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

16(Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power. The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• the preachingλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• of the crossσταυρόςstauros · crossG4716
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• that perishἀπολλύωapollumi · to destroyG622
• ·μένmen · on the other handG3303
• foolishnessμωρίαmōria · foolishnessG3472
• butδέde · thenG1161
• unto usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• which are savedσῴζωsōzō · to saveG4982
• the powerδύναμιςdunamis · powerG1411
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:18

• 1 Corinthians 1:23So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
• 1 Corinthians 2:2For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.
• Galatians 6:12Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save.
• Acts 13:41‘Look, you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.’”
• 2 Corinthians 2:15Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.
• 2 Corinthians 4:3If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:10He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.
• 1 Corinthians 1:21Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.
• 1 Corinthians 2:14But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
• 1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”
• Acts 17:18He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
• 1 Corinthians 1:24But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
• 1 Corinthians 15:2It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
• Psalms 110:2The Lord will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem; you will rule over your enemies.
• Romans 1:16For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
• 2 Corinthians 10:4We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.

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