 that the cross is “the power of God and the wisdom of God”, but only those who are willing to respond to the call of God believe this.  Indeed, verse 30 says that Christ Jesus is the wisdom from God and only those who believe in Him believe in the love and wisdom of God through Him.  Faith is the foundation of believing and following the Lord Jesus and without such faith, people will perish because to them the message of God through the cross of Christ is utter foolishness.   

So, what is the word of the cross to you?  Foolishness or the power of God?  If you think that it is foolishness, that may be normal thinking when you initially think about it, but let the wisdom of God sink in deeply within your soul and then you will see that the cross is truly the power of God to save souls from eternal separation from God to eternal life with him in heaven as well as the rest of your life on earth.