Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:17b-31

WHY ST. PAUL MADE USE OF SIMPLE SPEECH IN PREACHING THE

GOSPEL TO THE CORINTHIANS
A Summary of 1 Corinthians 1:17b-31

 Human wisdom and loftiness of speech are not to be made use of in preaching the Gospel, lest the cross of Christ be deprived of its real power and efficacy.  This is clear, first from prophecy (1 Cor 1:19); secondly from experience, which shows that the wise of this world have not been chosen to preach the Gospel (1 Cor 1:20-25), nor are many of them to be found among those who have embraced its teaching (1 Cor 1:26-2:5)

Having just written: For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, St Paul continues:

1 Cor 1:17b. not in wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.

The Wisdom of speech, etc.  There is no article in Greek.  The meaning is that it was not the will of Christ that St Paul, in preaching the Gospel, should have recourse to such human wisdom and such elegance of expression as the Greeks admired and cultivated.  This would have deprived the Gospel of the real source of its power, namely, the death of Christ on the cross, and would have made its success depend, or at least appear to depend, on human means.

Later preachers of the Gospel are not forbidden to  make use of the arguments of philosophy or of the powers of rhetoric in their sermons, first because the eficacy and preaching of the cross have been thoroughly established now; and secondly because, not having the inspiration and the marvelous powers of St Paul, they need those human aids.

1 Cor 1:18. For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God.

The word of the cross, i.e., the preaching of a crucified God, to them that perish, i.e., to those, whether Jew or Gentile, who by their infidelity are on the way to perdition, is foolishness; because to such worldly minds it was absurd to think of God becoming man and then dying the death of a malefactor in order to save the world.

But to them that are saved, i.e., to those who, through faith, are working out their salvation, the cross of Christ is the power of God, i.e., the source of the efficacy of the Gospel which, unlike Greek philosophy and rhetoric, is able to transform and perfect the life of all who sincerely believe it and put into practice it teachings.  The term for power here is δύναμις (dunamis), which means internal capability as opposed to ενεργεια, the exercise of power.

The cross, then, has the power to save men from sin, if they will make use of its teaching.  Saving power is also attributed by St Paul to the Gospel (Rom 1:16; 1 Thess 1:5), to God (2 Cor 4:7; 13:4), to the Holy Spirit (Eph 3:16, 20), to the Resurrection (Phil 3:10), and to Christ (Col 1:28-29).

1 Cor 1:19. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject
 
That the preaching of the Gospel ought not to be according to human wisdom the Apostle now proves by appealing to the Prophet Isaiah (29:14) through whom God announced that He would confound the wisdom of those who confided in human rather than in divine help.  Literally the Prophet’s words, here cited almost exactly according to the Septuagint, refer to those Jews who, when God had promised to deliver them from the terrors of the Assyrian King Sennacherib (705-681 BC), relied on their own prudence and trusted in the help they hoped to recieve from Egypt, rather than in the divine promise.  It was not, says the Prophet, by such worldly wisdom that God would save His people from the coming invasion.  Now, what literally referred to these Jews had reference spiritually to the worldly-wise at the time of the preaching of the Gospel; these, like the jews of old, were not to be saved by means of human wisdom, but by the preaching of what seemed foolish to merely carnal and earthly minds.

The clause, I will reject, is put by St Paul in the place of “I will hide,” of the LXX.

1 Cor 1:20 Where is the wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the disputer of this world?  Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

Whether the Apostle is quoting here from Isaiah 33:18, or speaking his own words, is not quite clear.  Perhaps he is not quoting, but only referring to facts commonly known.  As the Jews triumphed over the Assyrians, so the preaching of the cross has won the victory over human learning.  For among the preachers of the Gospel where, asks the Apostle, is the wise? i.e., the doctor of the Jewish Law?  

Where is the disputer? etc., i.e., the philosopher and the sophist, who dispute every question that arises?


The words, of this world, better “of the world” (with manuscripts B A C D), mean the sinful, faithless world, and are more probably to be connected with each of the preceding substantives,-”wise,” “scribe” and “disputer.”

Since God has not chosen the wise and the learned of this world to propagate His Gospel among the nations, is it not evident that he has made foolish the wisdom of this world?

In the Vulgate, huius mundi should be simply mundi.

1 Cor 1:21. For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that believe.

There was a very good reason why God did not choose the wise of this world for the propagation of His Gospel, namely, because they could not grasp so great a mystery.  The wordly-wise and the carnal-minded failed to recognize God when He revealed Himself, both in the works of nature and in the revelation of the Old Testament; hence God chose to save, through the preaching of Christ crucified, those that believe.

Wisdom of God more probably means that divine wisdom that was manifested in the book of nature for the pagans, and also in the Old Testament Scriptures for the Jews.

The world, i.e., by the use of only natural learning, embracing the philosophical systems of the pagans as well as the doctrines of the unbelieving Jews (Cornely).

Knew not God, i.e., had not that correct knowledge of the one true God which was necessary and able to lead them to salvation.

In view of this failure on the part of the pagan philosophers and the carnal Jews to arrive at anything like an adequate notion of the Deity it pleased God, i.e., God in His wisdom, justice and mercy thought it well (Tertullian), or decreed (Hilary) to open a new way to divine knowledge and salvation, namely, the preaching of a crucified Savior, which would save all who would accept it with faith.

1 Cor 1:22. For both the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.

This verse continues to explain how the preaching of the cross, or of Christ crucified, was a stumbling block to the jews and foolishness to the pagans.  The former were expecting signs, i.e., miracles of their own choosing to be performed by the Messiah; that is, they expected Him to be a glorious and powerful King who would subjugate the temporal rulers of the world and place the Jews in triumph over their enemies; while the Greeks always required something that whold appeal to their reason and human intelligence.  To the latter “it seemed opposed to human wisdom that God should die, and that a just and wise man should willingly give himself over to a most shameful death” (St Thomas).

1 Cor 1:23. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness:
 1 Cor 1:24. for unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

But we, etc.  Contrary to the expectations of both Jews and Gentiles the Gospel is the preaching of a crucified Messiah.  It was, therefore, a stumbling block, i.e., a scandal, an offence, to the Jews, giving them a pretext to reject the Christ; and to the Gentiles, foolishness, because it seemed to them the height of folly that God should die and that human salvation should be obtained through the death of a man on an infamous gibbet.

But the reason why the Gospel is an offence to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles is because both these classes of infidels do not receive it with faith (vs 21).  For unto them that are called (δύναμις κλητοις), i.e., to those that hear and obey the call, whether Jews or pagans, the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified is the power of God, i.e., the divine force that has manifested itself, not only in the whole series of miracles performed by Christ and narrated in the preaching of the Apostles, but which, through the Apostolic preaching, was constantly operating, making all things new.  It was furthermore the wisdon of God, because it unfolded a plan of salvation which God alone could have formulated and executed (Cornely).


1 Cor 1:25. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The reason why the results of a thing apparently weak and foolish are so extraordinary is because they are the effects of divine wisdom and divine operation; for the foolishness of God, i.e., that which to merely human minds appears to be foolish, is wiser than all the wisdom of men; and likewise, that which men call the weakness of God is stronger than all the strength of men.  This, indeed, has been verified in the preaching of the cross, which has effected what all the wisdom and power of earth could not effect, namely, the destruction of sin and the renovation of the world.

1 Cor 1:26. For see your vocation, brethren, that there are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble:

Not only did God cast aside the wisdom of tis world in choosing the preachers of the Gospel, but He did likewise in the choice of those whom He first called to embrace the teachings of the Gospel.  This is illustrated among the Corinthians themselves.  Hence the Apostle bids them to consider their own vocation.  Among those who had become Christian there were not many distinguished for their human learning, not many who enjoyed great wealth and influence, not many of noble birth; the vast majority of the faithful of Corinth, as of all the early Christians, were from the humbler walks of life and society.  The pagans in fact reproached the Church for being made up of low classes,of slaves, artisans and the like (Tacitus, AnnXV. 44; Justin, Apol. ii. 9; Origen, Contra Celsum, ii. 79); and yet all this was in conformity with the prediction of Isaiah and with what our Lord Himself said of His Kingdom (Isa 61:1; Matt 11:5; Luke 4:17; etc.).

1 Cor 1:27. for the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong.

The reason of the foregoing actions on the part of God is now given.  Man, in his pride and self-sufficiency, had misused the gifts of God, thinking that all the blessings he enjoyed were due to himself, and despising those who were less favored than he.  Thus, earthly wisdom and power had been made by man a means of sin and disorder.  To counteract this state of things God called, as preachers of His Gospel and as members of His Church, those who were considered ignorant and weak, while He left to their own confusion those who considered themselves wise and powerful.

Although foolish things and weak things are in the neuter gender, they are understood for the masculine (cf. John 6:37; Gal 3:22; Heb 7:7).

1 Cor 1:28. And the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that he might bring to nought things that are:

Here again we find the neuter plural used for the masculine to heighten the paradox between the ways of God and the ways of men.  The Apostle cites three classes of persons, called by God to the faith, who were in striking contrast to those of noble birth (vs 26) that were not called: the base, i.e., those who have not sprung from noble ancestry; the contemptible, i.e., those that are despised and regarded as nothing; things that are not, i.e., those who are considered as not existing.  All these kinds of persons God has brought to the faith of the Crucified, in order to confound and prove to be useless in the work of saving the world those who were considered great according to earthly standards.

If, with A C D F G and Old Latin, we omit και ("and") before ταμη οντα ("things that are not"), these words form only a clause in apposition to the preceding clauses of the verse, and are not the climax of the sentence.  Manuscripts B E, The Received Text, Vulgate and Peshitto are in favor of retaining και.

1 Cor 1:29.  That no flesh should glory in his sight.

The purpose of God’s action in choosing the rude, the weak and the “things that are not” to confound the wise and the strong and to bring to naught the “things that are,” was that no flesh should glory in his sight, i.e., that no one might be able to attribute his justification and salvation to his own wisdom, or power, or noble birth, but only to the goodness and mercy of God, and that thus all should recognize God as the sole author of human sanctification and salvation.  Supernatural things are from us only through the operation of God’s grace. 

In his sight (Vulg., in conspectu eius) should be “in God’s sight,” to agree with the best Greek reading.

1 Cor 1:30. But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption. 

Although the Corinthians have nothing of themselves whereof to glory before God, they may, nevertheless, glory in this, that of him, i.e., from God, as form the source of their supernatural life, they are in Christ Jesus, i.e., they have, through Baptism, been incorporated in the mystical body of Christ, being made members of Christ’s Church.  To be “in Christ Jesus” means in St Paul to be a member of the Church of Christ (cf. 9:1; Rom 16:7; Gal 1:22; etc.). 

Who of God, etc.  Since Christians are His members, Crhist communicates to them the gifts he possesses from God, namely, His wisdom, by which the darkenss of error and ignorance are expelled from the mind; His justice and sanctification, by which they are made truly holy and pleasing in the sight of God; His  redemption, by which they are liberated from the serive of sin and the devil.

Justice and sanctification are closely connected by τε και to show they are really the same; for man is not first justified and then sanctified, but both at one and the same time through the infusion of sanctifying grace (Cornely).

It is evident that the Apostle here is not speaking about imputed justice in the Protestant sense, because just as Christ, through faith, has commuincated to us real wisdom, so has He imparted to us real sanctity and justification. 

1 Cor 1:31.  That, as it is written: He that glorieth , may glory in the Lord. 

Therefore, since the Christian has received all from God, if he wishes to glroy, he must do so in god, as is clear from Jeremiah 9:23-24. 

He that glorieth, etc.  The citation here is only a summary of the Prophet’s word.

After that in the beginning of the verse the verb is understood (γενηται, it may come to pass). 

May glory should be imperative, “let him glory” (Vulg. glorietur).

Lord (κύριος, Lord, in the LXX) really means Yahweh, God.

After having shown (1 Cor 1:17 ff) that the Gospel is both preached and received by the humble and the simple, St Paul now tells the Corinthians that when announcing to them the glad tidings he observed the characteristic method of evangelical preaching.  This he did in order to conform to the divine plane, as already explained, and also in order that the Corinthians might derive the greatest profit from hearing the Gospel.