1 Corinthians 1:18

1 Corinthians 1:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
• New International Version (NIV)For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Context of 1 Corinthians 1:18

16Yes, I baptised also the house of Stephanas; for the rest I know not if I have baptised any other. 17For Christ has not sent me to baptise, but to preach glad tidings; not in wisdom of word, that the cross of the Christ may not be made vain. For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us that are saved it is God's power. 19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and set aside the understanding of the understanding ones. 20Where [is the] wise? where scribe? where disputer of this world? has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

1 Corinthians 1:18 word by word

Ὁ λόγος γὰρ ὁ τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῖς μὲν ἀπολλυμένοις μωρία ἐστίν, τοῖς δὲ σῳζομένοις ἡμῖν δύναμις θεοῦ ἐστιν.Read the interlinear

• wordλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• crossσταυρόςstauros · crossG4716
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• perishἀπολλύωapollumi · to destroyG622
• foolishnessμωρίαmōria · foolishnessG3472
• savedσῴζωsōzō · to saveG4982
• powerδύναμιςdunamis · powerG1411

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:18

• 1 Corinthians 1:23but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews an offence, and to nations foolishness;
• 1 Corinthians 2:2For I did not judge [it well] to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
• Galatians 6:12As many as desire to have a fair appearance in [the] flesh, these compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted because of the cross of Christ.
• Acts 13:41Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye will in no wise believe if one declare it to you.
• 2 Corinthians 2:15For we are a sweet odour of Christ to God, in the saved and in those that perish:
• 2 Corinthians 4:3But if also our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those that are lost;
• 2 Thessalonians 2:10and in all deceit of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved.
• 1 Corinthians 1:21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom has not known God, God has been pleased by the foolishness of the preaching to save those that believe.
• 1 Corinthians 2:14But [the] natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him; and he cannot know [them] because they are spiritually discerned;
• 1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He who takes the wise in their craftiness.
• Acts 17:18But some also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers attacked him. And some said, What would this chatterer say? and some, He seems to be an announcer of foreign demons, because he announced the glad tidings of Jesus and the resurrection [to them].
• 1 Corinthians 1:24but to those that [are] called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ God's power and God's wisdom.
• 1 Corinthians 15:2by which also ye are saved, (if ye hold fast the word which I announced to you as the glad tidings,) unless indeed ye have believed in vain.
• Psalms 110:2Jehovah shall send the sceptre of thy might out of Zion: rule in the midst of thine enemies.
• Romans 1:16For I am not ashamed of the glad tidings; for it is God's power to salvation, to every one that believes, both to Jew first and to Greek:
• 2 Corinthians 10:4For the arms of our warfare [are] not fleshly, but powerful according to God to [the] overthrow of strongholds;

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18For the preaching of the cross - ̔ ̔ , The doctrine of the cross; or the doctrine that is of or concerning the cross; that is, the doctrine that proclaims salvation to a lost world through the crucifixion of Christ. Is to them that perish foolishness - There are, properly speaking, but two classes of men known where the Gospel is preached: , the unbelievers and gainsayers, who are perishing; and , the obedient believers, who are in a state of salvation…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18For the preaching of the cross - Greek, “the word ( ̔ ́ ho logos) of the cross;” that is, the doctrine of the cross; or the doctrine which proclaims salvation only through the atonement which the Lord Jesus Christ made on the cross, This cannot mean that the statement that Christ died “as a martyr” on a cross, appears to be foolishness to people; because, if that was all, there would be nothing that would appear contemptible, or that would excite their…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 Paul had been bred up in Jewish learning; but the plain preaching of a crucified Jesus, was more powerful than all the oratory and philosophy of the heathen world. This is the sum and substance of the gospel. Christ crucified is the foundation of all our hopes, the fountain of all our joys. And by his death we live. The preaching of salvation for lost sinners by the sufferings and death of the Son of God, if explained and faithfully applied…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18To unbelievers, the idea that God saves the world through a condemned criminal seems foolish because they cannot see the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). For believers, whom God has enlightened, the message of the cross feels true, and they recognize its power to touch the human heart (see 1 Corinthians 1:23–24; Romans 1:16). Unbelievers, still in their sins, are heading towards destruction and ultimate condemnation. Believers, whose sins are forgiven, are…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. preaching, &c.--literally, "the word," or speech as to the cross; in contrast to the "wisdom of words" (so called), 1Co 1:17. them that perish--rather, "them that are perishing," namely, by preferring human "wisdom of words" to the doctrine of the "cross of Christ." It is not the final state that is referred to; but, "them that are in the way of perishing." So also in 2Co 2:15, 16. us which are saved--In the Greek the collocation is more modest, "to…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:18

• Atonement
• Blindness
• Boasting
• Cross
• Gospel
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Power
• Preaching
• Reasoning
• Salvation
• Suffering
• Unbelief
• Wisdom
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Confirm
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Cross
• Disputer
• Foolishness
• Household
• Join
• Preach

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings