1 Corinthians 1:20-21

1 Corinthians 1:20-21 “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”

It pleased God to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ make illogical sense. In summary, that is what these two verses and those that continue down to 1:25 are saying. We keep trying to come up with ways to explain Jesus in a logical way, in a way that the people of this world will understand. We provide all the incredibly remarkable supporting documentation that shows how the prophecies about Jesus’ coming, ministry, death and resurrection all came true in an effort to bring those who operate through logic and rationale to Christ.

All of this is needed, all of it is good, but it is just the doorway through which they enter; what BRINGS them to Christ is still illogical and cannot be understood with the rational mind; it is their spirit that confirms that the Gospel is truth, and that confirmation, that faith can only be planted by God Himself. Our sovereign God decided that He wanted it to work this way so that we could not take any credit for “bringing someone to Christ”. It is not dependent on our eloquence, our approach, our demonstration of biblical knowledge, or our logical explanation; it is the Lord reaching into the heart of that person, causing belief to rise up. Our part in this co-laboring is stepping out in boldness and courage to speak. His part is producing fruit.